Maddie McCann’s sister speaks out for the first time

Amelie, 18, was photographed for the first time since she was a toddler as she joined dozens of well-wishers at a prayer gathering in Rothley, Leicestershire, 16 years after her older sister’s disappearance.

She lit a candle and was joined by her parents Kate and Gerry and her friend Georgina. Her twin brother Sean did not attend.

Speaking at the event Amelie said: “It’s nice that everyone is here together but it’s a sad occasion.”

Maddie vanished from a her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in 2007.

Madeleine McCann’s parents also issued a heartbreaking statement on social media in which the revealed they were still hoping for a breakthrough.

They also shared an emotional poem called The Contradiction by Clare Pollard before thanking people for their support.

“The police investigation continues, and we await a breakthrough.” the post read. “Today marks the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction.

“Still missing …… still very much missed.

“It is hard to find the words to convey how we feel.”

They added that the poem The Contradiction “resonates strongly with us”.

The heart-wrenching poem reads: “You are not here, I’m not myself, but still I talk to you like this.

“I cannot hold you, yet I do: please let me hold you in my head and where you are now, hold me too.

After posting the poem, the couple wrote: “Thank you to everyone for your support – it really helps.”

It comes a week after German prosecutors announced they were dropping rape charges against suspect Christian Brueckner as they did not have jurisdiction over him.

Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year sentence in Germany over the rape of a pensioner in Praia da Luz.

Earlier this year Julia Wendell claimed she was Madeleine McCann but a DNA test proved she was Polish.

She later apologised in a 17-page letter to the family before becoming embroiled in a police investigation over allegations of indecent images being found on her phone.

Kate and Gerry issued a statement after the DNA tests proved Wendell wasn’t Maddie, stating: “There isn’t anything to report at this time. If and when there is, it will come from The Metropolitan Police.”