Madeleine McCann's parents share heartbreaking message as they mark their daughter's 21st birthday - saying, 'still missing, still missed, still looking'

Madeleine McCann's parents have shared a heartbreaking message as they marked their daughter's milestone 21st birthday.

Kate and Gerry McCann posted the message on the official Find Maddie Campaign Facebook page, where they wrote: 'Happy 21st Birthday Madeleine. Still missing. Still missed. Still looking.'

The heartfelt post included a photo of Maddie in a pink dress and bucket hat - believed to be one of the last taken of her before she disappeared on May 3, 2007.

Beneath the caption is the word 'Hope', as thousands of supporters across the globe regularly flock to the site to donate towards the search for the missing girl.

Earlier this month, Madeleine's devastated parents took to social media to share a poignant message on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance.

'It's 17 years since Madeleine was taken from us,' a social media post from Kate and Gerry McCann read. 

'It's hard to even say that number without shaking our heads in disbelief.'

'Whilst we are fortunate in many ways and able to live a relatively normal and enjoyable life now, the 'living in limbo' is still very unsettling. And the absence still aches.

'Your support continues to encourage us and bolsters our strength to keep going. We know the love and hope for Madeleine and the will to find her, even after so many years, remains, and we are truly thankful for that.

'Thank you again for remembering Madeleine and all missing children.'

During the same week, the Home Office put forward an additional £192,000 towards Scotland Yard's investigation into the disappearance that shook the nation, with police from across Europe still fighting to find out exactly what happened to the little girl.  

German police are currently probing prime suspect and convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, 47.

He is currently serving a prison sentence for raping a woman in Praia de Luz in 2005, and is suspected of further offences in the area between 2000 and 2017.

At the trial of the offences unrelated to Maddie's disappearance last month, a British police officer involved in Madeleine's case revealed dealings with Helge Busching, a key witness in the disappearance and former pal of Brueckner.

DC Mark Draycott revealed he had taken a statement from Busching in 2017, the witness telling police his fears Brueckner was involved in Madeleine's disapperance.

It would be another three years before German officials named Brueckner as their chief suspect in 2020.

And a former girlfriend to Brueckner told a court in Germany in April that detectives still had not searched her home despite revealing he had called her on the night Madeleine disappeared.

The trial unrelated to Madeleine's disappearance has heard several pieces of evidence suggesting police were slow to investigate aspects of the case - or did not follow up on leads at all.

His defence have tried on several occasions to have witnesses ruled out - claiming the case is unfair and prejudiced against Brueckner because of the link to Madeleine, but all attempts so far have failed.

The German national maintains he has nothing to do with Maddie's disappearance, after she vanished from her bedroom at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, Portugal, while on holiday with her parents.

Gerry and Kate had left their three children - including toddler twins Sean and Amelie - asleep in their holiday apartment while they ate at a tapas bar  120metres away.

When Kate returned to check on the kids at around 10pm that evening, she discovered that Madeleine was not in her bed and was missing. 

British police initially investigated the case before it was archived in July 2008 due to lack of evidence.

The family kept the case open with private detectives until Scotland Yard opened its own investigation in 2011.

Brueckner was officially named as a suspect in April 2022 after his yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly spotted near the resort where Maddie had vanished.

German prosecutors say phone logs show he received a call on May 3, 2007, near the Ocean Club. He claimed he was miles away with a young woman at the time.

Brueckner has not been charged in connection to the case and denies the allegations.

The trial is expected to continue through the spring and into the summer.