THE Glasgow gran of Madeleine McCann died from a coronavirus-related illness, her family confirmed. 

She reportedly "never gave up hope" that her granddaughter would be found. 

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Eileen McCann, aged 80, passed away last month just weeks before German police broke the news that they believe Madeleine is dead and that they were now investigating a convicted sex offender known to locals in Praia de Luz in connection with what they believe to be her abduction and murder.

Originally from Donegal in Ireland, she raised Gerry McCann in Glasgow and he attended Holyrood RC High School in Crosshill. 

She told the press after Madeleine's abduction: "As long as they don’t find her body, I’ll never give up hope. When we do finally get her home she’ll have so much love and hugs from us all."

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Gerry has confirmed his mother's death to the family spokesman but relatives do not wish to comment. Kate’s uncle Brian Kennedy told MailOnline: ‘We do not wish to comment on private family matters.’

The site reports that heart doctor Gerry and ex-GP turned medical worker Kate, both 52, of Rothley, Leicestershire, are understood to have attended Eileen’s small funeral amidst Covid-19 social distancing restrictions in St Coval’s, East Renfrewshire.

The news comes after a new prime suspect, Christian Brueckner, was revealed.

In a news conference last week, Hans Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the Braunschweig Public Prosecutor’s Office, said: “In connection with the disappearance of the three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann on May 3, 2007 from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz, in Portugal, the Braunschweig prosecution is investigating against a 43-year-old German on suspicion of murder.

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“We are assuming that the girl is dead.

“With the suspect, we are talking about a sexual predator who has already been convicted of crimes against little girls and he’s already serving a long sentence.”

He said the suspect was regularly living in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, where he worked jobs in the gastronomy business, but funded his lifestyle by committing crimes, including thefts in hotel complexes and apartments, as well as drug dealing.