Updated

The mother of missing British 4-year-old Madeleine McCann believes she's being persecuted because of her looks, and thinks that if she "had a bigger bosom and looked more maternal, people would be more sympathetic," a London newspaper reported Tuesday.

The parents of Kate McCann, in a remarkable interview in the Liverpool Daily Post, said their daughter "feels persecuted, not by the general public who have been extremely supportive, but by some sections of the media."

Click here to read the Liverpool Daily Post story.

"Kate is a very sensitive, caring person and one of the most maternal people I know -- she puts me to shame," Madeleine's grandmother, Susan Healy, told the newspaper.

Madeleine was 3 when she disappeared May 3 from her parents' hotel room in the resort city of Algarve, Portugal, while the couple dined at a nearby restaurant. The investigation initially focused on a possible kidnapping, with numerous reported sightings throughout Europe, none of which turned up positive.

Portuguese police early last month turned their investigation toward the couple, naming both Kate McCann and her husband Gerry as official suspects. Without sufficient evidence to charge or hold them, the couple was allowed to return to England.