Find Madelaine.

[Cranfield]

Firstly, I must say that I am the father of two daughters and think the kidnap of this little girl is a monstrous crime and I hope they find her safe and well.

 

What I am having trouble understanding is the behaviour of her parents.

Firstly, if her parents had been social security misfits from a rundown area, they would have been hounded by the media for leaving her alone and probably prosecuted.

 

These parents have done the tour of Europe and North Africa, publicising her disappearance and appearing on TV, in newspapers, magazine articles etc., all of which made some sense.

 

Now they are in America , where the father is "studying US child protection methods" and appearing on TV shows, in newspapers and magazines articles.

 

Both have fulltime jobs that they have been absent from for some long time, which once again is understandable if they are still traumatised, but all this World travel ?

 

Cynics are starting to question where all the money that has been sent in for rewards, etc., is going.

The website even has a PayPal link for making donations.

 

I don't consider myself a cynic, but I do look at all this and think something is not quite right.

[Wookie]

Cranfield, I think you are not wrong to be cynical. I personally think that something is up and know that if I had had a child kidnapped I would still be pretty messed up about it. I still can't believe they met the pope and left the country for all those visits while police were still looking for their kid.

 

On a more depressing note... I seem to recall someone saying that if you can't find a kidnapped child within 72 hours, they are probably dead. Maybe they have just accepted this and have moved on. Very rapidly.

[dusk2dawn]

I have to agree with you, some aspects have been worrying me for sometime now. Unfortunately I am a self confessed cynic although blessed with a sense of reasoning which helps to keep a balanced outlook on life

 

The Portugese police handling of the investigation was flawed to say the least and the little girl slipped the net by the time they had got their backsides into gear,I to am uncomfortable with the parents behaviour which is more than a little strange, the other question is just who is caring for the other children throughout all this globetrotting?

I sincerly believe there will be a twist to the kidnapping and dissappearance, I think we all need some form of closure on this

with the persons responsible found and brought to justice.

 

D2D

[pin]

If she wasn't killed soon after being taken she will have been now, there is nowhere in the world the taker could go with the campaign as it is - so I think they have put her in the ground by going on like they have.

 

There is something not right about the parents, I don't know what but I just get that feeling.

 

The parents should be brought home to face charges of neglect, this is setting nasty precedent which can't be ignored.

 

I don't intend any disrespect, I am only voicing an opinion. I am a father to be and I am so attached to the little one not yet born, I can't imagine what it must be like to have one of your own taken.

[starlight32]

I totally agree with all of the above posts.

 

It is one pure thing- class system

 

These people are two surgeons/consultants, as Cranfield said earlier if it had been a working class couple from a modest background this would have been old news.

 

They left their children unattended for which there is no excuse no matter how close to them they say they were.

 

It would also be interesting to know if they are still on full NHS pay during their leave of absence from their normal duties, which I expect they are, at the taxpayers expense.

 

Sorry to have such a low moral view but it has to be said.

 

A good friend of mine until his retirement was a reasonably high ranking police officer, and he recently told me many people go missing in the U.K every year, including children. Some in very sad/suspicious circumstances for which there is never any media coverage nor any second thought.

 

Regards starlight32

[JohnGalway]

They left their children unattended for which there is no excuse no matter how close to them they say they were.

 

 

I've talked about that with many people. Worryingly a lot of them said it's fine to leave kids in the room while off for dinner

 

In todays world I do not agree that that behaviour is in any way acceptable. If you want a break from the kids then do that at home by leaving them with trusted relatives, not some stranger employed by a foreign hotel on on their lonesome.

[Paul in North Lincs.]

I thought that from day one.............................with such high profile media coverage, a kidnapper might easily panic and do something unmentionable......rather than the softly softly approach where it may have been easier for the child to be returned with no real problem..

 

I have found this whole thing very upsetting as a father of a 4 year old and 2 year old...and I would'nt know how I would cope if this ever happened to me.

 

I think is easy to be critical over the Machans, but in reality I would imagine that they are shot to bits, and being 'guided' into the international travel.....the tv appearances ect....... by those 'media experts' who job its is promote and bring such things to the forefront......

 

While they are keeping positive and pro-actively campaiging...they are still clutching to a glimmer of hope that she is still alive, which in itsself may be providing some clouded comfort...............if this stops then suddenly the harsh reality will home................that she ios no longer with us...............I hope this is not true

 

Perhaps its time to let go and let the griefing process commence...................

[OldBill]

My little one is a few months older than Madeline. I would never, ever leave her 100s of metres away whilst I got pi$$ed (that's what they were doing having "dinner"). Everyone seems to have also glossed over the fact that they also left their baby as well.

 

You cannot help feeling sorrow for them (and Madeline) but there is a strong part of me that SHOUTS that they should be held accountable. Everyone here is right I think, it's a class thing. I once arrested the offspring of someone very high in my force. Before I had gotten them to the cells someone from the police was there to "speed" the process through. The judge said they would be going down and on retuning on bail after a "consultation" period, they got community service.

