Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann: Funds Shortage Could Halt Search In Weeks

The search for Madeleine McCann could likely end within three weeks due to shortage of funds, her parents fear. The funding given to "Operation Grange" is expected to run out by the end of the month with no renewed requests for money issued for the search operation.

"They have been here before. They simply have no idea if the search will abruptly come to an end or will carry on. It is a daunting prospect they face once more," a source close to the missing girl's family told the Daily Mail. "Kate and Gerry (Madeleine's parents) are grateful to the Metropolitan Police for everything they have done over the years and hope of course that the inquiry into their daughter's abduction will continue if more funds are requested and made available."

Detectives still searching for missing Madeleine have not found any significant clues during their latest trips to Portugal, where the toddler disappeared in May 2007.

Madeleine went missing after her parents left the 3-year-old and her 2-year-old twin siblings alone inside a vacation apartment rental in Portugal while they went out to dinner. Her parents maintained their innocence in relation to their daughter’s disappearance. They were named as official suspects four months after her disappearance, but Portuguese police dropped the case in July 2008 due to lack of evidence.

In April, officials in England investigating the disappearance of Madeleine were granted additional money to support the ongoing search. The amount was believed to be roughly £150,000 ($185,781). So far, more than £11 million ($13,623,978) has been spent in efforts to find the girl.

In May, Madaleine's parents celebrated her 15th birthday and posted a message on the official Find Maddie Campaign Facebook page along with a photo of the missing girl, taken just days before she went missing in 2007.

"We love you and we're waiting for you," the message read. "And we're never going to give up."