Calls for Prayer Continue as Search for Missing British Girl Expands
LONDON – Appeals and calls for prayer have continued to pour in for a 4-year-old British girl who disappeared a week ago while on vacation with her family in southern Portugal.
Madeleine McCann, who disappeared on May 3, should have celebrated her fourth birthday yesterday, but instead remains the center of a huge police investigation in the Algarve coastal region, a major European holiday destination renowned for its warm climate and picturesque beaches.
The heart-wrenching story of Madeleine's disappearance has touched the hearts of the nation and beyond. Rewards totaling £2.5 million (nearly $5 million) have now been put up on offer for anyone who can help with information leading to the safe return of Madeleine.
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Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, American Idol judge Simon Cowell and Harry Potter author JK Rowling are among those who have contributed to the reward.
From Liverpool, Madeleine's grandmother, Susan Healy, said that her entire family was "hoping and praying that the people who have Madeleine will take her somewhere safe and we can find her and bring her home."
Healy also asked that people look out for the distinctive "black flash" in her granddaughter's eye, where her pupil runs into her iris, which could prove key in someone stopping the youngster.
At a special mass on Saturday, Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, called for people to continue the search, and to keep praying for their daughter.
They also thanked everyone for the huge efforts and resources being expended in conducting the search for their missing daughter.
At a church service in the Algarve village of Praia da Luz on Sunday, Madeleine's parents were joined at the Sunday service by the English priest who married them and later baptized Madeleine.
Fr. Paul Seddon of the Our Lady of Compassion church in Formby, near Liverpool, flew out to support the couple in their time of despair in Portugal.
In recent days, Portuguese police have shifted their local search to an international child abduction inquiry, following suspicions Madeleine may have been taken out of the country.
The international Crime stoppers number is +44 1883 731 336. People with information about Madeleine are able to call anonymously.
Christian Post reporter Eric Young in Washington contributed to this report.
