Fox News: On the Record w/ Greta
VAN SUSTEREN: And now to the hunt for Madeleine McCann, the missing 4-year-old. Madeleine vanished in Portugal one month ago. And today Madeleine's parents went "On the Record."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: Gerry, Kate, thank you for joining us. I'm not going to ask the obvious question, is how you are. I know that you are very distressed, as any parent would be. What can we do to help you?
GERRY MCCANN, MISSING GIRL'S FATHER: Greta, just having us on makes a difference, particularly with getting our message out across Europe and North Africa and a global audience that our daughter is missing. We are looking for her, and we want people to help us find her.
VAN SUSTEREN: Kate, are you getting any good news? Are you getting any sort of tips that make you -- that sort of increase your hope that you'll find your child and the child will be safe?
KATE MCCANN, MISSING GIRL'S MOTHER: Well, I think, Greta, I mean, we have had so much support and there's so many people actually coming forward and giving information. That certainly gives us hope. And the fact that we haven't gotten any negative news, as well, is also very good and gives us hope and strength.
GERRY MCCANN: Yes. I think you are right, though, that, you know, every day that goes by is one day too many. But we are still optimistic with the amount of information coming through both in Portugal and the U.K. And we're really very encouraged to hear that the Spanish police are following up lots and lots of leads, as well. So we know it might be just one call that makes the difference. But you're right, the only thing that will make us really happy is getting Madeleine back.
VAN SUSTEREN: Kate, if I happened to see Madeleine someplace, how would I perceive the child? Describe your daughter to me.
KATE MCCANN: You've probably seen the photographs. But I mean, she has blond, sort of shoulder-length hair. She's got very unusual eyes. Her eyes are probably the most striking feature. I guess overall, they're kind of hazel-ish, but there is some blue and brown. And on the right eye, she does have a very distinct mark coming from her iris. I think -- I'm not sure if we've got a photograph that we could show you or not.
GERRY MCCANN: Yes. We have got a Web site designed. It's designed specially for finding Madeleine, called www.Findmadeleine.com [http://www.Findmadeleine.com]. And we've got a poster here with the very good close-up of her eye, which is really distinctive, particularly in her right iris. But she's like most 4-year- olds. She's lively, very active, quite extroverted. She speaks really well. And she's just a great kid, really.
VAN SUSTEREN: Kate, so you agree that she'd be sort of an outgoing child, assuming she's not traumatized? She'd be a friendly child, if I ran into her in a store or something?
GERRY MCCANN: Yes, she's quite outgoing, but she's also aware of strangers, as well. So in the right setting, in terms of in the family home or with friends, she's usually the (INAUDIBLE) almost a little ringleader for the other kids. But she's not, you know, by any means inappropriate, you know, run up to strangers. She's actually quite aware. So I think, you know, if she was out and about with someone, people would know that she wasn't happy.
VAN SUSTEREN: Kate, did you and the family ever go to that resort before? And if so, did you ever notice anything peculiar or feel uncertain there?
KATE MCCANN: It's actually my first trip to Portugal, Greta.
GERRY MCCANN: I think, Greta, it's such a quiet resort and very child-friendly. And you know, up until that night, we were having probably the most relaxing holiday we've ever had with the children, and it just felt incredibly safe and...
KATE MCCANN: And the kids were having a great time there, really enjoying it, you know?
GERRY MCCANN: The kids were all going to kids' club and playing with other kids. Great child care there. And it's just -- you know, you can imagine our world has been shattered by the discovery that Madeleine was taken.
VAN SUSTEREN: Was that your first night in the resort, or had you been there for a day or two when she disappeared?
KATE MCCANN: We arrived on a Saturday, and it was a Thursday night when she was taken.
GERRY MCCANN: Yes, so our second (SIC) night.
VAN SUSTEREN: Was there anyone, you know, peculiar or weird hanging around, anything like that?
GERRY MCCANN: You know, we've asked people to come forward, any holiday makers who were around the resort in the two weeks leading up to the abduction, to come forward if they saw anything. Kate and I, ourselves, did not see any suspicious behavior at all. As I say, it was very relaxing.
But you know, we're relying on other people. We're relying on the locals at the time who maybe are more aware of who should and shouldn't have been in the resort, maybe even in a few days prior to that. And now, you know, we're appealing to the public in general to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior, or for Madeleine in particular. So we didn't see anything, but you know, that doesn't mean to say there wouldn't be just one key bit of information coming from a member of the public that could lead to Madeleine.
VAN SUSTEREN: Kate, any idea how entry was gained into that room? Was it through a window or a door? I mean, what's your suspicion on that?
KATE MCCANN: I can't really comment on that, Greta, because it's obviously part of the criminal investigation, and we are witnesses.
GERRY MCCANN: Yes. We can't really comment in any detail about the specifics of the investigation because that may be relevant in terms of a future court case.
VAN SUSTEREN: Was there anything that Madeleine seemed interested in, in the days sort of leading up? Like, was there a particular area, like a pool area or someplace where she might wander to?
KATE MCCANN: I think she was just having a great time, Greta. There was nothing obvious. I mean, you know, we were part of a bigger party. You've probably heard about (INAUDIBLE) you know, quite a lot of children in our party. And they were all just having a great time, you know?
