Madeleine McCann: Watching The Parents
MORE no news on the Madeleine McCann case.
It is now a week since the three-year-old girl was snatched from a Portugal holiday resort.
The story has been distressing to watch on our TV screens. What it must like for the parents of Madeleine only a few can know.
BLAME
But their misery is far from complete. With no news of Madeleine, and the Portuguese police having no need to indulge the British tabloids with speculation and theory, Madeleine’s parents are the central characters.
And today’s front-page news, as reported by the caring Mirror, is: “THEY KNOW LEAVING KIDS WAS WRONG.”
Does the Mirror mean to say that Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, now think they did the wrong thing in nipping out for a bite to eat and leaving the children in the apartment on what they thought was a secure resort?
Does the Mirror mean that the McCanns know that popping back regularly to look at their children and checking on their well being was less than perfect?
Does the Mirror mean that the McCanns realise they should not have left their children alone, just like it is wrong to leave a child in a hotel under the auspices of a baby monitoring service, to leave a child in the car while mum goes to pay for petrol, to talk to a neighbour over a garden fence while the children are indoors?
Of course this is not the Mirror’s view. Oh, no. This is Madeleine’s grandmother, Susan Healy, saying: “They know this was a mistake. But it wasn’t child neglect, it wasn’t not caring for your children.”
That she feels the need to say this is wrong. That the Mirror can lead with Madeleine’s grief-worn parents is pathetic and misguided. That the paper can talk of “people are asking why they didn’t make use of the crèche” at the resort or take the children out to dinner with them is wrong.
But the Mirror has news to write. And the police aren’t playing the game.
THEORIES
So the Mirror produces: “THE 6 THEORIES.”
Only six! Why this cautious approach? But it is all the Mirror has. And readers hear of the “PAEDOPHILE GANG”, the “LONE PAEDOPHILE”, the “JEALOUS MOTHER”, Madeleine wandering off and “DROWNED”, the “OPPORTUNIST PAEDOPHILE”, the “CHILDLESS COUPLE”.
But the Sun has more. It has 130 more. As the front-page headline screams: “MADDIE COPS HUNT 130 BRIT PAEDOS.”
The paper says “at least” 130 British paedophiles “might” have taken Madeleine McCann.
In “ALGARVE IS ‘HAVEN’ FOR PERVS”, readers learn that Portugal is a “magnet for sun-seeking perverts from Britain and the rest of Europe”.
Who knew that perverts get off on watching children at the beach?
Us And Them
But help is on its way. The Sun lists the British coppers who will go out there and see to it that justice is done. We, says the paper, are the only country with a sex offenders’ register.
All convicted perverts must inform the police of their desire to go abroad. At least 130 have. And the police are looking for them.
But – and whisper this – might it be that convicted sexual deviants don’t all tell the police what they plan to do? They are not monitored while overseas. And might it be that not all sexual predators are caught and make it to the list?
Among the policemans’ names is Detective Superintendent Graham Hill, attached to theChild Exploitation and Protection Centre. Hill is on the case. He has flown to Portugal.
Hill worked on the case of Milly Dowler. She was snatched from near Walton railway station, Surrey, in 2002. Her body was found six months later. Her killer or killers have never been caught.
Perhaps Hill’s experiences can help. Perhaps he’ll have more luck. Perhaps not.
Meanwhile, a family is distraught, and bearing up incredibly well under the strain and the merciless gaze of the newspapers…
Posted: 10th, May 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (2,260) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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August 31st, 2007 at 4:36 pm
No John O, I could never insult you, for you and me are born to be together. WE are so like minded. There is no one else for me but you
August 31st, 2007 at 4:34 pm
O John, how evilly sweet you sing. I do love you (ME).
August 31st, 2007 at 4:31 pm
That went over my head Alice! Was that an insult?
—————–Mods and Admin
There is a poster abusing Alice’s user name, it is not Alice
August 31st, 2007 at 4:25 pm
1323 - LOL! LOL!x2
August 31st, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Oh dear John You speak so eleoquently, Ijust love you when you talk nasty about people that arent here to defend themselves. Is that the tabloids? Oh wonderful is there anyones lives in there that we can thrash? Wonderful! I really dooooo love a good tabloid story.
Oh dear is that a spot on your chin??? No its just a mark on the mirror.
