Finding Madeleine McCann’s Body - “Vermoedelijke Vindplaats”
IS Madeleine McCann dead? A letter to a Dutch newspaper. And a map showing where her body can be found. It’s credible:
Police in Portugal are investigating an anonymous letter and a map claiming to show where missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann’s body is buried.
The letter, sent to Dutch paper De Telegraaf, identifies an area 15km (9.3 miles) from where Madeleine vanished.
It strongly resembles another letter sent to the same newspaper last year, accurately pinpointing where two missing Belgian girls were buried.
Ch Insp Olegario de Sousa said officers were “checking the information”.
Next to a cross and two question marks, the sender writes “vermoedelijke vindplaats Madeleine” - this is the place where Madeleine can probably be found.
A murder investigation. And still only one suspect.
One day on and “BURIED UNDER ROCKS,” says the Mirror’s front –page headline.
The paper notes how the handwriting on the letter is the same as that on the paper giving the whereabouts of Stacey Lemmens and her sister Nathalie Mahy who went missing in Belgium last year.
As the Sun reports, the note says Madeleine is buried “north of the road under branches and rocks, around six to seven metres off the road” in an spot near Odiaxere, close to the Algarve resort from where the girl went missing 42 days ago.
The Mail says the author of this letter and, most likely, the one concerning the Belgian sisters, is unknown to police.
A certain Abdullah Ait-Oud, a convicted paedophile, has been charged with their murders. He denies any involvement. Although police believe he acted with an accomplice who has not been traced.
“MADELEINE IS BURIED HERE,” says the Express on its front page. Portuguese police are searching the area…
Mr McCann says:
“We were extremely disappointed in the publication of the anonymous letter in The Telegraaf claiming to know where Madeleine is buried.”Although all information will be taken seriously, we were very upset that the credibility of this letter had not been examined and, more importantly, published before the Portuguese police had an opportunity to investigate the claim, and search the area if appropriate without massive media attention.
“We feel strongly that this was an irresponsible piece of journalism and, even if it were true, is insensitive and cruel.
“One can imagine how upsetting it is for Kate and I to hear of such claims through the media and if every piece of information was published like this there would be nothing else in the newspapers.”
Read the update here - no body found…
Posted: 14th, June 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (274) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
June 15th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Read the update here - http://www.anorak.co.uk/twitterings/174311.html
June 15th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
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June 15th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Iam in complete agreement of most people on this site.if the mcanns had being in england they would have being hung drawn and quartered.i am a mum of three and i wouldnt dream of leaving them on there own,and my oldest is 11.the big issue here is the safety of little maddy and too many people are concentrating on the parents.yes what they have done is completely wrong but they are going to have to live with that for the rest of there days and im sure thats going to be extremely difficult.im sure i couldnt do it.p.s lets just hope they find maddy safe and well im not very hopefull though be safe little one.xxxxx
June 15th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Apparently it’s all been called off again already??? This is ridiculous? How cna they have ‘had a good look’ in a couple of hours? I appreciate its a big area, but they knew that when they set off this morning. It’s like the just wanted to prove they were looking, when actuaqlly they weren’t.
This is about the strangest thing I have ever seen.
Still no sign of little Madeleine, I hope so much that she isn;t suffering any pain. I can’t bear to think of a little girl being away from her family, terrified and in any sort of pain. I just wish she would be found one way or another. I pray she is alive and found soon. It must be an unbearable rollercoaster for the McCann family, I feel so so sad for them. I honestly don’t think I could cope.
I’m hoping that they have some private investigators already working on this case. Criminal or otherwise. We all know that criminals are willing to grass up their associates for the right price.
The investigation from the outside looks like a bit of a sham, with psychic leads, one suspect who is going about his daily business and this ridiculous approach to the search. (shall we? shan’t we? hmm…what do the papers think? hmmm?…okay lets go for it…oh no maybe not, oh yes lets go again…ah bugger, its a bit big round here…erm…lets stop again).
