LONDON (May 13,2007) — Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has pledged a major contribution to a $3 million reward fund for the safe return of a British girl who has gone missing in Portugal, a Sunday newspaper said.
The News of the World said Rowling had offered the single largest contribution to the fund started by the tabloid newspaper. It called Rowling’s pledge “staggering,” but said the author asked the amount be kept secret.
Madeleine McCann, 4, disappeared on May 2 after her parents left her, and her brother and sister, both aged 2, alone while they went to a restaurant at Praia da Luz, their vacation resort in Portugal’s Algarve region. Portuguese police continue to search for her.
The newspaper said the amount Rowling offered was larger than the $495,000 pledge from Topshop owner Sir Philip Green.
Sir Richard Branson offered $198,000 and American Idol judge Simon Cowell promised $99,000.
Rowling, 41, is one of Britain’s richest people with an estimated fortune of $1 billion, thanks to the best-selling novels and films about her boy wizard.
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