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Just heard on Newstalk that the Portuguese police have arrested three people in connection with the abduction of Maddie and have summoned her parents to a local police station.
A press conference has been called for 6 o'clock.
Hope this is good news, but it doesn't sound like it.:mad:
Police hunting for Madeleine McCann are said to be focusing on two men and a woman seen with a girl matching her description.
Madeleine: Missing for one weekOfficers have called a news conference for later today and Madeleine's parents were driven away at speed from their apartment.
Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt, who is in Portugal, says it appears there has been some significant development.
According to reports, officers have examined CCTV footage showing a girl fitting Madeleine's description with a woman and two men at a service station just a few miles from the village of Praia Da Luz, on the road towards Spain.
The Portuguese newspaper, 24 Horas, said the woman was in her 40s, blonde and appeared foreign.
Martin Brunt said police have shown a still from the CCTV to a British tourist who confirmed it showed a man he had to chase off from photographing his daughter.
Kate McCann at the service"Things are happening, they could be important, there could be a big development," he said.
Earlier a special service was held in the village church at Praia Da Luz in Portugal to mark one week since Madeleine McCann was abducted.
The three-year-old's mother, Kate, repeatedly broke down in tears and had to be supported by a friend as she listened to prayers for Madeleine's safe return.
A small picture of the child hung next to the altar and many of the worshippers cried during the service.
The priest, who was British, said: "They are empty and in despair, but Christ knows where Kate and Gerry McCann are, he knows where Madeleine's grand parents are."
The strain of the last seven days was plain to see on Kate McCann's face as she accepted the sacraments.
The email posterFriends of the McCann family have also arranged a service in Merseyside tonight to pray for the little girl's safe return.
The service will be led by Father Paul Seddon, who married the McCanns and baptised Madeleine.
And Everton FC has released a picture of her in a club shirt.
Captain Phil Neville said everyone was "praying for Madeleine's safe return."
A poster campaign has also been launched by Madeleine's family.
More than 23,000 copies of the poster have been downloaded from the Sky News website and the family have now made it available in French and Spanish.
Absolutely terrifying. I hope she's found.
It really freaks me out, though, when the British media get hold of a story like this and it's "Maddie" this and "Maddie" that on the front pages.
It really freaks me out that if her parents weren't both doctors, they'd be slaughtered in the press.
Made that exact point to my Mother the other night and got called a 'sicko'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Risteard
Perhaps we should all stop having pops at her parents and the press until we know she's alive or not. Theres plenty of time for blame afterwards.
Doctors or not, British or not, these people are human beings that made a huge mistake. Hopefully its not one they'll have to regret for the rest of their lives.
Yep. Hopefully they get the kid back and we can string them up then.
I lost my 4 year old child in Spain for 45 minutes. He was walking beside me and we were looking at a menu. Turned around and he was gone. Not speaking Spanish it was agonising. He had found he was onto the nearby beach. We had just arrived and didn't know where anything was. It was the day of the 2002 world cup final. I will never forget it as long as I live. The most agonising 45 minutes of my life. He had wandered on to a nearby beach. The local police found him. The joy in finding him was unbelievable. I certainly won't be condemning the parents of Madeline.
I think the parents have shipped a fair bit of stick on this tbh,my 4 year old son disappeared from under my nose in a Supermarket in Copenhagen,I was holding his hand and let it go to take out my money to pay for something in the shop and when i looked down to take his hand again,he'd vanished.
He was missing for about 20 mins and I enlisted the help of about 10 shoppers to help me find him,he was found hiding behind a load of crates of beer in the off licence.
That feeling I had for the 20 mins he was missing will be with me for the rest of my life.
Whilst I'd agree it's not the time, I don't think drummerboy and 12th man's examples are really the same circumstances as the current case. They do however, make me make a mental note to put a lead on any kids I'm lucky enough to have in the future!
Exactly...those were accidents that could happen to anyone. These parents chose to let a 3 year old alone with younger kids. Of course they didnt expect this but anything could have happened a fire, one of the kids getting sick etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macy
Saying that all thats important right now is trying to get the girl back safely....
But weren't they eating in the restaurant in the same hotel and could see the room door from their table? Also weren't hotel staff meant to be looking in on them. AFAIK this is common enough when people go on holidays.Quote:
Originally Posted by micls
Press conference didn't amount to much. It seems that the police haven't got a clue at all, or else they're very close and keeping their cards very close to their chest. I reckon its the former....:(
No, i didn't see it myself but it was either the BBC or the Independent showed the area and said there was no way they could have kept an eye on them.Quote:
Originally Posted by BohsPartisan
Its completely different from the examples ye have posted above lads, in fairness. They do deserve blame.
Hope the child turns up safe obviously.
Have they confirmed that she was abducted?
Its highly possible that she went out wandering, being 3 and in a hotel-room alone.
Just speculating but a 3 year old could easily have fallen down a lift shaft, rubbish chute.
I'm just thinking of a case in my area where a very young kid was missing for i think it was two weeks but turned out had committed suicide and was in the body was in the house all along.
Sorry for the grim post.
Was anything said at half 6?
