PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal �?nbsp; The father of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann is set to fly to the U.K. to help co-ordinate the international campaign to find his daughter.

Gerry McCann is expected to spend just over 24 hours away from his wife Kate and twin children Sean and Amelie.

It will be the first time the family has been apart since 4-year-old Madeleine was abducted from her bed in her parent's holiday apartment.

It has now been 17 days since Madeleine disappeared from the seaside village of Praia Da Luz, Portugal.

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Gerry McCann is making the visit home to deal with "personal matters" as well as to meet organizers of the Find Madeleine fund.

"He's very focused," a spokeswoman for the family told Sky News. "He is going out there for very practical reasons and he's going to get back here as quickly as he can."

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It is thought the visit will involve arrangements to allow the couple to stay in Portugal for the foreseeable future.

The trip comes after the family gave a glimpse of how they are coping with the loss of their daughter.

New photographs show the McCanns smiling as they play with their 2-year-old twins.

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They allowed a photographer to take pictures of them eating lunch and reading books on Saturday in the flat to which they have moved.

Kate McCann has yellow and green ribbons tied in her hair to symbolize hope for her daughter's safe return.

It has also emerged the family are considering a round-Europe mission to spread awareness of Madeleine's abduction.

And Portuguese newspapers said an e-mail is circulating the country calling for a minute's silence at noon Monday.

Meanwhile, it has been claimed that the $4.9 million offered to find the 4-year-old could be hampering the investigation.

Police are being distracted by false leads of sightings of the toddler by people motivated by money, a Portuguese police source said.

Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat, 33, was last week named as the first "arguido" or suspect in her disappearance. But no evidence has been found to arrest or charge him.