Kate McCann has spoken publicly about the devastating daily impact of losing her daughter Madeleine in Portugal.
In an unusual public statement, the mother described experiencing a defining “moment that changes everything,” leaving her world permanently divided into distinct periods before and after the 2007 tragedy.
She expressed profound understanding for families enduring similar ordeals, noting they carry an immense weight of uncertainty while perpetually wondering about their child’s welfare.
“That is why, whenever I hear about a young person who feels vulnerable, frightened, or at risk, it resonates so deeply,” she said, writing in a newspaper.
“I recognise the fear, the exhaustion, and the fragile balance between hope and heartbreak that families live with every day.”
Contributing to the Independent, Mrs McCann voiced her support for SafeCall, a UK charity operating a helpline for those affected by missing persons cases.
She commended donors whose contributions enable the service to extend its reach to more people in need.
“The right support at the right time can change the course of a young person’s life,” she said.
Kate McCann opened up on how her life had been split in two
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“It can mean the difference between crisis and safety, between isolation and connection, between another family living with unanswered questions or finding a way forward together.”
Mrs McCann expressed gratitude to those involved in supporting the charity’s work, adding: “Because of you, more children and young people will have somewhere to turn, and more families will know they are not alone.”
The statement follows a period of renewed distress for the McCann family after a woman falsely claimed to be their missing daughter.
Julia Wandelt was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment in November at Leicester Crown Court for harassing the family through her persistent assertions that she was Madeleine.
Madeleine McCann went missing from a holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007 | PA
Judge Mrs Justice Cutts confirmed during sentencing that Wandelt was definitively not the missing child.
“It has been confirmed in this case you are not Madeleine McCann,” the judge said.
“There was not proper or logical basis for this. What you should not have done is behave as you did to the McCanns.”
The court heard how Wandelt’s conduct had caused significant harm to a family already enduring unimaginable circumstances surrounding their daughter’s disappearance nearly two decades ago.
Wandelt’s harassment extended to appearing at the McCann family residence and dispatching threatening messages in which she demanded DNA testing to prove her identity.
Her father revealed the extent of her delusion, recounting their final encounter shortly before Christmas the previous year.
He explained: “We had gone for a drive and then, just as she did when this all started a few years ago, she said to me, ‘Daddy, I love you, but you are not my dad, I am Madeleine McCann’.”
He added: “I said, ‘I am your father; you are not Madeleine,’ but she wouldn’t listen to me, no matter how much I tried to reason with her.”
