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Madeleine McCann's parents shocked after trolls use mock-up image to blame them for her disappearance

The post infers that Madeliene is dead and that her parents are to blame for her disappearance during a family holiday in Portugal
UPDATED MAY 1, 2020
Kate and Gerry McCann (Getty Images)
Kate and Gerry McCann (Getty Images)

Trolls have photoshopped photos of Madeleine McCann with the NHS slogan "stay at home, save lives." Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, are reportedly disgusted by the cruel dig, which made rounds of the internet just days after the 13th anniversary of the child's disappearance, The Sun reports.

The post infers that Madeleine is dead and that her parents are to blame for her disappearance during a family holiday in Portugal.

The original photo is that of Kate, 52, and Gerry, 51, holding a picture of their missing daughter during one of their public appeals. It has been photoshopped to show them holding a placard bearing the coronavirus lockdown slogan.

In this handout photo, released September 16, 2007, missing child Madeleine McCann smiles. (Getty Images)

"Kate and Gerry are appalled that someone could stoop this low," a family friend said. “To mock them like this is callous and offensive and at a time when lives are tragically being lost due to coronavirus makes it even worse."

“They try to avoid social media for this very reason. The trolling has been going on for nearly 13 years and they find it despicable," they added.

Kate and Gerry both work for the NHS, which is being applauded across the UK for fighting on the frontlines amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the mum-of-three, the abuse they faced has been “shocking, striking, and quite hard to get your head around.”

This comes just months an online troll, posing as Maddie, attacked the couple for eating out at a restaurant. The troll posted a photo on Facebook of Kate and Gerry at a restaurant in Scotland in November last year, writing, "Mum and dad are closer than I thought."

The post was referring to the night Maddie disappeared after being left alone with her siblings while her parents were dining at a nearby restaurant in Portugal’s Praia da Luz in May 2007. An annual prayer gathering in Madeleine's memory originally scheduled on Sunday had to be canceled due to the coronavirus crisis.

However, Kate and Gerry are still asking local villagers and well-wishers to come together remotely and mark the somber occasion, which will see the family share prayers and readings online from home. The informal outdoor event is usually conducted at the village war memorial, which is nearly a mile from the McCanns' residence.

Nonetheless, a candle still burns 24x7 as a beacon of hope for locating Maddie someday.

Kate and Gerry McCann hold an age-progressed police image of their daughter during a news conference to mark the 5th anniversary of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, on May 2, 2012, in London, England. (Getty Images)

“Present circumstances make our usual gathering impossible so it will all have to be done at long distance," said 80-year-old Brian Kennedy, Maddie's great uncle. “We are asking members of our own churches here in Rothley as well as some others to remember the day with some short prayers and readings via email and the various internet sites."

British law enforcement has requested more funding to continue its search for Maddie. However, it is yet to be approved by the Home Office.
 
“It is good news that the Met Police are seeking a new budget to continue the hunt for Madeleine. Kate and Gerry are greatly encouraged that officers still believe there is active work left to be done," family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said. “Whilst an active investigation is ongoing it gives them hope that one day they will find out what happened to their daughter after all these years."

"The Met has an iron will determination to find the answers Kate and Gerry so desperately want," he added.

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