On the 16th anniversary of Maddie McCann’s disappearance, the toddler’s parents have taken to social media to deliver a heartbreaking message to mark the solemn occasion.

Madeleine went missing from her bed at a resort while holidaying with her parents in Portugal on May 3, 2007. The case of the then three-year-old’s disappearance attracted considerable global attention.

As Kate and Gerry McCann mark another year without their beloved daughter, the couple has expressed the heartbreak that has plagued them since that fateful day in 2007 when their beloved daughter vanished.

“Today marks the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction,” they wrote.

“Still missing…….still very much missed. It is hard to find the words to convey how we feel.”

The couple also shared a poem titled The Contradiction which they claimed “resonates strongly” with them.

The pair closed out their post with a sincere thank you to the public for their ongoing support as they continue the search for their daughter.

“The police investigation continues, and we await a breakthrough. Thank you to everyone for your support – it really helps,” they said.

Many were quick to sympathise with the couple’s anguish, several commenters expressing their hope that Maddie will one day come home.

“Cannot begin to imagine the pain,” one person wrote.

“Thinking of you all and praying you are reunited with Madeleine soon. So many people will always be searching along with you… Keep that hope going strong.”

“God bless her family still praying Maddie will be found,” another commented.

“Lord have mercy and bring this girl home.”

The heartbreaking message from the McCanns comes after a Polish woman, Julia Faustyna, dominated global headlines recently with her repeated claims that she is the missing toddler.

In one of her initial posts to Facebook, Faustyna claimed, “I think I can be Madeleine.”

“I don’t remember my childhood practically at all, but I do have a few memories,” she said.

“The earliest of these are vacations – I remember baby turtles (turtles hatch in May/June just from what I’ve read) and white apartment blocks, a bar where there was a performance by some ladies in costumes (folk costumes, I think, I don’t know), but I completely don’t recall my mother being there, for example, or my stepfather, much less my dad.

“I have a defect in my eye, in the same eye, the kind of defect Madeleine had.

“What I really need is the truth.”

After Faustyna’s claims were challenged by investigators, her family, and the general public, the 21-year-old provided samples for DNA testing which found that she wasn’t the missing British toddler.

The investigation into Maddie’s disappearance remains ongoing.