McCanns forced to delete Twitter account over online abuse

MADELINE McCann’s parents have deleted their Twitter account after a public stoush involving the mother of another missing child.

Published Northern edition 13th September 2007 Page 3 13/05/2007 LIBRARY: MAY 12, 2007 : A photo of missing British girl in Portugal, Madeleine McCann, made into a poster is released May 12, 2007. Madeleiene spent her fourth birthday still missing on Saturday, prompting a call from her parents for redoubled efforts to find her. Madeline disappeared nine days earlier from her bed in a resort hotel where she had been on holiday with her parents in the Algarve. Police say all evidence points to an abduction. Crime / Kidnap / Kidnapped / Kidnapping P/

THE parents of missing child Madeline McCann have been forced to delete their Twitter account due to a torrent of “hatred and sheer viscousness” directed at them online.

The webmaster of the Official Find Madeline Campaign announced the decision in a lengthy post saying they will focus on Facebook to raise awareness instead.

“[Kate and Gerry McCann] agree it’s time to remove ourselves from a place that allows so much toxic content to be directed at us and does not permit us the ability to protect ourselves from people who want to damage the search for Madeleine,” it read.

The webmaster said while positive comments have outweighed negative, the recent vitriol has been too much to bear.

“I have been dismayed, however, at some of the hatred and sheer viciousness directed at Kate and Gerry through our social media accounts for no logical reason at all. At times, it has had me in tears. It is hard to accept that some people can be so cruel to a family that has already experienced the worst pain imaginable,” the anonymous mother wrote.

Gerry and Kate McCann have been subject to intense criticism during their search for their daughter.

The decision follows a recent stoush between the Find Madeline campaign and that of another missing child, Ben Needham, who disappeared at 21 months old from the Greek island of Kos in 1991.

Last week, the Find Madeline Twitter account blocked the official Find Ben Needham campaign in a move that webmaster said was to shield them from “abuse and negativity” from other accounts linked to it.

An earlier post made on the Find Madeline Facebook page said there had been a “concerted effort” online to get people to stop looking for Madeline, with some social media users saying the search is hopeless and has cost too much money.

Ben Needham went missing from Greece at 21 months old.

Madeline’s parents believe she is still alive.

The mother of missing boy, Kate Needham told The Mirror she felt the decision to delete the Madeline account was a “personal attack”.

“I have myself had massive amounts of slanderous abuse from supporters of the McCann Campaign in the past but I have never taken that personally,” she said.

“It’s freedom of speech. But it is getting the names of two missing children out there which is really important.”

Ms Needham said she has never been “anti McCann” but has questioned the more than $20 million spent to find Madeline which is vastly more than the $1.6 million spent on finding Ben.

Madeline’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann have continued to search and campaign for the return of their missing daughter who they believe is still alive after vanishing from the family villa in Portugal in 2007.

A spokesman for the couple said: “Kate and Gerry continue to wish Kerry Needham the best and hope that one day she will be reunited with Ben, just as they continue to hope that they will similarly be reunited with Madeleine.”