On May 3, 2007, 3-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing from her bed in an apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
Despite today marking the 10th anniversary of her disappearance, her parents Kate and Gerry McCann, have not stopped looking for her.
The mother and father—who are from Rothley in Leicestershire—sat down for an emotional interview with BBC and Fiona Bruce this week to honor their daughter and remind the public that their search continues.
"Every day is another day without Madeleine. I think it's just that numbers, it's that 10-year mark that is just another reminder of how much time has gone by," Kate said.
Gerry added, "The anniversary and her birthday are the hardest days by far."
In fact, Kate admitted she has bought birthday presents for her daughter every year.
"I obviously have to think about what age she is...A lot of thought goes into it, but she's still our daughter," the mother explained.
As for the search for Madeleine, the parents continue to work closely with the police as they continue the investigation.
"There is still hope that we can find Madeleine," Kate said. Gerry added, "We tried everything in our power to not have a long, protracted, missing person case like this...It's devastating and we really threw ourselves into trying to do everything we could to help find her. It looks like that hasn't worked yet. But you know we are still looking forward... we still hope."
Four detectives in the U.K. are still working on the case, which was cut back from 30 in 2011. So far, over $14 million has been spent on the case, which sparked some criticism.
He continued, "I think every parent could understand that what you want—and what we have aspired to—is to have all the reasonable lines of inquiry followed to a logical conclusion...No parent is going to give up on their child unless they know for certain their child is dead. And there's no evidence."
"There's no evidence that Madeleine is dead," Gerry explained, adding that the criticism is "quite unfair."
Kate also noted that the Metropolitan Police have "come a long way," adding, "There is progress. There are some very credible lines of inquiry that the police are working on. Whilst, there's no evidence to give us any negative news, the hope is still there."
Both parents agree that things have taken a turn over the last five years, especially as the police have taken the investigation into their owns hands. It's given the parents more time to spend with their twins.
"Unfortunately for us, a new normality is a family of four. But we have adapted and that's important," Gerry said. "The last five years, in particular, has allowed us to really properly devote time to looking after the twins and ourselves and of course carrying on with our work. At some point you've got to realize that time is not frozen, and I think both of us realize that we owed it to the twins to make sure that their life is as fulfilling as they deserve."