August 31st, 2007 at 4:19 pm
John O and alice are in full agreement because they are the same person!
I agree with Suzze Cute - TOSSERS that ALICE JOHN O creep.
Actually I think the names Cathy and Wonkey donkey could be also linked to this ONE person
August 31st, 2007 at 4:15 pm
John O
Who died and left you in charge. Anybody that is sympathetic to the Mcanns plight is suddenly Gerry Mcann. U flatter yourself! AS IF SOMEONE THAT HAS GONE THROUGH WHAT THEY HAVE WOULD SPEND TIME PLAYING PING PONG WITH A TOSSER LIKE YOU!
August 31st, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Although i agree that the McCanns neglected Madeleine by leaving her alone with the twins, i dont believe they should be going through the smear campaigns they are now from the people on here or the media.
I didn’t feel sorry for the McCann’s before but now I really feel for them no matter what the ” innocent until proven guilty ” doesn’t mean a thing to you all.
So many people have had their life’s wrecked because of people like your self’s, not only has the McCann family have to go through losing a child not just the parents but grandparents and aunts and uncles, but they have to listen to and read the smear campaigns thought up by small minded people like yourselves.
The same thing has happened with Murat his life has been left in turmoil because of the smear campaigns and the constant media attention of him being the person to have abducted or helped to abduct Madeleine. I think he was just a nosy neighbour who wanted to be the hero.
As you use the internet look into how many people have spent time in prison for crimes they are later proved to be innocent of, or have had to move and start thier lives over again because of people wrecking their lives through lies because they were questioned or accused of a crime, but later proved to be innocent.
What really makes me laugh is that you all think you are better than the highly trained police officers and detectives that are on this case and that you can help!
What your doing is like the xyz comment and the abc your putting 1 +1 together and coming up with 5 its all crap and your just making other peoples lives miserable for your own joy you have no prove.
August 31st, 2007 at 2:29 am
I would love to know the expiry dates on the Mc Cann’s Passports! I would also like to find a list of countries where there is no extradition back to the UK. Where is the money raised for the fund banked? I think by now you will realise where my thoughts lie about this. I hope to God I’m wrong, (and any Lawyers out there will notice this is a non-predjudicial comment, but I think the Portugese Police know FAR more than they are telling. All will be revealed just like a good Columbo film, but I hope XYZ and ABC (insert correct names) do not do a runner with the cash only to be re-united with ABC in a non-extraditable country. We shall see!
August 30th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Pete: Duh!!! yes. Are you a rocket scientist?
Chezza: Dont log on if it bothers you…. Simple!
Monica: At last, someone with sensible comment.
Masie: (Or should I say ‘made up alias of Gerry Mc’)
Dawn: Full agreement. The social services must get involved for the benefit of the remaining children.
Maureece: Leave Alice alone. She has made some valid points which, even if the words arnt how you would write them, make sense. Anyway, who are you???
Alice: Ignore the falseness of the do gooders and say what you think or feel. That is what the forum is about.
I have nothing more to say that hasnt already been said time and again. My point is made. I look forward to future developments in the case and will pass further comment at that time.
August 30th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
if the door was open could Madeleine not have walked out the room on her own ?
August 30th, 2007 at 11:28 am
hey do u know woti come on here a few months ago i cnt believe theres still debating going on over maddie i mean i feel for the little girl but how is debating going to help it makes me so mad
August 30th, 2007 at 10:37 am
I just came back from Spain where no one left their kids alone at night. They were all up watching entertainment with parents until late and not one of them were asleep.
We did the same. You cannot get kids to sleep on demand. i would not want to. We love being with our kids as its their holiday as much as ours.
August 29th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
just came back from holidays recently. Met a number of people who were doing exactly the same thing, leaving the children in the apartments while popping downstairs for a drink or two.
August 29th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
The parents know they were seriously wrong to leave their children alone. When we went on family holidays abroad, thats what they were FAMILY holidays.We never used the Children clubs or nanny services.
If the children needed to go to bed we bought a bottle of wine, a take away and sat on the balcony, knowing we were next to our children.
I hope the UK social services and police investigate this neglect further when they do return to the UK.
It is terrible and my hopes are that Maddie is safe and sound..But as time goes on my hope are disappearing.
