Is Madeleine McCann still alive, what would she look like now and how old would she be?
MADELEINE McCann went missing over a decade ago while on a family holiday in Portugal.
As a new docu-series reexamines the details of her disappearance, here is what’s known about the case — and what Madeleine could look like now.
Is Madeleine McCann still alive?
Since disappearing on the evening of May 3 2007, no one has been able to find her or conclusively prove she is either dead or alive.
As of 2016, over 8,000 potential sightings have been recorded in 101 different countries and territories, but nearly all of them have been dropped as leads.
But now a new docu-series about her disappearance claims Madeleine is still alive and her case will be solved.
Jim Gamble, the top child protection cop in the UK’s first Maddie investigation, says: “I absolutely believe that in my lifetime we will find out what has happened to Madeleine McCann.
“There’s huge hope to be had with the advances in technology. Year on year DNA is getting better. Year on year other techniques, including facial recognition, are getting better.
“And as we use that technology to revisit and review that which we captured in the past, there’s every likelihood that something we already know will slip into position.”
The documentary also claims Madeleine is likely to have been kept alive by child traffickers because, as a middle-class British girl, she be more financially valuable.
How old would Madeleine McCann be now?
Madeleine McCann was born May 12, 2003, and went missing a little more than a week before her fourth birthday.
Since her disappearance from the Ocean Club apartment, a former top cop has warned that security at the resort where the little girl went missing is still an issue.
Authorities are also hopeful that social media could help find Maddie, using her distinctive eyes to examine photographs on Facebook.
Madeleine would now be 16 years old.
Kate, 50, previously said: “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.”
What age was Madeleine McCann when she disappeared?
Madeleine was three, nearly four, when she went missing from her family’s holiday flat in Portugal on May 3, 2007.
Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, had left her sleeping with her siblings while they had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant – only realising about 10pm that she was gone.
The couple have since devoted their lives to finding the little girl – now left with the little girl’s “Cuddle Cat” as one of the last reminders of Maddie.
More than £12million has been poured into the search for her since.
Searches have taken place in a few different countries as cops hope to find new evidence – most recently the search was taken to Bulgaria.
In January 2018 the body of Kevin Halligen was found at his Surrey home – he had taken on the high-profile case in March 2008, before his contract was terminated.
In November 2018, it emerged that police in Portugal were re-examining a theory that Madeleine left the apartment to find her parents.
It came as Scotland Yard told Kate and Jerry they are pursuing two vital new leads.
What would she look like now?
Police released an image of what Madeleine McCann would look like at the age of nine.
With her distinctive right eye, the image shows the young girl’s face aged about six years from previous photographs.
Kate still spends precious moments each day in Madeleine’s bedroom, where her dolls and teddies are on display, along with a growing number of presents.
The mum said she could never ignore Madeleine’s birthday and the family “still celebrates her being part of our lives”.
She also told how she jumps from seeing her eldest child as she was when she was kidnapped to envisaging her as she would be now.
Maddie had been due to attend De Lisle College in neighbouring Loughborough and the school is still holding a place for her.
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What have Maddie’s parents said about trolls?
Maddie’s family have begged people not to feed trolls online, instead urging people to let the vile commenters “starve for attention”.
Supporters of the McCann family slammed trolls who “feed on havoc and causing chaos” – saying anyone involved would be banned from the official Find Madeleine Campaign page.
In a note, the page stated: “Please don’t post your opinion on leaving children alone.
“Doing so will result in you being banned. No questions asked.”
The page clarified that banning was not done “on a whim”, but that the page was designed to support the family, and nothing else.
The post, written by the unnamed webmaster, added: “This is not a place for you to post your negative opinions about the McCann family.
“We are not a debate page nor a place to analyse the investigation.
“This is a support and information page for Madeleine’s family and the Official Find Madeleine Campaign (findmadeleine.com).”
The official page is not run by the McCanns, but has received their support.