Maddie McCann’s parents hope ‘supportive’ Theresa May will reverse decision to end search
MADELEINE McCann’s parents hope Theresa May will keep alive the police search for their daughter.
Gerry and Kate hope Theresa May will reopen the search for their daughter who went missing in 2007
Kate and Gerry have found the new Prime Minister supportive in previous discussions and now hope she will back keeping the £12million hunt going.
When Home Secretary under previous PM David Cameron, Mrs May pushed resources towards the Metropolitan Police to allow the force to carry on searching for Madeleine.
Scotland Yard’s inquiry is due to be axed in the coming months but Madeleine’s doctor parents hope Mrs May – and her new Home Secretary Amber Rudd - will make a U-turn.
A source close to the family said: “Kate and Gerry know the inquiry has to end one day but it is possible more time could be granted by Mrs May.
“Theresa has met the couple in the past and has been very supportive.
“It would be a boost to Kate and Gerry for the inquiry to continue.
The couple are hoping to meet the new PM to put forward their case for extra taxpayer funding.
Madeleine was three when she vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz while her parents were dining with pals in a nearby tapas bar.
Madeleine went missing from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal
Gerry and Kate McCann have not given up hope in finding their daughter
Everybody wants to know if she is alive and if she is where is she
As Home Secretary Mrs May granted the Met an extra £95,000 to help keep the search for the youngster going until October – even though it failed to unearth any new clues.
Madeleine’s grandmother Sue Healy said at the time: “This is good news and we are very grateful for that.”
But Scotland Yard commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe later admitted that unless his officers unearth fresh evidence they will have to give up the search.
He recently warned the high profile search could end soon as police have just one final lead left to follow.
Gerry and Kate McCann have continued to search for any new leads on their missing daughter
Mr Hogan-Howe said: “There is a line of inquiry that remains to be concluded and it’s expected in the coming months that will happen.
“There’s been a lot of investigation time spent on this terrible case.
“Everybody wants to know if she is alive and if she is where is she, and sadly if she’s dead then we need to give some comfort to the family.”
The investigation has been scaled back from over 30 officers to just three.
Madeleine McCann sightings
But Mrs May has said previously: “We all want to see this beautiful little girl returned to her parents.
“That’s why we have been doing everything we can behind the scenes.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman declined to discuss the “ongoing investigation to discover what happened to Madeleine McCann”.