News & Politics - Madeleine McCann abducted from holiday apartment. - Page 5

Indian Summer · 06-14-2007, 11:22 AM

Sunny, I definitely understand what you're getting at. I don't think anyone is uspet that Madeleine does get this attention- just that other children don't. It's been an ongoing thing, too. I remember there was a story about how the day Elizabeth Smart went missing, another young girl (younger than Elizabeth) went missing as well. But she was poor and of a minority (either Hispanic or black, I don't remember the details so well), and the story only made the nightly news in her hometown and like... that county.

chicah · 06-15-2007, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Police search in Portugal yields nothing

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Police investigating the disappearance of a 4-year-old British girl searched an area of remote scrubland in southern Portugal on Friday, but said they found nothing.

Officials sealed off the area after receiving an anonymous tip Madeleine McCann might be buried there, police spokesman Olegario Sousa told The Associated Press by telephone.

''We found nothing,'' Sousa said.

Police with sniffer dogs cordoned off the area just after dawn, Sousa said, and left several hours later. The site was about nine miles from the hotel where the girl vanished while on vacation with her family.

Earlier this week, the Dutch paper De Telegraaf said it had given police an anonymous letter it received with a map of the area.

Police say they have followed up dozens of leads, included reports of sightings of Madeleine by the public, but none has yielded results.

Link: NY Times article

**~+Yamiko** · 06-15-2007, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indian Summer (View Post)

Sunny, I definitely understand what you're getting at. I don't think anyone is uspet that Madeleine does get this attention- just that other children don't. It's been an ongoing thing, too. I remember there was a story about how the day Elizabeth Smart went missing, another young girl (younger than Elizabeth) went missing as well. But she was poor and of a minority (either Hispanic or black, I don't remember the details so well), and the story only made the nightly news in her hometown and like... that county.

Now that I think of it, I remember opening a thread about this a while back but I think some of the posts may have been lost during the crash.

I'll go look it up later.

welshgirlyUK · 06-16-2007, 04:52 AM

I dont know about the rest of the world, but ethnic minority children who go missing or are killed do get media attention in the British press, which is madeleines home country and with the pope do i think its extreme? Yes. However, in reaction to the amount of press coverage this had, this is not just a missing child case investigation in one country, its an investigation into the whole of western Europe at least. Which i think is something unheard of before now in Europe.

Indian Summer · 06-16-2007, 09:41 AM

welshgirlyUK, I think children of minorities get media attention everywhere, and certainly an investigation- I think the problem is the amount of media attention one case gets compared to another.

For instance, are you as familiar with the case of Maya Mahmoud as you are with the case of Madeleine McCann? What about Minh Nguyen? Because these are children younger than Madeleine also missing from the UK for about as much time or even less.

-Kelly- · 06-18-2007, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indian Summer (View Post)

Sorry to double post, but...

I just heard a newscast in Dutch saying a letter had been sent to De Telegraaf claiming Madeleine was buried under rocks in a deserted area a few kilometers away from where she went missing. A map accompanied the letter. All I can find referencing it right now is this which doesn't give any of the details. It's a tip good enough that the Portuguese police are searching the area though...

I heard about that yesterday too

I hope it's not true

migamoo · 06-18-2007, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indian Summer (View Post)

For instance, are you as familiar with the case of Maya Mahmoud as you are with the case of Madeleine McCann? What about Minh Nguyen? Because these are children younger than Madeleine also missing from the UK for about as much time or even less.

Maybe it's because I'm an American, but I have no idea who they are.

Indian Summer · 06-18-2007, 12:16 PM

I guess all they found at that site was a towel, but that in itself is a cause for concern since they think she could've been snuck out of the resort in it.

Ashley, that's exactly my point. I didn't know who they were either... I just did a Google search for missing children in the UK and loaded all abductions within the last year, lol. But I do think it's evidence of a big problem that one of those children is only a year old and has been missing about as long as Madeleine, but hasn't received even half the attention.

Papri · 06-19-2007, 04:55 AM

While I think any case of a missing child is terrible, it does bother me somewhat that the McCanns have such an advantage over other parents who simply don't have the money or press know-how to keep the cases of their missing children in the media spotlight. Of course, you can't blame them - any parent would do whatever they can. But it's almost as though this case is special because they're a white, middle-class, affluent family, both parents are doctors ergo "responsible" etc....but just because the parents of another missing child are Chinese, poor, live in a council house doesn't mean they don't deserve the same amount of coverage. It's very, very sad.

Check out this list: bothererblog � The Missing Missing Children

elisheva · 06-19-2007, 09:16 AM

Thank you so much for posting that link, Papri.

I really wish that someone - maybe one of the celebrities involved in the reward fund - would mention all these other cases and maybe offer to make the fund not just a Maddie fund, but a Missing Children's Fund. Just cause other kids aren't as perfectly photogenic (according to Western standards which adore blonde and blue eyed children) and don't necessarily have such a simple, "gripping" tale (child snatched from hotel room on holiday) doesn't mean they don't deserve media attention and a serious police effort as well.

