Kate McCann still buys Christmas presents for her daughter Maddie, and places them in her bedroom for her return.
According to Metro, there are already hundreds of gifts which sit in Maddie’s room, which the McCann’s hope she will one day be able to open.
Other than adding the presents for Christmas and birthdays, Maddie’s pink bedroom has not been altered since her disappearance.
The room has now become a ‘shrine’ to Maddie, with dozens of birthday presents, cards and photos spread across the room.
Kate and Gerry McCann both still hope their eldest child will return home, despite spending 11 Christmases without her.
The disappearance of Maddie McCann made headlines after she was absent from the family’s holiday apartment in Portugal in May 2007.
She was discovered to be missing after her parents returned back to the hotel room from dinner with friends in a nearby restaurant.
There have been numerous investigations into the disappearance of the young girl, who has a distinctive eye colour – a symbol of the international attempts to find her.
Since her disappearance, the parents have had to make Christmas as fun as possible for their other children Sean and Amelia, but Mrs McCann said the period is ‘tinged with pain and longing’ for Maddie.
She admitted:
Madeleine should be here and we should be celebrating with her. We have not lost hope that we may get to celebrate another Christmas with her.
The investigation into Maddie’s disappearance is still active in spite of their being no trace of her in ten years.
There have been numerous avenues down which the investigation has led, but no concrete arrests or convictions have been made.
One suspect, Sergey Malinka, has also announced the release of a ‘reveal all’ memoir of what he perceives to be a ‘flawed’ investigation.
The 32-year-old Russian computer expert was questioned by Portuguese police in 2007, after Maddie’s suspected abduction in Praia da Luz. He faced interrogation yet again in 2014, however on this occasion it was British police who were asking the questions.
Malinka was cleared of any involvement in the high profile disappearance of the three-year-old. He has claimed he was driven to the ‘edge of despair’ by the inquiry.
Speaking with the Sunday Express, Malinka has put forward his desire to set the record straight:
I have been driven to the point of dejection, being involved in a web of lies, betrayals and threats. The deceits of others have driven me to the edge of despair, sometimes to the point of no return, but time heals even the deepest wounds.
Now I am trying to rebuild my life from the wreckage left by this event. Ten years later I am about to become a father for the first time. My family is my life. I will no longer allow the lies of others to poison our future.
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Malinka has written the book – entitled Collateral Damage – with the assistance of Fireman Sam co-creator David S. Jones.
Jones has made the following comment on the book – which will be published during 2018 – to the Sunday Express:
He came to me and asked if I would work with him, co-author a book he wants to write to let people know the truth about what happened.
He wants his child to grow up not being named and blamed as the child of the Russian guy who was involved in the McCann saga.
However, this controversial book has already provoked outrage among some people, and the news of its release is expected to cause great upset for the McCann family.
A source close to the McCanns told The Sun:
Sergey was made an arguido, an official suspect, as others were but after being questioned and having his home searched and computers seized police were satisfied he had no involvement whatsoever and he was released.
So why is he now writing a book and trying to heap more misery on Kate and Gerry especially at Christmas time? It beggars belief and causes more distress for Madeleine’s parents.
In September of this year, detectives were handed an extra £154,000 to continue the investigation into Maddie’s disappearance, though it is not sure how much longer the investigation will continue.
