Madeleine McCann’s parents to mark ‘heartbreaking’ milestone of missing daughter

Kate and Gerry McCann, the parents of Madeleine, will commemorate 14 years since their daughter’s disappearance with a “low-key” ceremony over this bank holiday weekend.

Madeleine McCann vanished on May 3 2007 in Portugal, and now her parents will mark the occasion by praying for her at a local church.

Although a friend of the family said that every anniversary is “tough”, this year is particularly difficult as it comes nine days before Madeleine’s 18th birthday.

Despite prosecutors claiming to have evidence that Madeleine is dead, her grief-stricken parents continue to maintain hope that she may still be alive.

Nonetheless, detectives also want to quiz convicted rapist Christian Brueckner over Madeleine’s disappearance, the Mirror reports.

A family friend said: “Every anniversary is tough because it brings back all the memories of the night she was taken.

“But this year is different because Madeleine would be reaching adulthood.

“It’s a big milestone in every child’s life. For Kate and Gerry to not to be with her on such a momentous occasion is heartbreaking.”

Kate and Gerry will spend Bank Holiday Monday, the anniversary of the abduction, with their twins Sean and Amelie, both teenagers.

Meanwhile, the hunt for Madeleine’s abductor continues, with four detectives still assigned to Operation Grange.

A top-level summit between German, Portuguese, and British detectives is scheduled to take place in Lisbon this summer.

Cops are reportedly starting a push to unearth what they have referred to as the “missing piece of the jigsaw”, which they say could prove Brueckner’s involvement.

Portuguese and German investigators will also carry out new interviews of key witnesses in the Algarve who knew him.

Brueckner, 44, was named as the main suspect for Madeleine’s disappearance by German prosecutors last June.

They claim that he abducted and killed the three-year-old.

The suspect is currently serving a seven-year prison term in Hanover for raping a pensioner in Praia da Luz in 2005.

His lawyer Friedrich Fulscher insists that he has nothing to do with Madeleine’s disappearance.