Madeleine McCann's parents penned a heartfelt tribute to their missing daughter and the grief they still suffer everyday after her mysterious disappearance from their vacation apartment in Portugal.
On the 17th anniversary of her going missing, Kate and Gerry McCann revealed it was "hard to even say that number without shaking our heads in disbelief."
"It’s 17 years since Madeleine was taken from us," they wrote to their Find Madeleine website on Friday, March 3. "Whilst we are fortunate in many ways and able to live a relatively normal and enjoyable life now, the ‘living in limbo’ is still very unsettling. And the absence still aches."
"Your support continues to encourage us and bolsters our strength to keep going," the grieving couple continued. "We know the love and hope for Madeleine and the will to find her, even after so many years, remains, and we are truly thankful for that. Thank you again for remembering Madeleine and all missing children."
3-year-old Maddie vanished from her parents' room while on a family vacation in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. While many assume the little girl was kidnapped and murdered, 17 years later, the case remains unsolved.
However, the prime suspect — a German convicted rapist named Christian Brueckner — is already serving time behind bars for a separate crime. As OK! previously reported, a former friend of the s-- offender claimed he'd confessed to Maddie's abduction in a chillin letter written to him from prison.
"Manfred, Christian and I then started talking about Portugal. It was then Christian made a comment about the missing girl. Christian asked me if I was still going to Portugal, I replied; 'I'm no longer going to Portugal because there are too many problems there. Portugal has too many police for me on account of the missing child.' It is indeed strange that she disappeared without a trace.'"
"Christian replied: 'Yes, she did not scream,'" the friend alleged.
Christian denied the accusations and claimed there had been a falling out between them over a drug deal.
Despite the fact authorities do not yet have enough evidence to convict Christian of any crime related to Maddie's disappearance, his recent slew of sexual assault charges have reportedly sparked a flurry of new tips.
"It’s a massive boost for German detectives because their investigation had really hit a bit of a brick wall," a source dished in February. "So they are really pleased about this, and really hope this will give fresh impetus to the investigation into what happened to Madeleine."
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"They remain convinced Christian Brueckner was either involved in Maddie’s disappearance or knows about how Maddie vanished," the source continued. "Having his face on TV screens, and in newspapers across the world, has generated fresh calls, tip-offs and leads which they will look into and which they hope could prove vital."