MISSING MADDIE
WHEN Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007, one of the biggest missing person hunts in modern history was launched.
The daughter of Kate and Gerry McCann vanished when she was just three years old and has never been found - though her family has vowed they are "never going to give up" the search for her.
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What age was Madeleine McCann when she disappeared?
Madeleine was three years old when she went missing from her family's holiday flat in Portugal in 2007.
Her parents had left her sleeping with her siblings while they had dinner at a nearby restaurant and realised at about 10pm that she was gone.
The couple have since devoted their lives to finding the little girl.
Extensive searches for Madeleine have been carried out by both UK and Portuguese police and more than £13 million has been poured into the investigation into her disappearance.
How old would Madeleine McCann be now?
As of April 2024 Madeleine McCann would be 20-years-old.
She was born May 12, 2003, and went missing just nine days before her fourth birthday. Madeleine's parents regularly give updates on the website FindMadeleine.com about the latest in the search for their daughter.
They gave an update on Madeleine's 20th birthday on May 12, 2023.
The message read: "Happy birthday Madeleine! We love you and we're waiting for you. "We're never going to give up."
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The couple, who also share twins Sean and Amelie, posted a photo of Madeleine that was taken on the Portugal holiday Madeleine vanished from alongside the birthday message.
They captioned the picture: "She's still missing, still missed and we are never going to give up trying to find her."
Major update in Madeleine McCann search as cops find a ‘number of items’ at Algarve dam that may be connected to case
Could Madeleine McCann still be alive?
No conclusive proof has been found that Madeleine is either dead or alive despite the huge investigations into her whereabouts.
Police launched a new search for her body in May 2023 - the first major operation of its kind in nine years.
German cops had named Christian Brueckner as the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance in 2022 and began searching a remote Algarve reservoir he is believed to have visited the following year.
The area is approximately a 45-minute drive from the Ocean Club holiday resort of Praia da Luz where Madeleine disappeared from.
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Brueckner is serving a prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in 2005 and is believed to have a total of 17 convictions against him, including burglary.
The German-born predator appeared in court in February 2024 as he faced claims that he raped three women and twice sexually molested children in Portugal - the trial continues.
Brueckner has denied any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance and it is not known what police uncovered during their search of the Algarve reservoir.
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What would Madeleine McCann look like now?
It is impossible to know exactly how Madeleine would look in 2024.
However, over the years since she vanished the police have released artist impressions of how she might look now.
The last one they did was in 2012 and it was to show what she might have looked like aged 9.
Forensic artist Teri Blythe was asked by Scotland Yard to create the picture.
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Teri had access to a range of photos and her family.
She told CBC at the time: "For a child especially, it’s not only superficial things that are changing, but obviously the skull is still growing and the teeth are changing — that kind of things.
"Using reference photos against parents will at least give us an indication of the right proportion of the face."
A spokesman for the McCann's said at the time:"Kate sees Madeleine in the image, and also sees Madeleine’s siblings Sean and Amelie and herself in it.”
Key dates in Madeleine McCann's disappearance
MADELEINE McCann vanished on May 3, 2007 - and cops believe Brueckner could have been behind her disappearance.
Almost 17 years on, no one has been charged in connection. These are the key dates:
May 3, 2007 - Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10pm
May 14, 2007 - Property developer Robert Murat is named an "arguido" or formal suspect
August 31, 2007 - The McCanns launch libel action against Tal e Qual - a newspaper that claimed the couple killed Madeleine
September 7, 2007 - Kate and Gerry McCann are made "arguidos"
September 9, 2007- Madeleine's parents return to England with their two-year-old twins
October 2, 2007- Lead detective Goncalo Amaral is taken off the case after criticising British police in a newspaper interview
July 21, 2009 - Portuguese police lift the "arguido" status of both Robert Murat and the McCanns
May 12, 2011 - On Madeleine's eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches a review into the case
April 25, 2012 - Scotland Yard officers say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive
July 4, 2013 - Two years into a review of the case, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation into Madeleine's disappearance
October 24, 2013- Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of inquiry are found
November 27, 2013 - Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for British and Portuguese police to work together
October 28, 2015 - Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine's disappearance
March 11, 2017 - The Home Office grants Operation Grange an extra £85,000 to continue from April until September
September 28, 2017 - British police are granted £154,000 to keep the probe going until March 2018
November 2017 - Cops moved the search to Bulgaria
May 2018 - Another round of funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
September 2018 - An extra six months of funding is requested from the Home Office
November 2018 - More funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
November 2018 - UK police re-examine a theory Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents
June 2019 - Another round of funding, believed to be £300,000 of government cash is granted
June 2019 - Portuguese police are probing a “new clue and suspect” after talks with British officers
June 2020 - New prime suspect revealed as a German paedo Christian Brueckner
April 2022 - Brueckner formally made an "arguido"
May 2023 - Police search remote Algarve reservoir Brueckner called his "little paradise"