Madeleine McCann's Mom Still Buys Her Presents — What to Know about the Missing Girl's Parents

Almost fourteen years after the unsolved case of Madeleine McCann's disappearance, her mom Kate McCann keeps her present in her mind by buying gifts for her. Here is a look into Madeleine's parents' lives now.

Leicester citizens Kate and Gerry McCann have had to deal with the puzzling case of their daughter, Madeleine McCann's disappearance for thirteen years and counting.

However, in the years that followed the uproar and after various expert searches for Madeleine, her mom made sure to keep the young girl close to heart.

Recent reports on Kate reveal that she keeps buying presents for Madeleine as each year goes by — during her birthdays and Christmas periods — despite having to endure the nightmare of losing a child.

MADELEINE'S PARENTS

Following Madeleine's disappearance, her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, had issues staying married. For a while, Madeleine's parents struggled with the growing distance between them.

In her autobiography, "Madeleine: Our Daughter's Disappearance and the Continuing Search for Her," Kate narrated how her and Gerry's marriage almost ended as they dwelled in the pain of Madeleine's disappearance.

MADELEINE'S DISAPPEARANCE

The sad story dates back to 2007 when Kate and Gerry took their kids on vacation to Portugal. The family had stayed in a hotel close to the beach at Praia da Luz.

On that fateful night, Kate and Gerry were lounging at a restaurant not far away from the hotel; however, they made a note to take turns checking on their sleeping kids every 30 minutes.

It was Kate's turn to check on the kids when she discovered that Madeleine was missing. That moment was a defining one for the McCanns, who have since continued to search for their daughter. However, in a short period, Madeleine McCann's story became a national issue.

The Portuguese authorities hit a dead end at every turn of their investigation, leading them to tag the then three-year-old's case as an unresolved one. In the following years, Madeleine McCann's parents became subjects of scrutiny.

PUBLIC SCRUTINY

In particular, Kate came under fire as many continuously pointed accusing fingers, claiming she was always too poised in public for a mom going through child loss trauma.

Goncalo Amaral, the Portuguese police chief at the time, wrote a book addressing Mrs. McCann's poise. Although the book was discredited, many still go back to it as a form of reference.

In retrospect, the British police told Madeleine's parents to keep their composure during media coverages. They said this because of the theory that pedophilic offenders often watched the news, and they gained satisfaction from seeing their victims' families in despair.

The suspicions heightened after Madeleine McCann's DNA traces were found in her parent's car. However, the DNA evidence was tagged inconclusive.

Madeleine's parents' case was worse in Portugal as citizens tagged them arguidos (named suspects). Once, when the couple went to Berlin for a conference about Madeline's disappearance, they were booed on the streets.

The McCanns were cleared of the suspicions in 2008 when the Portuguese attorney general did a thorough review of the police file on Madeleine's case and ruled that her parents and the then-suspect, Robert Murat, had no connection to her disappearance.

Madeleine's parents did not give up on the search for the young girl, and in the following years, they hired private detectives, and with each evidence and dead-end, their hopes would rise and fall.

Yet, the resilient couple remained steadfast with their search. In 2011, Kate and Gerry McCann wrote an open letter to the then-prime minister, David Cameron, urging him to help in the search for Madeleine.

Over the years, detectives and police officers have come up with speculations, tiny specs of evidence, and scores of suspects with no conclusive report. However, Madeleine's parents keep up their hope in a bid to find peace.