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Kate and Gerry McCann are going through a fresh bout of distress as police in Portugal search for out what took place to their missing daughter Madeleine.

The most recent development in their 18-year search is a new dig for proof on land close to Praia Da Luz, where she went missing out on.

But while the McCanns' heartache and yearning is the general public image Britain is used to, there is a private side to the couple - as happy moms and dads of Maddie's 2 younger brother or sisters.

Today MailOnline can expose details of the successful boy Maddie's more youthful sibling has ended up being. Sean McCann is now an elite swimmer training like an Olympic professional athlete.

Meanwhile, officers in Portugal have been seen clearing greenery around deserted buildings, wearing protective gear such as difficult hats and face masks, and a digger was used to move debris.

The location where they are working is an area of fields and scrubland in between a primary road and the sea, with a few structures including a vineyard.

Back in Britain, Maddie's brother Sean, seen below posturing happily in his royal blue Scottish Swimming shirt, is being tipped to complete at the 2028 video games in Los Angeles for Team GB.

The 20-year-old was snapped with a gold medal around his neck after contending in an open water swimming festival in the Mediterranean.

Sean McCann, 20, won a gold medal after competing in an open water swimming festival

Madeleine McCann vanished on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her parents and siblings

Gerry and Kate McCann with Amelie and Sean in their apartment or condo in Praia da Luz in 2007

Fresh authorities searches are under method near the spot where Madeleine McCann was last seen near Praia da Luz, Portugal

Firefighters and search groups check a well at a derelict and deserted residential or commercial property to the west of Praia De Luz, Portugal, where searches are being carried out by officers investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann

He and his twin sibling Amelie were just 2 years old when Maddie vanished from their holiday house in the Portuguese resort on May 3, 2007.

Sean and Amelie have actually grown up being known as 'Maddie's more youthful brother or sisters', as she continues to be a regular in the news to this day.

The younger brother or sisters were photographed regularly as young kids as the story went global.

Former Portuguese detective says brand-new search for Madeleine McCann is 'over the top'

Their parents later on did their finest to keep them out of the spotlight, although Kate as soon as stated openly how as a baby Sean had brandished a toy sword and stated he was going to get the 'bad male' who had actually snatched his sibling away.

In 2023 Amelie, then 18, openly joined her parents for the very first time in years for an informal prayer event on the 16th anniversary of Maddie's disappearance at the family home town of Rothley, Leicestershire.

And Sean, who is studying chemical engineering at university, has been swimming competitively for almost 10 years.

He revealed in 2023 he had been getting up at 4am to swim before school given that the age of 11, and going to the health club 3 times a week.

The student has set his sights on representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year and completing in Los Angeles in 2028.

Sean was pictured grinning on a beach last May after winning gold in the guys's 1,500 m race without a wetsuit at the Best Fest Open Water Festival in Colonia Sant Jordi, Mallorca.

Sean has set his sights on representing Team GB at the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028

In the same celebration, he scooped up bronze in the men's 5,000 m swim with a wetsuit while competing as part of Scottish Swimming's Open Water Development Squad.

A report of the event said he had belonged to the leading pack and broke from the remainder of the field to end up in 1:00.53 - almost 2 minutes ahead of 4th place.

Sean was likewise part of Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in 2023 where he participated in the 400m and 1,500 m freestyle finals.

Madeleine McCann's family find pleasure after heartbreak: Sean McCann is tipped to swim for Team GB

And he represented Great Britain in the 10km race of the European Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Corfu in 2023 when he came 20th.

Sean, who joined Scottish Swimming's nationwide team due to his dad's Scottish roots, spoke of his training regime after being granted a ₤ 400 Inspire Award grant by a charity set up in memory of Joe Humphries, 14, from Rothley who dropped dead while jogging in 2012.

The Joe Humphries Memorial Trust intends to promote research study into and awareness of Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome, which caused the death of the youngster, referred to as 'fit, healthy, lively and fun enjoying' by his household.

Sean wrote on the charity's website: 'I started competitive sport when I was 8, signing up with Charnwood triathlon club. It was here that I found my passion for swimming and I joined Loughborough Town swimming club to increase the number of swim sessions I did each week.

'At the age of 10 I was picked to swim at City of Leicester (Leicestershire's efficiency swimming club), and I have actually because gone on to win several county titles along with ending up being local and nationwide champ in my age.

Maddie McCann's sister Amelie (right) lit a candle light in her memory as she joined her moms and dads and well-wishers on the poignant 16th anniversary of the toddler's disappearance in 2023

'In order to have actually achieved this, I have needed to remain incredibly committed, getting up at 4am numerous mornings every week to train given that the age of 11.

'I am currently studying chemical engineering, and train 9 times a week in the pool, as well as three fitness center sessions, amounting to over 20 hours of training (per) week. I am aiming to contend at the 2026 Commonwealth Games and also the 2028 Olympics in LA.

