ThinkInNewAreas: Missing Madeleine

Missing Madeleine

Last updated: 14 May 2007

Madeleine McCann

Find out how to send messages of support to the McCann family and download Madeleine's poster appeal

It's been over a week since youngster Madeleine McCann went missing from an Algarve holiday resort.

The four-year-old, from Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from an apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3.

Madeleine had been left sleeping with her brother and sister, two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, while her parents, Gerry and Kate, dined at a nearby restaurant.

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She had been wearing white pyjama bottoms with a small floral design and a short-sleeved pink top with a picture of Eeyore on it.

The latest...

Despite British media frustration at the news blackout imposed under Portuguese law for the duration of the investigation, the focus of the inquiry appears to have shifted away from a local search for Madeleine to an international child abduction inquiry.
£2.5 million reward.

Meanwhile, businessman Sir Richard Branson, footballer Wayne Rooney and Harry Potter author JK Rowling are among those who have contributed to rewards totalling £2.5m for the safe return of Madeleine.

A "fighting fund" to which members of the public can donate to help in the search for Madeleine is being set up by her family's lawyers.

Support

Mark Warner Holidays which runs the Ocean Club resort where the McCanns are staying said that it had been so overwhelmed with messages of support for the couple that it had set up a special email address.

Anyone who wishes to pass messages to the family can do so by e-mailing: mccannfamily@markwarner.co.uk.

Hotlines

Portuguese police have now issued a formal appeal for information about the disappearance of Madeleine. It carries details of the abduction, alongside a photo of the three-year-old and a phone number for the public to call.

Click here for the Portuguese Police website.

If you are in Portugal and have any information, call the Portuguese Police direct on +351 282 405 400.

Otherwise, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The international number for Crimestoppers is +44 1883 731 336. People with information about Madeleine can call anonymously.