Family holiday that turned into nightmare

LONDON (Reuters) - It was on the evening of May 3 that a happy, family holiday to the Algarve in southern Portugal turned into a nightmare for Kate and Gerry McCann.

The McCanns had been dining with friends less than 100 metres away from the family's villa at a holiday resort village in Praia da Luz when Kate made the discovery that their four-year-old daughter Madeleine had been abducted.

So began the family's ordeal, with every twist and turn in the hunt for missing Madeleine played out in front of the world's media, their plight eliciting sympathy and criticism in almost equal measure.

The holiday had started very differently. Madeleine had been excited about going to Portugal and had enjoyed a fantastic week away. She'd "had a ball", Kate said, adding her last memory was of her daughter being happy.

"Mummy I've had the best day ever. I'm having lots and lots of fun," she said on the night of her disappearance, Kate said in one newspaper interview.

That night, the McCanns went to eat with a group of close friends leaving Madeleine and her younger twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, in their apartment nearby.

So secure did they feel at the small, friendly resort, that the couple decided against using the babysitting service, making regular checks on the children instead.

"I didn't feel I was taking a risk. If I'd have had to think for one second whether that was OK it wouldn't have happened," Kate told the BBC.

"I do feel desperately sorry I wasn't with Madeleine at that minute when she was taken."

The family, who live in Rothley in Leicestershire, can't talk about the exact details of the moment they discovered their daughter had been snatched from her bed because of strict rules in Portugal governing police inquiries.

But Kate said after just 20 seconds of panic, it dawned on her what had happened.

"Many people have said to us that this is a parent's worst nightmare and it is, truly is and it's as bad as you can possibly imagine," Gerry said.

In the days that followed Madeleine's disappearance, the McCanns launched a high-profile appeal to raise awareness of her case, a campaign that has maintained its intensity and coverage in the media as the weeks go by.

Football stars David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo join politicians in calling for information, while the likes of JK Rowling and Virgin boss Richard Branson donate money towards a reward for her return.

The McCanns have taken their campaign across Europe, to Spain, Germany, and Holland amongst others, in a bid to jog the memory of tourists there whilst Gerry has also travelled to the United States.

On a trip to Rome, the Pope blessed a photo of Madeleine during a brief meeting with the couple, who are both Catholic, and a special Web site, featuring news and asking for information, has attracted tens of millions of hits.

However, despite all the publicity, so far only one suspect has emerged, Briton Robert Murat, while sightings and reported breakthroughs have come to nothing or proved to be hoaxes.

And while the British media has remained supportive of the family, other journalists and some members of the public have been more critical.

They have questioned why the couple had left their children alone, and suggested that their behaviour since has not been what people would expect.

News that traces of blood had been found in the apartment has prompted Portuguese media to report that police suspected Madeleine might have been murdered there, casting suspicion over the parents themselves.

"You need the investigation to be thorough and we'd welcome that," Kate said. "The police were very open at the beginning saying everybody is a suspect and I think that's often the case in many crimes as well."

For the time being, the search goes on and for as long as it does, the McCanns are hopeful that Madeleine will turn up alive and well.

And slowly, Kate said they were also coming to terms with the guilt.

"Certainly when I am in my calm and rational moments I know how much I love my children and I know how responsible I am and that is what I am hanging on to, really," she said.