Maybe some of these hoaxes have been set up by the McCanns or Private Detectives to lull the perpetrator(s) into a false sense of security.
I’m just so sad for the whole McCann family.
June 15th, 2007 at 10:55 am
from sky news site
“Police did not treat the search as a priority yesterday but “with all the media attention the letter had got, they thought they better have a good look”, he added.”
June 15th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Lord knows, Joanne, perhaps it was simply the pressure of people asking why they weren’t searching?
The only thing that’s been reported is that some Dutch journalists found a big towel yesterday in the area (mentioned by Jonathan above), which has been taken away for dna analysis.
They can’t have the results of dna tests yet…
June 15th, 2007 at 10:07 am
They’ve started looking today. Why did they stop the search yesterday saying they didnt have enough information and then start again today? Has some new information come to light abou tthe letter?
June 15th, 2007 at 2:36 am
There are only two established facts in this affair:
1. three young children were left unattended
2. one of them is missing.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
well it appears the letter wasnt credable enough to warrant a search.it has now been called off i read this on the itv news website.Kate and Gerry McCann carried on as normal, taking care of two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie and collecting a friend from Faro airport.
It is understood they do not believe the claim to be significant.
Television crews, photographers and journalists poured into the area but there was no sign of a formal search.
PJ He said they could only start searching an area if they had a precise location
June 14th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Hurray for Jean Jones and Ben ! Jan’s all wet.
The presumption of people talking about any of the McCanns as if they know them personally, in how they address them is ridiculous.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Yes I meant Dutchman… Ah… I didn’t know you could do that on Google.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
More news has appeared about a light brown beach towel being found at the scene by dutch journalists. The claim is that it could be the ‘blanket’ mentioned by a witness. Not sure of its significance but I still can’t believe a killer would lead police to clues like that. It would almost certainly contain DNA evidence.
Manon: assume you meant dutchman. Google map/earth allows you view basically anwhere in some detail.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Pete,
Just because someone doesn’t agree with your opnion does’nt make them miserable or sad. It’s not being vindictive against the McCann’s just stating a fact they left the children alone and went for a meal. Yes they are paying a terrible price but doesn’t mean they can’t be criticised. As far as I’m aware their isn’t any evidence that the windows were forced. Why pay Mark Warner prices if your not going to use the facilities. The McCann’s didn’t want to leave their children there because they didn’t want to leave them with strangers yet they were happy to put their children with strangers during the day and still do.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Totally agree Pete,
the cruelty & schadenfreude of people on here is really grim.
How would a Belgian know the area, that’s the odd thing, which applies just as much if it’s a hoax as if it isn’t…
June 14th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
I’m saddened about how cruel some people are on this board and the shocking malice displayed towards the parents by people like Gemma (Just because your life is miserable and sad don’t take it out on everyone else Gemma). I really wonder how people can be so vindictive and nasty towards a couple who must be suffering terribly.
They made a mistake and will be paying for it the rest of their lives. Remember Madeleine’s abductor broke into the apartment through a shuttered window round the back - something the parents couldn’t possibly have imagined.
As for this letter I think it is most likely a hoax. It appears as if the first Dutch letter about the Belguim girls was perhaps an educated guess that turned out to be accurate. I get the same feeling here - that the letter writer is suggesting the type of place Madeleine is likely to be and doesn’t actually know for sure.
June 14th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Manon: I read an article saying Dutch police had had the letter several days and done some checks. Maybe the article wasn’t accurate or there are more checks to be done such as the mystery DNA.
June 14th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Ben: Its not about getting slaughtered. Having a low of opinion of leaving young children alone is perfectly OK. You’re not hijacking every forum trying to persuade people to sign a petition.
The last time my wife and I had a hotel room we left our 13 month daughter asleep in the locked room and took our baby monitor to the restaurant to get a meal. We made sure the monitor covered the distance OK and also physically checked on her every so often. Sounds perfectly reasonable right?