August 29th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Alice,
Jerry makes a new appeal, I would really like to think that yes he does know something he did say in one interview that they knew something they could not divulge that it had to come from the appropriate people, and then saying it is possible she could be in Spain, and that the Portugese and Spanish Police were working together on something who knows, but my fingers are crossed that the sighting in spain is cruitial surely there must be CCTV footage in one of these garages thay can’t all be broken, just taken out or plain not there, and for sure if there was CCTV Jerry and Kate would know in a second whether it was Madeleine
‘Not Too Late To Do The Right Thing’
Updated: 07:17, Wednesday August 29, 2007
The father of Madeleine McCann has made a new appeal to her abductor, saying “it is not too late to do the right thing”.
Gerry McCann: ‘Come forward’In his latest blog entry, Gerry McCann says: “Sometimes people do things for reasons that even they cannot understand.
“An act of madness, an accident or sudden impulse can lead to consequences that people may never have imagined or intended.
“Faced with such a situation we believe any human soul will ultimately suffer torment and feelings of guilt and fear.
“If you have done something you regret, if you find yourself in a situation you never intended, it is not too late to do the right thing.
“Please come forward, return Madeleine, leave her in a place of safety.
“At the very least, help us by letting us know what has happened to our beautiful little girl.”
Missing MadeleineHis comments came after he walked out of a TV interview after being asked about blood traces found in his daughter’s bedroom.
Mr McCann apparently grew frustrated with repeated questioning about the police investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance 118 days ago.
He halted the interview with Spanish television channel Telecinco, pointing out that Portuguese law meant he could not comment on details of the inquiry.
Clips on Telecinco’s website show Mr McCann pulling a microphone off his shirt and walking out of the room - although he returns a few minutes later.
Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, was snatched from her family’s holiday flat in the Algarve village of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3.
Her parents were dining at a tapas restaurant nearby.
August 29th, 2007 at 9:18 am
My my alice, what a nasty specimen you are. ‘bleat’, ‘Mom Mc’,. ’scarlett Pimpernel’ imagery, Is this really necessary? Can you for once make a point without a nasty swipe at these people. You are a veneomous object. Your point of the Mcanns heading off to every location that some one thinks they have seen Madeleine is abdurd. I am very angry too about the way the children were left. But this song has been sung ad nauseum. Really Alice… get a life and a bit of cop on!
August 28th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Sally do you really think that if the McCanns had seen concrete evidence that their daughter was in Spain - they would be 1- Dad Mc jetting off to bleat at the Edinburgh festival and 2.Mom Mc. staying in Portugal. Of course there is little proof that she is in Spain. Madeleine McCann is fast becoming the 21st century Scarlet Pimpernel - They seek her here they seek her there - elusive !! I am of the opinion that this is just another siting from a chancer who would like to reap a reward. If - and I say if the police checked Spain and Madeleine was found - there would be a substantial reward to the person who pointed them in that direction - so I suppose that Spain was a calculated guess - right next door to Portugal. AND another theory when the going gets tough - set up a diversion. Whoever knows where and how Madeleine went missing might be feeling the heat and needing to orchestrate a diversion for the police - as they may feel that the police are close to collaring them. Who Knows?? this case seems to be set to run and run. I just hope Madeleine is alive and well and being cared for like a child should be.
