![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Madeleine-McCann-missing.jpg\")
(Image: PA)<\/p>\nMadeleine has not been seen since she vanished during a family holiday in Portugal at just three years old(Image: PA)<\/p>\n
The parents of Madeleine McCann<\/a> have posted a New Year update as they express their hope for a breakthrough in their search for their missing daughter this year, the Mirror<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n Madeleine vanished during a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal<\/a>, in May 2007 and has not been seen since. She was just three years old at the time of her disappearance, which continues to make international headlines almost two decades on.<\/p>\n The British toddler disappeared from a rented apartment while her parents were having dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant, sparking a major search operation that has spanned nearly 20 years across multiple countries.<\/p>\n There have been thousands of leads in the case but to this day, Madeleine’s whereabouts remain unknown.<\/p>\n The latest prime suspect in the case, German national Christian Brueckner<\/a> has piqued the interest of investigators but he has yet to receive any charges in relation to Madeleine’s disappearance.<\/p>\n Madeleine’s parents, Gerry<\/a> and Kate McCann<\/a>, have now shared an emotional statement expressing hope that 2026 will bring “the breakthrough we long for”.<\/p>\n Writing on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page<\/a>, the couple said: “As 2025 draws to a close, we wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us, in whatever way, over the past year & for continuing to hope for positive news of Madeleine.”<\/p>\n The couple said they had joined with charity Missing People in supporting Safecall – which gives free and confidential support to young people at risk from criminal or sexual exploitation – or those who have left or are thinking of leaving home or their place of care.<\/p>\n The McCanns thanked the public and police for their support throughout the investigation, and ended their message with: “With our best wishes for a peaceful & positive new year & may 2026 bring us the breakthrough we long for. Kate, Gerry & family.”<\/p>\n Last summer saw the most recent search for missing Madeleine get under way<\/a> as German and Portuguese investigators worked together in operations around rural areas linked to the police probe but despite a number of days of digging, the searches did not come up with any significant leads.<\/p>\n Brueckner, a convicted sex offender, had been serving a seven-year sentence in Germany for an unrelated sex crime<\/a> when he was named as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.<\/p>\n He was released in September last year. State prosecutors said the 49-year-old would have to wear an electronic ankle tag so that his movements could be tracked.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Irish woman who alleges she was raped by the suspect in the Madeleine McCann<\/a> case says she was “shocked” to learn that he\u2019s now free to leave Germany.<\/p>\n In an exclusive interview with The Irish Mirror<\/a>, Mullingar native Hazel Behan<\/a>, who is awaiting an appeal of a German court\u2019s decision not to convict Brueckner of her rape<\/a>, says the decision to allow him to be able to travel was “like a kick in the gut.”<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_Madeleine-McCann-anniversary.jpg\")
Madeleine McCann. (Image: PA)<\/p>\n![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_PHP_Brueckner_Harris_04.jpg\")
Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner.(Image: Phil Harris)<\/p>\n