Missing Girl in Portugal

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Police investigating the disappearance of a three-year-old British girl from a Portuguese holiday resort say it appears she has been abducted.

Officers say they have a suspect in mind, and believe Madeleine McCann remains in the area and is still alive.

Her parents, from Leicestershire, left her at their apartment at Mark Warner's Ocean Club in Praia da Luz on Thursday, while they were at a nearby restaurant.

Doctors Gerry and Kate McCann have spoken of their "anguish and despair".

In the first official briefing on the case, Guilhermino Encarnacao, director of the judicial police in the Faro region, said officers are working on the assumption she is being held between 3km and 5km (1.8 and 3.1 miles) from the resort.


We all just stopped what we were doing
Bar owner James Wright

Volunteers join in search

They had about 30 calls from potential witnesses and have created an artist's impression of a suspect.

Responding to criticism that the police had been slow to respond, Mr Encarnacao said officers arrived at the scene 10 minutes after being alerted to the disappearance.

An investigation unit began work within 30 minutes, he added.

Police are expected to provide a further update on their investigation later.

Window opened

Relatives have flown to the Algarve to be with the couple, who were holidaying with their three children.

Madeline McCann
Madeleine disappeared while her parents were at a nearby restaurant

Speaking to press on Friday evening, Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, pleaded for the return of their "beautiful" Madeleine.

Mr McCann, with his wife at his side, read out an emotional statement outside the holiday apartments on Friday evening.

"We cannot describe the anguish and despair we are feeling as parents of our beautiful daughter Madeleine," he said.

"We request that anyone with any information relating to Madeleine's disappearance, no matter how trivial, contact the Portuguese police and help us get her back safely."

The Ocean Club resort offered a creche service but the couple decided to leave Madeleine and two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie sleeping in the apartment.

They had taken turns to return from the restaurant to check on their children.

Map of Praia da Luz

Madeleine, who turns four next Friday, was last seen by her father at about 2100 local time.

When Mrs McCann went to check on her about an hour later, she found the bedroom's outside shutter and window had been opened and her daughter missing.

Resort staff and guests helped the McCanns search the complex grounds into Friday morning and police were notified.

Pictures of Madeleine have been widely distributed, and ports and the Spanish police put on alert.

This makes me sad

Wait, they left a 3 year old by hersel? Why on earth would they do that???

From what I understood it was an apartment complex, and the restaurant was only a short way away, with one of them going to check every so often.

Imagine how the parents feel though, knowing they left the children there on their own and now this happens.

i"m not blaming the parents, as children can be taken even with the parent sleeping in the next room, I just thought it was just a bit odd to leave a three year old home alone, it's not legal here in the states. I hope they find the little girl alive and healthy, because I'm sure that the parents and the girl's siblings are suffering terribly.

This is very sad for the parents, and i dont like the way the media are trying to put a spin on it blaming people. We should just hope and pray that the little girl is found safe and well.

they left the three year old in there room with her two year old brother of course its a sad thing and horrible but you just wouldent leave a two year old and a three year old in a room together on there own in a different place though i do feel sorry for them the poor little girl whats the evil people going to do to her

I just read that it was her 4th birthday yesterday. It's so sad.

But I don't think we should apportion blame onto her parents for leaving her alone in the hotel. They're probably blaming themselves enough right now...we should just hope that she'll be returned safely.

EDIT: From news of the world:

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The News of the World has put up a record £1.5 million reward for the safe return of Madeleine McCann.

Stars and business leaders have donated huge sums in an unprecedented show of support for our Find Maddie campaign — to make up the largest award in newspaper history.

After we kicked off the fund with £250,000, Harry Potter author JK ROWLING put up a staggering amount — the largest single donation. But she asked us not to reveal the exact figure.

Kind-hearted JK married a Portuguese TV journalist and her first child Jessica was born in Portugal, a few hours' drive from Praia da Luz where Maddie was snatched 10 days ago.

