Kate McCann shares her biggest regret. Credit: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty
Kate McCann says she’ll carry one deep regret “for the rest of her days” after Madeleine’s disappearance.
She revealed it in a heartbreaking reflection on the 17th anniversary of the tragedy.
Madeleine McCann vanished 18 years ago from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
She was three years old.
Kate and Gerry McCann had left Madeleine and her twin siblings asleep while they dined nearby.
Around 10PM, Kate returned to check and discovered Madeleine missing.
The disappearance sparked a global search and nonstop media coverage.
Since then, the McCanns have led awareness campaigns and shared their story.
Kate detailed their journey in her 2011 memoir, Madeleine: Our Daughter’s Disappearance and the Continuing Search for Her.
In her book, Kate McCann recalled her shock when she saw the resort restaurant had noted their request to sit near the apartment because their kids were alone.
“To my horror, I saw that… the receptionist had added the reason for our request: we wanted to eat close to our apartments as we were leaving our young children alone there and checking on them intermittently,” she wrote, per The New York Post.
Kate added, “We now bitterly regret it and will do so until the end of our days.”
That painful regret resurfaced this month after Channel 4 aired Madeleine McCann: The Unseen Evidence, based on a 2016 The Sun investigation.
The program revealed new photos and files that allegedly link Christian Brueckner, a convicted German sex offender, to Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.
Police found the items in an abandoned German factory Brueckner bought in 2008.
A neighbor’s dog uncovered what looked like a grave, triggering the search.
Inside, police discovered USB sticks, memory cards, and a suitcase packed with “highly disturbing material.”
Images included children as young as four, masks, and 75 children’s swimsuits.
Brueckner has no kids of his own.
Officers also found a hard drive with Skype chats and stories about kidnapping and abusing children.
One story involved “capturing something small and using it for days.”
Another fantasy described drugging a mother and daughter outside a preschool.
Additional evidence included satnav data showing Brueckner’s movements in the Algarve and a nude selfie taken at the Arade Dam — 35 miles from where Madeleine disappeared.
Police also cited an insurance document Brueckner signed in Orgiva, Spain, in 2008.
In it, he allegedly confessed to killing Madeleine.
He reportedly told a man named Helge B, “She didn’t scream.”
Brueckner was named a suspect in 2020 but has never been formally charged.
He denies all allegations.
The McCanns didn’t directly respond to the documentary.
Released a statement days before its premiere, marking 18 years since Madeleine disappeared.
“As we arrive at the 18th anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction, we’d like to thank our faithful supporters once again for standing by us and never forgetting about Madeleine,” they wrote.
They admitted the years feel like they’re passing faster, but their resolve to “leave no stone unturned” remains firm.
They also acknowledged May as Madeleine’s birth month — she would have turned 22 this year.
“No matter how near or far she is, she continues to be right here with us, every day, but especially on her special day. We continue to ‘celebrate’ her as the very beautiful and unique person she is. We miss her,” they concluded.
