Eileen McCann, Madeleine’s paternal grandmother, died weeks before the public announcement of a new suspect in connection with the girl’s disappearance in the Algarve in 2007 as a result of the coronavirus.

The tragic death of Madeleine McCann’s paternal grandmother further affected Kate and Gerry.

Eileen McCann, 80, died from the effects of the coronavirus last month, just weeks before German police spread the bombing claim that Maddie was dead.

Now you are investigating a new prime suspect because of her kidnapping and possible murder.

Widowed Eileen—one of Maddie’s gruff mothers and Gerry’s mother—said shortly after her granddaughter’s 2007 abduction: “When I lost my husband John two years ago, I thought my world had fallen apart. But losing Madeleine is ten times worse.”

The former Glasgow salesman and cleaner spent many months in Portugal’s Praia da Luz to support and comfort his son, his son-in-law, his daughter-in-law Kate and his twin children Sean and Amelie after the kidnapping.

Madeleine McCann has been missing for thirteen years.
At the time, she said, “As long as her body isn’t found, I will never give up hope. If we finally bring her home, she will receive so much love and hugs from all of us.”

Together with her family members, Eileen campaigned tirelessly to start a global campaign to have Maddies disappear from the world’s public spotlight and find her kidnapper.

It was Eileen’s wish, and that of Kate’s parents, retired carpenter Brian and former teacher Susan Healy from Liverpool, that they all experience their beloved grandson’s fate before their own.

Heart doctor Gerry and former GP Kate, who works in healthcare today (aged 52 and from Rothley, Leicestershire), are said to have attended Eileen’s small funeral amid Covid-19 social distancing restrictions in St Coval, Renfrewshire.

Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said tonight: “The family will definitely not comment on a private family matter.”

Kate and Gerry McCann in 2007 when they appealed for the return of the three-year-old Madeleine  ( 
Bild:
PA).
Kat’s uncle Brian Kennedy, also from Rothley, said: “We do not wish to comment on private family matters.”

A source close to the couple said: “It’s another tragedy for the family and the people they know will be very sorry.”

Eileen, a mother of five from Donegal, Ireland, was a driving force along with two of her three daughters, Philomena and Tricia, and her son John in searching for Madeleine.

You and your family members were happy to have interviews with the media to keep the disappearance of the young people in the headlines and thus find the kidnapper.

She had previously reported that her “hyperactive” and curious granddaughter was given drugs before kidnapping to stop her screaming.

She said, “It’s impossible to take her out without waking her up. If she had been brought in by someone who didn’t know when she was asleep, she would have screamed all over the place.”

Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared  ( 
Image:
PA).
Three-year-old Maddie slept alone with her younger twin brothers while her parents ate with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant and took turns checking on the children every half hour.

Eileen was convinced that Maddie’s kidnapper had given her the first opportunity after carefully following the family’s steps during their stay at a luxury pool complex.

She said beforehand: “I really believe that whoever kidnapped her first gave her a medicine so that she would stop screaming and throwing an alarm.

“I’m sure whoever took Madeleine out of the room that night surprised her beforehand. She’s not the kind of child to leave with a stranger.

Grandmother Eileen holds a plate in her hand, the last thing Madeleine ever did for her  ( 
Image:
Victoria Stewart).
“She’s always been talkative and sometimes hyperactive, but she’s not one of those kids who talks to everyone. She needs to get to know someone first.”

Eileen is a tough critic of the doubters who repeatedly criticized her son and daughter for leaving their children alone and mistakenly believed they were somehow responsible for their eldest son’s disappearance.

Kate and Gerry disappeared in September 2007, four months after Maddies, to suspect the Judiciary Police – “Defendants” – in connection with madmen, but later acquitted of any suspicion of wrongdoing.

New suspect Christian Brueckner  ( 
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Bild)
Eileen defended the couple who decided against the resort’s babysitting service and said: “They don’t like leaving the children with strangers.”

“They haven’t done this often—they have a nanny at home they trust. They’re normal parents who love their children and never neglect them. Any suggestion that they neglect them is an insult.”

In a moving interview, as the McCanns began their painful return to Britain without Maddie, Eileen recounted how Kate cried in her daughter’s room.

She said: “Kate had to go to Madeleine’s room immediately after her return. She wanted some time alone. It was very traumatic for Kate. I can’t imagine how sad she must have been. Madeleine’s clothes and toys were still there when they were left behind.”

“Kate believes Madeleine is still alive and I imagine she said a little prayer for her.”

She told her daughter Trish that she called her and said, “Kate is in Madeleine’s room. She’s really upset.”

Eileen, who was with her family in Portugal but had flown back to Scotland, had previously witnessed desperation at the airport and said: “She was really desperate and kept saying she couldn’t believe she was going back without Madeleine.

“We hugged and kissed repeatedly and I told her, ‘Be strong.’ She kept saying, ‘But I’ll come back without Madeleine,’ and I told her, ‘You have to think about the twins now.’”

For the past 13 years, Eileen has continued to support her son and the family and family have since met, most recently in Scotland.

With the support of Scotland Yard, German police are investigating convicted rapist Christian Brueckner in connection with Maddie’s kidnapping and murder.

German investigators are convinced she is dead and say they know how she was killed, but have no idea where her body is.

Despite 600 new tips – 400 to the Metropolitan Police and 200 to German police – no charges have so far been filed against the 43-year-old German suspect following a much-noticed tip-off call.

He is currently in prison for the rape of an American pensioner and has now been moved to his own cell for security reasons.

Kate and Gerry welcome the significant advancement, but say they will “keep hoping” that Maddie might still be alive until a body is found.