You see, this is where the McCanns come off as disingenuous, to put it nicely, and lying, to put it strongly. They say:
We urge you to remember Madeleine as a real, living and findable little girl. In spite of all the investigative work done, there is still absolutely nothing to suggest harm to Madeleine and therefore, a very real likelihood that Madeleine is alive and well. It is vital that we never, ever give up on Madeleine.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/91837/Anniversary-of-pain-to-bring-new-Maddie-appeal
"Absolutely nothing" leaves out the fact that the two most highly rated, most highly respected evidence dogs--cadaver and blood evidence--alerted not only in the McCann apartment but in their car as well.
The dogs were not Portuguese. They were British crime solving dogs, and ignoring their responses is pitiful. It is so egregious, that I have to ask myself why the McCanns would issue such a statement. Even if they truly believe their child is missing and alive, to ignore the evidence of the dogs is a kind of wilful ignorance of the truth. It brings to mind the statement, repeat a lie often enough and it will be believed.
You cannot defend this statement from the McCanns. It is, quite frankly, a lie.
The McCanns could have said "We still believe Madeleine is alive." They could have said "no credible evidence" although that would have perhaps opened up legal issues with Eddie and Keela's actions. As well, they conveniently ignored the DNA test evidence.
The DNA testing does NOT rule out that Madeleine is not dead. If anything, logically speaking, it points strongly to Madeleine's decomposing body being placed in the boot or wheel well of the rented Renault. These DNA tests were ONE marker short of conclusively showing Madeleine's DNA was that found. The only reason the DNA was not matched to Madeleine conclusively was because of the degradation of the material. That means the possibility of the match exists in reality. Identifying anyone else as the donor of the material can be ruled out as no markers were found that did not belong to Madeleine.
Again, the McCanns could have used so many different words in their appeal, but the phrase "absolutely nothing" is just a flat out deliberate ignorance of the truth.