HEARTBREAKING 19 YEARS ON: Madeleine McCann’s parents Kate and Gerry were joined by their twin children Sean and Amelie during an emotional prayer vigil marking 19 years since Maddie vanished without a trace during a family holiday in Portugal

Madeleine McCann’s parents Kate and Gerry were joined by their twin children Sean and Amelie during an emotional prayer vigil marking 19 years since Maddie vanished without a trace during a family holiday in Portugal. In a deeply moving moment, the family stood together in their home village of Rothley, Leicestershire — the first time they have been publicly photographed together in years.
Kate and Gerry McCann were warmly welcomed by supporters and well-wishers for the informal outdoor gathering in their home village of Rothley, Leicestershire
Supporters gathered around the McCanns as candles were lit in Madeleine’s memory, while heartbreaking messages including “Never Give Up” and “Still Missing, Still Missed” were read aloud. At times, Kate and Gerry appeared visibly emotional as prayers were said for their daughter, who would now be nearly 23 years old.
It is the first time that the couple have been pictured in public with both Sean and Amelie, now aged 21 

In a statement shared online, Kate and Gerry vowed they would never stop searching for answers. They wrote: “The search goes on to find our Madeleine, to achieve some justice, to make the world that bit safer.”

The vigil came just months after Polish woman Julia Wandelt — who falsely claimed to be Madeleine — was convicted of harassing the family after a years-long ordeal that forced the McCanns through another painful court battle.

Despite German investigators believing Madeleine is dead, British police are continuing to treat the case as an active missing persons investigation. Fresh government funding has now been approved to keep Operation Grange — the investigation into Maddie’s disappearance — alive for another year.

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