Hope Endures in Search for Missing British Girl
Madeleine McCann's parents traveling the world to keep case in the spotlight.
July 24, 2007 — -- Eighty-two days ago, Madeleine McCann disappeared. Since then the searches have been agonizing.
Her fourth birthday came and went nine days after her abduction. Unconfirmed sightings and a worldwide media campaign have yet to produce the child, who went missing May 3.
This week posters of Madeleine were displayed at "Harry Potter" book launches. Her parents have visited the pope, who blessed her picture.
Both devout Catholics, the McCanns already have taken their prayers for Madeleine to the sacred shrine of Fatima in Portugal.
The British girl vanished from her bed while on a family vacation in southern Portugal. Portuguese police continue their investigation into the disappearance of the girl from a holiday complex in Praia da Luz in the western Algarve.
At the time of her disappearance, Madeleine was wearing her pajamas, according to her father, Gerry McCann. Her parents immediately insisted it was an abduction because there was evidence of a forced entry in the bedroom where she was sleeping with her 2-year-old twin brother and sister.
Parents Criticized
The McCanns have been criticized by some in Portugal because Madeleine was snatched while they were having dinner in a restaurant just yards away.
"We were 50 yards away," McCann said on "Good Morning America" today. "We could see the apartment where we were. The kids were sound asleep and we were checking on them regularly."
McCann said he and his wife did what they thought was reasonable at the time.
There have been calls for authorities to investigate, but Portuguese police have always insisted the McCanns broke no laws.
McCann and his wife, Kate, have done all they can to keep their daughter in the public eye.
"We recognize that the highest chance of recovery is in the minutes and hours following disappearance," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "Most people who abduct children don't do it to kill them."
Police have interviewed the only suspect a number of times, but have yet to charge anyone. A letter to a Dutch newspaper suggested Madeleine was buried in a wooded area. Police searched, but found nothing.
"Please continue to pray for Madeleine," Kate McCann pleaded. "She's lovely."
Fact-Finding Mission in U.S.
Gerry McCann said the family retains hope inspired by stories of children who went missing for long periods of time, but then returned home safely. He added the family doesn't get too excited when it hears possible leads about Madeleine until it receives official confirmation.
Even if the girl has not experienced any physical harm, Gerry McCann said he worries the event would be traumatic for his daughter.
"We're doing everything in our power to try and get our daughter back," he said.
Kate McCann remained in Portugal today, unable or unwilling to go home until she knows where her daughter is or what has happened to her.
Meanwhile, Gerry McCann is in Washington meeting with politicians and U.S. abduction agencies on a fact-finding mission about how the United States deals with child abductions.
"Europe has a lot to learn about how the U.S. deals with missing children," he said.