It has been almost two decades since the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann during a family holiday in the Portuguese Algarve. For those still following this tragic story, there are many questions surrounding the status of the rented apartment from which she was taken.

Madeleine went missing from the bedroom she shared with her younger twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, in a Praia da Luz holiday complex in 2007. Her parents, Gerry and Kate, had left their three children in the apartment to enjoy dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant. It wasn’t until they returned around 10pm that Madeleine’s mother discovered she was missing.

Since then, a significant amount of money has been invested in the investigation to find Madeleine, making it one of the most widely covered missing person’s cases in modern history. However, despite several leads, authorities have yet to determine the heartbreaking fate that befell the toddler.

One of the many questions that have arisen is what happened to the holiday apartment where the McCann family stayed.

The Location

Madeleine disappeared from apartment 5A Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva in the popular Praia da Luz area of Lagos, southern Portugal. This apartment became the center of a media storm, with the world’s press flocking to report on the case.

The Years That Followed

Portuguese police immediately sealed off access to the apartment, considering it a crime scene. A year later, only two families rented the property—one for a week and the other for two—before the owners listed it for sale at £250,000.

However, due to its chilling recent history, holiday homeowners seemed to avoid the apartment. Eventually, it was sold for less than half the asking price—£113,000 to a British buyer in 2017, ten years after Madeleine’s disappearance.

Can You Visit the Apartment?

Many true crime enthusiasts have expressed a desire to visit the property where Madeleine vanished. However, out of respect for the toddler’s loved ones, the current homeowner has declined such requests.

In an interview with The Sun, the homeowner stated, “I’ve been offered money by the whole world, but I’m not interested. I don’t think that’s very fair to the McCann family or the people of Praia da Luz, upsetting everybody – it’s terrible. It happened a long time ago, and I don’t have any opinions on it.”

While the mystery surrounding Madeleine McCann’s disappearance continues, the apartment where it all started remains a part of her haunting story.