Kate McCann described how her life changed after Madeleine’s disappearance as she supported the Independent’s Safecall campaign.

Kate McCann has written a rare and deeply personal endorsement column independent‘s SafeCall campaign, reflecting on the moment her daughter Madeleine went missing and thanking readers for supporting a new national lifeline fund for vulnerable young people.

Kate and Gerry McCann’s lives changed forever when their three-year-old daughter Madeleine went missing on 3 May 2007 in the village of Praia da Luz on the southwestern tip of Portugal.

In an extraordinary intervention, published as part of independentIn a Christmas appeal with the Missing People charity, Ms McCann writes about how life is divided into “before” and “after” when a child goes missing, and how the uncertainty of what comes after never goes away.

“I don’t often talk about details, but that’s not because they’re gone; they quietly continue to live with you every day. Some experiences never leave—you learn to carry them,” she writes.

“When I hear about a young person who is vulnerable, scared, or at risk, it resonates deeply. I recognize the fear, exhaustion, and delicate balance between hope and heartbreak that families live with every day.

“This is also why the SafeCall service is so deeply important.”

The SafeCall campaign aims to raise £165,000 for a free, round-the-clock service to reach the 72,000 children in the UK who go missing every year.

Safecall represents “hope, compassion and the possibility of a different ending” for at-risk youth and those who love them, Ms McCann says.

In her first newspaper column, published in a year when the McCanns faced the added ordeal of a court case against a woman who stalked them, Ms McCann praised. independent and its readers for helping turn compassion into practical action through the SafeCall launch.

Ms McCann describes the new, free service as a “safe, confidential lifeline” for young people who feel scared or lost, and says it offers families something equally important: reassurance that someone is listening and ready to help before a crisis escalates.

With public support, the service will be expanded so that more children can access help earlier. It will build on the charity’s work with a dedicated helpline, a WhatsApp channel, a 24-hour chatbot and a redesigned website offering advice.

On average, a young person is reported missing every two and a half minutes in the UK, and when it is established next year, the National Lifeline will provide support, protection and connection to vulnerable children in need.

independentThe campaign to launch the service was supported by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starr, actor and author Sir Stephen Fry, campaigner Dame Esther Roentgen, former England football captain Sir David Beckham and presenter Lorraine Kelly.

After Madeleine disappeared, the McCanns, who issued a desperate appeal for information, spoke of their “pain and despair” at living every parent’s worst nightmare. No one has been charged in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance.

In her column, Ms. McCann thanks readers that fewer families are left to face the uncertainty that she and her family continue to face.