With thanks to
roisinMADELEINE McCANN: Missing girl's parents go back to resortThe Observer
13 December 2009
The mother of Madeleine McCann said yesterday that she felt closer to her missing daughter as she returned to Praia da Luz for the first time since she was named as a prime suspect by police investigating the little girl's disappearance at the Portugese holiday resort.
Kate McCann, who was cleared of any suspicion last year, travelled back with husband Gerry after there was a delay in the libel trial in Lisbon of a Portuguese police officer who published a book claiming Madeleine was dead.
Writing on the Find Madeleine website, Kate McCann said she had longed to return for two years for "personal and emotional reasons". She added: "Although our pain feels much rawer here, it is comforting at the same time since we feel closer to Madeleine."
The McCanns said they were not disappointed by the trial delay because an injunction on further sale or publication of the book remained in place.
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.
