There’s a new Madeleine McCann documentary coming to Netflix. You can find out everything you need to know about it right here.
Madeleine McCann’s mysterious disappearance has barely left headlines for over a decade.
The world has remained hooked by the story of the wide-eyed little girl who vanished without a trace from a Portuguese hotel room in 2007.
But now, in light of the announcement that another load of funding will be allocated to the ongoing investigation, Twitter users have expressed outrage that one missing children’s case has seemingly held priority for the UK government amid countless under-funded issues plaguing the country.
The last time Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann saw their three-year-old daughter was in a hotel room while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz, just before they went out for dinner with friends nearby.
There has never been a credible sighting of Madeleine since.
Police have explored numerous theories about her disappearance, including that Madeleine was abducted, wandered away from her room alone, or died in the apartment.
In the years since the tragedy, the McCann family has never lost hope that their daughter, who would have turned 15 in May, is still alive.
Nor has the UK Home Office, which has dedicated £11.75 million (approx $21 million) to the investigation - dubbed Operation Grange, to date.
The 'mystery witness' in the Madeleine McCann case. Post continues after video...
Now, it has been announced the Home Office will pour an extra £150,000 (approx $270,000) into the investigation fund which ran out at the end of September.
A Home Office spokesperson told Sky News the money would go towards continuing inquiries.
"We have confirmed that Special Grant funding of £150,000 will be provided to the Metropolitan Police Service for the six-month period to 31 March 2019," the spokesperson said.
But while Madeleine's case has baffled the world and tugged on heartstrings - her photo splashed across international headlines for 11 years since the story broke, there has been uproar in light of this latest development.
Social media users have criticised the use of the money, which comes from special grant funding available to police forces when they face exceptional costs.
Many have flagged social issues including homelessness, healthcare and education, as well as the aftermath of the Grenfell Towers tragedy, as more deserving:
Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, have been vocal public advocates in the search for their daughter, using social media and television appearances to plead for support in their mission.
Just last month, Gerry McCann gave a rare and heart-wrenching interview discussing the pain immediately after she went missing.
“We started searching more widely really quickly and then very quickly raised the alarm,” he said in an interview with BBC Radio 4.
“You’re in this quiet little holiday resort — that seemed idyllic — out of season and I certainly didn’t speak Portuguese so I asked (our friend) Matt to go to reception and ask them to call the police,” he added.
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Gerry McCann revealed that as they searched for her he couldn’t help but dread the worst.
“I couldn’t get the darkest thoughts out of our minds, that somebody had taken her and abused her,” he said in the interview.
“I felt that every moment that we couldn’t find her was worse.
“I remember being slumped on the floor and starting to call some of my family members and just saying, ‘Pray for her’,” he added.
Last year, Kate McCann penned an emotional letter for the Telegraph, in which she revealed she still buys Christmas presents for her little girl.
“The presents I buy for her usually have to jump out at me,” McCann wrote. “She would be a teenager now so I always try and pick something that would be suitable and enjoyable for her no matter what age she is when she gets to open them.
“In my head I guess I just want everything for be right for her when she comes back home. The loft is filled with the presents I have bought for Madeleine and her wardrobe, too.”
The McCann's have two other children - 13-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.
Top Comments
I'm from England and everyone I've spoken to about this case all agree that the case should be closed. There have been no credible sightings or evidence, such as clothing to suggest that she was taken. There was credible evidence, such as DNA markers, blood and dead corpse odour, found by two British owned, never failed in 200 cases, police dogs. The body language of the parents, inconsistent statements by the whole holiday group and the surity of the McCann's that she was abducted in a resort where a foreign child was never abducted, and never has in the 11 years since. If I had left my three under 4 year olds to go out on the razz and then found one of them gone, a kidnap would not be the first thing on my mind, as Kate shouted the bastards have taken her. I would shout, she's missing or she's not there, she's gone or missing. It's now cost us 11.75 million pounds for one case that happened in 2007. How do the other parents of missing children feel?
People's frustration seems reasonable. Even excluding the people yet to be rehoused from the Grenfell fire (you know, the one 17 months ago), the organisation Missing Kids UK have the number of children and under 18's reported to police as missing each year is 306,000. It does seem like one missing kid's case has been given priority over the others for whatever reason.