August 28th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
The Belgium sighting apparently proved not to be Madeleine.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2007/08/20/cafe-girl-is-named-89520-19661221/
The Spanish reporting doesnt look too hopeful but I see what you mean about the belief of the mcanns that she maybe in Spain.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91210-1281200,00.html
This is the latest report I can find.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Does anyone know what has happened about the spanish sighting is this another false alarm or red herring, how can the police lose a car both in Belgium and Spain do they not have the same number plate recognision as in Britain, the man in the car spoke british, that is why the police were taking the sighting seroiusly the little girl apparantly said “can I go home now” the man replied “Its raining in Scotland this was translated by the two spanish ladies that reported it, I wonder though whether the man acted the way he did because he was fed up with people looking at his daughter, however I have a daughter the same age as Madeleine and people do look at her if someone asked to have a closer look at her eyes I would have no problem, this man picked the girl up hid her face in his chest and threw her into the back seat of his VW another car we will probably never hear of again, surley the Papers in spain are reporting this sighting and nobody has come forward to declare it was them, but then again the Belguim sighting dragged on as well ? …………. does anyone think there is any bones to this spanish sighting or have any more info on it ? did the garage not have a CCTV camera, it surprises me that Jerry thinks Madeleine is in Spain perhaps he has seen some CCTV footage perhaps that what he means by him and Kate having some info that he cannot tell us, that this needs to come from the Police ??????? Any views
August 28th, 2007 at 11:10 am
I think that leaving the children alone was a very stupid thing to do. I cant understand how anyone can think that this is right. But I think that the attack on the Mcanns is like a witch hunt that has dehumanised them completely. Agreed they should never have done what they did. But they have lost a little baby girl as their punishment. I think that there is no doubt that they must say face their crime a thousand times over each day with deep and bitter regret what utter heartbreak to have to live with. I do belive that they loved their children. They have sacrificed themselves to the world media in order to find Madeleine. They have put so much on hold. The nonsense about them living orr the fund is terrible. I have read that only 67,000 euro has been used and that was purely to cover printing costs and production costs.
I wish however that there was a big bill for some detectives in there.
But it is quite likely that if they have hired a detective that the bill would not be invoiced yet anyway. So yes its quite likely that some heavy weights are privately working away on the case.
The Portugese press are out of line with these so called insider reports. The freedom of the press is onething but to attack this couple in this way is unforgiveable.
The fact that the defence lawyer for Murat was the one who wrote the infamous SOL report makes me wonder who (if not Murat) was watching the Mcanns so closely that they knew every move they made. I mean when have you ever observed another group so closely when on holidays? I know I dont take any notice of others when I am on holiday. Too busy catching the rays getting some r&r to care. And I could have a pretty good guess that the PJ are not going to reveal any details to the defence team. That Catherina whatever her name (authoress of SOL report and others) sounds like a wannabe celebrity just jumping on any oul band wagon to get a name for herself.
August 28th, 2007 at 10:33 am
John O, like I said you are ’self opinionated’. You insult anyone who doesnt share your self opinionated views. Maybe you should get a forum just for yourself. Maybe then you wont have to deal with other tiresome ones
August 27th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
That’s nice Angie. So glad to hear that the twins will live happily ever after now at the cost of their big sister. I love a happy ending.
Jean, I am not self opinionated. I am opinionated. If I had no opinions I would not be much use to an internet forum would I?????
The McCanns have proved they are not criminals? When? I must have missed that news item….. or is that just your ‘opinion’ Jean? Sure, they don’t wear balaclava’s and carry loaded guns. I might be wrong but if you break the law then surely you are a criminal. Is there a law preventing parents from leaving children of a certain age on their own? If so then they broke the law = ‘criminal’.
I am not saying the McCanns are guilty of anything more sinister than child neglect. This is fact. I ‘with my opinions’ consider their actions as parents since the ‘abduction’ to be highly suspect. Sorry if you frankly disagree Jean.
August 27th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
For some reason Jon O you do seem against anything I have to say. I do not consider sitting five feet away from my child the same as leaving the child unattended, I am saying that no matter what happens to a parent’s child, said parent is always going to blame themselves or feel guilty if anything bad happens to the child even if they could have prevented it - its an automatic reaction like “If only I had done this” or “If only I had done that”.
Everyone agrees that what the McCanns did was negligent - doesnt stop a sympathetic person for feeling sorry for them. They are regretting their actions and they DO NOT deserve the trauma they are dealing with. I just hope their little one comes home safely soonest. I can guarantee one thing though, they will for ever be protective of their kids from now on, probably even overly.
August 27th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Frankly I dont agree with you John O. I think you are far too self opinionated to see anothers point of view.
As for ‘poison’ Alice who spends her/his time lurking the around the forums he/she is nothing short of sinister with an agenda that can only equal that of someone whose cosy ring of contacts has been disturbed and is hitting out at anyone who who vaguely supports the Mcanns.
I dont agree that they were not culpable by leaving the children alone. But I feel that they have more than proved that they are not criminals unlike the multi aliased posion alice.
August 26th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Thanks ‘A person’ for explaining things to Angie. Strange that she considers sitting 5 feet from her child who falls off a see-saw to be the same as leaving 3 children under 4 on their own in a strange country. It appeared from your comments Angie that you were talking without the experience of a parent. I apologise for making assumptions.
