Missing Madeleine McCann 'not a million miles from Algarve', mother says

Madeleine McCann's mother has said she believes her daughter's kidnapper did not take her "a million miles" from the Algarve.

The young girl was just three when she disappeared from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007.

Mrs McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire, has vowed that she and her husband Gerry would "never give up" hope of finding their daughter.

The 47-year-old, who is an ambassador for charity Missing People, said her research had led her to believe abducted children were not usually taken farfrom the scene.

She told the Sun: "That's where she last was and I don't think she's beentaken a million miles from there. I've always said Praia da Luz is the placewhere I feel closest to her."

Mrs McCann added that Child Rescue Alerts, a scheme of early warning messages she helped launch, could have "mobilised" people at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

Since 2011, the Met have been assisting in the search for clues as to what happened to the youngster with officers visiting the holiday resort in 2014.

The couple had previously praised the "meticulous and painstaking work" ofdetectives, and have again offered thanks to the police.

But last year the number of officers working on the case was reduced.

The Home Office said last June that the investigation had cost £10 million, with a further £2 million budgeted for the year ahead.