GeniB

if you have read the newspapers you will have seen that they intend to re-open the Madeleine McCann case again..This is a dreadfully sad case of a child gone missing... However what are your thoughts about this latest in a long line of 'new leads? following on to all those that came to nothing

I find it distinctly odd to say the least. Why is this case so much more important than all the other cases of missing children.? Why does this family .(.who let's face it were not entirely without blame in the case.) why are they getting such super special treatment ..and not say Ben Needham's parents. who's child disappeared in equally mysterious circumstances?
I am not trying to add to their pain by saying this. Nothing can alleviate that and i suspect that even if Madelaine was found now it would not be a happy ending. I am thinking of those who will be affected by yet another inquiry

I feel very bad for the village of Praia da Luz.. for god's sake haven't they done enough to help. gone through enough hassle,lost enough business over 10 yrs? and even had people vilified for no good reason.

When did a 'place' become the bad guy in a case like this.?

As i live close to the village my heart sank at the thought of yet another invasion of police and media churning everything up again. I hope it doesn't come to that again

When is enough enough?

mikelincs

The Ben Needham was in the news quite recently when the British Government sent forensic people and police to the island to excavate an area where he might have been buried, nothing was found, and after 20+ years the case has been closed.

mfesharne

No such thing as enough.

No matter who's to blame or whatever happened it's an innocent child & one should NEVER give up on an innocent child no matter how much inconvenience it causes.

Pulaski

I saw an article yesterday, it was scant on details but seemed, to me at least, to hint that it was a lead on a possible kidnapping - trafficking case, not a search for a body.

GeniB

Yes I read about that .It came because of all the attention the McCann case had got .

christmasoompa

No, it came about because a new lead was found and investigated, other things have been investigated over the years too when they've arisen. The Ben Needham case was given just as much attention and time when it happened as Maddie McCann was, I remember it well and it was incredibly high profile at the time. His poor Mum has kept the case in the public eye and has been on tv etc a lot over the past 25 years to try and find him, and huge amounts of money have been spent on trying to find him too.

GeniB

That's the totally sad part she isn't an innocent child anymore If she is still alive she will be a teenager. I don't imagine the parents could ever dream of giving up,No one should ever ask them too However there are many others we do not give this 'special' treatment to and it just makes me wonder why.? Is it reasonable ?. to ask tax payers to fund it.
I'm sorry but I cannot agree about the 'how much inconvenience it causes' It isn't and wasn't inconvenience caused in the village, It was jobs lost,business's disrupted. Holidays cancelled .People put under suspicion.. Not once,not twice... but many many times over the years. It has become almost vindictive

I don't happen to think that's reasonable. Luz didn't leave those children on their own. Luz didn't leave the door to their flat unlocked. Luz didn't refuse the use of babysitters. Luz however is being asked time and again to pay the price.
Of these acts. This innocent child deserved better I do agree. We can't get her back though

Pulaski

That's all very philosophical, but a crime has been committed and you can't just sweep that fact under the carpet because it is financially inconvenient for the town where the crime was committed. When new facts emerge regarding a serious crime, such as the abduction and/or death of a child, or any human being, it is always fit and proper (so long as there is any chance that the victim or the perpetrator is alive) that the facts be reviewed and investigated.

mfesharne

No case of any missing child (or even adult for that matter) should ever be closed until it's solved & if that means some areas, businesses or people suffer as a consequence of investigations then they simply have to accept that shite just happens sometimes.

macliam

Sorry - what this says to me is that the "Maddie fund" hasn't been totally depleted yet, even after the failed attempt to silence Gonçalo Amaral by denying him recourse to justice. Or maybe it has and the renewed publicity can refill the coffers.

The "disappearance" was a tragedy, a tragedy in which the McCanns and their friends played a pivotal role. If (and it's a big if) Maddie survived beyond the night in question, then how has she remained hidden all these years?

You all live in Portugal and know it, good and bad.
- Do you really think the authorities would not do all they could to find a missing child, in this child-loving country?
- Do you think Scotland Yard has psychic powers that give them an advantage over those who know the territory and the people?
- Do you not find it strange that earlier evidence was dismissed and not followed up?
- Do you, like the British press, presume that only British police can solve the case because the local police are inept (or worse)?

Ben Needham's body was not found, but his fate now seems more certain. Perhaps if they find where Maddie's body was hidden, this case too will reach some closure. But I doubt it.....

mfesharne

It certainly won't reach closure until the case is solved.

I have little if any sympathy for the parents but have some for the people of the area......... but immense sympathy for the child & I don't care how much it costs or how much hassle it causes or indeed what country the investigators come from.........the case should never be closed until it's solved.

Fredbargate

Whilst I have every sympathy for parents and relatives in such cases as this regardless of their involvement I cannot see authorities in any civilised country giving up enquiries.

Some cases appear to get more publicity than others and that is possibly due to the parents ability to communicate especially in these days of social media.

But Ben Needham is one example of searches going on for many years.
Another is the searches on Saddleworth Moor for the Ian Brady and Myra Hindley victims

Rete

Here in NYC, the Ethan Patz case was reopened after 31 years. They now believe they have who killed him and yet a body has not been recovered. Any consolation to the parents? I honestly don't know but assume they believed he was dead decades earlier.

If there is a new lead in any missing child or person case, it should be followed up. Far to often, the person who did it has done it to someone else, as well, and will most probably do it again to someone else in the future.

Pulaski

Your entire argument appears to be predicated on Maddie having been confined in Portugal, when if she was abducted and not killed (and there is no persuasive evidence that she was killed), it is IMO almost certain that she was removed from Portugal within an hour, either over the border into Spain, or into a boat and off shore.

Under those circumstances there was likely very little that the Portuguese police could do as the trail is going to be international, and Maddie was out of their jurisdiction before they knew what was going on.

macliam

No persuasive evisence that she died? (she wasn't necessarily killed) - the Cadaver dogs don't react except to trace from dead bodies.
Eddie, (Cadaver dog), positively alerted to
- the McCann's wardrobe in 5A
- the back of the sofa in 5A
- the veranda outside the parents bedroom
- the flower bed at the back of 5A
- a white sleeveless top belonging to Kate
- checked trousers belonging to Kate
- a childs red T shirt
- a toy belonging to Madeleine
- to the key of the McCann's rental Scenic car
- to the passenger door of the McCann's hire car
Keela, the Human Blood dog, positively alerted
- at the back of the sofa in 5A (same spot as alerted to by Eddie)
- to the key of the McCann's hire car
- to the interior of the hire vehicle's boot

On the other hand, there was no sign of forced entry or fibres, footprints or fingerprints other than of the McCanns in 5A, so any abductor must have removed her (and only her) without leaving any trace - and then spirited her away. This is Portugal, not the USA....

I know which seems more likely to me.