What I meant to say was that you have a wishy washy arguement, you contradict yourself and your views are inconsistent. I thought this was the naivety of a teenager but is concerning if you are a mum of 3.
We all have things we must learn from in life to prevent making the same mistakes. This, however, was not a mistake. It was negligence. They knew what they were doing was wrong but took a gamble on their childrens safety and wellbeing. Of course they wont be doing the same thing with the twins but it is too late. The twins should be placed with responsible family or taken in to care until the McCanns are proven not guilty of causing Madelines death (accidentally or not), have been tested for their state of mental health and have attended a course on parenting skills.
Forgive me for assuming this is a forum for discussion. Of course the detective work is done by the police but does this mean I am not allowed a view? The only broken record is the one playing the ‘Give the McCanns a chance’ tune. Interesting comment from ros b, Linda, Alice who have given an intelligent and balanced opinion.
August 24th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Angie
What John o is saying is the McCann’s were not doing their Parental Duties of protecting Madeleine when she needed it most. By:
If she was abducted -
Not being their in the property to protect her from harm
or
Having someone else their in the property to protect her from Harm.
What your saying about the bath the seesaw ect is completely different as in most cases you was there or if the child was in the bath you was close by.
As I have said before they were Wrong to leave Maddy and did neglect to give her the protection she deserved as a small child.
They were not as far as others have said negligent or abusive parents before this happened and the temptation of the need for a peaceful night out or two and the holiday spirit shouldn’t have taken over that protection but it did and now they cannot change what has happened. They wont be doing it again with the twins.
I’m not asking you to feel sorry for the McCann’s im not asking you to be nice to them what I am saying is we have heard it all and to be honest its beginning to sound like a broken record. Let the police do the detective work they know what they are talking about.
August 24th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
John O - of course there is probably not a parent around who has not left their child unattended in the bath - who hasnt. I was just trying to make a point - that things do happen and that a parent cannot wrap their children in bubble wrap. I am saying that if a parent does or doesnt do something and that leads to the child getting injured or worse, that said parent should not have to suffer for it for ever more like the McCanns obviously are. One cannot compare a criminal getting injured in the process of committing a criminal offence to the suffering of a parent when something happens to their child.
By the way John O, I have three wonderful and healthy sons - one of which recently fell off a seesaw and broke his arm whilst I was sitting not five feet away from him - guess what - I felt guilt like crazy - but cant keep him off the seesaw can I.
Enjoy your weekend all.
August 24th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
this was taken from a Sky news report site yesterday
McCanns call for more discussions
Almost nine in 10 MPs felt that the UK’s Child Rescue Alert - an emergency scheme to publicise suspected child abductions within hours - should be extended across the EU.
Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry, from Rothley, Leicestershire, have travelled around Europe to publicise their daughter’s disappearance.
They said she could have been taken to another country by abductors taking advantage of the EU’s porous borders.
Mr McCann said “We are pleased to see that elected members of both the UK and European parliaments agree that changes to legislation and greater consistency across the European Union are needed.
“Kate and I would like to encourage further debate on how Europe can best manage serious crimes such as child abduction.”
ISNT IT ABOUT TIME “KATE AND I” STARTED TO ENCOURAGE DEBATE ON HOW NOT TO BEHAVE WHILST ON HOLIDAY WITH YOUNG CHILDREN. THIS IS THE FUNDEMENTAL REASON WHY THEY DO NOT HAVE THEIR DAUGHTER WITH THEM.
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO PROOF REPORTED ON THAT SHE WAS ABDUCTED. GET OFF THE BANDWAGON AND GET SEARCHING FOR HER
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:33 pm
I feel uneasy about the Spain siting - as I did about the Belgian one. Just before the “siting” in Belgium the investigation was reported to be progressing and significant information was reported as being investigated by the police. Now - with the police saying that they are close to finding what has really happened - this siting in Spain - I think it may be a distraction, the police will have to investigate it and thus a delay in them acting on information in their posession which may reveal the truth. If the police are close to, but not close enough, to making an arrest, then they would not be able to be publicly seen to ignore a possible siting in Spain. I would like to guess that this siting will come to absolutely nothing with regard to finding Madeleine.