Daily Mirror'Sometimes we just feel like giving up,' say McCannsBy Martin Fricker And Ron Moore 28/04/2008
Kate McCann (Pic:DM)
Shattered Kate McCann has admitted she sometimes feels like giving up the desperate search for her missing daughter Madeleine.
The heartbroken GP says the year-long hunt for the four-year-old has left her and husband Gerry on the brink of exhaustion.
Numerous "sightings" of the blonde toddler have turned out to be false alarms. The couple have also had to cope with being made arguidos - formal suspects in the case. They have even received death threats.
Publicly GP Kate and Gerry continue to insist Madeleine is still alive and will one day be returned to them. But privately they are racked by doubts. Kate, 40, said: "You have days when you're so down and desperate and tired, you think you've got to switch off.
"I think, okay, we've tried really hard and we've come up with nothing and now we need to make the best of what we've got.
"But we're never going to hit that day. It doesn't matter how small the possibility is of Madeleine being found alive, the possibility is still there."
She revealed their two younger children, three-year-old twins Sean and Amelie still miss their big sister.
They make pretend calls to her on a toy phone and search the house to see if they can find her.
Kate and Gerry believe it would not be right to hide the truth from them.
She said: "If they talk about her they will be told that Madeleine's not here and everyone's looking for her. It's not brushed under the carpet.
"Sometimes Sean and Amelie try to ring her on their toy phones, then go off to find her."
Members of the McCann family will return to Praia da Luz in Portugal later this week to mark Saturday's anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.
Gerry's brother John, 48, his sister Patricia and her partner Sandy hope to give the search new impetus.
Kate and Gerry asked them to go on their behalf to join with Portuguese villagers for a special service.
Kate and Gerry will mark the occasion privately at their home in Rothley, Leics.
Madeleine's gran, Eileen McCann, said last night: "Kate is trying to keep life normal for the twins, but they are just not a family unit without Madeleine."
Meanwhile it emerged yesterday that the McCanns are to write a book about their ordeal - with all proceeds going to the Find Madeleine Fund.