 

My instinct shouts to me that something is wrong with these two. Quite what it is I'm unsure; is it just my morality or my sense of criminality?

[Jonsey]

There was something on the news last night about child abduction. In Bulgaria, for as little or as much depending on how you see it as £20k a child could be yours. It was very scary and I assume it happens all over the world and If this was the intention with Madeline then with all the publicity and public interest that has been drummed up by her parents the media and their families then surely this little girl will now be dead. In other words too hot to handle and they couldn’t give her back so they killed her. I don’t think this poor child will be found alive now.

 

I do feel and have felt since the beginning that the McCann parents were negligent in leaving 3 small children in an apartment on their own. I agree that they should be brought home to face charges. Imagine how a British Court would react if for instance, I left my child in the house whilst I nipped to the pub a few metres away for a gin and tonic. I tell you I would be charged with neglect. However they maintain they were 50 metres away in a restaurant and could see their apartment from there. But not so near they didn’t spot someone stealing their child. 50 metres is a long way. You do not leave children on their own in an apartment whilst you go out to dine whether you are checking on them every half hour or not. I do not care if they maintain their behaviour falls within “responsible parenting guidelines†my personal feelings are that is just not true. There was a baby sitting service at the apartment complex which they declined to use, this was highlighted in one of their interviews whilst in America.

 

I think they’ve raised close to a million pounds now and just recently there was an article in the news stating that the parents would not be returning to the UK unless they find Madeline and that they were both learning Portuguese. I guess the money will fund their stay but also keep everything ticking over the UK. Surely they’ll have a mortgage to pay over here and bills to keep paid. Their family need to fly over to them and also fund their trips to other parts of the world.

 

Jonsey

[Gully]

I've never seen it stated what the law is in Portugal regarding leaving kids unattended. If they've committed any crime it will have been in Portugal and that's where they'd face a court. Not sure if its in the public interest though - generally over here when people have their kids killed or injured in accidents when they've been negligent they haven't faced prosecution as the result itself as seen as enough punishment. Jamie Bulger's mum took her eye off him in a busy shopping centre - should she have been prosecuted?

[LEFTY478]

He's an NHS Consultant, she's a GP. So, by my calculation that's a minium of £80,000 + £50,000 = £130,000 a year between them. Perhaps that's just not enough to be able to pay for a child minder, ********!

 

If the pair of them had been; a school janitor and an office cleaner, then, the British press would been slagging off the "uncaring, unfit scum bags" not giving them every simpathy whilst rubbishing the local Plod.

 

I hope and pray that the little girl is safe, but I also hope the parents go to jail, where they belong to be.

 

This what I said, back in May and I have seen nothing to change my mind since. There are clearly class related issues here - their actions were criminal, but that does not stop me having sympathy for the poor little or empathy for the parents.

 

Many, many people will have had childred upstairs, asleep in bed while they had drinks with friends in the garden of their own house. Some will be lucky enough to have gardens large enough to have been 50 meters away, too. But this is not the same as abandoning your childred in a hotel room.

 

The McCann's may not be responsible for the abduction of their daughter, but they are culpable.

[pin]

One thing worth pointing out, considering the "Status" of the parents, is the complex they were staying in offers a child minding service for £20.

 

You draw your own conclusions about how much they valued their children's lives.

[Cranfield]

From their website;

 

Donations of £946,843.92 have been received to the fund to date.

[08shooter]

im not a parent but that little girl looked a little angel,i for one would never have left her alone,and as for the sicko that took her the gallows is too good for him.

[LEFTY478]

I've never seen it stated what the law is in Portugal regarding leaving kids unattended. If they've committed any crime it will have been in Portugal and that's where they'd face a court. Not sure if its in the public interest though - generally over here when people have their kids killed or injured in accidents when they've been negligent they haven't faced prosecution as the result itself as seen as enough punishment. Jamie Bulger's mum took her eye off him in a busy shopping centre - should she have been prosecuted?

IIRC, the British courts' can pursue crimes committed by British citizens abroad and foreign nationals who committ crimes against British citizens whilst abroad, so either way the British courts' have jurisdiction to proscute.

 

The Jamie Bulger analogy is IMO, both inappropriate and unfair.

[miroku38]

I do believe that the parents should have been more careful by not leaving the children alone but they've made a mistake and are surely paying the price for it now?

Also some people have said that with all the publicity she got that the abductors would have no choice but to kill her as she is too well known now and of use to no one. this leads to the debate about whether they were right to have such a huge media campaign to highlight her disappearance or should they have let the police deal with it in the hope she is found or returned. From what i can gather so far the portugues police seem to be pretty useless and they felt the best way of getting her back was to highlight her abduction.

