Little Madeleine

[Osc]

I'm with Frank on this, I have always thought that

I completely echo that.

And I do too, I agree with everything Frank has said - from the time I heard Kate McCann whinge a day or two after her daughter went missing through her negligence "well it was our holiday too" I have disliked the two of them and their grubby publicity seeking ways. I've never understood why they had and still have such a hold over the media that no one is prepared to come out and criticise them.

[Kaz]

My BIL is a fairly senior police officer and his views are interesting, and pretty much the same as mine........

[cromwell]

There are other children who go missing every year; many don't even get a mention in the papers

.

Name just one British child Cromwell, under the age of 10.

Ben Needham; not one tenth of the Maddie coverage.

[KateLMead]

Oh dear, let us pray that they find the poor mite on the dig, guilty or not guilty (and they are guilty of leaving the room unattended (I thought the hotel sitter had been asked to check on them.) Publicity seeking? Yes. Often aggravating ? Yes
Driven by guilt? Yes. Feeling terrible for leaving them unattended. ? Yes.
I wonder how many of us on here would admit to committing popping down to the bar after a long day.? Door locked securely however, and children in bed?

[Kaz]

No hand on heart, I never have

[JoM]

Neither have I Kaz, it's never crossed my mind to do so.
When the boys were younger we'd eat out at a time to suit their sleep patterns and if we wanted a drink or something to eat later in the evening, once they were in bed, then we'd eat or drink in the apartment/cottage/hotel.

[KateLMead]

This did not occurs often in our case, and Karen the eldest was around eight years of age. None of them were infants.

[debih]

Neither have I. I'd never even consider it.

On holidays we all went out together and went home together. The only thing we were guilty of was letting them drink Coke as we knew it would keep them awake longer.

Mine were in year 6 before I even thought about leaving them at home on their own for a short time where I knew they could go to neighbours if they needed to.

[Workingman]

The door was not locked. The story of the break-in and the jemmied shutter/window was put to bed very early on by the police and Warner staff who found no damage. The story then changed to it being closed but unlocked in case of fire. Well, if Maddie could get out from a fire she could get out on a whim. Statistically that is more likely than abduction. It is not clear how the twins would have escaped from their cots to avoid a fire.

The door was not visible from the Tapas Bar due to obstructions between it and the bar terrace and the lie of the land. It was certainly not visible from inside the bar, which is where the meal and drinking took place.

The sills of the streetside windows are about seven feet from ground level. There was no evidence of them ever being opened let alone used to gain entry and exit. The sill on the bedroom window opens onto a window box affair. No damage was reported to any of the plants and the drop to ground level is about six feet. The main entrance to the flat, at the other side of the building, opens onto the apartment block car park. It barely gets a mention in any of the reports.

It makes no difference whatsoever whether any of us would, could or did leave our children alone, but it IS what the McCanns did. I have looked and looked and looked and I cannot find any responsible website or literature telling people that it is a good idea to leave infants alone, whether at home or in a strange place, whilst they go out for a meal and drinks no matter how often or how many times they intend to go back and check. Quite the opposite, in fact, warnings are everywhere NOT to leave young children alone. I do not believe that the McCanns somehow did not know this.

[Applecheeks]

Oh dear, let us pray that they find the poor mite on the dig, guilty or not guilty (and they are guilty of leaving the room unattended (I thought the hotel sitter had been asked to check on them.) Publicity seeking? Yes. Often aggravating ? Yes
Driven by guilt? Yes. [i]Feeling terrible for leaving them unattended. ? Yes.
I wonder how many of us on here would admit to committing popping down to the bar after a long day.? Door locked securely however, and children in bed[/i]?

They weren't in a hotel room, the apartment was close to a busy road, and the Tapas Bar was in a gated área of the Ocean Club (where you show your club card to enter). That is the misconception with this case, the Ocean Club isn't a of a "run of the mill" resort, it is a series of pools, restaurants and sports places that are in the actual village of Praia da Luz, the accomodation is mixed with the local villagers, pubs and everything else that make up a small town. The McCanns have even said, that the sliding door at the back of the apartment was left unlocked in case there was a fire so the children could leave. It's all very sad, but it is also been very misrepresented to what really did happen. The night before the lady who lived (permanent resident) in the upstairs apartment had actually contacted the reception as she was so concerned that a child had been crying in apartment 5a for an hour and 45 minutes. The media from the word go has been very selective to what was reported.