Madeleine McCann - 3 years tomorrow

[Lewis.]

Tomorrow is the third anniversary of the date when Madeleine McCann went missing. What are your opinions on the case, her parents, what may have happened to her?

http://www.findmadeleine.com/

http://www.findmadeleine.com/files/still_missing_intro.jpg

[Claymores]

Without being able to give you any sustantiating evidence, something always seemed dodgy to me about the parents. It's probably just an umwarranted feeling by me.

[Lewis.]

Without being able to give you any sustantiating evidence, something always seemed dodgy to me about the parents. It's probably just an umwarranted feeling by me.

Nah. I think it has been too long into the case for it to be her parents. If they had done it themselves they would not keep trying to promote Madeleines' disapearence

[Stacey.]

aww, it doesnt feel that long ago tbh :bawling:
it must horrible, not knowing anything.
Gerry and Kate seem lovely, i genuinely dont think they had anything to do with her disappearance at all.

[Angus]

I think the villification of the McCanns is despicable. I can't imagine what it must be like to not know what has happened to your child for three long years, and to actually be suspected in being involved in her disappearance! The way it was handled by the Portugese police was disgraceful and the Police Chief in charge had his own xenophobic agenda, even trying to sell a sleazy book citing all sorts of groundless accusations.

Who knows if Madeleine is still alive? I would like to think so as the alternative, that she was the victim of a paedophile, is too horrendous to contemplate. If I were her mum I would still be looking and trying to keep her case high profile.

[Claymores]

Nah. I think it has been too long into the case for it to be her parents. If they had done it themselves they would not keep trying to promote Madeleines' disapearence

If they notionally had been responsible in some way, wouldn't that be EXACTLY what they would do to avoid suspicion after the publicity machine put the case in the spotlight. Consider, for example, the way in which Shannon Matthew's mother acted once the kid's 'abduction' became national news.

Damned cos they have, damned if they didn't I guess would be your quite valid response.

[Scarlett.]

What about the millions of other missing children out there? Where is their anniversary thread? Their front page headlines? Their world wide search? Their chain letters? Their documentaries?

[Zippy]

If they'd killed her themselves Im sure there would be some evidence of a kind. I mean, they were in a foreign country so its not like they would have known where to quickly dispose of the body or anything.

Plus the fact theyre still together. If they shared a horrible secret I think it would have drove them apart, or mad, by now. I believe them. Theyre just not emotional types thats all. People expect them to break down all the time.

Must be the worse thing ever to not know and be forever wondering where she is and if she's suffering. Almost be better to know she's dead. Least its final.

[Spike]

I think she is dead now, its been too long for her to still realistically be alive
My thoughts are that something isn't right with the parents, I've said it since I first saw them on the news, I don't know something just doesn't add up.
I think they know more than they have said, possibly even killed her.

[Angus]

What about the millions of other missing children out there? Where is their anniversary thread? Their front page headlines? Their world wide search? Their chain letters? Their documentaries?


Indeed where? That is why the McCanns should be admired for their tenacity and determination in keeping their daughter's case in the public eye.

[Twilight]

What about the millions of other missing children out there? Where is their anniversary thread? Their front page headlines? Their world wide search? Their chain letters? Their documentaries?

Yeah what makes her disappearance so special? i feel sorry for them and all, but they is other missing kids out there, not just her.

[Angus]

Yeah what makes her disappearance so special? i feel sorry for them and all, but they is other missing kids out there, not just her.

That's the point I was making - the McCanns have been tenacious and not given up, and they have utilised the media to keep their daughter's disappearance high profile. They have been proactive and pushy which is what you have to do to keep the momentum going.

[Scarlett.]

That's the point I was making - the McCanns have been tenacious and not given up, and they have utilised the media to keep their daughter's disappearance high profile. They have been proactive and pushy which is what you have to do to keep the momentum going.I think its more of a case of the media taking a story and running with it, and the McCan's should take the limelight off Maddie now, its selfish

[Angus]

I think its more of a case of the media taking a story and running with it, and the McCan's should take the limelight off Maddie now, its selfish

How is it selfish?:conf: Unless you're a parent you cannot begin to imagine the kind of pain they must be feeling to have lost their child. Are you suggesting they are attention seeking by trying to keep Madeleine's case in the public eye?:shocked: I would do everything in my power to keep reminding the police, the public, the world, to keep looking for my child.

[Stacey.]

I think its more of a case of the media taking a story and running with it, and the McCan's should take the limelight off Maddie now, its selfish

Its not selfish at all - shes missing!
imagine if it was one of your family members, and the limelight was being taken off them, because after 3 years they were still missing...
i dont think you'd be saying the same thing then.

[Scarlett.]

It is selfish, they're asking police to keep searching for their little girl, instead of searching for the hundreds of others out there, I get that they want her back, and that it is painful, but there has to be a cut off date for these things

[Zippy]

and the McCan's should take the limelight off Maddie now, its selfish

The media limelight is virtually their only chance of getting new info. This comment is ridiculous and very ignorant of how parents in their position must be feeling.

[Scarlett.]

The media limelight is virtually their only chance of getting new info. This comment is ridiculous and very ignorant of how parents in their position must be feeling.
What about the hundreds of parents out there who have dont even have the media to help them?

[Stacey.]

It is selfish, they're asking police to keep searching for their little girl, instead of searching for the hundreds of others out there, I get that they want her back, and that it is painful, but there has to be a cut off date for these things

No. there is no cut-off date at all.
never. the search goes on.

[Scarlett.]

No. there is no cut-off date at all.
never. the search goes on.

You're right it does, but what I meant it cant be such a high profile search forever

[Tom4784]

It is selfish, they're asking police to keep searching for their little girl, instead of searching for the hundreds of others out there, I get that they want her back, and that it is painful, but there has to be a cut off date for these things

I'm pretty sure the whole police force of the uk can handle more then one disappearance case at a time. I agree with Angus really.

[Angus]

What about the hundreds of parents out there who have dont even have the media to help them?

So what is stopping those hundreds of parents from doing what the McCanns are doing?

[Scarlett.]

So what is stopping those hundreds of parents from doing what the McCanns are doing?
The media arent interested in them

[Zippy]

Its not the McCanns fault if other missing children aren't getting as much coverage. Theyre bringing the general issue of missing children into the news.

And the police are not doing much because they have no leads. Which is why they need media coverage...to hopefully get a lead for the police to follow up.

[Scarlett.]

Okay, I take back the McCan's being selfish bit back, I just think its unfair how much coverage they have got

[Angus]

The media arent interested in them

Well that's not their fault, and if I were the McCanns I would be thanking God that the media were still prepared to run the stories and I would be exploiting their interest like mad. Unless you've walked in the McCann's shoes, I don't think its fair to judge them.

[Callum]

It has gone so quick, I was thinking about this the other week. I think she may be alive, there was some CCTV footage before that looked like her but was proved not to be her. But apparently there's hundreds of sightings and CCTV footage that could be her that the police in Praia de Luz have been hiding from the McCann's.

[AndyJK]

I cant begin to imagine what Maddie's parents are going through, they will serve a life sentence not knowing what happened to their daughter. But now they have to accept the reality that their daughter is dead and move on with their lives getting some closure otherwise they are just torturing themselves.

The Portuguese police have made a complete hash of the investigation not helped by the media who have tried to incriminate innocent people whom some newspapers have had to pay libel damages to.

[Iceman]

I think it's horrible that she still hasn't been found Alive or Dead......still completely the parents faults though.

[Angus]

I think it's horrible that she still hasn't been found Alive or Dead......still completely the parents faults though.


The "fault" lies with the person or person(s) who took Madeleine. I think the parents have been sentenced to a life sentence since this will probably overshadow everything they ever do for the rest of their lives.

[Beastie]

The "fault" lies with the person or person(s) who took Madeleine. I think the parents have been sentenced to a life sentence since this will probably overshadow everything they ever do for the rest of their lives.

This.. especially the "not knowing" part....

[Iceman]

The "fault" lies with the person or person(s) who took Madeleine. I think the parents have been sentenced to a life sentence since this will probably overshadow everything they ever do for the rest of their lives.

The "fault" lies with the idiotic parents who decided to leave their children alone, in a foreign country, whilst they went out with friends drinking.

[AJ.]

So sad :(

[Angus]

The "fault" lies with the idiotic parents who decided to leave their children alone, in a foreign country, whilst they went out with friends drinking.


So every parent who does not watch their child 24/7 is to blame if they are abducted? I suppose you would say that Denise Bulger and Sarah Payne are responsible for the abduction and murder of their children too? These parents have not done anything countless others have not done before and since. It's wonderful to have hindsight isn't it? - I should think they beat themselves up over this every day of their lives, and I find it incredible that people cannot find any compassion for them.

At the end of the day the abductor(s) are the guilty ones - the most these parents are guilty of is lack of judgment and naivety in believing that their children were safely asleep close by. You make it sound as if every child unattended for even a minute (as in the case of Jamie Bulger) is fair game for any passing abductor and somehow the parents "deserve" it.

[Claymores]

The "fault" lies with the idiotic parents who decided to leave their children alone, in a foreign country, whilst they went out with friends drinking.

A bit exteme, but why I said the parents were dodgy in early posts on thread and why they are 'guilty' and have to get so much publicity - for effing up

In my idea they effed-up going out on the pish allowing their kid to be abducted/murdered by kiddie fiddler.

[Claymores]

So every parent who does not watch their child 24/7 is to blame if they are abducted? I suppose you would say that Denise Bulger and Sarah Payne are responsible for the abduction and murder of their children too? These parents have not done anything countless others have not done before and since. It's wonderful to have hindsight isn't it? - I should think they beat themselves up over this every day of their lives, and I find it incredible that people cannot find any compassion for them.

At the end of the day the abductor(s) are the guilty ones - the most these parents are guilty of is lack of judgment and naivety in believing that their children were safely asleep close by. You make it sound as if every child unattended for even a minute (as in the case of Jamie Bulger) is fair game for any passing abductor and somehow the parents "deserve" it.

Do you go out on the pish in foreign countrys leaving your kid home alone angus?

In the UK leaving a child that age alone would have been classified as neglect/abuse by Social Services and chargeable under UKs laws - because bad situation they have not been prosecuted after return to UK

[Angus]

Do you go out on the pish in foreign countrys leaving your kid home alone angus?


What a ridiculous, immature and frankly offensive response! You have ignored completely the premise that the ABDUCTOR is the one to blame for Madeleine's disappearance, the most the parents can be accused of is naivety and misjudgment, something ALL parents are guilty of from time to time and NOTHING to do with getting pissed. Denise Bulger was at a counter in a shop paying for her purchase and turned away for just a moment; That's all it took for her son to be led away. Sarah Payne's daughter was out playing with her siblings when she was abducted.

And instead of showing any compassion for what was at most was an error of judgment, people are virtually saying the McCanns DESERVE what happened. That may be your view, but they are certainly not GUILTY of the fact that their daughter was ABDUCTED, unless you are suggesting they are somehow involved in the abduction?

[Claymores]

What a ridiculous, immature and frankly offensive response! You have ignored completely the premise that the ABDUCTOR is the one to blame for Madeleine's disappearance, the most the parents can be accused of is naivety and misjudgment, something ALL parents are guilty of from time to time and NOTHING to do with getting pissed. Denise Bulger was at a counter in a shop paying for her purchase and turned away for just a moment; That's all it took for her son to be led away. Sarah Payne's daughter was out playing with her siblings when she was abducted.

And instead of showing any compassion for what was at most was an error of judgment, people are virtually saying the McCanns DESERVE what happened. That may be your view, but they are certainly not GUILTY of the fact that their daughter was ABDUCTED, unless you are suggesting they are somehow involved in the abduction?

What a stupid response - there are 3 involved parties - the kiddy.
fiddler who abducted/murdered the kid - the parents who illegaly went out and left minor for bevvies (UK laws)

Thhere is a difference between taking your daughter to TOYs R Us and missing her for 3 minutus than leaving her in a bedroom and going getting pished which you cannot see

[Claymores]

And instead of showing any compassion for what was at most was an error of judgment, people are virtually saying the McCanns DESERVE what happened. That may be your view, but they are certainly not GUILTY of the fact that their daughter was ABDUCTED, unless you are suggesting they are somehow involved in the abduction?

I never have - I said the poor girl is dead from some kiddie fiddler and the parents become complicit as out on the pish and illegal in UK to leave child alone

[Claymores]

If it wasn't such a sore one and in foreign country , the parents could have charged with child neglect

[Claymores]

So every parent who does not watch their child 24/7 is to blame if they are abducted? I suppose you would say that Denise Bulger and Sarah Payne are responsible for the abduction and murder of their children too.

Small minded incomparable - were the parents out on the pish there too????

[Claymores]

put it this way angus - I wouldn't choose them to be godparents of my daughter even if I had religion

[Stacey.]

like, obviously it was Kate and Gerrys fault because they left them their kids there on their own... but they werent to know anything like that was going to happen! theyve had the past few years so bad, its a bit unfair to put all the blame onto them.

[Claymores]

like, obviously it was Kate and Gerrys fault because they left them their kids there on their own... but they werent to know anything like that was going to happen! theyve had the past few years so bad, its a bit unfair to put all the blame onto them.

I never put all the blame on them Stace - the kiddy fiddler is obviously the one who caused the girl harm. I'm suggesting the parents became complicit by leaving their daughter unattended and going on the pish in a foreign countrry. In UK, leaving a child of her age unsupervised and going out on the pish is called child neglect.

[InOne]

I never put all the blame on them Stace - the kiddy fiddler is obviously the one who caused the girl harm. I'm suggesting the parents became complicit by leaving their daughter unattended and going on the pish in a foreign countrry. In UK, leaving a child of her age unsupervised and going out on the pish is called child neglect.

The UK is pretty fickle to be honest. A white middle class family, good jobs and a photogenic girl, the media jumps on it, and the UK all join together for the mourning of this lost girl (until the next one comes along of course). Before the Shannon Matthews thing came to light, it hardly got any coverage at all. Then they focused on the parents, everyone seems to forget the facts of the case, like she was pretty much imprisoned, and forced to take anti-depressants. God knows the psychological damage done to her. And Shannon is pretty much forgotten about now, also I wonder how many people were thinking about Maddie when the whole Baby P thing was going on. Maddie pops up every now and then in the media and people go "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh yeah"