McCanns could use £750,000 for private search if police axe hunt for missing Madeleine

The parents of Madeleine McCann have a £750,000 fund that could be used to pay for a private search for their daughter if the police hunt is finally axed next month.

The news comes as desperate parents Kate and Gerry continue to try and find their daughter, who vanished from their Portuguese holiday apartment almost 11 years ago.

The money is in the Find Madeleine Fund, which is made up of donations and profits from mum Kate’s bestselling book about her daughter’s disappearance.

However, a sizeable sum – almost £65,000 – has been put aside by the McCanns to pay for a failed libel battle against a Portuguese detective who accused them of accidentally killing their daughter and hiding her body.

The police hunt for their daughter could end very soon.

Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange only has seven weeks left of guaranteed funding and is due to end after a £11.3million hunt.

Detectives have not requested further funds from the Home Office to continue their work in April.

Operation Grange was launched in 2011. The McCanns have vowed to continue the search for their daughter themselves if police efforts end.

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‘The Madeleine Fund gives Kate and Gerry the option to pick up their own inquiries again, if they choose, with private investigators,’ said family spokesman Clarence Mitchell.

Madeleine was just three years old when she vanished from an apartment in the holiday resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007, sparking a worldwide hunt for the youngster.

At the time of her disappearance, her parents were eating tapas with friends at a restaurant nearby.

The McCanns have never given up hope of trying to find their daughter.

Today, Madeleine would now be almost 15 years old. She disappeared just days before her fourth birthday.