Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared in Portugal. Photo / Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook
Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared in Portugal. Photo / Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook
They are set to spend their ninth Christmas without their daughter since she disappeared in Portugal in 2007.
Now Kate and Gerry McCann have released a moving list of the things they miss about Madeleine as part of a campaign for the charity Missing People alongside 11 otherfamilies.
The couple paid tribute to their little girl's "eyes, smile, laughter, dimples, sense of humour, smartness and singing".
They also describes how they missed styling her hair, chasing her round the garden, sharing her excitement in the run up to Christmas, spoiling her on her birthday and their "complete family of five".
Kate and Gerry McCann hold an age-progressed police image of Madeleine. Photo / Getty Images
The couple also described how they miss holding Madeleine, hugging her and kissing the top of her head.
Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared from a holiday apartment in the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia de Luz.
Her parents were eating dinner with friends 50 metres away and raised the alarm when Kate McCann went back to check on Madeleine and her twin sister and brother Sean and Amelie and realised she was missing.
Since then lines of inquiry have been explored including the theory that Madeleine was abducted by a paedophile, killed during a bungled burglary or that she wandered out of the apartment and was accidentally killed.
The Metropolitan Police was tasked with investigating the disappearance after her family made a personal plea to David Cameron in 2011.
Yet despite dozens of trips by officers to the Algarve, the inquiry - codenamed Operation Grange - has not led to any arrests and her disappearance remains a mystery.
The McCanns were one of 12 families that took part in the initiative, with photos displayed as part of the charity Missing People's Home for Christmas exhibition in London.
The exhibition formed part of the charity's annual Home for Christmas Appeal which aims to raise £20,000 (NZ$45,000) this year.
It aimed to raises awareness of the issue of missing in the build up to Christmas - a time of togetherness which many families describe as being the most painful.
Maddi's parents have paid tribute to their little girl's "eyes, smile, laughter, dimples, sense of humour, smartness and singing". Photo / Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook
Kate and Gerry McCann list 22 things they miss about Maddie:
• Her smile • Her laughter • Her eyes • Her dimples • Her sense of humour • Her smartness • Her imitations of people and characters • Her voice, her 'chat' • Her company • That knowing look • Her singing • Styling her hair • Chasing her round the garden • Sharing her excitement in the run up to Christmas • Sharing anything • Spoiling on her birthday • Going to a cafe with her • Holding her, hugging her, kissing the top of her head • Lying next to her • Our complete family of five • Everything • We miss her
