Aimee Walker
Madeleine McCann mysteriously disappeared from a holiday apartment 17 years ago and over the years, many questions about the case have lingered – one being what happened to the infamous site?
The three-year-old child, from England, vanished from her holiday home in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
Madeleine’s disappearance has been described as ‘the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history’, with her story and face known worldwide.
Although 17 years have passed since the little girl vanished, her name remains a constant in the headlines.
Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, shared a devastating update on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, which was followed by a heartbreaking message on her 21st birthday.
There have also been updates in Madeleine’s case, with inspectors receiving a bombshell voicemail.
And now, we know what happened to the infamous apartment where the tragic story began.
On April 28, 2007, Kate and Gerry McCann with their three children – Madeleine and twins Amelie and Sean – arrived in Portugal for a holiday at the Ocean Club complex.
In the evenings following, the couple would join other adults and dine at the resort’s tapas restaurant. The children would be asleep in Apartment 5A.
However, their trip away would become a nightmare on May 3 when Kate returned to their flat and found that Madeleine was missing.
No trace of the three-year-old child has been seen since.
The room in which Madeleine stayed included two single beds and two baby cots, where her younger siblings would have slept.
Police in Portugal would face criticism for not thoroughly containing the site as a crime scene.
As reported by the Mirror, around 20 people were allowed to wander in and out of the apartment freely – potentially contaminating any evidence.
It was described as the ‘worst preserved crime scene’ by one former police officer.
In the years that have followed Madeleine’s disappearance, little information on what happened to the holiday apartment has been provided.
However, the infamous site remains.
The flat was reportedly put up for sale in 2008 after local authorities closed their investigation into the case, reports The Telegraph. Unsurprisingly, it proved to be a difficult sell.
But it would emerge in 2017 that a British grandmother had purchased the property for half the asking price, reports The Sun.
Kathleen Macguire-Cotton is believed to have purchased the apartment for just £113,000 – identical properties in the area have been on sale for £255,000.
The widow says passersby often offer her money to see inside the property – she always declines out of respect.
“I’ve been offered money by the whole world but I’m not interested,” she told The Sun.
“I don’t think that’s very fair to the McCann family or the people of Praia da Luz, upsetting everybody – it’s terrible.
“It happened a long time ago and I don’t have any opinions on it.”
Macguire-Cotton says she has been staying at the property after secretly buying it years ago. It is not advertised as a holiday let.
Related Article: Woman Claiming To Be Madeleine McCann Drops New DNA Bombshell
Related Article: Madeleine McCann Suspect Speaks Out In Disturbing New Letters From Prison
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