'The Inspire awards will help me to money travel and accommodation for the Scottish National Swimming Championships in Edinburgh, where I will get important racing experience prior to the Olympic swimming trials in April 2024.'

Meanwhile, Sean's sis Amelie has been explained as popular and outgoing in addition to athletic - she is known to have actually competed in cross nation and triathlon events at school.

When not at university, Sean and Amelie still live with heart specialist Gerry, 56, and previous GP Kate, 57, who works with dementia patients, in the very same ₤ 800,000 redbrick detached home on a cul-de-sac in Rothley they have actually been in because 2007.

The UK's best-known missing individual case is when again back in the spotlight after it emerged today that police in Portugal are to carry out fresh searches.

They are browsing the land near the previous home of Christian Brueckner, a convicted sex wrongdoer who is the prime suspect in Maddie's disappearance.

The most recent authorities activity in the event including their missing sister follows a tip-off from German cops about Brueckner, presently in jail for the 2005 rape of an American pensioner in Portugal

He was working as a waiter in Praia da Luz at the time of her disappearance and was officially stated a suspect by Portuguese police in 2022.

Kate and Gerry McCann with their child Amelie (bottom right) during a prayer service in 2023

The following year, a previous friend declared he had all however admitted to the kidnapping, by saying: 'She didn't shriek', throughout a conversation about the case at a music celebration in 2008.

German investigators later on scoured the Arade reservoir in the Algarve, 31 miles from the holiday resort, for evidence connected to Maddie - but to no obtain. Pictures of Brueckner posing naked next to the same reservoir were found on his hard disk.

Brueckner continues to reject any involvement and has actually never been charged. Indeed, in 2015 he was acquitted on unassociated rape and sexual attack charges.

He is due to be released from prison in September - unless there is an appeal or additional evidence emerges linking him to Maddie's case.

The McCanns have actually made no talk about the newest revelations.

But disgraced previous Portuguese cops chief Goncalo Amaral branded the new searches over the top and wheeled out an ill theory about her disappearance.

The ex-detective, who was sued over a 2008 book about the 18-year-old mystery in which he incorrectly pointed the finger at the missing child's parents, likewise accused his own former police force of 'connivance' with 'shoddy' German cops.

Amaral, thrown off the Madeleine investigation in 2008 after openly criticising British cops involved in the case, exposed his theory to Portuguese day-to-day Correio da Manha.

He claimed of the fresh searches that are occurring: 'This much wasn't needed. A plane with geo-radar would have been enough and minimized the search area.'

Maddie vanished aged three while on a household vacation in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007

Amaral added: 'The Germans need to have had absolutely nothing to do with the examination. This was a British police technique with assistance from the Portuguese authorities.'

It comes as a McCann family source told the Mail they were somewhat 'in the dark' because it is 'a continuous examination' and they have no with German or Portuguese authorities.

'We do not understand what evidence police have,' the source said.

'If it is him, and there's no direct and definitive proof, he might never ever say a word. He's not saying a word now. It might be, unfortunately, that we never know what occurred to Madeleine. But we intend to discover. We keep hoping after all these years.'

The Metropolitan Police's examination into Maddie's disappearance, called Operation Grange, has received ₤ 13. 2million in Home Office grants, including ₤ 108,000 this year.

Without any arrests or official charges in 18 years, some have actually questioned the viability of the fund.

Kate and Gerry have likewise dealt with hurtful personal attacks, most publicly in 2007 when it was exposed they had actually utilized donations from the Find Madeleine appeal to pay their ₤ 2,000-a-month mortgage. Both had actually taken unpaid leave from work to join the search for their daughter.

Kate and Gerry McCann stop to talk to journalism after a church service in Praia da Luz

This year they have faced yet more distress as 2 females were accused of sending them letters and text, making phone calls and showing up unwanted at their home.

One, Polish-born Julia Wandel, 23, made headings in 2023 after declaring to be Maddie.

A DNA test proved she was not, however Wandel continued to speak up on social networks, and it is alleged she took a trip to the UK in May in 2015 to attend Maddie's yearly funeral.

The 2nd, Karen Spragg, 60, from Cardiff, faces one charge of stalking including major alarm or distress in between May 3, 2024, and 21 February this year. Both pleaded not guilty at Leicester Crown Court last month and are because of go on trial in October.

They are likewise alleged to have stalked Amelie and Sean who have, till current years, stayed entirely out of the spotlight at their parents' request.

'They've always been in Madeleine's shadow, and just been the McCann twins,' a family buddy told the Mail. 'And now they are young grownups, they are sculpting out their own lives.'

In March, Gerry won a distinguished award, totalling ₤ 80,000, to fund his continuous research into cardiovascular disease. Colleagues praised his 'life-altering work'.
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