McCanns' 'worst kind of limbo'

The mother of Madeleine McCann has said she would rather know her daughter is dead, than to remain in limbo for the rest of her life.

In her latest interview, Kate McCann said she needs to know what happened to the four-year-old - even if that means the worst.

It is 102 days since Madeleine disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, on Portugal's Algarve as her younger twin siblings slept nearby while her parents dined at a local tapas bar.

Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry, from Rothley, Leicestershire, are currently awaiting DNA test results that could support detectives' theory that the young girl was killed.

Mrs McCann told Woman's Own magazine: "I've never liked uncertainty. And this is the worst kind of limbo. Gerry and I have spoken about this and in our heart of hearts we'd both rather know - even if knowing means we have to face the terrible truth that Madeleine might be dead. We both need to know."

The couple have always said they will cling on to the hope that Madeleine is still alive until they see concrete evidence to the contrary.

But relations between Portuguese police and the couple are under strain after a police chief went on television on Saturday, the 100th day since the tot went missing, to reveal Madeleine could be dead - without first telling her family.

A family friend of the McCanns said it was "extraordinary" that Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa had "not had the decency" to contact the couple before giving the interview.

However, a family spokeswoman said it is "heartening" that he officially confirmed they are not considered as suspects after a painful week of "hurtful" allegations in Portuguese papers suggesting they were now under suspicion.

On Sunday, unconfirmed reports said British sniffer dogs had discovered a second blood speck on a curtain in the McCanns' holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.

The sample has been sent along with another trace of blood found elsewhere in the flat to a British laboratory to undergo DNA testing, the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias said.

The test results, expected this week, could lend weight to the theory that Madeleine is dead - although equally they may boost her parents' belief she was abducted alive, or simply be inconclusive.

Mrs McCann told the magazine: "She has a lot of personality and her name actually means 'tower of strength'. But she hated it when we called her Maddie - she'd say, 'My name is Madeleine', with an indignant look on her face.

"I bet she's giving whoever she's with her tuppence worth."

Mrs McCann, who is regularly seen clutching Madeleine's favourite soft toy, Cuddle Cat, since her disappearance, said: "In a way I wish they'd taken this with her. It would be a comfort to know Madeleine had something she loved, wherever she is.

"I can't prepare myself for bad news. I simply don't know how."

Meanwhile, another senior Portuguese police officer indicated at the weekend that there were "new elements" in the investigation.

Alipio Riberio, national director of the Policia Judiciaria (PJ), which is leading the hunt for Madeleine, told the Correio da Manha: "We have new elements in the investigation but so far we do not know where they are going to lead us."

He added that detectives were "far from throwing light on the case".

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