Seven years since Madeleine McCann disappeared

Madeleine McCann's parents are opening up about what they'll miss most about their daughter this Christmas season. U.K's Express reports that the couple posed for a new picture for the charity, Missing People's Home for Christmas Exhibition. They'e among 12 photos of families who're missing loved ones. Kate and Gerry McCann's daughter disappeared more than 8-and-a-half years ago while they were vacationing in Portugal. She was in a hotel room while they were in a nearby restaurant.



The charity's spokesman said: "These powerful images depict these families standing by their front door, symbolizing the hopes and fears experienced by those who are desperately searching and waiting for news." Madeleine McCann went missing when she was 3-years-old. She'd be around 12 now. Kate and Gerry revealed 22 things they miss about their daughter. Among them were:"her smile, her laughter, her eyes, her dimples, her sense of humor, her smartness, her imitations of people and characters, her voice, her 'chat', her company, that knowing look, her singing."

The mystery of what happened to Madeleine McCann is slipping unsolved into its ninth year. Investigations seem set to continue at high cost but dubious worth. The british Metropolitan Police Service investigation codenamed Operation Grange has so far cost £10.5 million (the official figure), but has it come up with any substantive evidence to show what happened to Madeleine? The Met is not saying.



“We have not given a running commentary on the investigation, have not discussed ongoing lines of the investigation and the enquiry has not reached a conclusion,” a spokesperson reiterated at the weekend, adding that “there are still focused lines of investigation to be pursued.” In a Christmas message expressing “new energy, new opportunities and new hope,” Kate and Gerry McCann thanked the Met for the “progress” made over the year, but they are reportedly poised to use the £750,000 left in their Find Madeleine fund to hire a new team of private detectives when the Operation Grange investigation ends.



The Met disclosed in October it was scaling down the Operation Grange team from 29 full-time officers to just four. In its early review work starting in 2011, they collated more than 40,000 documents from UK and foreign law enforcement agencies as well as various private investigation companies.



Some of this had to be translated into English, facts had to be cross-referred and diligently analyzed in the search for new lines of inquiry before the review was turned into a full-scale investigation in mid-2012. Since then the Operation Grange team say they have raised 7,154 actions and identified 560 lines of enquiry, taken 1,338 statements and collected 1,027 exhibits. More than 30 international requests have been sent to various countries asking for work to be undertaken on behalf of the Met.



The Met’s Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley has stated that every possible measure is being taken to find out what happened to Madeleine. “We still have very definite lines to pursue which is why we are keeping a dedicated team of officers working on the case. “The Portuguese police remain the lead investigators and our team will continue to support their inquiry. They have extended every courtesy to Operation Grange and we maintain a close working relationship. I know they remain fully committed to investigating Madeleine’s disappearance with support from the Metropolitan Police.”