I dont believe it was an opportunist who stumbled across their apartment and seen they kids were alone and abducted. I belive someone was sent to find a young girl for some sick &****** and had been watching her and the family for a few days beforehand. Obviously as she is now very recognisable the person who would have "ordered" her will no longer want her and unfortunately she will have been killed.

 

What do others think has happened to her?

[Jonsey]

I don’t think you can compare Jamie Bulger’s case to this. His mother took her eyes off him she didn’t leave him in The Strand on his own. They were both in the butchers shop, she was paying for the food and he was waiting at the end of the queue of people by the door. He was lured away by two other children.

 

The McCann’s left their children unattended in an apartment in a foreign country 50m away. That's not taking your eyes of them.

 

Jonsey

[henry d]

Calm replies please...........we`re all friends here !

[Gully]

Maybe comparing it to Jamie Bulger is unfair but we've all lost our kids in shopping centres, and those without kids, I'm sure you can remember being 'lost' at some point during your childhoods.

 

I've sat outside round a pool at night in the garden of a villa on holiday while my 3 daughters have been asleep inside. Yes, I think alcohol was probably involved. In retrospect, I had no idea who the neighbours were, who had a key to the villa and it would have been entirely possible that someone could have gone in and taken one or all of them. People relax when on holiday. Maybe I'm a bad parent but I try my damndest not to wrap my kids in cotton wool.

 

I agree the Mcanns are making a meal of the publicity, but I think that they have paid the price for 'not caring' about the kids and are now trying to be seen to do the opposite. What's the alternative, go home and accept that your daughter's gone?

[malkiserow]

Perhaps since the family has received money from the public then they could make the donation accounts transparant and publish a summary on thier web-page ?

Malk

[richie1606]

I have to agree with some of the above posts about leaving a child alone in a foreign country. As a father of a 9 year old girl and 4 year old boy I can't understand why the were left unsupervised and being cynical I don't understand how they can travel the world and keep their jobs on hold . I can rember back in 1991 the dissappearance of Ben Needham when he was only 20 odd months old on Kos. There was some publicity but nowhere near as much as this case and the poor lad still hasn't been found so I don't see after all this time how they will find Maddie.

[Lurch]

What I am having trouble understanding is the behaviour of her parents.

Firstly, if her parents had been social security misfits from a rundown area, they would have been hounded by the media for leaving her alone and probably prosecuted.

 

Absolutely.

They seem to be revelling in the limelight a little too much, it doesn't ring at all true.

The fact that they still maintain that leaving the children in the hotel room was OK is baffling to me.

[Gordon R]

The McCann's behaviour appalls me. They were at best very, very stupid and naive. At worst - it doesn't bear thinking about. I have been uncomfortable from day one with the way they jet around the globe, with every TV appearance seen as a photo opportunity. They seem very at ease in front of a camera, with no sense of acceptance as to what they have done. I think they should face justice, despite their loss. It's all very well saying they were just out for a drink - many metres away, but it was enough for someone to abduct the child, from an unlocked apartment.

 

As a parent and grandparent, I would not be able to function, let alone appear on TV in various countries.

 

No excuse is too small, no lead so slender, than off they go again - jetting somewhere different.

 

It stinks.

[NorfolkBoy]

The McCann's behaviour appalls me. They were at best very, very stupid and naive. At worst - it doesn't bear thinking about. I have been uncomfortable from day one with the way they jet around the globe, with every TV appearance seen as a photo opportunity. They seem very at ease in front of a camera, with no sense of acceptance as to what they have done. I think they should face justice, despite their loss. It's all very well saying they were just out for a drink - many metres away, but it was enough for someone to abduct the child, from an unlocked apartment.

 

As a parent and grandparent, I would not be able to function, let alone appear on TV in various countries.

 

No excuse is too small, no lead so slender, than off they go again - jetting somewhere different.

 

It stinks.

 

It stinks to high heaven, and the longer the parents continue to parade in front of the media the more I keep thinking that somebody is playinng the 'misdirection' card to its fullest.

 

Yes - I am very cynical.

[LEFTY478]

The McCann's behaviour appalls me. They were at best very, very stupid and naive. At worst - it doesn't bear thinking about. I have been uncomfortable from day one with the way they jet around the globe, with every TV appearance seen as a photo opportunity. They seem very at ease in front of a camera, with no sense of acceptance as to what they have done. I think they should face justice, despite their loss. It's all very well saying they were just out for a drink - many metres away, but it was enough for someone to abduct the child, from an unlocked apartment.

 

As a parent and grandparent, I would not be able to function, let alone appear on TV in various countries.

 

No excuse is too small, no lead so slender, than off they go again - jetting somewhere different.

 

It stinks.

 

It stinks to high heaven, and the longer the parents continue to parade in front of the media the more I keep thinking that somebody is playinng the 'misdirection' card to its fullest.

 

Yes - I am very cynical.

 

 

And I believe that I have a well balanced view, as I have cynical 'chips' on both shoulders.