“IT WAS MY FAULT,” Madeleine McCann’s brother says in tears as he reveals ha:unting moments from the day she disappeared — the secret hidden for 18 years has finally been EXP0SED

Gerry and Kate McCann marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance by remembering her as a ‘very beautiful and unique person’ ahead of what would be her 22nd birthday (Picture: AFP via Getty)

Madeleine McCann’s parents vow to ‘leave no stone unturned’ is ‘unwavering’ as new searches for the missing toddler began this week.

She was three when she vanished while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. Her parents, Kate and Gerry, marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance last month.

There has been no positive sighting of her since, with the trail remaining as cold now as it was nearly two decades ago.

New searches have begun in Praia da Luz and a 26-mile stretch of scrubland between the resort and the Foral where German suspect Christian Brueckner lived in 2003.

The new searches for Madeleine, who would have celebrated her 22nd birthday last month, were requested by German police.

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They face a race against time to charge Brueckner before he is released from prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.

Madeleine McCann (centre) with twins Sean and Amelie (Picture: BBC)
In their most tribute to Madeleine, who would also be turning 22 this month, Kate and Gerry McCann said: ‘No matter how near or far she is, she continues to be right here with us, every day, but especially on her special day.

‘We continue to “celebrate” her as the very beautiful and unique person she is. We miss her.’

But Madeleine isn’t Kate and Gerry’s only child – she also has twin younger siblings, Amelie and Sean, who were born in 2005.

What are Madeleine McCann’s twin siblings doing now?

A family friend said of twins Amelie and Sean: ‘They’ve always been in Madeleine’s shadow, and just been the McCann twins.

‘But now they are young adults, they are carving out their own lives.’

Amelie McCann pictured two years ago at a vigil for her sister (Picture: Terry-Harris.com/SplashNews.com)
Today, both are studying at different universities.

Amelie, who studies at Durham University is described as popular and outgoing and has competed in triathlons in the past.

Speaking for the first time about her sister’s disappearance at a vigil two years ago, she commented: ‘It’s nice that everyone is here together, but it’s a sad occasion.’

Meanwhile, Sean studies chemical engineering at the University of Loughborough and is a champion freestyle swimmer

He’s been tipped to represent Scotland at next year’s Commonwealth Games – and could even compete for Team GB at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Previously, Sean represented Scotland at the 2023 Youth Commonwealth Games, taking part in the 400 and 1500m Freestyle finals, and is part of the country’s National Open Water Development Squad for open water swimming.

Sean McCann competing in the Youth Commonwealth Games in 2023 (Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images for Commonwealth Sport)
Sean explained how he first started swimming competitively in a post on a local website after winning a grant to fund his training.

He said: ‘At the age of 10, I was selected to swim at City of Leicester, and I have since gone on to win multiple county titles, as well as becoming regional and national champion in my age group.

‘In order to have achieved this, I have had to remain extremely dedicated, getting up at 4am multiple mornings each week to train.’

Their parents have said the twins are grateful to be able to ‘live a relatively normal and enjoyable life now’, despite the continued heartbreak over their missing big sister.

More recently, Kate said: ‘They have their own friends and they keep busy and they’re really sporty but their only wish is for their big sister to come home.’

Who are Madeleine McCann’s parents?

Kate and Gerry McCann have never stopped searching for their daughter (Picture: PA)
Kate had been a GP but left her job when Maddie vanished. She returned to the healthcare sector during the pandemic.

She now works with people with dementia and is an ambassador for the charity Missing People.

In their recent statement, the couple thanked the charity and other organisations ‘who remain committed, despite many challenges and limited resources, to finding and bringing home the many missing and abducted children’.

Gerry McCann is a research lead and professor of cardiac imaging at the University of Leicester, whose ‘life-changing work’ has been praised by colleagues.

They still live in the same redbrick detached house in Rothley, Leicestershire, where they resided when the toddler disappeared.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, family friend Michelle Canilleri said: ‘I have seen this family’s grief from the very beginning to now.
Family games
‘Our hearts go out to them, and the village as a whole hopes they get the answers they so desperately need.’

