The parents of Madeleine McCann last night released a touching last video of
their four-year-old daughter.
Kate and Gerry McCann at the unveiling of the giant poster of Madeleine
yesterday
The images, which show the little girl full of excitement as she boarded the
flight to Portugal exactly a month ago, are stored on the mobile phone of Kate
McCann. They are the last moving pictures of her daughter and she is said to
watch them regularly.
It is 26 days since Madeleine went missing from her family's apartment in the Algarve resort
of Praia da Luz. The global campaign to find her, led by Mr and Mrs McCann and
supported by well-wishers, gathered pace yesterday.
The parents oversaw the unveiling at the resort of an 800 sq ft inflatable
billboard with Madeleine's face on it.
The poster was created by Chris Lennox and Les Harley, who drove to the Algarve from Glasgow. They plan to show it throughout Europe to raise the profile of the case.
Mr McCann said the billboard was "brilliant". "Some people are
going to extraordinary lengths to help us," he added. "We would like
to thank the thousands, if not millions of people who are helping from the
bottom of our hearts."
The video clip released last night had been captured on the mobile phone of a
friend.
It shows Madeleine clambering up the aircraft steps, clasping her pink Barbie
rucksack. In her excitement she slips, grazing her shin.
But Mr McCann said she was so thrilled about going to Portugal she
refused to get upset. "She was really brave. She started crying but
stopped almost immediately," he said.
"When we got to the top of the steps I saw she had grazed her shin. It
looked really sore - the step was just the right height for her leg. It was
something that usually would have caused 10 minutes of crying rather than 10
seconds."
The McCanns will fly to Rome
tonight and are expected to meet Pope Benedict on Wednesday. The visit is
designed to offer them support and raise awareness of their daughter's plight.
Mrs McCann is a devout Catholic.
A second trip is planned to Madrid, where they
may meet David Beckham to thank him for making an appeal in Spain.
They have also been approached by American chat show hosts Larry King and Oprah
Winfrey but are anxious not to be seen as a celebrity couple, a spokesman said.
Police in Portugal
are focusing on a local marina.
Detectives have been checking records at Lagos
marina - three miles from Praia da Luz. The manager of the port, Ingrid
Fortunato, said police had been in regular contact and had questioned four
yacht owners, three of them British.
Police are particularly interested in any vessels bound for north Africa. A
potential sighting of Madeleine in Marrakech,
Morocco, is
still a "strong lead", source said.
There were local reports last night that police were on the trail of an English
"sailor" who lives on a yacht in Lagos. It was said "suspicious
references" were found about him on the computer of Robert Murat, the
formal suspect on the case. He denies having anything to do with the
disappearance.
The Simple Minds song Don’t You Forget About Me may be re-released in the
campaign to find Madeleine, it emerged last night. The 1985 hit has been used
on a video appeal and has proved an internet phenomenon. A McCann family
spokesman said a new video appeal would feature the Bryan Adams hit Everything
I do, I Do It For You.
Video: Heart-breaking final footage of Madeleine McCann |
