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The hunt for Maddie McCann
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Terrible news, what do you think has happened to her? There were talks that there is a possibility that she could of been taken out of the country, now Interpol and Europol are involved. People seem to be dissin the local police for not doing enough but us British people always expect things to be done the way we do them. Do you think they could be doin more? Maybe the involvement of Interpol and Europol is a positive step?
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TBH, I don't have any sympathy for the parents - they left their children alone whilst they were out and the oldest (Maddie) is only something like 3/4?
Ditto. I feel sorry for anyone that has a child snatched, but leaving a 3 year old, and even smaller babies on their own? They're lucky whoever it was didn't take all their children.
Yes what a truly devastating mistake. How someone can't have sympathy for them though astounds me.
Agreed
i do think its a terrible shame and i hate to think about whats happenin to her i hope they find her very soon
Clearly it wasn't enough, but I feel for them deeply - that doesn't sound like neglect to me.
... and they will live with that for the rest of their lives. Every single day they will question themselves.
I have huge sympathy. There but for the grace of god...
I don't believe they are to blame.
I only named those two cases as they are the two I remember.
In effect that is no different from having the kids sleeping by themselves in a different room of the house. And children have been snatched from houses before. Are the parents of such children poor at parenting simply because they did not hear someone breaking in?
I guess now you have those microphones so you can hear what goes on in the room next door, but those have been around for what? 30 years? Does that mean that every single parent in human history who left their kids alone in a different room before the 1970s was a bad parent?
My main concern actually would be one of the children suffocating or something... but you could hardly expect someone breaking in at such place.
It is a tragic case, but no matter how close you were and how often you checked the children, in my opinion they shouldn't have been left, especially as the oldest was only 3. What is more important, a nice meal or safe children?
And of course, it could still have happened if the parents were in the apartement, but the chances would have been reduced surely?
The parents will never forgive themselves and will have to live with this forever.
Indeed, and that is why, personally, I wouldn't have done what those parents did. It is easy to second guess though. They have enough to worry about now without us condemning them.
That's debatable.
well they were 10 years old, i think most 10 years olds are allowed out themselves. A friend of our familys little girl has just turned 12 and she goes shopping in town with her friends, and has been doing so for at least a year now.
anyway, theyre not the issue, i think most people would agree that they wouldnt leave a 3 year old home alone, let alone in an apartment abroad alone. I wouldnt even leave valuables lying around an apartment abroad let alone children.
I wouldn't say I don't feel sympathy, but it's difficult not to feel a bit horrified, too. I can completely understand why people feel upset - angry, even - with the parents because going for some daft meal is so inconsequential and the idea that it could cost you your child is just heartwrenching. Having seen the distance from their apartment to the restaurant on the news it was a risk that they definitely shouldn't have taken, but obviously that is by-the-by now. Like MoK said, they will blame themselves more than anyone else can heap blame... but children are so emotive for so many of us that it's hard not to get upset about this.
I hate to go all conspiracy theory but it seems to me that she has possibly been targeted and the family have been watched, I don't think its a chance happening. It's so bizarre that they'd take one child, as well. This shouldn't be happening at all, and I really do feel for the parents but they are not without fault here and while the right thing to do would be sympathetic without judging... I find that pretty impossible. In this day and age, you can't afford to leave your kids in a position where they're vulnerable to accidents or danger in any shape or form. It's one thing nipping to answer the phone or go to the toilet while they're playing, it's another entirely to walk off for an evening meal leaving three infants alone. Saddest part being that you can't really do either without the finger of blame and negligence being pointed, but there are definitely degrees of severity there.
All said, I truly hope she is found quickly and safely. It absolutely breaks my heart to think of her frightened and alone with strangers, poor little love.
Wow! Harsh!
It seems the longer the search goes on, the chances of finding her well and alive get smaller.
I have a lot of sympathy for parents, I don't think people should judge.
Yeah they have been saying in the news that she was targeted since day one. Perhaps it was just one man who abducted her so carrying 3 childen would have been a lot harder than just one. Eugh its sickening
i was never left alone either when we've been on holiday my mum and dad if me and my sister we going bed then my parents would come back to the room with us then either go bed themselves or sit up
they still do this now and im 17 and my sisters 12
As for leaving the children alone in the apartment while the parents went for a meal I think that is wrong, and neglectful EVEN if they were checking in on them. It only takes a couple of seconds for a child to drown in just an inch of water, or for a curious child to manage to turn on a hot tap and get seriously scalded, or mess with a window and fall out of it. No child should be left on their own at any point, especially in a foreign country, at that age. I know I still check on my daugher everytime I go to the bathroom of an evening from when she goes to bed at 6.30 until I got to bed around 10-11pm, (my partner also does the same when he goes) and then the first thing I do in the morning when I get up is check on her again. She is not allowed in her bedroom with her window open (it's kept shut & locked 90% of the time she's at home, the other 10% she is kept out of her room) and she is not allowed to use the hot tap at all unless someone is there to turn it on and off for her. I don't even leave her in the bath un-attended unless I am literally getting a towel from our bedroom less than 5ft away and she would still be in full view. She never plays out in our street, and when she goes to her friends house, she only plays just outside & about 5 doors in either direction. It's a parents responsibility to look after their child(ren). If they wanted a quiet meal to themselves why didn't they arrange for the children to stay with family at home while they went on holiday, or use the child minding services available at the complex?
I'm sorry, but as far as I am concerned the parents are jointly responsible for the disappearance of this poor girl, not just the person(s) who actually took her.
But there are thousands upon thousands of little ones all over the world who are lost to trafficking and other horrific practices every minute, and this one kid gets front page media coverage because she's a pretty white Western child. You can bet your bottom dollar that if she was a fat little boy, nobody would have heard of the incident. And when was the last time you saw a story about child trafficking in Vietnam or child soldiers in Sierra Leone hit the front pages like this story has? Why does this one child get all the attention, and so many are ignored?
Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to lessen the importance of finding her. I just think the media's power to influence the speed at which issues are dealt with is misdirected and saddening.
I'm all for looking after your children but I find that rather sad. Some of my happiest childhood memories are playing out in the street, going to the park with my friends, climbing up trees, rolling down hills, unsupervised.
You have live a little and let your kids do the same. A balance can and should be found between being protective and responsible, and enjoying life.
The little girl is british,thats probably why there is so much media coverage in british newspapers, there are lots of terrible things going on all over the world but it hits home more when its nearer home. I'm sure these other stories make front page news in their local papers. And i very much doubt that it has anything to do with the fact she is a pretty little girl, i think if she was a fat little boy the story would still have the same media coverage. i think thats a pretty silly thing to say tbh.
:yes: I see no problem with children playing outside as long as they're somewhere familiar and the parents/neighbours can see and hear them.
You honestly think that there's only been one case of child abduction, even in a foreign country, since whenever the last one hit the news? Of course the media pick and choose their stories to sell papers; you think Rupert Murdoch's brief to his editors is 'your job is to simply impartially relate the facts?'