13th Christmas since her disappearance, Madeleine McCann's parents vow to continue search

Three-year-old Madeleine McCann has been missing since 2007. Parents Gerry and Kate McCann share the message that they will not stop their search for their missing child. The family is forced to spend their 13<sup>th Christmas in the absence of their daughter. While trying to keep the festive season merry for Madeleine's younger siblings, her parents share the pain of not having their oldest child with them.

In 2007, Kate and Gerry had left their three children in an apartment in Portugal while they stepped out for a meal. The family was holidaying at Praia da Luz in the month of May. The parents had left three-year-old Madeleine and younger twins Sean and Amelie sleeping in the apartment. After having a quick meal with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant, the parents returned to the horrible reality that their eldest child was missing.

Years after Madeleine's disappearance, the Portuguese police have failed to find any evidence of the child's fate. Eventually, the Scotland Yard launched Operation Grange in the hopes of finding the child. The investigation has cost around £11.75m.

The search for Madeleine has been funded by the Home Office. The Home Office promised Madeleine's family that the investigation will be funded by the department until March 2020. After the funding from the Home Office stops, Madeleine's family will have to figure out other ways of funding the investigation.

Kate and Gerry have not lost hopes of finding their daughter who would be 16 by now. At the same time, the family tries their best to keep the holiday spirits up for Madeleine's twin siblings who have turned 14 this year.

On the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page, a pre-Christmas post assured the family's well-wishers that the family has not given up the hope of finding Madeleine.

The Daily Mail pointed out that a Catholic church close to their home is annually visited by the family for the Christmas service during which prayers are said for the missing girl. Beside the village war memorial, a candle burns constantly in memory of Madeleine.