With hindsight, it might not be. We were covering the eventuality that our daughther would wake and cry for attention. This isn’t the same as being at home. There is a public access area between us and our daughter. Someone with a pass key or lock picking skills could potentially have snuck in and abducted our daughter without causing sufficient alarm on the monitor. Does that make us negligent? I would hate to think so because so caring.
I think those judging Madeleine’s parents need to seperate the idea of them not hearing a child wake versus what happened.
June 14th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Jonathan: according to a recent Evening Standard report the Dutch police said they are waiting to hear from the Portuguese police as to whether they want them to investigate further into the letter is authentic or not.
June 14th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Hennah: Thats why the lack of validation by those writing these stories is so worrying. The MacCanns have made it clear just how upsetting it is when this is so speculative. My point all along here is that the first letter wasn’t that credible. The fact that this letter about Madeleine is similar to the first doesn’t make either of them credible. Clearly the PJ now agree since they are no longer searching the area. I read a story that dutch journalists had ‘hired sniffer dogs’ and were searching the area themselves.
I guess our reactions would be different if the speculation was about finding Madeleine alive.
It might be the DNA from both letters matched. Dutch police did some forensics but they haven’t made any statements? If the DNA matched the mystery DNA from the apartment then the letter would be very credible and we would have to prepare ourselves for the worst. I think its very unlikely that the DNA would match Murat. I don’t know that he speaks Dutch for starters, and despite his suspect status the evidence doesn’t seem that strong. More about him being guilty of something which may or not be related to Madeleine’s disappearance.
June 14th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Id like to discuss the statement that lots of people have made in that Gerry and Kate McCann know they have done wrong. But do they really?? From my understanding the only thing they regret is Madeleine’s disappearance. They have clearly justified to themselves the fact that they REPEATEDLY left three young children unattended, and this is shown by such statements such as “thousands of people do it” and “It was like we were sat in our garden”. And having lost one daughter, they embarked on a tour of Europe, leaving the twins behind! Didnt they learn anything? This blatant “It wasnt our fault, guv, honest” attitude is deeply repellant.
Id also like to question whether the McCann family are really so loving and caring as they are portrayed in the media?? I cant say that they are not, but just because the family are photogenic and they released a few photos and videos of a family holiday, does not mean they are super parents. Gerry McCann is a heart surgeoun, and Kate McCann is a GP. These are high level, stressful jobs with long hours. Im willing to bet that they hardly even see their kids; they have probably got a nanny. It seems that they havent a clue what parenting is. They probably try their best, but if their best is leaving their vulnerable children unsupervised while they swan off for a lingering meal then its obviously not good enough.
In conclusion, this”it was ok to leave them, because they are loving and caring parents, and afterall it was only a mistake” attitude really annoys me. Would people be so forgiving if instead of doctors, her parents were from a council estate and worked in a factory? I doubt it very much. While I doubt that taking the remaining children into care would benefit anyone, least of all the twins themselves, in the interests of fairness, the McCanns should be investigated by Social Services. Just like the hypothetical council estate family would be.
And just to let all the McCannophiles out there who will no doubt slaughter me for my views, I dont care if its heartless but I have no compassion for the Drs McCann. My sympathy is reserved for Madeleine. She did not ask nor deserve to be neglected by her parents, so that she could wander off, be abducted, or whatever has happened to her.
June 14th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah……switch of those tv,s folks..stop reading those news papers ..if you realy care that much about finding this kid then get on a plane and go help the people who are actualy looking for her ass..xxx
June 14th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Jan
I think you’ll find it’s ‘Jean’ Jones, dear
June 14th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
But can i just add that one thing i am worried about right now, is - why don’t they do DNA on the paper? there must be SOMETHING they can do to find out who this sick individual is? then they can try and match it up to that Murat guy - but then I guess they would go back to square 1.
