Kate and Gerry McCann lead prayers for their missing daughter Madeleine as they vow 'there will always be hope'
on ninth anniversary of her disappearance in Portugal
Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured) are joined by friends and neighbours in the village of Rothley, Leicestershire for the prayer village on Tuesday
By CHRIS SUMMERS FOR MAILONLINE
Madeleine McCann's parents have led prayers at a vigil in their home town nine years to the day since she vanished during a family holiday in Portugal.
Kate and Gerry McCann also released a statement saying there is 'always hope' of finding their daughter who vanished nine years ago from their holiday apartment on the Algarve.
The McCanns issued the statement to mark the ninth anniversary of three-year-old Madeleine going missing from the resort of Praia da Luz.
Kate McCann, 47 (pictured with her husband Gerry), believes her missing daughter Madeleine
is still alive and is not a 'million miles' from the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal
where she disappeared in 2007
Those at the small gathering in Rothley listened intently as Mrs McCann, 48, read a poem by Emily Dickinson: 'Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches on the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.'
The sombre mood at the prayer vigil contrasted sharply with the jubilant mood seven miles away in Leicester where the city is celebrating winning the Premier League title.
Mr McCann, 47, said he had spent the whole of Tuesday trying 'to stop moping around.'
This makeshift shrine to Madeleine McCann appeared in Rothley this week. Children lit candles to remember Madeleine and parents read aloud messages of hope including: 'Never, never give up!'
He added: 'I cannot tell you how low we felt earlier but how much better we feel for seeing so many people here to support us.'
As the couple stood in quiet reflection and prayer next to the village's war memorial, Mr McCann said: 'Even after nine years, and we desperately don't want another one, we have this incredible support and it and it means so much to us.
'It makes us stronger and helps us get through it.'
Ms McCann said the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz is where she 'feels closest' to her daughter Maddie, who disappeared from the bed of her holiday apartment (pictured above) on May 3, 2007 at the age of three
Ms McCann said the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz is where she 'feels closest' to her daughter Maddie, who disappeared from the bed of her holiday apartment (pictured above) on May 3, 2007 at the age of three
Hope of finding out what happened to Madeleine have dwindled in the last year but the McCanns have thanked their supporters for keeping her 'in your heart'.
The town's vicar, Reverend Rob Gladstone said: 'Throughout the past nine years there have been many high and lows but it is irrefutable that the prayerful support of so many people from different places, from all walks of life, has kept hope alive.'
Portuguese police, working in co-operation with Scotland Yard, reopened the investigation in 2013 amid talk of fresh leads but last year the Metropolitan Police announced it had reduced the number of officers it had working on the case from 29 to four.
Writing on their official website, Find Madeleine, they said: 'As yet another anniversary comes around, we'd like to thank all our supporters for your continued help and commitment in the search for Madeleine, and the hope for her safe return.
'It has been a very long time but the investigation continues, information is still forthcoming and our hope and resolve continue.
'Until we have answers, until there is news (real news!), there will always be hope and we will continue to do everything we can to help find Madeleine.'
The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, had left Madeleine asleep in the apartment while they dined in a tapas restaurant about 100 yards away.
Detectives have explored dozens of theories since she vanished, including allegations that she was kidnapped by a paedophile gang, killed during a botched burglary or snatched and sold by child traffickers.
But despite 9,000 potential sightings all over Europe and even further afield the police are no closer to solving the mystery.
Gerry McCann is pictured with daughter Madeleine (far right) splashing in the pool with their feet on the day she vanished. This is the last photo taken of the three-year-old
Ms McCann said recently she and her husband believe their daughter is still very much alive in Portugal and 'probably never left the country'.
She said her years of research into missing people cases had taught her that kidnapped children are usually not taken very far away.
'It's all only speculation, but we've learned that's usually the case,' she said.
Mrs McCann said recently: 'Nine years. Time just goes too quickly. It's the quiet times that are tough. Times when you are thinking about her — or something related to her.
'The urge to look for Madeleine absolutely hasn't changed at all. You hear all the time about people who have been missing for years being found. There have been so many cases like that.
'We will never give up. You couldn't settle if you thought about giving up. I want an end, an answer. Whatever that it is.'
Young Maddie in the last photo taken of her on the day she disappeared in May 2007, and
An image predicting what Maddie might look like today
A detective, Goncalo Amaral, on the original investigation became embroiled in a hugely distracting libel battle with the McCanns and earlier this month he won an appeal in a Portuguese court.
Last year British detectives returned to Portugal with sniffer dogs and sifted through scrubland on their hands and knees - 1,000ft from where Madeleine vanished nine years ago.
They also used radar scanners that could penetrate to depths of up to 13ft (four metres) at several but found no trace of her.
Despite almost 9,000 potential 'sightings', the youngster has never been found and last year Scotland Yard announced it would be winding down the £10million investigation to find her. Pictured: Met Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who was in charge of the hunt leading a team of 29 officers until it was cut to four
Despite almost 9,000 potential 'sightings', the youngster has never been found and last year Scotland Yard announced it would be winding down the £10million investigation to find her. Pictured: Met Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who was in charge of the hunt leading a team of 29 officers until it was cut to four
TIMELINE: HOW THE DESPERATE HUNT FOR MADELEINE HAS UNFOLDED
2007
May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant. Nothing is amiss when Mr McCann checks on the youngsters just after 9pm, but when his wife goes back at about 10pm she finds three-year-old Madeleine missing.
September 7 - During questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both 'arguidos' - formal suspects - in their daughter's disappearance.
2008
July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the 'arguido' status of the McCanns and Robert Murat.
2011
May 12 - Mrs McCann publishes a book about her daughter's disappearance, on Madeleine's eighth birthday. Scotland Yard launches a review of the case after a request from Home Secretary Theresa May supported by Prime Minister David Cameron.
2012
April 25 - Scotland Yard detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive, release an age-progression picture of how she might look now as a nine-year-old, and call on the Portuguese authorities to reopen the case, but Portuguese police say they have found no new material.
2013
July 4 - Scotland Yard confirms that it has launched its own investigation into Madeleine's disappearance two years into a review of the case. It has 'genuinely new' lines of inquiry and has identified 38 people of interest, including 12 Britons.
October 14 - Mr and Mrs McCann take part in a fresh appeal for information about Madeleine's disappearance, as police release an e-fit of a man they believe could have been carrying her towards the sea at around 10pm on the night she vanished.
October 17 - Scotland Yard says it has received more than 2,400 calls and emails following television appeals in the UK, Holland and Germany. Around another 1,250 calls were made to studios in the three countries.
October 24 - Portuguese police confirm that a review of their original investigation has uncovered new lines of inquiry, and reopen the case.
November 27 - Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said British and Portuguese police should join together as one team in their investigations.
2014
January 29 - British detectives fly to Portugal amid claims they are planning to make arrests.
March 19 - Detective chief inspector Andy Redwood says police are looking for a lone intruder who sexually abused five girls during a series of break-ins at holiday homes in the Algarve.
March 20 - The Prime Minister has said he is willing to step in if the British investigation into the disappearance is held up by delays in the Portuguese legal system.
June 3 - Sniffer dogs and specialist teams are used to search an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine went missing.
2015
September 16 - The Government has disclosed that the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine has cost more than £10 million.
October 28 - Scotland Yard's investigation into the disappearance is cut from 29 officers to four.
2016
May 3 - The McCanns issue a statement on the ninth anniversary of her disappearance saying 'there's always hope'.
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