GERRY MCCANN: She did so many activities in those six days. They'd been to the beach. They'd been out sailing. They went indoor swimming. They had tennis. There was a play area where we went with all the kids every night, all within the resort, I have to say. So you know, she was everywhere.
But as soon as she was reported missing -- and Kate and I absolutely certain, I think, as are the police, that this is an abduction -- there was an immediate search organized by the Mark Warner (ph) staff, who were the tour operators, and they responded really, really well. So you know, I'd just like to reiterate this isn't a 4-year-old girl walking off somewhere during the day or in the evening. You know, she was tucked up in bed, and there's no way she could have got out on her own.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: How is soccer superstar David Beckham now helping out in the hunt for Madeleine McCann? We have much more with the McCanns in a minute.
And later, huge new clues in the Haines family triple murder mystery. Two bloodhounds picked up a scent. Where did it lead the dogs? And are police now closing in on the killer who fatally stabbed the family inside their home? New details in our Lancaster County horror scene are ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: One month ago, Madeleine McCann vanished in Portugal. Now people all around the world are following the desperate search for this missing 4-year-old. Here's more of our talk with Madeleine's parents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: One thing that we often hear in these cases is that parents are not getting enough information from the police, and they think the police could do more. Do you have a sense that people are doing everything to help you? And are you getting the information you need from the police to be satisfied that everything is being done?
GERRY MCCANN: I think it's a very good point, Greta, that, you know, we have had periods of information voids. And that naturally leads us to speculate about what has happened or hasn't -- or could been happening. And that really doesn't help Kate and I. So as much information as we can get is a good thing.
I would say that the flow of information now is better than it was at the beginning, but there is a lot of information, particularly in relation to leads and suspects which we are not given and have not been done so because of operational reasons. And you can imagine if they told us about every single lead, and there's hundreds of them, that every time, you would get your hopes up and maybe this is -- you know, the one that might lead us to Madeleine. So there are good reasons for it, both operationally and also emotionally for Kate and I.
We are very heartened here in Spain today, having met the interior minister, who's responsible in many respects for policing the -- you know, even in Spain, which is the neighboring country to Portugal, they're following up a lot of leads here. And the publicity here in Spain is actually higher than we had anticipated. So some of our campaign, the family campaign to publicize Madeleine's disappearance, seems to be working very well.
KATE MCCANN: I think, as well, we're also very aware that the Portuguese police are working incredibly hard. And it's very apparent to us that they really want Madeleine back, and not just because they can solve the case. I think they want Madeleine back, you know?
GERRY MCCANN: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Kate...
GERRY MCCANN: And what we are doing here, you know, it's not because the criminal investigation is exhausted. It's very ongoing and active. And really, what we are trying to do is complement that and make it as effective as possible, to give us the best possible chance of getting Madeleine home safely.
VAN SUSTEREN: Kate, what was the sort of the window of -- and I hate to use the word opportunity, but I can't think of any better word -- but the window of opportunity between the time you -- you and your husband last saw Madeleine and the time that you noticed that she was missing?
GERRY MCCANN: Again, we can't give you absolute specifics, but I can assure you we were checking on the children very regularly. So the window of opportunity was not a big one. And it was, I think it's fair to say, a high-risk strategy, the abduction.
VAN SUSTEREN: So was more than a half hour or less than a half hour?
GERRY MCCANN: Yes, I told you I wouldn't tell you about specifics because it may be relevant to the court case, so we can't go any further than that at the moment.
VAN SUSTEREN: Kate, so often we read about parents who lose children, and you think it's terrible, but it's, like -- but when you actually go through it, it's so profoundly worse than anything you can read or observe from the outside, isn't it.
KATE MCCANN: I think that any parent -- anyone who is a parent can imagine how awful it feels, really. I mean, I think that's why we -- you know, people have empathized and people can empathize, you know?
VAN SUSTEREN: Is it helpful that people like athletes and stars -- I mean, that they are coming forward? I mean, does it -- is that -- does that help publicize? I know it does that, but does it help -- does it make you feel, at least, that someone's trying to help?
KATE MCCANN: I mean (INAUDIBLE) it's important to remember that these people are all good human beings, and a lot of them are parents, as well, so they have a lot of sympathy for us, as well. I mean, it's also important to mention that there's a lot of people who are, I guess, ordinary people, non-famous people who are doing so much, as well. People that we don't know are doing as much as they can to help us.
GERRY MCCANN: Greta, that's probably true. It's the thousands and the millions of people doing little things that collectively is going to add up and really give us the best chance. Although, you know, we've thank everyone, the stars, the David Beckhams of this world, for doing appeals, really, without much encouragement. And some of them have come out and done them just because they wanted to help. And being -- the feeling of helplessness is one of the worst things that we experienced. And as we have taken a bit more control, we feel better that we are actually influencing the search, rather than being passive and just waiting to hear about information.
VAN SUSTEREN: And with that, I just want you to know is that we're putting her picture up around the world, and as much as we can help publicize, because we would certainly like to be part of a good news story that has started off bad. Thank you both for joining us. And your daughter's picture is going to go around the world with us. And good luck, and we hope for good news in the end. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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