Madeleine fund dwindling

KATE and Gerry McCann’s fund to help find their missing daughter Madeleine saw its income drop by nearly two-thirds last year.

The amount raised for the cause fell from £629,181 (€740,615) in 2008-09 to £233,099 (€ 274,419) in 2009-10, newly-published accounts show.

More than £421,000 was spent on the campaign to locate Madeleine and merchandise costs last year, leaving the balance standing at £470,034 at the end of March.

The McCanns, both 42, from Rothley, Leicestershire, spoke last month of their fears that the dwindling of the fund would leave them unable to continue paying private detectives to search for their daughter.

Madeleine’s Fund was launched a fortnight after the little girl vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, on May 3, 2007.