Madeleine's Parents Stuck 'In Worst Kind of Limbo'

The mother of Madeleine McCann says she would rather know if her four-year-old daughter is dead than live in doubt for the rest of her life.

"I've never liked uncertainty and this is the worst kind of limbo," Kate McCann said in extracts of an interview released on Monday. "Gerry and I have spoken about this and in our heart of hearts we'd both rather know -- even if knowing means we have to face the terrible truth that Madeleine might be dead."

Madeleine disappeared on May 3 during a holiday with her family in the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.

Portuguese police said on Saturday that new evidence found in recent days had prompted officers to pursue more intensely the theory that the four-year-old might have been killed.

In an interview due to be published in Woman's Own magazine on Tuesday, McCann said it was impossible to steel herself for the worst.

"I can't prepare myself for bad news. I simply don't know how," she said.

"When children have gone missing in the past -- Holly Wells, Jessica Chapman and Sarah Payne -- I've watched the news and thought, 'That is my worst nightmare'," she added.

"I had no idea how those mothers got through the day. But until you're in that situation, you can't even begin to imagine what it is that gets you out of bed and into the shower. You just have to go on."

The family, from Rothley, marked the 100th day since her disappearance with a special church service on Saturday in Praia da Luz.

Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, one of the detectives leading the inquiry, told the BBC on Saturday that Madeleine's parents are not considered suspects, despite media speculation.