Her dad Gerry said: "We are very happy and pleased with what you are doing. Anything that can be done to publicise that Madeleine is missing and help with the search is very welcome."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6656451.stm

She's such a beautiful girl. I can't imagine why anyone would take her. But it's just so amazing the lengths that they have gone to to find her - police here, in Portugal, and everyone around the world.

On the Mark Warner website, there's an email address which can be used to pass on messages to the McCanns, mccannfamily@markwarner.co.uk

Also, there's a few groups that have popped up on Facebook. People there are sharing their thoughts... I hope they find her soon

hey actually heard of thaht. Its sad that shes missing. Beutiful girls like her get stolen all the time. I hope her family finds her.

my friend jesh actally think the whole thing was set up like to show people what could happen. And her points are actally good
- They were doctors so they wernt stupid and evan if you are dumb most people have the common sense no to leave young children own there own.
- They only took one child
- There friends saw her being taken away but didnt say anything
- There was baby sitting offered at the hotel and they must have had enough money to pay for it.
- children are kidnapped all the time why does this one get so much publicity

Its just a thought im actaully in beetween now id like to hope it was a set up.

I feel incredibly sad that Maddy still hasn;t been found, don't get me wrong on that, but I have to agree slightly with what some of the papers are saying. Why so much publicity on this one child? Hundreds of children go missing every day, surely it would be better all round if the money and resources went to a missing persons charity or something?

I've heard people say - and I have to agree slightly - that if the parents had not been Doctor's, if they had no money or if it was a single mum who lived in a council flat back in England - there would be nowhere near this amount of publicity. All the blame would be heaped on them and like many other children the situation would be swept under the rug.

I sincerely hope they find Maddie, because no little girl should be taken like that, but I think things have gone just a little too far. Did you hear JKR is contemplating including bookmarks with Maddie's face on in all copies of DH? Again, surely the money would be better spent on the search for her, or even another missing persons campaign or charity.

The problem with an international search like this one is that others take advantage of it. I just read on the news that a woman's been put in jail for posing as someone who's raising money for Maddie...

But yeah, agreed. Too much publicity on one child. I think firstly it's because it happened in another country. Then, her parents were so close yet so far.

I don't think it's set up though. Kate carries that teddy around with her everywhere. Even when she's with her other children... and when they visited the Pope (which is, yes, too far. Again), their faces when they just touched him. It was kinda emotional...

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I've heard people say - and I have to agree slightly - that if the parents had not been Doctor's, if they had no money or if it was a single mum who lived in a council flat back in England - there would be nowhere near this amount of publicity. All the blame would be heaped on them and like many other children the situation would be swept under the rug.

And also (and you have NO idea how terrible I feel saying this...) Madeleine is an adorable little girl, from the pictures I've seen of her. Maybe the public is attatched to her so much because deep inside, without realizing it, they think she's so cute and that makes her worth rescuing more than the not-as-cute children who are taken every day.

Anyway, I've heard that the family was at the beach that day before she was taken, and witnesses said that there were two men and a women with a camera taking pictures of several little girls on the beach. The strangers seemed to take an interest in little Madeleine...

This is a terrible event, and I hope with all of my heart that the kidnappers take mercy on the family and the whole public that is searching for Maddie and return her to her parents.

i know this also sounds horrible but i really don't think there is much chance that she is still alive well almost certain shes not shes been gone for about 3 weeks now is it maybe longer.

Yeah I heard that to something about them thinking she was hidden under a rock or something but it mustent be true becuase i havent seen anything else about it on the news.

The latest has been all over the news recently saying that blood has been found in that appartment where she was last seen, only a spec of blood, but theories from police have emerged that Madeleine was killed in her room, and her parents were taken in for questioning.

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Gerry and Kate McCann, who have been waiting for almost 100 days for
news of their four-year-old daughter, issued the unprecedented denial
after a series of accusations in Portuguese newspapers.
They also dismissed claims their daughter had been murdered and not kidnapped.
Mr McCann was described as "shaking with rage" before the interview.

