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MCCANN TWINS

Who are Madeleine McCann’s brother and sister?

Plus, what Kate McCann told the twins about Maddie's tragic abduction

THE shocking disappearance of Madeleine McCann rocked the nation in 2007.

Here we look at the lives of her younger siblings — twins Sean and Amelie.

 Kate and Gerry McCann with Madeleine and twins Sean and Amelie before their family was torn apart
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Kate and Gerry McCann with Madeleine and twins Sean and Amelie before their family was torn apartCredit: Rex Features

Who are Madeleine McCann's siblings?

Sean and Amelie McCann were just two years old at the time of Madeleine McCann's disappearance on May 3, 2007.

The pair were born in February 2005, and are both now 19.

Maddie was taken from her bed in the family's holiday apartment in Portugal.

The twins, who were sleeping in the same room as Maddie, were seemingly undisturbed during the break in.

On May 3, 2023, the 16th anniversary of Maddie's disappearance, Amelie joined well-wishers and lit a candle in her memory.

She said: “It’s nice that everyone is here together, but it’s a sad occasion.”

The twins have grown up out of the public eye and are normal, happy, well developed teenagers.

I just want to know if she’s alive or dead. Not knowing is the worst thing — a never-ending torture

Kate McCann

They have inherited a love of sport from their parents, taking part in triathlons from an early age.

But as much as their parents tried to protect them from it, Maddie’s abduction has always been a feature of their lives.

While play-fighting with a sword as a youngster, Sean told his parents he would find the “bad man” who had taken Maddie and rescue her.

In June 2020, Kate McCann explained to The Sun that her children have been told everything about the case, and are kept informed of any developments in the search for their sister.

She said: "The twins are doing really well.

"They’ve grown up essentially without Madeleine, knowing their sister is missing and they want her back.

"They are up to date, they know everything, they know if we are meeting police.

"There is nothing kept from them."

Have Kate and Gerry McCann had any more children?

The couple met in Glasgow in 1993 and got married five years later.

Kate and Gerry McCann have not had any more children since Maddie's disappearance in 2007.

They have been relentless in their efforts to find her.

In the 15 years since her disappearance, convicted child abuser Christian Bruekner was made an official suspect.

Portuguese police apologised to Maddie's parents on October 30, 2023, for the way they handled their daughter’s disappearance.

The cops told BBC’s Panorama that a delegation of senior officers travelled from Lisbon to London earlier in 2023.

They met with Gerry and apologised for the way detectives investigated the case and treated the family.

Much of the damage was caused by one man — original lead detective Goncalo Amaral.

On May 3, 2022, her parents joined friends and well wishers in an event to remember Madeleine on the 15th anniversary of her disappearance.

They didn't address the crowd of around 100 people, but the anguished mum read a poem saying: “Survival can be summed by up three words — Never give up.

“That’s the heart of it really, just keep trying.

"Sometimes you have to get knocked down, lower than you have ever been.

“To stand up taller than you ever were.

“Perseverance is stubbornness.”

Kate worked as a GP and is now a medical worker, she told The Sun: “I just want to know if she’s alive or dead. Not knowing is the worst thing — a never-ending torture.

"Anyone with a missing child will tell you that.”

Speaking to promote her charity Missing People, of which she is an ambassador, she said: “We miss our complete family of five.

“As a family 98 per cent of the time we’re busy. I don’t know if that’s a conscious thing but it helps.

"The urge to look for Madeleine absolutely hasn’t changed at all.”

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