General Chat

as far as im aware there is no evidence to show she was abducted

Errol and Lynda...but equally what about the 'armchair detectives' who know when 'something is wrong' the other way? How many people have been on screen to ask for help catching the killer of their wife/husband/ child, and you've thought ...he /she did it? and subsequently the police catch up with them?

If things don't add up then it is human nature to question it, whether that's a case like this or any other circumstance which one wants to make sense of?

I totally agree with IGP

I don't normally comment on threads nowadays but feel compelled to on this one.
If leaving a sleeping child alone to hang out your washing constitutes child neglect then there's a hell of a lot of negligent parents. The McCann children were left for more than a few minutes. Unfortunately there are so many peadophiles in the world these days and they love holiday areas were they know young children are.

Leaving 3 pre schoolers at night in an UNLOCKED apartment ...every night of your holiday... whilst in a foreign country so you can go out *dining* IS neglect.

They weren't *as if in their back garden * ..nor was it a momentary lapse where you turn round and they're gone...nor were they out playing at a perfectly reasonable time with their friends........ it was premeditated and deliberate neglect imho........those children were left out of eye shot and ear shot...for often long periods of time.

Kate McCann herself admits that Madeleine asked where they were the night before she disappeared when her and Sean were crying...and yet knowing that they were crying out for her and getting upset in their absence...decided to continue to leave them anyhow that night too. Poor kids.

Above in answer to ........" It is scurrilous to suggest they were negligent parents."

Like Sue,,, I set great store in the abilities of the dogs brought in in the weeks after............but if there were any further information in the files that would mean those dogs had got it wrong...and Madeleine could be found safe and well..I'd be bl**dy delighted.

I think on that one point we can all agree at least.

Anyhow...that's my lot on the subject......signing off for the night......

well said muffy :-( :-(

If the parents of Madeleine McCann are not loving and concerned parents, then they are amazingly good actors who have acted wonderfully well for many years now.

Yes, there may be facts that the general public are not aware of. But I feel sure the vast majority of the public have shown nothing but great sympathy for this couple since this disappearance. And whilst children are tucked up in a large family house, how many parents would know that an intruder had entered their premises via another part of the house. How many times has a house been burgled whilst the parents or childless couple are watching a film on TV?

And, if I remember the layout of the apartments, the McCanns were closer geographically to their children than many parents in larger houses often are to their children.

My total sympathy goes to the McCanns and always has. My total loathing goes to whoever potentially wrecked the life of an innocent and beautiful and happy and well-loved little daughter.

So that's it then her parents are guilty, there was no abduction, Madeleine disappeared into thin air, nobody took her, yet nobody seems to know what happened to her, least of anyone on here, and nobody will actually say what they "know" happened, you're just saying that's my last say on the matter, why? if you know something and you're sure of your facts say so, or at least tell the police your findings.

I you're saying the McCanns were negligent, then you might as well say that all parents of children who go missing, are negligent, Ben Needham, April Jones, Sarah Payne, James Bulger, all these parents didn't have there child in there sight when they went missing.

I don't blame any of the parents, I blame the abductor.

Muffy I agree these children should never have been left for such a long time and I personally could never have left my kids or gkids alone to go for a meal especially in a foreign country. I know you are among those who have read into all there is to read and more on this case. Negligence to my mind is leaving children so young alone especially in strange surroundings. Perhaps one day the truth will come out. There are still without a doubt so many unanswered questions. I just hope if she is still alive she is happy and if her life was taken she didn't suffer.

There is such a difference between a child wandering away in a split second, or being taken from a public place, and 3 very young children who were left alone, NOT wandering out of sight but PUT deliberately out of sight .

if there was an abduction then the abductor MUST of course be blamed... but I don't believe there was.

Yes, but what we believe or don't believe is absolutely immaterial, Rose, surely.

A huge amount of money has been spent privately and publicly and a huge amount of time has been wasted if your inkling is right. Is it just intuition that she was not abducted? If not, have you voiced what you know to the police?

Its not a case of judging or presuming, just common sense & responsibility surely?

If you want to go on holiday with a friends & you have children you have to be responsible. If you want to go out have trustworthy childcare or leave the children at home with someone you trust.

This is the sadest case of "out of sight out of mind". Choices were made on that holiday & the parents will have to live with it.

If a family in the UK acted in the same way- leaving small children alone at night on a regular basis I tend to think Social Services would be knocking the door & the public would have little sympathy.

I came back to this thread against my better judgement.

Nobody is saying "we know what happened" so responses in that vein are worthless.

What those of us who have read every published paper since day one of this case are saying is simple:

The parenting was woeful, if you were a suspect wouldn't you answer all the questions put to you by the investigators? Would you trademark your missing child's distinctive feature/name within days? Wouldn't you tell the truth whilst under oath at the Levenson enquiry? Just a few points which make me question many aspects of the case.

Then we have the dogs, dogs don't lie!!!!! You cannot compare this case to any other, this is unique.

I find any term referencing 'armchair sleuths' to be insulting to the many professional people who have written about this case in a thoroughly unbiased, forensically researched manner.

Now that is my final word. I don't have to justify my beliefs to anyone.

You're entirely correct John, what WE think IS immaterial.

I 'know' no more than anyone else on this board, from whatever angle one views the case.

Leave it to the police. I am sure they will get there in the end. I'm certainly not going to waste their time by contacting them with my suspicions...I am sure they are more than capable of exploring all avenues.

Copied from yahoo news and hour ago:

"Known paedophiles, holidaymakers and Ocean Club staff are thought to be among the dozen suspects identified in a Scotland Yard review of the Madeleine McCann case.

Some of them at least have been questioned in the original Portuguese police investigation, but dismissed without being fully investigated.

A source said: "British detectives on the McCann review have had major problems because the Portuguese police did not record reasons for not pursuing leads."

It won't stop the "I am better than them, I would never be negligent like them, I watch/ed my children 24/7" brigade. And it may not add much to this thread. But I would trust the police to be pretty thorough if they can get full cooperation from Portuguese authorities.

Like everybody else,I don't know what has happened to Madeleine McCann. I don't even want to speculate.

What I was interesed in when I started this thread was,if she is alive and living with the family who bought or adopted her,how will she be treated if she is found.

How confusing it would be to have had two sets of parents,maybe two lots of siblings or to have had a family with siblings and then none.

Maybe she is Muslim now.

At three it would not have been such a big step to learn a new way of life but she is three times that age now. The emotional traumas of a three year old are very different from those in double figures.

I agree, Sharron. I've wondered a lot about those girls who have just been freed in the US and how they will ever adjust to normal life. I know it's a different situation but I've thought the same about Ben Needham and Madeleine McCann if they ever turn up. I would guess that if they turn out to be alive and to have been loved and cared for it will be very bittersweet for the parents but at least they'd know that? It would be the confusion in the children's lives....

Like you, I don't want to speculate about it and I think all speculation, especially on public forums, is a bit futile.

It's a bit hard to see how a family she is living with could be unaware of who she is or to be innocent of any wrong doing.

Although the case has been highly publicised in the UK, has the same coverage been taking place in Europe?

Of course the family will know who she is but she may not.