June 14th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Can i just say that for all you people slating the McCann’s, well they were in the wrong and they know that they are in the wrong, they can’t blame anyone else but themselves but they have just found out that their daughter could be dead/buried for god’s sake so stop giving them a hard time, God knows what they must be going through right now !!!
I don’t think the letter is going to be a hoax unfortunately because there are a lot of resembelances but I really hope it isn’t true that she is dead, I cried when I read this story .x
June 14th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Jane Jones says…a lot of blah, blah, blah, blah regarding Mr. and Mrs., Kate and Gerry, The McCann’s, Maddy, Maddie, Madeline or Madeleine, correct spelling etc (short for etcetera)…it’s all BS!
Jane, take the stick out of your arse dear. It may help you to choose wiser what is and isn’t important. Who cares if Jane and Joe citizen can’t spell or if they’ve made a typo (acceptable abbreviation in America for Typographical error). Worry when a Journalist can’t spell, if you need to worry about such non-sense.
These stories and blogs are about Madeleine, Gerry, and Kate….The McCanns. Not YOU. Who cares if you find what anyone says credible? It’s all conjecture.
These blogs are a venue for people to exchange ideas and thoughts. It’s a place to let out frsutration, a place to asound off in. It isn’t a place to hear about your silly nit picky snooty pet peeves. Get up to speed or get a life!
June 14th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Dark Horse: I see your formal English has improved!!
I think the “so much focus” issue is easier to answer. The first letter and the finding of the two girls occured within a short period of time - supposedly same day. Its easy to think it was meaningful when the real attention was on the actual finding of the girls but a careful read of the reports indicates otherwise. Unfortunately, this new letter automatically gets the same credibility. The number of news reports I am reading which say the original letter marked the spot is incredible. Five minutes of reasearch indicates that it as 2km out. What does make me concerned, is that we trust journalists to check things before they go to press. By saying it roughly marked the spot would have put a very different light on this whole sorry episode. It would certainly have caused less upset to Madeleine MacCann’s parents (is that OK Jean?). I don’t know if the official site comments are checked regularly, but I did submit a private note voicing my concerns on the letter’s credibility, very shortly after the news came out.
June 14th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Like a lot of people i was critical of the parents and to an extent i still cant fathom why an affluent couple would not use the services of the available babysitters the complex offered.I think in general the media have been kinder to them than they would have been say in the case of a teenage mum who had done the same thing. Only parents who have been through what these people are living now can really know the depth of their pain and the rest of us can only imagine so although i do not condone their decision to leave the tots unattended as a mother i wish them the safe return of their child and as a human being i offer compassion.
June 14th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
How awful Sally. This sort of thing must rip families apart. In many cases I can think of the families divorce. It must be hard not to blame each other and stick together.
I’m so gutted for the family and Madeleine. It has definitely made me more paranoid about my daughter. I am honestly thinking about getting her chipped.
June 14th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
I guess I’m concerned with the story partly because I have a blonde, blue-eyed nephew the same age as Madeleine, and partly because Madeleine looks very like my sister did when she was little.
I was equally concerned when Sarah Payne went missing (I was just down the road when it happened), and I remember the search that summer. Also for Holly Wells & Jessica Chapman.
I guess if you have or are around children, or you can remember clearly being a child, these cases have resonance.
June 14th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
I do not have children myself, but I too am fully engrossed in this story. Just over 30 years ago, my cousin went missing from our families summer cabin in Canada. I was too young to remember anything (I was not even a year old at the time). He was 12, and was never seen again. Police found his bike at the side of a road, but nothing else. There were no witnesses and no other evidence. He just went off to the store to buy some snacks and comic books and never returned. I know what a missing person does to a family. My cousins parents divorced years later and I know that their anguish is still felt. It is unreal to think that someone could just dissappear off the earth like that. My hope is the Madeline’s parents do not have to go the rest of their lives wondering what happened to her. According to my mother, my aunt believed that her son was alive for years after he went missing. It was torture for her.
I just hope that there will be closure for Madeline’s family soon. Of course, I too would hope that she is found alive and well.