Kate McCann says she has been left ‘haunted’ by a question Madeleine asked on the morning of her disappearance.
Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, 17 years ago and her case remains unsolved to this day.
She’s become one of the most heavily reported missing people in the world, with her disappearance baffling authorities.
In an explosive book, Madeleine’s mother has revealed that on the day her little girl vanished, she asked a chilling question.
Kate and Gerry McCann and their three children – Madeleine, Amelie, and Sean – arrived at the Ocean Club Complex in Praia da Luz on April 28, 2007.
Over the following evenings, the couple would leave the children sleeping in their holiday apartment while they joined other adults at the resort’s tapas restaurant.
The adults had devised a rota system to check on all their children during the evening.
On May 3, the McCanns left Madeleine, Amelie, and Sean at the holiday apartment while they dined at the restaurant.
During Kate’s 10 p.m. check, she discovered that Madeleine was missing. She noticed the holiday apartment’s window was open and the shutters were up, per Sky News.
Police were called and staff and guests of the complex joined the search for the three-year-old girl.
It has now been 17 years since Madeleine’s disappearance, and we still don’t have answers.
On the 17th anniversary of the girl’s vanishing, her parents shared a heartbreaking message which read: “It’s 17 years since Madeleine was taken from us. It’s hard to even say that number without shaking our heads in disbelief. Whilst we are fortunate in many ways and able to live a relatively normal and enjoyable life now, the ‘living in limbo’ is still very unsettling. And the absence still aches.
“Your support continues to encourage us and bolsters our strength to keep going. We know the love and hope for Madeleine and the will to find her, even after so many years, remains, and we are truly thankful for that. Thank you again for remembering Madeleine and all missing children.”
Although the case has had extensive worldwide media coverage, Madeleine’s disappearance remains a mystery.
As of March 2024, the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into the girl’s vanishing has cost over $16 million, per ITV.
In 2022, Christian B was officially named a suspect in the case.
He is currently serving a prison sentence after being convicted of r**ing an elderly woman in 2005.
Christian B has denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
In 2011, Kate published a book titled ‘Madeleine: Our Daughter’s Disappearance and the Continuing Search for Her,’ detailing the family’s torment over the case.
In one segment, she recalls the day the three-year-old vanished and how she asked a question that continues to haunt Kate.
“On Thursday, May 3 I awoke in the children’s bedroom. I can’t remember who was up first but I know we had all surfaced by about 7.30 a.m.,” it read.
“At breakfast time, Madeleine had a question for us – ‘Why didn’t you come when Sean and I cried last night?’”
Kate says she was ‘puzzled’ by this question as she had ‘no recollection of any tears or upset’ from her children the previous night.
“It certainly hadn’t been in the early hours, because I’d been in the room with them, even closer than usual,” the mother mused.
Kate says she has reflected on this question and wonders whether there had been an attempted break-in the night before Madeleine disappeared.
She continued: “Not for a moment did we think there might be some sinister reason for this occurrence if indeed anything had occurred.
“Within hours, the explanation for this would seem hugely important and so haunted have I been ever since by Madeleine’s words that morning.”
