‘The absence still aches,’ Madeleine McCann’s parents share heartbreaking message on 17th anniversary of disappearance

In June 2020, it was revealed that a German prisoner was the prime suspect in the case, with evidence showing he was in and around the Praia da Luz area at the time.

Investigative journalist and ex-police officer Mark Williams-Thomas believes Madeleine left the apartment in search of her parents.

Ex-police chief Goncalo Amaral has claimed MI5 helped cover-up Madeleine McCann’s body after her parents accidentally killed her.

Veteran investigative journalist Danny Collins believes the toddler could not have been snatched from the room. He is convinced she left the apartment in Praia da Luz looking for her parents before being abducted and possibly sold to gypsies.

Former Scotland Yard detective Colin Sutton says the “most likely and credible scenario” for Madeleine’s disappearance is a targeted kidnap by child traffickers - possibly to replace some grieving parents’ own dead child.

In the 2019 Netflix documentary The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, investigators point out that the coastal resort of Praia da Luz would make it easier for traffickers to escape on a boat and travel to North Africa. The resort is also only 90 minutes drive from the border with Spain.

A local resident in the Netflix film pointed out that the Algarve has many wells, some of which are 100ft deep. They suggested Madeleine could have wandered out of the apartment and fallen to her death.

Parents Gerry and Kate have been forced to confront rumours around their daughter's disappearance, with the couple vowing to fight "tooth and nail" if they are ever prosecuted over leaving their children alone.

In July, 2017, Madeleine parents failed in their bid to silence ex Portuguese cop Goncalo Amaral's over his claims they faked their daughter's kidnapping to cover up her death.

Another theory is that Madeleine was taken as part of a bungled burglary in which an intruder panicked and snatched her after she woke up. While Scotland Yard looked into this theory it has always been dismissed by cops in Portugal since nothing else was taken from the apartment.

US think tank The Rutherford Institute said Madeleine could have been taken by a sex trafficking gang after studying how kids are abducted and abuse in the sex industry. The institute's John Whitehead also believes these gangs could be aided by "predator cops" - although there is no evidence suggesting Portuguese police were involved in assisting with Madeleine's kidnapping.

In 2019 Portuguese police were said to think Madeleine was kidnapped by a surgical-mask wearing man who is known to the cops, after a tip off from Scotland Yard.

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