McCanns hold hope for missing daughter

ROTHLEY, England, May 2 (UPI) -- Speaking in England before the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of her then-4-year-old daughter Madeleine, Kate McCann expressed hope she will be found.

"I think we're probably as positive as we have been in a long time," she said Wednesday at her home in Rothley, England. "We are realistic. We don't know what happened but we know there is a very good chance that she could be alive."

The British family that included Gerry and Kate McCann, their twins Sean and Amelie, 2 years old at the time, and Madeleine were vacationing in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007. Madeleine was taken from their rented apartment while the parents had dinner nearby with friends, an incident that shocked Britain and the world.

Although Portuguese authorities have thus far refused to re-open the case, British Prime Minister David Cameron ordered a review in 2011, and Scotland Yard, the London Metropolitan Police, issued an age-progression image of the girl last week, suggesting what she would look like at age nine.

The British newspaper The Sun reported Wednesday a taxi driver in Portugal claimed he picked up three men, a woman and Madeleine the night she vanished, but was never questioned by Portuguese authorities after he reported the incident.

Antonio Castela, 72, said, "I never heard from them again. They did not seem to take me seriously. I am absolutely certain it was her."

A spokesman for the McCann family said it was "deeply shocking" Castela was never interviewed by police, the newspaper said.