Speaking ahead of the fifth anniversary of Madeleine McCanna’s disappearance, her parents Kate and Gerry McCann said Scotland Yard’s review of the case has given them hope and they believe that the Portuguese authorities will reopen the investigation.

Madeleine McCann disappeared on the evening of 3 May 2023 from a holiday apartment on the Algarve, just few days before her fourth birthday. The Portuguese criminal investigation police initially investigated the case assuming that the child was abducted. The official investigation into the Madeleine’s disappearance case concluded in July 2008, but private investigations continued.

In May 2010, Operation Grange, a review by Scotland Yard investigators, was set up after David Cameron responded to a plea from the McCann family. As of now, police officers have identified 195 potential new leads after analysing 40,000 pieces of information.

“I think it’s fairly clear that the case will have to be reopened for [investigation opportunities] to be pursued adequately. We were not expecting a knee-jerk reaction by any means. This is an ongoing dialogue, and I am sure the investigation will get opened again in due course. I have no doubt about that. It will get reopened,” said Gerry McCann.

However, the Portuguese attorney-general’s office has confirmed that the case will remain closed until some believable new facts come up. Hopeful McCanns on Wednesday made fresh appeal for information or clues regarding Madeleine’s case using a press conference.

“Comparing to this time last year, at that point we didn’t have the review in place, and now we do. Such progress has been made that has definitely given us a lift and makes things more hopeful”, said the mother of missing Madeleine.

Kate also revealed that her seven-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie, are getting more determined to join the search for the missing girl, adding that she doesn’t want her twins to go through the same pain that she and her husband have gone through.