Madeleine McCann’s sister, 18, speaks for first time at candle vigil 16 years after disappearance

MADELEINE McCann’s sister lights a candle exactly 16 years after her disappearance.

Amelie, 18, accompanied by pal Georgina, was pictured for the first time since she was a toddler.

Parents Kate and Gerry were also among dozens of wellwishers at the prayer gathering in their home village of Rothley, Leics.

But Amelie's twin brother Sean did not attend.

Amelie, whose older sister, then three, vanished on holiday in Portugal, said: “It’s nice that everyone is here together but it’s a sad occasion.”

Madeleine's parents told how they are waiting for a breakthrough as they paid a poignant tribute to the missing girl to mark 16 years since her disappearance.

In a heartbreaking post the grieving parents wrote how they struggled to find the words to describe their feelings and how they miss their daughter Maddie, who would now be 19.

The couple also posted an emotional poem called The Contradiction by Clare Pollard before thanking people for their support.

Despite recent updates in the case, including a Polish girl who claimed to be Maddie and the news that suspect Christian B may not be charged, the McCanns remained unfazed, writing: "The police investigation continues, and we await a breakthrough."

"Today marks the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction," the post read.

"Still missing…….still very much missed.

"It is hard to find the words to convey how we feel."

They added that the poem The Contradiction "resonates strongly with us".

The heartwrenching poem reads: "You are not here, I’m not myself,
but still I talk to you like this."

And adds: "I cannot hold you, yet I do: please let me hold you in my head and where you are now, hold me too."

After posting the poem, the couple wrote: "Thank you to everyone for your support - it really helps."

They signed off: "Kate and Gerry".

It comes a week after German prosecutors announced they were dropping rape charges against suspect Christian B as they did not have jurisdiction over him.

Christian B, 45, is currently serving a seven-year sentence in Germany over the rape of a pensioner in Praia da Luz, the same area in Portugal where 3-year-old Maddie went missing in 2007.

Based on evidence that was uncovered during the Maddie investigation he was then charged with three offences of aggravated rape and two offences of the sexual abuse of children allegedly committed in Portugal at the time she went missing.

These charges have now been dropped by the Braunschweig court but it's believed another German court could take charge of the case and that Maddie's case should remain unaffected.

However German prosecutors were slammed by a former private detective for the McCanns, who said the case had damaged Scotland Yard's probe into the missing girl.

Madeleine was three, nearly four, when she went missing from her family's apartment on holiday in Portugal on May 3, 2007.

Her parents, Gerry and Kate, had left her sleeping with her siblings while they had dinner at the hotel's restaurant - only realising at about 10pm that she was gone.