Maddie – What Makes Her Case So Different?

This week, British police hunting for Madeleine McCann started searching Praia da Luz's sewer network and it emerged they need at least another week to scour land 300 metres from where she vanished. It’s been reported that Scotland Yard detectives working in the Algarve resort have pulled up manhole covers and are analysing the network of pipes below using micro cameras and fibre-optic cables.

Police have yet to say whether they have found anything significant, but Madeleine's parents - Kate and Gerry McCann - have said they were 'encouraged by the progress' of the search.

I have a few observations about this exercise, and many questions.

How Much Has Been Spent?

As much as I’ve tried, I’ve struggled to find the total amount paid out of the public purse for the search of Maddie. It does however appear to be significantly more than £5.0 Million.

Maddie went missing in 2007; I can’t find any figures for how much was spent in the first four years she was missing. A couple of figures I have found are in 2011/12 the cost, which was met by the Home Office, was £1,929,354. In addition, the figure for 2012/13 was £1,869,933. Based on these costs, those incurred in the first four years and those incurred over the past few months, the total bill must now be well in excess of £5.0million.

Why not the Portuguese Police?

Why are the Metropolitan Police investigating a missing person in Portugal without the support of the Portuguese Police who will not have a joint investigation? I suspect nothing will be found here, so it's just going through the motions and taking resources away from policing in the UK. Are we going to send detectives all over the world to search for the other missing British nationals? I doubt it! Yes, it's very sad for the family but it should be handled by the Portuguese Police. As an aside I do find it weird how our Home Secretary, Theresa May hates the Police yet funds this junket in a hope it will garner public support for her.

So the question needs to be simply, why aren't the Portuguese police doing this? Are they unwilling or just incompetent? There again to-date the Portuguese Police have proven themselves absolutely useless - there should have been a thorough investigation from the start, as would have been the case had a Portuguese (or other nationality) child gone missing here in the UK. So why didn't they do these searches seven years ago?

My heart goes out to the McCann’s but if this search is unsuccessful which I suspect it will be, given the costs involved I believe the public have the right to know what evidence the police had which they felt justified this operation.

What About The Others?

I have been following this story since the very first day. This beautiful, innocent little girl. My heart went out to her. I can just imagine how scary it must have been for her. I know it’s sad that a little girl has gone missing. But how much has this cost us over the years? Why have they favourited this child over others who are missing and other children who are ill? There are hundreds of sick children at home, who are they not getting the treatment they need because of costing's and yet they have spent millions searching for a girl who will probably never be found?

Talking to people I find it’s not just me, many people are wondering why the McCann's should get so much attention and funding when there are plenty of other small children who go missing and nothing ever happens on a scale like this! Thousands of children have gone missing since Maddie and Thousands before, so could anyone explain why Maddie is worth so much more than all the others?

As a parent, I fully agree that you would never give up, but there comes a time where you must question why the money being used to find her isn't being split to aid finding all missing children? Why only one child? Why not all of them?

Over 100.000 children a year go missing in the UK; surely these missing children deserve to have all these resources on their cases? None of them however seem to afford such high priority searches. Something is very wrong here. The mind well and truly boggles why. It would be nice to hear of some of these other missing cases now. If only every newspaper and media outlet took as much interest in the hundreds of missing children that are spirited away each year in this country.

Enough is enough for me! Tragic as it is there is little more that can realistically be done in the Maddie case. There are other missing children out there who need to be found. As I say, I do not understand why one family has received so much support from the UK police force over such a long period of time. I'm sorry but it really is time to stop.

“Suppose You Would Think Differently If It Was One Of Your Own?”

“I Suppose You Would Think Differently If It Was One of Your Own” is the response I’ve had from a number of people who have questioned my attitude. Stop there please; I am fed up reading these hypothetical comments. I would never have put my family in that situation in the first place. So parents who have not, and would not leave their young children alone at any time are completely entitled to pass judgement on the McCann's as they see fit.

If this child had been mine I would not have abandoned it in a strange apartment, in a strange country, while I went out scoffing and boozing. If it was my child (children, actually let's not forget the toddler siblings) I would not leave them alone and go out, neither would any responsible parent!

The McCann’s are not poor people which is why I cannot get over how any family which can afford to take three very young children away on holiday to Portugal couldn’t afford a babysitter for a few hours. Young kids do wake up, especially in strange surroundings.

I honestly don't know one parent that would leave their children including babies in an apartment ALONE so they could go out and eat and drink. So whilst I have a massive amount of concern for Maddie, I have little sympathy for the parents.

So Many Questions. Only One Answer?

What makes Maddie so special? Is she from the Royal Family (not that that should make a difference)? She always seems very important, but unfortunately she’s not alone, children go missing every minute, every day, no one really seems to give a toss. An aeroplane goes missing, after a month no one seems to talk about that anymore, that had children on board didn’t it?

Regrettably we are in the EU with an EU arrest warrant and Interpol, so if a little girl disappears in Portugal why is it still left to the Met and British tax payer seven years later to conduct a proper search? Makes you wonder why we want to be part of Europe doesn't it?

This entire fiasco seems to be a project into wasting as much money as possible and taking the longest time possible. As I’ve already said this is a ridiculous waste of money that the Police could be putting to better use with the many other missing child cases in this country. There again at least these police officers are doing a thorough job; sun, sea, sand and limitless overtime and expenses, what more could we and they ask for really?

I do hope they find her so that we can stop hearing about the case. But while I feel for Maddie, there are so many other missing children who don't get any publicity or indeed police action. All loved missing children deserve the same amount of time and effort in finding them. I really hope Madeline McCann is found alive one day.

And the one answer I have - Maybe don't leave your children alone in the first place. They are the most precious things you will ever have. No matter what has happened or what happens now, if the McCann’s hadn't left Maddie on her own none of this would be happening at all!