Kate and Gerry McCann cling to the belief that Madeleine is alive and was abducted after being targeted by organised criminals serving wealthy, infertile clients. It is the most palatable of all the theories for the desperate and guilt-ridden parents but, despite dozens of alleged sightings of couples with a blonde child, behaving oddly, in Malta, Marrakech and Belgium, there is still no evidence that she is living with a caring 'new family'.
Sol, a weekly magazine, said Kate and Gerry's witness statements contradicted what other members of their party had told police. Some reports have speculated that Madeleine was taken by someone with a grudge against the couple. Other local newspaper and television items made veiled suggestions that the couple were involved in a series of relationships that had left somebody wanting revenge on them.
Initially, the parents were severely criticised in the local press for leaving their three children, all under the age of four, alone in the holiday apartment.
Yesterday, they could barely contain their fury at the latest inuendoes that they might have something to do with the disappearance of their child.
But as they rail against the criticisms, they are only too aware that, three months days after they found their daughter's bed empty, they are still no nearer to knowing what happened that terrible night. (Daily Mail)
