A day they will never forget

Each night, after putting their children to sleep, the adults would all meet at the tapas restaurant in the hotel around 8:30 p.m. for dinner and drinks. Throughout each evening, one adult per couple would go check on their children, making sure that they were still sound asleep in their respective apartments. On that balmy night of May 3, 2007, six nights after they had arrived at their dream destination, a parents’ worst nightmare became a reality.

Gone missing

Madeleine McCann was found missing from their apartment at approximately 10 p.m. that evening. It had been Kate’s turn to check on the children, and upon her return to their home away from home, she found that her precious little girl was nowhere to be found. Not only was the front door of their apartment completely left wide open, the window that they had made sure to firmly lock as they left that evening, was broadly agape as well. The distraught Kate returned to the restaurant in a panic shouting, “Madeleine’s gone! Someone’s taken her!”