Cleo Smith’s rescue gives Madeleine McCann’s parents hope

The notorious disappearance of Madeleine McCann remains to be solved but sources say Cleo Smith’s rescue is giving the embattled parents hope.

Madeleine McCann’s parents have revealed they “have hope” they will find their daughter after missing Cleo Smith was found alive and well.

Dubbed “Australia’s Maddie”, the four-year-old vanished from a campsite but was found unharmed 18 days later.

Kate and Gerry McCann, both 53, had been following the case of the missing girl which had some striking similarities to their own daughter’s disappearance.

Her discovery has given the McCann family new-found hope that their daughter could still be alive after vanishing more than 14 years ago.

After a frantic 18-day search, the four-year-old was found over 70kms away from where she disappeared. Picture: Montage Photography by Maryanne Livsey.

Cleo Smith photographed in hospital after she was found by police. Picture: WA Police

Maddie, 3, vanished from her bed on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her parents and family friends at a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

British cops have requested new funding to carry on the £12.5 million (AU$22.9 million) global search for her which is set to be approved by the Home Office.

A source close to the family told The Sun that the couple were “willing” for little Cleo to be found alive.

They added: “Kate and Gerry knew about the case which has had a lot of publicity here and, like many people, were willing the child to be found safe and well.

“It’s the news every parent of a missing child hopes and prays for no matter how long it has been.

“They are thankful that she had been found, and share her parents’ joy and relief at the outcome.”

Cleo, who was allegedly kidnapped by a stranger, was rescued by police in a 1am sting following a sudden tip off.

A 2012 photo of Kate and Gerry McCann holding an age-progressed police image of their daughter to mark the fifth anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

Officers asked her what her name was when they discovered her alone in a bedroom, with the youngster replying “My name is Cleo.”

Cops in Australia have arrested a 36-year-old man in connection with her disappearance, who has no connection with her family.

The young girl was found in a stranger’s house in Carnarvon in Western Australia – 47 miles from Blowhills Campsite where she had vanished from on October 16 and just two miles from her family home.

Heartwarming pictures show the moment that little Cleo was rescued by a police officer who told her they were taking her to see her parents.

The rescued youngster’s delighted mum Ellie Smith said that her “family is whole again.”

It comes after Kate and Gerry were given fresh hope their daughter could still be alive after a boy snatched in China was reunited with his family after being missing for 24 years.

The doctors repeated their pledge to “never give up” on finding Maddie after Guo Xinzhen, who was as kidnapped aged two by human traffickers nears his home in Shandong province in 1997, was found.

Police who rescued Cleo said the four-year-old seemed energetic and was eager to see her parents. Picture: WA Police

‘Happy positive news’

Maddie, who would be 18 now, was just nine days away from her fourth birthday when she was snatched while her parents were dining at a nearby tapas restaurant.

The family source added: “Kidnapped children can be found, this case is proof and gives Kate and Gerry and all those other families of missing people hope.

“They never stop hoping for that happy and positive news.”

The couple from Rothley, Leicestershire, wrote in May that they “hang onto hope, however small” that they will be reunited with their “lovely” daughter one day as they remember her on the painful 14th anniversary of her disappearance.

The three-year-old was taken while her parents were out dining in the Portuguese resort town of Praia da Luz Picture: Supplied.

They posted: “Every May is tough – a reminder of years passed, of years together lost, or stolen.

“This year it is particularly poignant as we should be celebrating Madeleine’s 18th birthday.”

Convicted paedophile and rapist Christian B, 44, remains under investigation as the prime suspect in Maddie’s abduction

In May of this year, The Sun exclusively revealed German investigators have reportedly been given fresh leads into Christian B’s background – raising hopes of more clues into the notorious cold case.

This post originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission