[user104658]

Originally Posted by jet

Gerry asked a friend to check on Kate and the kids at 6.30 and arrives back at the apartment at 7PM.
So there is 1 hour 30 mins - between 7pm and 8.35 to accidentally kill Maddie, dispose of her body so well it has never been found, get back to the apartment and shower and change and be the first to arrive at the restaurant for dinner at 8.35 where they act totally normal? It’s too far fetched for me.

Everything between 6pm and 10.15pm is "self reported" (unverified by anyone other than the McCann group). Also, the prevailing theory is that she was hidden nearby and moved the following day.

The theories are compelling and just as realistic as the idea that she was taken (there are several holes in that theory, too) BUT for me the important factor is simply remembering that ALL explanations for what happened to her are just theories.

No one knows what happened to her. There is no solid evidence of any kind. Not of someone who knew her doing harm to her... not of a kidnapping... nothing. The only thing in the entire case that is a verified fact is that she disappeared. A lot of people think it's "established" that she was kidnapped and the idea that this wasn't what happened is a "counter-narrative". This is largely because of how it was reported in the UK press... and is not representative of the facts. It has not been established in any way that she was kidnapped.