Glowing lanterns will tonight float over Formby to mark 1,000 days since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann

Jan 27 2010 by John Siddle, Formby Times

Glowing lanterns will tonight float over Formby to mark 1,000 days since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann

MORE than 250 glowing lanterns will tonight float over Formby to mark 1,000 days since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Friends, family and supporters of devastated parents Kate and Gerry will flock to Formby FC, Altcar Road, this evening for the sombre ceremony.

One thousand paper lights are being launched across the UK, as well as in Portugal, to mark nearly three years since Madeleine, then aged 3, went missing from an Algarve holiday flat at Praia da Luz.

The lanterns are being released as a symbol of hope for her safe return, with organisers naming the event ‘Look Up, Look Out for Madeleine’.

While Kate and Gerry will be hosting a dinner in London tonight to raise funds for the ongoing search for their daughter, Kate’s Liverpool-based parents Susan and Brian Healy will be at Formby FC.

Susan said: “Kate has got friends in Formby so we’ve decided to do it there. The message is for people not to give up on Madeleine.

“People can mark the 1,000 days in other ways, they don’t need lanterns.

“They can simply think about Madeleine and have a quiet time of reflection in their own homes.”

Youngsters from Formby FC’s kids’ teams will help to launch the lanterns, which follow a short address and prayer by a local vicar.