Last night Mr. H and I were talking about this case and he said something that really made me think. "Doesnt' this sound a little JonBenet?" Wow! It was like an epiphany went off in my head. I remembered not only JonBenet but mostly Susan Smith, remember her? She was the mom who claimed that a black man had carjacked her old Mazda Protege with her two toddlers inside it. A picture of her two beautiful little boys (I wanted to rip this woman's teeth out btw) flooded the press. Police apprehended a black man that fit her very generic description of "it was a black man" and arrested him. I remember then my aunt said, "You know something doesn't add up. Since when does a black man steal and old car with two white toddlers in it? It wasn't even a Honda or a nice car. Who steal a Mazda Protege with passengers, that car has no street value!?" She said that and I had the same epiphany I had last night. I thought, "that seems pretty unbelievable." Of course we all know how Susan's story turned out. After many tearful pleas to the media and the nation, she confessed that she actually rolled the car into a lake and watched her sons drown. Why? So she could marry her boyfriend who did not want a pre-made family. So, then I sat back and began to think. What do we know? Kate and Gerry McCann went on vacation with their daughter Madeleine and her two twin siblings. Gerry is a cardiologist and Kate is a general practitioner. Reports indicate that they were vacationing with a group of 8 friends. I have not seen any reports on when they arrived or the names of the people they were travelling with. The McCann's researched hotels and selected this Mark Werner hotel because of it's services for family. The resort offers in room babysitting and has a kid's club where children can be left at dinner time. Hotel staff confirmed that the couple and their friends took several meals at the pool while Madeleine and her siblings slept alone in the hotel room. On May 3rd, 2007 at 8:00pm, Kate and Jerry McCann left Madeleine sleeping Between her two younger siblings alone in their ground floor hotel room. They went to dine with friends at a Tapas restaurant 100 yards away from the room. There are a few different accounts as to when the parents left the children. I've seen 8pm and 8:30pm. Police confirmed that they did not lock the patio doors. (This fact is all but lost in English Language press) The parents claim that they checked on the children every half and hour. So that would be 8:30, 9:00, 9:30, 10pm. A friend that was at dinner said they checked every hour. That would be 9pm and 10pm. Gerry McCann confirms that he checked on them at 9pm and that the kids were fine. There are two time accounts of when Kate returned to check and found Madeleine missing. I've seen 9:45pm and 10pm. It would seem by the time the call to the police and hotel staff was placed that it would have been 10pm. Kate claims the shutters were up and the window open. The patio doors were also ajar. The police found no signs of forced entry into the room. The hotel staff found no signs of forced entry into the room. It is then discovered that the patio doors the parents may have left the patio doors unlocked. Other reports confirm that they did indeed leave the doors unlocked. Local police did not believe Madeleine was abducted but that she wandered off. This is based on the information they had. That information was that the door was unlocked and when Kate returned found the door ajar. Hotel staff, fellow guests, and police search the premises all night. May 4th Dogs are brought in and the search intensifies. Border patrol is alerted. The parents criticize the police for not doing enough. Police refuse to divulge details of the case. May 5th Gerry's sister complains to the press about the local police. She says the window was found open and jimmied. She says the shutters were open. This was not what the police and hotel staff reported. A colleague of Madeleines' mother offers 100,000 pounds as reward money. May 8th British Ambassador to Portugal defends the investigation after meeting with the McCanns May 10th Four people believed to be friends of the McCanns are questioned May 11th to Present Reward money pour in from businessmen and high profile celebrities. Richard Murrat is a suspect. He lives nearby and has a daughter that is similar in appearance to Madeleine. His daughter lives in England. Madeleine remains missing. _________________________________________ Okay, let's start at the top. I've seen just about no reports in English speaking news about how long the McCanns were in town before this happened. The two mentions I did see said they had already been at the resort some time and had taken several meals at the pool while the children slept alone in the room. Who are the people that they vacationed with? What are their names? Were they all accounted for that night? Did all of them stay at the dinner table? Did all go to dinner? It seems the initial search was for a missing child that wandered off. The detectives did not change the focus of the investigation to an abducted child until Saturday - a full 2 days later. Since the initial investigation was for a missing child the police allowed hotel staff, guests, and the parents to help. If the parents, one of their friends, hotel staff, or another guest was involved, they could have had time to move the child. This is a large resort. It seems the kidnapper walked into the front door. Assuming this is a stranger. Why Madeleine? She was sleeping in the middle and heavier than the other two toddlers. One of the children at the end would have been easier to carry. It seems awkward to pull a child from the middle without disturbing her or the other two. Why not take all three kids? Why just Madeleine? My guess is one person. Why is there so much discrepency with the time the parents left and when they returned? Why do these times keep changing? Gerry McCann is the only person who can confirm that Madeleine was in the room at 9pm. Did he really go check the kids? How long was he gone. Did he pop his head in or go take a full look? What was his view point? Could he see all three children or only one? Did he assume Madeleine was there because the door was closed? How long was he gone? How long does it take to walk over from their table, check the kids with a full sighting of all three, and return to the table? How long did he take? Do we know for certain that she was in that room at 9pm? Who are the McCanns? We know they are doctors. We know they are very well connected if a colleague of Kate McCann can pony up 100,000 pds with couple days notice. We're there suspicions of abuse? Why did the media rebuff criticism of their actions before they could be criticised? We've seen the British Media attack people's parenting skills for less than this? Have you seen Super Nanny? That show started in Britain. What's so special about this case? Why were the McCann's so incredibly protected from scrutiny? If Kate did indeed find the window jimmied open, why didn't the parents kick and scream that their child was abducted? There is a big difference in intensity and containment when searching for an abducted child versus a child that may have just wandered off. Why did the parents criticize the police on the second day and then retract and show support days later? Who are the people that they vacationed with? Are they still in Portugal? Were they all questioned? Do any of them have priors or history of abuse toward children? Britain is a leader in the world for pedophiles and rich men that take sex vacations. Have all men in this group of travellers been investigated? Who else was in the restaurant that night? Did they check names and credit receipts? It would have been easy to overhear that the McCanns were checking on their kids and follow one of them. Why is the focus of the British media on the "incompetence" of the police as opposed to pictures and profiles of other known adults involved? Why are they so eager to pin this on Murrat when he seems so unlikely a candidate? They can't place him there at all. I would think a guest of the resort would be much more suspicious. Who was staying in the rooms near the McCanns? Why are the McCanns still in the resort with the other two children? Why not send them home with Grandma or other relatives? I'm under the impression that there are a lot of very rich British people involved and they police either do not have access to question them or have chosen not too. I'm also not 100% sure that the parents are telling the whole story. Something is missing here. Hopefully the oddities of this case do not prevent the police from finding Madeleine. I'm still praying for her safe return. Does anyone else have suspicions about this case? I'd love to hear your take on it.
Posted by TootToot May 17, 2007 3:32 PM PDT