Detectives searching for missing Madeleine McCann have received a £108,000 grant(Image: PA)

It’s been nearly 18 years since Kate and Gerry McCann last saw their daughter Madeleine McCann, and they still haven’t given up hope of finding her.

Madeleine, from Leicester, was just three years old when she vanished from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007. The eldest sibling of three, she would now be 21. In the years since, extensive efforts have been made to determine what exactly happened that night.

Now, Operation Grange detectives have received a £108,000 grant to help fund their ongoing investigation, ahead of the 2025-26 financial year. Meanwhile, determined parents Kate and Gerry continue to hold out hope of one day bringing their child home safely, even sticking to a heart-wrenching annual tradition.

Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007(Image: PA)

Kate and Gerry, who met in 1993 in Glasgow and married five years later, have previously spoken of how they’ve found a way to put one foot in front of the other for the sake of their twins, Amelie and Sean, now 19. The couple, who still live in Rothley, Leicestershire, are devout Catholics.

However, Kate admitted her faith has been put to the test amid the trauma their family has faced. In an extract from her 2011 book Madeleine, Kate said: “There have been many times when I’ve felt God has deserted me or that He has let Madeleine down. I’ve occasionally doubted His existence altogether. And yes, I’ve been angry with Him…”

“For now, though, at least, my anger towards God seems to have subsided. I believe in Him and I still feel His presence.” The mum-of-three also stressed she believed “wherever Madeleine is, God is with her”.

Kate and Gerry pictured with their three children before Maddie went missing(Image: Spindrift)

Not knowing what happened to her daughter placed a huge burden on her mental health, so Kate, who received her degree in medicine at the University of Dundee, quit her job as a GP. However, in 2021, it was reported that she had returned to the NHS frontline in a time of crisis against COVID-19. She reportedly worked as a doctor in hospitals in Leicester and was said to be pleased to be “doing her little bit to help” as the city battled with soaring hospital admissions.

A pal told the Sun: “Kate’s back working as a doctor. She’s helping out at her local hospitals now and not doing any surgery work. She has thrown herself back into a full time job to assist others in need. There’s such a demand for qualified medics during these unprecedented times.”

Gerry, a cardiologist who is also a research professor at the University of Leicester, was said to be working in the same hospital at times, although they were “hardly ever” expected to come across each other due to the busy nature of their prestigious jobs.

In 2017, while marking the tenth anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance, Kate opened up about how she still buys presents for Madeleine ahead of Christmas and birthdays. Kate explained: “I do all the present buying. I think about what age she is and buy something that, whenever we find her, will still be appropriate so there’s a lot of thought goes into it.”

Kate did her ‘little bit to help’ during the pandemic(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

She went on to share that Madeleine’s birthday is a particularly “difficult time” for her, as this is when she feels her absence more than ever. Delving into these annual traditions in her book, Kate wrote: “Monday, May 12, 2008, was Madeleine’s fifth birthday. As we’ve continued to do since, we had a tea party at home, with balloons, cake, cards, and presents.

“The presents go into Madeleine’s room to await her return. Her pink bedroom remains exactly as it was when she left it, but it’s a lot busier now. There are gifts people have sent – from teddy bears to rosary beads – and photographs and pictures Sean and Amelie have drawn for her pinned on the walls.”

She continued: “She also has a keepsake box in which the twins leave little things for her: the last sweet in their packet, a new drawing, sometimes just a leaf that has taken their fancy. Everyone sits in there from time to time to feel close to her. The children sometimes borrow toys to play with for a while, but they always return them to Madeleine.”

The McCanns still make sure to mark Madeleine’s birthday each year(Image: METROPOLITAN POLICE/AFP via Gett)

In March 2024, the Mail Online reported that Kate and Gerry had saved almost £1 million in a fund to help Madeleine, with accounts filed with Companies House showing that the couple had stashed away £921,819 over the course of the previous financial year. This money is understood to have come from donations, as well as royalties from Kate’s best-selling 2011 book, Madeleine.

Back in December, it was reported that the fighting fund set up to help find Madeleine had seen its value soar to more than £1 million for the very first time since the year of her disappearance. Most of the value of the ‘Madeleine’s Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Ltd’ fund has been invested in stocks and shares. The portfolio increased from £848,305 to £955,334 in the 12-month period up to March 2024, due to stock market successes.

Towards the end of last year, the total value of the fund was reported to be £1,028,753, up from £921,819 the previous year. This marked the first time the fund had exceeded the £1 million mark since 2008. Royalties from Kate’s book soared to £2,325 from just £216 the previous year, a jump believed to be connected to fresh interest in the case generated by the trial of prime suspect Christian Brueckner.

Documents filed by Companies House state the money will be used to secure Madeline’s safe return and to ensure “her abduction is thoroughly investigated”. Once this objective has been fulfilled, any leftover cash will be contributed towards efforts in other missing person cases.

The ‘Madeleine’s Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Ltd’ fund saw its value soar last year(Image: PA)

In 2023, Madeleine’s sister Amelie joined her parents and well-wishes for an anniversary event 16 years on from the disappearance. “It’s nice that everyone is here together, but it’s a sad occasion,” she said at the event. Student Amelie lit a candle for her big sister and other missing children at the memorial, where pictures of Maddie adorned the black railing.

She was then accompanied by her friend in repeating mantras read out by people in the 70-strong crowd, including “Never, never give up,” “Leave no stone unturned,” “Don’t forget about me,” and “Still missing, still missed.”

Their twins have given them the strength to continue(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Amelie was said to be in the process of applying to university, but inevitably, their sister’s absence has left a dark cloud over her and her brother’s lives. In an interview with The Sun, Kate said Sean and Amelie have “grown up essentially without Madeleine but knowing their sister is missing and they want her back”.

Kate previously told the Mirror ahead of her book launch that her twins gave her the strength to fight on, with Sean promising: ‘When you’re old, me and Amelie will look for Madeleine’. She then revealed: “I was chatting to Amelie and she said, ‘Mummy’s sad because Madeleine is not here. But Amelie is here, and Amelie and Sean will always be here’.”

Keeping busy is the family’s way of coping, though it will never fill the void left by Maddie’s absence. Speaking in her ambassador role for charity Missing People, Kate said about the twin teens: “They have their own friends and they keep busy and they’re really sporty, but their only wish is for their big sister to come home. We miss our complete family of five.

“As a family, 98 per cent of the time we’re busy. I don’t know if that’s a conscious thing, but it helps. The urge to look for Madeleine absolutely hasn’t changed at all.”

The family stays busy, but Madeleine is never far from their thoughts(Image: PA)

Convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner, 48, is the lead suspect in Madeleine’s tragic appearance. However, as reported last month, the German, who is already behind bars, is currently seeking early release from a 2019 jail sentence after he was acquitted of unrelated charges last year.

Back in March, investigators expressed concerns that the sex offender could walk free in a matter of weeks, with key witnesses in the case reportedly being called in to secret meetings to prepare for the possibility of charges being brought against him.

Announcing that funding for Operation Grange had been approved for another year, a Home Office spokesperson said: “The ongoing police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, known as Operation Grange, is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Service.

“Ministers have approved a request to provide up to £108,000 for Operation Grange in 2025-26. In line with our Special Grant processes, funding for Operation Grange is approved on an annual basis.”