-Kelly- · 06-20-2007, 11:54 PM

This person should be ashamed

Madeleine's father has wallet stolen

20/06/2007

The father of the four-year-old British child who was taken from a Portuguese holiday resort has had his wallet stolen.

Gerry McCann was on a flight into London in order to attend a number of meetings in relation to the ongoing search for his daughter Madeleine yesterday.

He told his daily online diary on FindMadeleine.com that the incident happened shortly after he helped a collapsed passenger on the plane, who was later rushed to hospital.

"Unfortunately shortly after arriving in London I had my wallet stolen which meant I was running late," Mr McCann wrote.

"I did manage to get to all my meetings which ran late into the evening."

Mr McCann and his wife Kate have been coordinating a high-profile campaign to find their daughter after she went missing from her bed in the Mark Warner Ocean Summer Club complex in Praia da Luz, Algarve, on May 3rd.

They have both travelled to a number of countries and worked in tandem with the media to keep the case in the public eye.

But Mr McCann, a cardiac surgeon, said today that he and his wife would be taking a less high-profile role in future.

"We had very good discussions regarding sustaining the search for Madeleine long term," he continued.

"The role for Kate and I in the campaign will not be nearly be so public. We have to balance any campaigning in the search for Madeleine with protecting [the couple's other children] Sean and Amelie and making sure their privacy is protected."

He added that the family were "exploring the use of new media and using local advertising" and confirmed that a balloon launch will take place on Friday June 22nd.

A total of 50 balloons from 50 countries will be released to highlight the fact that Madeleine will have been missing for 50 days.

From - Manchester.com - News - Madeleine's father has wallet stolen

Indian Summer · 06-21-2007, 01:05 AM

Ergh... it's upsetting, but no more upsetting than anyone else being pickpocketed, and I highly doubt the person who did it went, "Oh, it's Madeleine's father! I'll target him!" Lets face it... it only warrants an article because of who he is.

-Kelly- · 06-27-2007, 12:46 AM

I mean the photos in the wallet

Ms X · 07-31-2007, 02:23 AM

I really hope they find poor Maddy soon but it's looking increasingly unlikely she'll be found alive

Heard that Gerry McCann was on Good Morning America and I heard that the host of the show said this: "It's tough to understand why you and your wife left your children to go to dinner. No American parent would think that way." How snotty and how unbelievably rude. I HATE that Mr McCann was treated with such contempt. There is not a day that goes by when they don't bitterly regret leaving Maddy and the kids in the apartment and they will be paying for this every day of their life. There is no need to remind them of this.

And why the hell does he say 'No American parent would think that way?' Hello? how do you know that Americans don't do the same thing? State some facts you idiot. And it came across to me that he thought American parents were superior somehow, like they knew how to take care of their kids and that people from other countries didn't. That's how it sounded to me. Arrogance at its best. Urgh,

Indian Summer · 07-31-2007, 06:48 AM

Welll... there is a good deal of truth behind what he said, and as a reporter he has to ask the questions his [American] audience are wondering.. Obviously, it's impossible and untrue to say that no American parent would do that, but I've lived in a lot of places and it's true to say that Americans don't have the same degree of trust that many foreigners express, particularly in resort places. In fact, I can't recall one incident where I didn't see an American parent keeping a sharp eye on their child at all times during a vacation... and it is hard to picture an American parent leaving their young children unattended in a hotel room, out of sight. It just doesn't happen here today- parents get freaked out when kids run ahead of them in grocery stores, let alone in a resort they don't know like the back of their hand.

Those parents did screw up- there's no excuse for what they did. I'm sure they don't need to be reminded of it, but did it ever occur to you that maybe other parents, those watching, do? The McCanns have acted incredibly irresponsibly by claiming to be totally innocent victims- Gerry himself has repeatedly said they're responsible parents, that they couldn't have done anything differently, etc. That's certainly not the case, and it's important to highlight, especially in a situation like this, that you can never leave a three year old unattended in a room in a public place. It isn't like they were at their home.

It isn't the host saying American parents are better- it's the host pointing out a huuuuge cultural difference. That kind of thing is surprisingly common in resorts throughout Portugal, and that resort was considered particularly family friendly. American parents- with constant reminders of sex offenders and child abusers in TV, news, and grocery stores, are a lot less likely to leave children unattended. Maybe it's paranoia, but there's a reason the child abductions in America are mainly kids being snatched in stores or from school or playing in the front yard. It's places where it's a hell of a lot harder to keep a constant eye on your kid than a hotel room.I doubt these parents would've come under the same criticism if they'd been in an amusement park or some other area crowded, especially with children.

The fact is... the average audience of that show- a stay at home mother, really, given the time of day it's on- would have a hard time understanding how any parent could let their child out of sight in a foreign country in a public place, especially voluntarily. It's not arrogance or some belief that American parents are better- it's just cultural differences. I sure as hell can't imagine leaving my children in a hotel room while I go out to dinner and only checking on them every half hour- as I mentioned previously, my neighbor put her two daughters to bed and came to check on them a few minutes later since it was oddly quiet- the older (3) had fed the baby a button and the baby was choking. Children that age get into everything, and it's dangerous to leave them alone at all, let alone in a foreign place.