They seem to me to have celebrity staus, Everywhere they go they have a walkabout and people give them flowers. Its keeping maddie high profile though suppose

According to statistics well over 1000 children have gone missing in the UK SINCE Maddie was abducted. Most will be runaways, but... where is the publicity for any of these.

Think of the number of Catholics in the world. Think of all the publicity that this will bring in countries that maybe do not yet know the full story.

I'm not a religious person so I don't believe that visiting the Pope will miraculously bring her back, but the publicity could be hugely helpful

I think they are just trying to raise theie profile and more money. If they can leave portugal to go to Rome why not go home to the UK.

exactly.............

It always seems that the press (at least here in the States) latch on to one or two stories like this a year- beautiful Anglo/Blonde girls, usually from well to do parents. Natalie Holloway and Elizibeth Smart are only two such examples...while there were many other children kidnapped on the same day(s) that we never heard a word about.

It evven has been given a name I see from my extensive 30 second Google of it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing...woman_syndrome

Forget Morocco, poor little Maddie will be three weeks into her new life with the people who probably mail ordered her. I think this whole pope thing is more to keep the abductors on their toes than a coping strategy for the parents. I think it is a very clever investigative tool.
It is obvious the police know more than they are letting on, and this is connected in some way to who they think have maddie.

Every night her and all the other children are in my prayers. Even the children who get to stay with their parents but still don't have a pleasant upbringing.

This is such a cruel reminder of real life, but it's one we need to face to remind ourselves we are not infalable!

love

mary x x

I suspect almost all of those 1000 are runaways or abscondees. Years ago part of my wife´s job was maintaining the missing persons register for her area. 99% were teenage runaways, mostly from foster homes etc who by law have to report them as missing, even if they are just a couple of hours late home after their curfew. You would get the occasional genuine missing person (typically en elderly confused person who has wandered off) and there was concern for their wellbeing.

Not once in all her time in that job did she register a child abduction.

I remember her saying at the time that the register should be split in two....one register for the abscondees (which would have thousands being registered and de-registered on a daily basis) and another for the genuine people who are missing.....which would be a very short register, mainly consisting of the elderly and people with mental health problems who can´t remember where they live and for whom there is a real concern about their vulnerability.

Sometimes statistics can be very misleading until you look at them a little more closely.

Just another day in this virtual running TV soap. The parents are flying to Rome by Philip Green's private jet and the British Embassy will be putting them up overnight, private message from Prince Charles. Who will be next to jump on the rolling show?

Ah, but if they weren't going to Rome etc would this thread have been resurrected and would you still be discussing the case by now or would it have faded into obscurity and would Madeleine be just another sad memory?

No comment either way, just to say that now they want maddies image put in the new Harry Potter book, is this going too far?


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...3/wmaddy03.xml

No! And put in their place I guess we'd be trying absolutley anything we could to keep the story in the headlines. Its their only chance. Once the PR stops then they are just a few ordinary people in the big big world. As it is, there are many looking.

I just hope with all my heart that little Maddie isnt suffering where ever she is.

I wasn't making comment, just asking, I don't know what I would do in the situation.

In the sunday Times today, the parents wan't to organise a concert and will ask Bill Clinton and Elton john...Where will it all end Still like to know what they will do with the money. Anyone seen the other thread on USA forum on here?