McCanns tell Winfrey missing daughter is still alive, ask abductor to ‘do the right thing’

McCanns to Winfrey: Madeleine is still alive

CHICAGO — In a tearful interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Monday, the parents of a British girl who disappeared two years ago from a Portuguese resort asked their daughter’s alleged abductor to “tell us where she is.”

Kate and Gerry McCann said on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that they believe a man took their daughter, Madeleine, and she is still alive. The girl was almost 4 years old when she disappeared in May 2007.

“It’s not too late to do the right thing,” Gerry McCann said when Winfrey asked the parents what they wanted to say to the person who took Madeleine.

“You know, they can give her up, they can tell us where she is,” he said. “They can hand her over to a priest or someone in authority.”

Kate McCann said she still has hope Madeleine will be found.

“This man is known to somebody,” she said. “He’s someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s cousin, someone’s neighbor, someone’s colleague, someone’s partner, so he’s known to someone. And even if these people don’t know that he definitely did it, they might have a suspicion, and it’s just, I guess, somehow reaching out to them and saying please come forward.”

A family spokesman said the McCanns agreed to speak with Winfrey because of the global reach of her show, which is aired in 144 countries. Winfrey also unveiled an age-progressed image of Madeleine.

The interview was taped April 24.

On the Net:

The Oprah Winfrey Show: www.oprah.com/tows

Official site to find Madeleine McCann: www.findmadeleine.com