KATE AND GERRY - WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP

Maddie McCann's parents: ''We won't apply for death certificate and still hold out hope 7 years on"

Apr 25, 2014 22:31 By Tracey Kandohla

Kate and Gerry McCann are so encouraged by Scotland Yard’s fresh leads that they will not seek for a Certificate of Presumed Death

Madeleine McCann’s parents have chosen not to apply for a death certificate – despite being entitled to one on the seventh anniversary of her disappearance next weekend.

Kate and Gerry McCann are so encouraged by Scotland Yard’s fresh leads into her disappearance that they will not seek for a Certificate of Presumed Death which applies after that period.

And they are so convinced Madeleine is still alive they are instead stepping up their efforts to find their daughter.

Her gran Susan Healy told the Mirror yesterday: “She could be found.”

And Kate herself has previously said: “Madeleine is still alive until someone proves otherwise.”

A person can legally be declared dead after seven years under British law despite the absence of direct proof of the victim’s death. But friends of the couple, from Rothley, Leics, said that was the “last thing on their minds” as they prepare for next Saturday’s grim milestone.

Their hopes of finding Madeleine, who would now be 10, have been boosted in recent months by the progress of a British police probe.

Scotland Yard detectives are believed to be poised for a breakthrough after their own three-year review that sparked a fresh investigation.

New evidence has come to light of a sex attack on a British girl of 10 in Praia da Luz two years before Madeleine disappeared there. It is one of five new Algarve assaults uncovered by senior British detectives.

Madeleine vanished from her parents’ holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort on May 03, 2007, just nine days short of her fourth birthday.

Despite no confirmed sightings of the youngster since that fateful night, Kate and Gerry cling to the hope she will be found alive.

Former GP Kate has said: “There is nothing to suggest Madeleine is not alive. We have to keep looking for her.

“We still have real hope. We all know cases of missing children, presumed dead and found alive years, sometimes decades, later.”

Kate has told how she had been “buoyed” by the efforts of Met Police and “relieved” the case had been reopened in Portugal.

Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said last night: “Kate and Gerry are fully aware of the declaration of death. They still believe Madeleine is alive and are not applying for a certificate presuming she is dead. That is the last thing on their minds.”

The Presumption of Death Act, due to be reformed in October following a campaign, is based on a seven-year rule.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “If after seven years a person is still missing and there has been no sight or contact with them, they are presumed dead.

“The family can then apply for a ­Certificate of Presumed Death from a court which allows them to help resolve that person’s affairs or simply to help give them some closure.

“This can be done without a body being found. No-one can prepare for the heartache and confusion which arises when a loved one disappears with no trace.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/maddie-mccanns-parents-we-wont-3459122#ixzz2zxdJewEJ

Re: Maddie McCann's parents:"We won't apply for death certificate" - The Mirror
Post Panda Today at 7:54 am

Thanks jinvta

Well the majority of views are much as we have been saying, except these are being read by millions of twitterers and most likely the McCanns have read them. They courted publicity from day 1 and lost no time in setting up the Fund but clamp down on anyone who publicly disputes their version is sued.!!

Quote from: carlymichelle on Today at 09:53:54 AM
the mcanns and mcann supporters have a fantasy that maddie is alive and well and unharmed we who dont deny the real world know if maddie is still alive she would not be alive and unharmed she would be a damaged child imo

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Quote from: jassi on April 26, 2014, 12:38:46 PM
Possibly some sort of institutionalised care.
Would obviously depend upon circumstances and time-scale, but one should not assume that finding Madeleine would necessarily lead to some rosy happy ever after situation.