Before you just shut your ears, purse your lips and get read in the face, perhaps you should read my point of view.

As a parent and adult in this world, I am far too often aware of the insight on danger that the world carries and the responsibility/protection that a good parent must provide to keep their child safe.

Ask yourself these questions:

Could you leave your babies alone in a hotel room on the ground floor, in a strange country, with an unlocked door while you go out drinking with your buddies? (In the initial police report statement provided by the McCanns)

What kind of wealthy person would rather leave their babies alone like that than hire a babysitter? (In the initial police report statement provided by the McCanns)

What kind of people would leave their babies alone like that?

If those people had medical knowledege and access to sedatives, would they have sedated their babies and little hyper toddler to get some relief/adult time?

I’ve seen this kind of thing happen, and I’ve seen parents like these.
I’m not saying that I’ve seen parents that have killed their children via neglegence, but I’ve seen these type of people.

These two parents [IMO] were more interested in having a vacation and being jet-setters than they were in their own childrens safety.
I’ve seen a mother give her 4 year old a few doses of cough syrup so she could go out clubbing. I know women and men with children that tote their children around like luggage because they refuse to give up their pre-parental lifestyle. After all, I do live in Orange County.

It would be an honest statement to say that children often suffer for the faults of their parents.
This would be no exception.
So, to say that I feel sympathy for the parents would be a lie.
However, I do feel greatly for Madeleine, and no matter if she is alive or dead, I hope that God watches over this little girl because unfortunately, her parents did not.

As for the other two McCann children, I hope they are safe and well.

Joanne: agree. I felt they should have hired an ex MI5 type when it looked like Morrocco was likely. They would have the connections. I wouldn’t mind if they twisted a few arms either since the sort of people they are likely to come across probably only understand that type of persuasion.

On a more general comment, the reward is clearly having no impact. I wonder if an amnesty for safe return would help. It would need to have a deadline. It also rather implies a couple desperate for a child who have got out of their depth so not prosecuting them would not have long term implications of leaving a paedophile loose.

I feel so helpless. People might say “Get on a plane and do something then”, but how can I, I have a young daughter myself and I can’t take her with me. What could I do anyway? I don;t have a search warrant to check inside every property, I don’t have any forensic or police skills, I don’t speak portugese.

There is nothing we can do to help Madeleine, apart from offer financial support, raising money etc for the fund. I will continue to make a monthly donation until she is found.

It makes my blood boil when I see people referring to the fund as ‘holiday fund’ and stuff like that. I’ve even seen people complain that the McCanns are staying in a nice house in Portugal when they should be back at work. People who come out with this bile are just so bitter and twisted.

I really hope that the McCanns have hired very experienced private detectives, such as ex-SAS or ex-police who specialise in this sort of thing and have international ‘connections’ in criminal investigations. I expect that if they did, this sort of thing would be kept from the tabloids and out of the public domain.

If this has even a whiff of organised crime, then she would be found if the right people were looking (or at least the perpetrators would be identified). The only way this will become an unsolved case is if she was taken by a lone paedophile or kidnapper who still has her in his house and is clever enough not to arouse suspicion of the neighbours or family (if he/she has any).

I just wish that whoever it was would demand a ransom, get their cash and leave her somewhere safe. We can deal with catching the criminal afterwards, the main priority is to have her back with her family.

Dark Horse: agree entirely but one has to take the attitude that everyday no body is found is another day which might find her alive.
I guess the closure will eventually become the issue but I don’t think the parents have reached that point yet. Poor parents - this must have be unbelievably bad for them when they have been so positive.