The efforts to find Madeleine, who went missing at three-years-old during a family holiday on the Algarve in May 2007, will go on “with the same determination, commitment and vigour”, say Kate and Gerry McCann.
In a message on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page on Sunday, the couple said while there was “no new significant news to share”, they will never give up the search.
The emotional post read: “Another year comes to a close. I’m sure they’re getting shorter!
“Whilst there is no new significant news to share in the search for Madeleine, efforts continue with the same determination, commitment and vigour.
“We believe such perseverance will eventually yield results.
“Thank you again for your support, Christmas wishes and shared hope.
“Despite our own personal circumstances, it is impossible to be unaffected by the awful events happening around the world this year with so many wars, immeasurable pain and suffering, children abducted, killed and orphaned.
“Let’s hope that 2024 brings a greater love for mankind, hope and peace to us all.”
The McCann’s New Year’s message comes after senior Portuguese police officers travelled from Lisbon to London to apologise to Kate and Gerry for the way they handled their daughter’s disappearance.
Scotland Yard launched its investigation, Operation Grange, into Madeleine’s disappearance in 2013, after Portuguese authorities reopened the case upon discovering new lines of inquiry.
After Madeleine disappeared in 2007 on the fateful holiday in Praia da Luz, her heartbroken parents were quizzed by detectives.
On the night she went missing, the pair had left the then tot and her younger siblings asleep in the apartment as they went out for dinner with friends nearby outside.
Portuguese cops made them both “arguidos” – or suspects – and that status wasn’t lifted until 2008 – however the couple remained under suspicion in the country for years.
Kate has previously revealed she was even offered a deal to admit covering up her daughter’s death in exchange for a shorter sentence.
Much of the speculation was propagated by the original lead detective, Goncalo Amaral.
He was sacked from the investigation but later wrote a book and presented a TV documentary accusing the McCanns of being involved.
As well as apologising, the Portuguese police told Panorama they briefed the McCann family on the ongoing investigation.
They gave their support to German prosecutors, who believe 46-year-old Christian B killed Madeleine McCann.
Portuguese detectives now also consider the prisoner a prime suspect – he denies killing the tot.
He is currently serving a seven-year prison term in Germany for rape and drug trafficking.
For the past five years, German authorities have been investigating him in connection with Madeleine disappearance.
But Christian B has not been charged.
Earlier this year police drew their focus to a lake in the search for Madeleine McCann.
However, German detectives later said there was “no compelling evidence” she is there.
Sniffer dogs and radar were used during the three-day search in June 2023 of Arade Dam reservoir.
The prime suspect, Christian B, previously referred to the remote Algarve spot as his “little paradise”.
It is located around 30 miles from Praia da Luz, where Maddie was snatched.
Sources claim local cops received a tip-off that B had gone there a few days after Maddie went missing.
Police dug 2ft deep bore holes at the reservoir hoping, it is believed, to unearth fibres or clothing linked to Madeleine.
A Portuguese newspaper said “relevant information” was found and clothing remains, soil samples and pieces of plastic were taken away for analysis.
However, The Sun recently learned that detectives probing Christian B fear the investigation could collapse by the New Year unless a fresh lead is found.
The revelation came just days after Christian B’s own lawyer told a BBC investigation the work of the German officers was on “shaky foundations”.
A source close to the investigation told The Sun: “The next few weeks are make or break for the detectives investigating Christian B.
“Publicly they are saying they remain convinced he is linked to Maddie’s disappearance, and that they will present evidence in due course.
“But, privately, the case is close to collapsing.
“There’s no new leads, and the primary witness they were relying on has totally gone offside.”
That witness is Helge B, a convicted criminal who, up until earlier this year, was reportedly sharing information about his former pal, Christian B.
Our source added: “Helge B hasn’t been supporting detectives for a long time, and there is a huge black shadow over everything he’s told them up until this point.
“The reality is that without a fresh lead or a change in the direction of the investigation the probe into Christian B will be dead in the water by the New Year.
“The clock is ticking and what makes things even harder is the fact that relations between the German cops and Portuguese officers are at an all time low.”
Meanwhile, Christian B’s lawyer claimed the police investigation is close to “crashing down”, as authorities continue to search for the missing girl.
Friedrich Fulscher spoke to a BBC investigative journalist as part of a new documentary, “Prime Suspect: Who Took Madeleine McCann?”
He criticised the “lack of substance” in the case and claimed that it is close to collapse.
He said: “This is rather a sign that the prosecution’s investigations are built on very, very shaky foundations, so that the slightest breath of wind could possibly bring the entire construct crashing down, and this is an indication of how lacking in substance this investigation is.”
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