Kate and Gerry McCann admitted yesterday that nothing has changed for them since the "terrifying" night when their daughter Madeleine went missing exactly 1,000 days ago.

The couple were marking the sad anniversary with a fundraising event attended by their celebrity supporters in London and by launching 1,000 glowing paper lanterns into the night sky.

The McCanns said it sometimes felt wrong that they were coping with life without Madeleine - but added that otherwise there would be no search for the little girl.

In a poignant statement they said: "Today marks 1,000 days since Madeleine was taken from us. It's hard to even say the number.

"We remember the first few days after Madeleine was taken, watching the clock and counting every hour. Now we've reached 1,000 days.

"It's difficult sometimes to understand how we've been able to keep going and survive without Madeleine, especially since nothing has changed since that terrifying first night.

"Madeleine is still missing. Sometimes it even feels wrong to be coping.

"And yet if we weren't, there would be no search and no campaign to find Madeleine and that just doesn't bear thinking about."

Madeleine was nearly four when she disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal on May 3, 2007, while her parents dined with friends nearby.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.