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The couple are furious at reports published in Portuguese newspapers
that police believe Madeleine died in her holiday apartment as a result
of "negligence or murder".

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22211648-663,00.html

It's turning into the JonBenet Ramesey case... how awful! I think that if authorities really thought the parents had something to do with it then the time to investigate them was in the beginning, now it just looks like they are grasping at straws...

Well, I remember being upset with the parents for leaving the children alone while they went to dinner, but beyond that it never occurred to me that they might be behind their daughter's disapperance. I really thought it would turn out to be someone that worked at the hotel and saw the parents leave, but that never panned out either.

i just hope they find her but i think it about 118 days she has been lost.

to be honest i dont thinks there is much hope but she will be found alive but there is a little tiny piece of me that believes she is .

ag167

Well, as you (should) know, I'm Portuguese and let me tell you, every single one of us here in Portugal is truly sorry that this has happened and we are doing our best to find Madeleine!

I don't know about the parents, if they aren't involved in her disappearance (and I don't believe they are), I feel so sorry for them, for how they must feel, not even knowing if their daughter is alive or not!

Me and a huge group of people have posted posters around the country, but I heard some saying that there's almost no chance of finding her - at least alive.

That makes me very very very sad and I do hope we can finally give Maddie back to her parents.

now i think in UK papers it said a few days ago that they are going to make and arrest in the next 2 to 3 days

lets just hope they find her

ag[b]

In the paper here, it said they named the mother and father as suspects and that they found traces of blood in the rental car they had 25 days after she was reported missing. I think it's horrible and I hope it's not true.

It was on TV too here yesterday, that the parents were the first suspects now, and that the mother would possibly have accidentally killed her...

Yup, my bro was saying something that was printed in the London Times, I think, about how they gave her injections because she cried a lot at night and they used that to keep her asleep...and maybe they ODed, though that has nothing to do with blood in the car...I hate it when all these ugly rumors start flying around, but still I suppose anything's possible.

They still have no clue what happened, I think, but from what I heard
last they're blaming the parents, perhaps for a mistake or accident
that they tried to cover up so that they shouldn't lose their other kid
due to child neglect.

The 'theory' is that they gave the children sleeping drugs (to which they would have access, as doctors), to make sure they slept whilst they went for a meal. But then they accidentally gave Maddie too much, hence killing her, and then have tried to cover it up...

That's just the theory, I have no idea if they did it or not. It strikes me as odd the way they've handled this - the press, the attention, and they've never seemed very sad or anything in press conferences etc.

If it turns out they did kill her, and all of this has been a ruse - it'll be worse than if they had just admitted it in the first place, because not only would they have deceived the police, but the whole world.

I agree. If it had been an 'accident' as such, they would have now made it murder by covering up. Im not sure what to believe though I am starting to think the parents are not exactly as innocent as I first thought. Do you all think they are guilty or innocent?

Well, I think the parents have admitted to given them medicine in the past, but I think it was just children's cold medicine to help them sleep.

As for if I think they hurt her or not... I don't know. They tried for years to have children, spent a lot of money to get pregnant, so they obviously loved her and her siblings. But the fact that they left their children alone in a hotel room- one that had a babysitting service- to go and hang out with friends shows them to be at the very least negligent. Once you become a parent you can't just carry on with your social life like before...but I digress.

The sad fact is they may have had something to do with her disappearance. But I think that it wasn't something they planned if they had anything at all do with it. If they did it and covered it up then they will be found out. And if someone else took Maddie or hurt her they will have to live with the guilt of leaving their child alone and vulnerable.

well said rigby i agree with you i have 2 girls and every mother and father knows not to just leave your lil ones alone
its like telling her to go to the shop thats a mile away

There has supposidly been more sightings of the little girl but personally (although horrible to say) I dont hold much hope for her - its been too long - I mean wasny it beginning of May she vanished?