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LONDON - The parents of Madeleine McCann have admitted that the hunt for their missing 4-year-old daughter was starting to take its toll on them and say their campaign to find her will now be toned down.
The news came as it emerged that Madeleine's father, Gerry, was considering returning to Britain, though his wife, Kate, said she felt unable to leave Portugal.
Speaking in Praia da Luz, the holiday resort in the Algarve from where their daughter disappeared more than five weeks ago, the McCanns said they needed a "time for reflection" once an awareness-raising trip this week to Morocco, where a Norwegian tourist claimed to have spotted Madeleine, had been completed.
"When we get back from Morocco, we want to sit back and take stock of what we're doing," Gerry McCann said. "We've not got any other visits planned."
The McCanns talked about their plans once they return from Morocco. "It is going to be a period of reflection. We can't keep doing the same thing week after week, the coverage will dwindle. What we want to be sure of is that what we put our energy into is effective. We need to take a step back and work out how we can help in the search for Madeleine."
Gerry McCann said it was time to look at the bigger picture. "We are thinking of the wider issues now that Madeleine's disappearance might be, I'm not saying definitely, but might be linked to organised abuse of children."
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