Madeleine McCann's dad Gerry has given his first in-depth interview about the night his daughter disappeared
Gerry McCann broke down while giving an emotional interview about his daughter Maddie, after Scotland Yard applied for more funding to continue the hunt for her last week.
Describing the 'terror' of the night he discovered she had disappeared, Gerry said: "It was disbelief, then panic and terror. I could only think of one scenario at that time," before adding: "We couldn't get the darkest thoughts out of our minds, that somebody had taken her and abused her"
He continued: "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.'"
GALLERY: Madeleine McCann timeline
Madeleine McCann's Abduction: Everything You Need To Know
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British police now plan to test DNA samples found in the McCann's holiday apartment in 2007. The move comes less than a week after convicted pedophile Roderick McDonald, 76, was arrested in Malta. He was believed to be living in the Algarve at the same time as Maddy went missing.
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On the 100th day of Madeleine's disappearance, police acknowledged publicly for the first time that Madeleine could be dead. Kate McCann tells a UK women's magazine that she would rather know her daughter was dead, than live in limbo forever.
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In 2008 The Daily Express and the Daily Star made front-page apologies for publishing more than 100 articles on the disappearance of Madeleine, some of which suggested her parents were involved in her death. The papers were forced to pay £550,000 in damages, which went to the Find Madeleine campaign.
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In 2011, on the day of Maddy's 8th birthday, Kate McCann published a book, simply entitled Madeleine, giving her account, in her own words, of her daughter's disappearance.
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In the seven years since, an international appeal for help finding Maddy has brought numerous reported sightings, none of them confirmed.
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She was abducted from her bed in the ground floor apartment she was staying in, while her parents Kate and Gerry were eating in a nearby tapas restaurant, checking regularly on her and her younger twin siblings.
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The McCann's have spoken out about their 'terrible regret' at leaving the children alone on the night Madeleine disappeared. Gerry admitted: 'We made a mistake, but we are paying more for it than anyone could ever possibly imagine.'
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Madeleine McCann was just three when she disappeared while on holiday in the Algarve village of Praia Da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of May 3 2007.
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The bill for the British police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is set to top £10 million this year. Several men, including a Cape Verde immigrant and heroin addict who died in 2009, have been considered as suspects- but no one has been charged over the Maddy's disappearance.
Three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared while sleeping in an apartment during a family holiday in Portugal's Algarve region in 2017. Eleven years on, it is not known what happened to her.
Last year, Maddie's nanny spoke out for the first time about that night. She told the Mirror: "I walked into Kate crying, friends comforting her, Gerry looking under cars, and it just blew up.
"She was pacing up and down. The worst possible thing had just happened to her.
"She was crying, but almost in a catatonic state, and Gerry was very distressed. That’s the one thing I really remember from him, looking under the cars. I can’t forget that."
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Gerry also talked about the 'incredibly special' relationship he had with Maddie, saying: "I would often do the bedtime story with Madeleine too, she had stars above her bed and that was our time."