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McCann parents revisit Portugal McCann parents revisit Portugal
(about 7 hours later)
The parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann have returned to Portugal for the first time in over two years, their spokesman has confirmed. The parents of missing girl Madeleine McCann have returned to Portugal together for the first time in more than two years.
Kate and Gerry McCann are due to meet their lawyers in the capital, Lisbon, but do not plan to visit Praia da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared in 2007. Kate and Gerry McCann met lawyers in Lisbon but did not visit Praia da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared in 2007.
The couple plan to return to the UK this evening, their spokesman said. It is understood they held discussions with their legal team and a PR agency on ways to advance the search.
Clarence Mitchell said the visit would be "daunting" for the McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire. Mr McCann said private investigators were still looking at "hundreds of thousands" of pieces of information.
He added the couple planned to hold a press conference later on Wednesday. The one-day trip was the first time the McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, had returned to Portugal as a couple since September 2007.
Mr Mitchell said: "Obviously, this is Kate's first return to Portugal since Madeleine's abduction. Mr McCann has visited Portugal on two other occasions in the past two years, most recently in April to advise private detectives filming a reconstruction.
"Whilst this is undoubtedly difficult for her, she remains determined to do whatever is necessary to assist in the search for her daughter." Gerry McCann: "There is no evidence that Madelaine is dead"
Mr Mitchell told Sky News that private detectives hunting for Madeleine had been in Europe for the last couple of weeks. The couple are taking legal action against one-time investigating officer Goncalo Amaral, after winning a gagging order against the publication of his book, which claimed Madeleine was dead.
Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared during a family holiday in the Portuguese resort town of Praia da Luz in May 2007. The Truth Of The Lie had hampered the search and added to Kate and Gerry McCann's distress, a judge said earlier this month.
There have been no confirmed sightings of the missing toddler since then, despite extensive publicity and a Europe-wide alert. Any potential compensation - which advisers have said could be more than £1m - would be ploughed back into the search for Madeleine.
At a news conference, Mr McCann said there was no evidence his daughter, who was four when she went missing, was dead.
Mrs McCann said: "Our main worry, obviously, was people believing that Madeleine was dead.
"If people believe that she is not alive, then people will stop looking for her."
She added she had gained a new hope for her daughter following the discovery of Jaycee Dugard, who was found in California last month, 18 years after being kidnapped.