Madeleine McCann was three when she vanished while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007 (Picture: PA)
But as well as deep sympathy, the couple have also been on the receiving end of personal attacks and further anguish.

Two women are accused of stalking the McCann family, including turning up at their home.

Polish national Julia Wandel is due to stand trial in October this year accused of causing serious alarm or distress to the family between June 2022 and February 2025.

Wandel made global headlines in 2023 after claiming to be Madeleine and has continued to speak out on social media despite those claims being rubbished by a DNA test.

She is said to have made calls, left voicemails, and sent a letter and WhatsApp messages to Kate and Gerry, as well as sending their other children, Sean and Amelie, Instagram messages.

Karen Spragg has also denied stalking, allegedly by making calls, sending letters and attending the McCann’s home.

Timeline of events since Madeleine’s disappearance

May 3, 2007: Kate and Gerry McCann leave their children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while they dine with friends. They check on their children three times throughout the night, and, at 10pm, they find her missing
May 14, 2007: Police take property developer Robert Murat in for questioning and make him a formal suspect – this is later withdrawn.
August 11, 2007: 100 days after her disappearance, detectives acknowledge that she could be dead.
September 7, 2007: Maddie’s parents become formal suspects in their daughter’s disappearance.
September 9, 2007: The McCanns return to England with their two-year-old twins.

July 21, 2008: Portuguese authorities shelve the investigation and remove the McCanns and Murat as suspects.

May 12, 2011: Kate McCann publishes a book about her daughter’s disappearance on her eighth birthday

April 25, 2012: Scotland Yard detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive and release a picture of how she may look as a nine-year-old. They ask Portuguese police to reopen the case, but they say they have found no new information.

July 4, 2013: Scotland Yard confirms it has launched its own investigation and says it has identified 38 people of interest, including 12 Britons.
October 24, 2013: Portuguese police decide to reopen the case

January 29, 2014: British detectives fly out to Portugal
June 3, 2024: Sniffer dogs and specialist teams are used to search an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine went missing.
December 12, 2024: Detectives begin questioning 11 people who it is thought may have information on the case.

September 16, 2014: The Government states that the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance has so far cost £10 million
October 28, 2014: Scotland Yard cuts the number of officers working on the inquiry from 29 to four.

April 30, 2017: The McCanns mark 10 years since her disappearance with a BBC interview.

May 3, 2019: Local media reports say Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine.

June 3, 2020: Police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner, later named as Christian Brueckner, has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.

Italian police released a picture of Brueckner in 2020 when he was arrested over drug offences (Picture: AFP/Getty)
April 21, 2022: Christian Brueckner is made a formal suspect by Portuguese authorities.
October 11, 2022: Brueckner is charged with three counts of rape and two charges of child sex abuse, unrelated to Madeleine’s disappearance.

May 3, 2023: Kate and Gerry McCann mark the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance by saying she is “still very much missed” and that they ‘await a breakthrough’.
May 22, 2023: An area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, is sealed off as police prepare to start searching on May 23.
May 23, 2023: Searches begin with police divers in the water and officers with sniffer dogs and rakes seen on the banks.
June 23, 2023: A man named Helge B claimed to the German newspaper Bild that Brueckner almost confessed to killing Maddie, allegedly telling him ‘she didn’t scream’ when the pair talked about the case at a music festival

July 11, 2023: The German prosecutor involved with the case warns not to ‘expect too much’ from the search.
February 16, 2024: Brueckner’s trial starts over three counts of alleged rape and sexual abuse of two children not connected to the Madeleine investigation
October 8, 2024: He is acquitted of all the allegations due to ‘insufficient’ evidence. An appeal over the acquittal is launched, which is still ongoing
March 27, 2025: A 60-year-old woman is charged with stalking the McCann family
May 3, 2025: Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann mark the 18th anniversary of her disappearance with a heartbreaking message
September 17, 2025: This is the date Brueckner could be released from prison if no further charges are brought

In April, ministers approved more than £100,000 in additional funding for Scotland Yard detectives investigating their older sister’s disappearance.