Madeleine McCann’s parents still ‘living in limbo’ 17 years on from her disappearance

The McCanns thanked the public for ‘remembering Madeleine and all missing children’

Madeleine McCann vanished while on holiday with her family (PA Media)

Madeleine McCann’s family say they are still “living in limbo” as they mark 17 years since their little girl vanished.

Madeleine disappeared in 2007 while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after they left the then three-year-old and her younger twin siblings asleep in their apartment.

In a social media post to mark the painful anniversary, her parents wrote: “It’s 17 years since Madeleine was taken from us.

Gerry, left, and Kate McCann, hold up a poster of their four-year old Madeleine (AP)

“It’s hard to even say that number without shaking our heads in disbelief,” they said. “Whilst we are fortunate in many ways and able to live a relatively normal and enjoyable life now, the ‘living in limbo’ is still very unsettling. And the absence still aches.

“Your support continues to encourage us and bolsters our strength to keep going. We know the love and hope for Madeleine and the will to find her, even after so many years, remains, and we are truly thankful for that. Thank you again for remembering Madeleine and all missing children.”

Madeleine has not been seen in 17 years (PA Media)

It comes as the McCann family also prepare to mark her 21st birthday. The family is expected to attend an annual prayer gathering in the middle of their village Rothley, Leicestershire on Friday night.

This week it emerged that up to £192,000 has been granted by the Home Office for the Scotland Yard investigation into the case. The confirmation of the latest annual funding for Operation Grange was revealed in a parliamentary written answer by Home Office minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom.

He also said that as of March this year, the Metropolitan Police had spent £13.2 million investigating the high-profile case.

The prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance is currently on trial in Germany charged with unrelated sex offences, allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

The 47-year-old German, only known as Christian B because of the country’s strict privacy laws, spent many years in Portugal – including in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

He is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of an elderly woman at her home in the resort town in 2005. He had denied all the charges against him and any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.