Madeleine McCann's parents still keep hope alive with heart-wrenching tradition

Madeleine McCann's heartbroken parents, Kate and Gerry, continue to mark their little girl's birthday every year as they hold out hope she will one day return home

Heartbroken parents Kate and Gerry McCann last saw their beloved daughter Madeleine 17 years ago.

The three-year-old tot went missing during a family holiday in Portugal in May 2007, while her mum and dad were out for dinner at a nearby restaurant. The couple returned to the holiday let to find that their little girl had vanished. To this day, they don't know what happened to her.

They have since campaigned to find Madeleine, who would now be 20, and the Metropolitan Police has spent more than £13million to date on her investigation, dubbed Operation Grange. In a fresh blow this week, the prime suspect in her disappearance was cleared of sex attack charges unrelated to Maddie's case.

Convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner was accused of raping women and exposing himself to children in the Algarve but he was sensationally cleared after a lengthy trial.

Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for raping a pensioner in Portugal in 2005 - and now he could be walking free again in just another year. Police working on Maddie's disappearance have said the "clock is ticking" to bring charges against their suspect before he is released. He denies any involvement.

Meanwhile, the McCann family continue to grieve the loss of their young girl and mum Kate still makes sure to mark her birthdays and Christmas. In 2017, on the tenth anniversary of her abduction, Kate shared how she still buys presents for her missing daughter. She shared: "I do all the present buying. I think about what age she is and buy something that, whenever we find her, will still be appropriate so there's a lot of thought goes into it." The heartbroken mother also described Madeleine's birthday as a "difficult time" because that's when she really feels her absence.

In her book, Kate detailed how the family hold sweet birthday tea parties and fill her room with gifts, as they continue to hold out hope for her return. She wrote: "Monday, May 12, 2008, was Madeleine's fifth birthday. As we've continued to do since, we had a tea party at home, with balloons cake, cards, and presents.

"The presents go into Madeleine's room to await her return. Her pink bedroom remains exactly as it was when she left it but it's a lot busier now. There are gifts people have sent – from teddy bears to rosary beads – and photographs and pictures Sean and Amelie have drawn for her pinned on the walls."

She added: "She also has a keepsake box in which the twins leave little things for her: the last sweet in their packet, a new drawing, sometimes just a leaf that has taken their fancy. Everyone sits in there from time to time to feel close to her. The children sometimes borrow toys to play with for a while but they always return them for Madeleine."