PAToday the parents of Madeleine McCann celebrate their twins becoming teenager and as part of the occasion they will be offering prayers for their missing daughter.
Despite being missing since May 2007, parents Kate and Gerry McCann are still holding out hope their eldest daughter is still out there alive and well.
It comes as Madeleine’s two siblings Sean and Amelie celebrate their 13th birthday, whose ‘only wish is for their big sister to come home’.
Kate and Gerry’s twins, both who are aspiring amateur athletes, will be holding a special milestone celebration with close friends and family.
Speaking to The Sun one of the guests said:
There will be prayers to remember Madeleine as well wherever she is. Kate and Gerry want to give the twins a memorable occasion, they’re teenagers now and that’s a big deal.
But the party will be marred with a tinge of sadness because Madeleine is not here to join in the fun.
PA ImagesAlthough the absence of Madeleine looms over the occasion, Kate and Gerry want the special day to be ‘as normal way as possible’ for the sake of Sean and Amelie.
Madeleine’s disappearance almost 11 years ago sparked a nationwide search after she went missing while on a holiday with her family in Portugal. Police in the UK have continued to search for Maddie despite the prolonged time period, at the time of writing she would be 14-years-old by now.
In previous media engagements, in a bid to appeal to anyone with any information in regards to the whereabouts of Maddie, Kate – a former GP, now medical worker – revealed how her family often prays for Maddie to return to them safely, making sure to never ever forget her.
GettyDespite the twins growing up without their older sister, Kate says they know she ‘is missing and they want her back’.
While promoting the charity Missing People, where she is an ambassador, she said the twins:
… have their own friends and they keep busy and they’re really sporty but their only wish is for their big sister to come home. We miss our complete family of five.
As a family 98 per cent of the time we’re busy. I don’t know if that’s a conscious thing but it helps. The urge to look for Madeleine absolutely hasn’t changed at all.
PAAccording to The Sun detectives at Scotland Yard have two months remaining of guaranteed funds from the Home Office to help in the long and continuing search for Maddie.
The twins currently attend a Catholic secondary school near Loughborough which holds a place for Maddie who they hope to welcome one day as a student.