When I was 11 I went missing in Florida for 2 hours :o :( - scary!Quote:
Originally Posted by drummerboy
Reports on the radio saying Portuguese police scaling down their operation. Child is obviously not in the resort anymore
I'd hate to every have the experience of losing a child even for a short time. What the parents of a child snatched go through I can't even begin to understand or imagine what is going through their mind.
yeah too right, cant believe people are so ready to be critical of the parents, people make mistakesQuote:
Originally Posted by drummerboy
uh, a mistake is one thing, but should any parent not be criticised for leaving three under 3 years old children alone in a hotel room? had the child simply wandered off and been found a day later, she would probably be taken from them by child welfare officers.Quote:
Originally Posted by bennocelt
meanwhile, because the UK press have latched onto the case, there is now a £2.5million reward should someone find her, or to go to the parents should she be dead.
You see Gavin there has to be a God, a miracle has just occured as we are actually in agreement! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by GavinZac
Anyone else get the feeling that the NotW have a man sitting at a desk, waiting for this sort of thing to happen so they can galvanise their sales by putting up rewards for information on these cases? The same guy fills his day by peeking into the computer of the guy who's job it is to tear apart celebrity families by making up strories about straying husbands/wives/dogs/etc.?Quote:
Originally Posted by GavinZac
More than likely they are one and the same unscrupulous character. Who also probably writes the hysterical drug-culture exposés while not fully come down off all the coke he did the night before with all his other hypocritical hack mates.Quote:
Originally Posted by jebus
Can't believe people get so upset about the whole thing, kids get kidnapped.Quote:
Originally Posted by bennocelt
My statement is exactly as stupid as yours.
I'm definately a believer in forgiveness and learning your mistakes.
But you can recover from drug abuse and you can reform yourself after a spell locked up.
Ain't no bringing back L'il Baby Maddie at this stage though.
They're just going to have to live with it.
Don't call people [or their opinions] 'stupid' on Foot.ie please. It's as ignorant as the comment you're trying to highlight.
In fairness I don't think he called him stupid, moreso the post that he put up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Risteard
See edit. As far as I'm concerned, calling someone's opinion stupid is the same as calling them stupid. There are far better ways to debate a topic.
Agreed!Quote:
Originally Posted by GavinZac
Is anyone finding this prize fund for information leading to her safe return cringeworthy? Celebrities coming forward with named amounts and the Sun (I think) bragging about the kitty they've assembled. It's all well and good when the sad likelihood is that the poor girl will probably not be found alive. What kind of self respecting individual would require a £2m ever increasing lottery roll over fund to persuade them to come forth with such pertinent information? If anything it's just leading to desperate bogus information claims.
I think the the best hope would be whoever took her (if shes still alive) would try to claim the money by leaving her somewhere and then 'finding' her...........2million is a lot of money and someone might take the risk for itQuote:
Originally Posted by Poor Student
Highly unlikely but anthing is worth a try at this stage
You've been watching too many movies. That would never happen. If someone claims the money they would be investigated thoroughly - DNA, etc. They'd be caught out.Quote:
Originally Posted by micls
I've a feeling it will be another Ben Needham type case - we'll never know what happened to her.
This is just too depressing
Now I know what the Catholic Church means by evil
I wouldn't blame the British press. At least it's now in everyone's mind- if the Portuguese had their way nobody would know anything
btw What was Beckham doing going on tele
One would imagine that its because ,he's a big star in Spain, a country she could easily be in.
The latest from Newstalk this morning is that there was no abduction from the apartment.
Madeleine woke up and went out looking for her parents
She became disorientated and ended up walking to the local sweetshop which she knew. The shop was closed and it was there she was picked up by a predator or a someone with the mind of a child.
She is not far away from the holiday complex- she was unlucky to come across maybe the one person in that area that would abduct a child
Can't see it being as simple as that. I reckon this was planned, probably by people who watched the behaviour patterns of her parents and had a good escape route.Quote:
Originally Posted by Matchman
My only wish now is that she was taken by someone who is slightly mentally unbalanced by something like they can't have their own kids and decided to abduct one to make them a member of their own family. At least that way, in my mind, she won't have been subjected to whatever horror she would go through if taken by a paedophile.
There was no sign of a break-in which is why the police spent most of the first few hours looking for her
A sniffer dog picked up the scent of the child to as far as the shop which is where the scent disappears so it looks as if this is where she was taken.
It would also explain why the police keep bringing in people for questioning
good thread boy, totally agree with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by joeSoap
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeSoap
Heart agrees with your wish but the head says its a planned thing.
What the parents are feeling now must be the most pain any human can endure.
Anybody know whats the maximum sentence for this offence?,if its not life it should be.
maximum sentence for what exactly:Quote:
Originally Posted by the 12 th man
abducting a child - long pison term
leaving your children alone so they can wander out in the middle of the night - life sentence of guilt
obviouly hope that the little girl is found safe and well, although the longer this goes on the less likely this becomes.
Abducting the child.Quote:
Originally Posted by galwayhoop
What's the point of continually castigating the parents,do you not think they realise they made a catastrophic blunder by leaving the child unattended.
Theirs (the parents) is indeed a life sentence of guilt/shame and imo to be pitied.
sorry my post wasn't clear. i agree with you. the parents have the guilt to carry around - a life sentence. its like any mistake a person makes - the what only and what ifs would drive you nuts on top of the actual problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by the 12 th man