- Melissa Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 12:40 pm The full objects of the Find Madeleine fund are:
1.1.1 To secure the safe return to her family of Madeleine McCann who was abducted in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on Thursday May 3, 2007;
1.1.2 To procure that Madeleine’s abduction is thoroughly investigated and that her abductors, as well as those who played or play any part in assisting them, are identified and brought to justice;
1.1.3 To provide support, including financial assistance, to Madeleine’s family.
1.2 If the above objects are fulfilled then the objects of the foundation shall be to pursue such purposes in similar cases arising in the United Kingdom, Portugal or elsewhere.
I dont see it as a big deal, both of them have been on unpaid leave since she disapeared, you didnt mention that they paid it back, and you didnt mention that the fund provided for that. The provision ended when they because suspects.
- Mortgage » Maddie’s Mom Made Mortgage Payments with Help Fund Dough Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 1:19 pm […] Mark J. Perry wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt[The McCanns] paid at least two mortgage bills with money they obtained from the multi-million-dollar fund. “When they were made arguido [suspects], it stopped, which was a mutual decision on the part of the fund and the McCanns,�?John �?[…]
- Fiz Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 2:05 pm Why do you say it was Kate, anyway? It could have been Gerry or both of them.
- Frankly Scarlett Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 5:19 pm I don’t give a pile of …�? who did it. It’s disgusting. Your beautiful child is missing, and you dip into the money collected for her safe return.
Can you say sick?
Can you say selfish?
Can you say stealing?
Can you say suspicious?
Can you say poor judgement?
Can you say STUPID???
Ya know�?I can see that if because of Maddie’s disapperance they got behind on their mortgage. So they ASKED the fund if they could use some of the money, providing they pay it back at some point. That’s one thing. Just taking it is another. And maybe there are no provisions for borrowing the money for ANY purpose other than finding Maddie. That certainly makes sense too.
I don’t know�? I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this whole thing as far as the parents are concerned. I want to believe them so much. But pulling assinine stunts like this one make it difficult.
- A. Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 6:23 pm F.S. We don’t know that they didn’t “ask�?to use it for their mortgage.
It seems perfectly understandable to me. They were stricken with a tragedy, unable to work for awhile, and used money from a fund that was set up to help them with both their needs, and finding their daughter. Maybe, in a month or so, we’ll hear that they also used the fund to buy groceries so that they could eat.
- Melissa Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 6:38 pm They didnt DIP. As stated above, the fund was set up for them as well. Financial difficulties are sure to happen if you arent working for months and months. They also payed it back into the fund. Its not disgusting, at the time they were still in Portugal.
- Melissa Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 6:41 pm Understand also, that they DO have 2 other children, getting your house ripped out from under you would be a total bitch and more emotional distress.
- judy-st louis Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 7:29 pm I don’t see any thing wrong with that, either.
However, switching rental cars and apartments, and washing her stuffed animal right away. That is peculiar.
And leaving your children. That, too.
But I agree with Melissa.
- A. Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 7:39 pm “switching�?rental cars? Can you explain what this means?
And washing a stuffed animal, after months of being carried around, and having forensic chemicals applied to it? I can understand this.
If your entire life was turned upside down, then everything would be peculiar, as opposed to normal, don’t you think?
- Jeanne from NC Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 8:14 pm This does make things interesting. the more revealed as this case goes on the more interesting it gets.
- Einstein's Mom Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 8:35 pm This honestly does not bother me one bit. As one whose passion is missing person awareness, I frequently hear of families who suffer financial difficulties after their loved one goes missing. Who the heck could go to work in the early period after a loved one is missing?!
I just heard on my local news tonight, in fact, about financial difficulties being experienced by the wife of a man (George Whitter) from St. Louis who has been missing since August. She can’t sell her house as long as he is missing, yet she can not afford the mortgage payments on her salary alone. Fund raisers are being held to help her.
I suppose this just adds fodder to the gossip mill to those who suspect the McCanns but it shouldn’t.
- Emerson Says:
October 30th, 2007 at 8:43 pm First, the fund was set-up for just this type of need. When the Board of Advisors created the purposes of the fund they used slightly above average intelligence to forsee that if Madeleine was not found right away the McCann’s would still be focusing all of their energy on finding her and raising their other two children, (in a different country), which would equate to no work, which might lead one to need financial assistance to pay the rent.
I’m very happy for them that they had the money there to help them pay their mortgage. It’s the last thing they need to be worrying about. Sadly most parents of missing children do not have this type of money in a fund, but I guarantee if anyone were to ask parents in the same situation whether they’d prefer going back to work while under such duress just to keep a roof over their heads, or having a fund to help pay the big bills like the mortgage, they’d pick the latter.
Personally, I cannot fathom the amount of stress that the McCann’s are/have been enduring. They have a child go missing in a foreign country, (it gets stressful being away from home even under the best of circumstances, and in their worst nightmare they had no comfort from home or typical support system), they have had the press following their every move for months, (writing whatever they want quoting “sources�?, they’ve been named as suspects, they’ve had strangers judging them on everything from earrings to parenting skills, ect. I’d be a nutcase at this point if I were in their shoes.
The thing that really gets me about the mortgage uproar is that last week people were bitching about Gerry going back to work. So, if he goes back to work it obviously equates to him having killed his child or known that Kate did and helped her cover it up, because only a guilty person could think of doing something like WORK when their child is missing. Flip side: They are not working and use fund to pay for mortgage which ALSO equates to evil intent from selfish, self centered, egotistical, murderous parents. Can’t have it both ways people. If your child were to go missing today would you have the finances to continue paying all your bills and taking care of two other children, (plus expenses in a foreign country), for months? Not many people would. They’d depend upon the kindness of family, friends and strangers to help out, which is all the McCann’s were doing.
- AussieCarls Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 12:43 am Actually living in the country where the dingo really did do it I am very wary of passing any sort of judgement in this case. I will say I have no probs with them using the money to pay their mortgage. I just wish every family that falls victim to violent crime had access to the same sort of funds.
- Andie Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 5:15 am I agree with the last line of the post . . . the McCanns continue to employ exceedingly poor judgment. It’s not necessarily impropriety . . . it’s the appearance thereof. As it has been with many aspects of this case.
- DebG Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 5:25 am I just want to say that the title of this blog lacks integrity: “Maddies�?Mom�?�??? It suggests that ‘mom�?is soley responsible. And besides that, I agree with others that the McCanns surely must be going through financial hardship, as they have not worked. Unless they used the fund in lieu of any savings they may have, I don’t feel it was wrong of them.
- Emerson Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 6:33 am The mortgage info may become moot with the latest info coming out.
“Sources�?inside Port. LE now claim DNA and fiber evidence was contaminated from the start.
http://tinyurl.com/2ejhf6
They just now figured this out?? Portugal LE was surely behind the eight ball from the beginning given the enormity of coverage in this case, but there are basic principals for investigations that were not followed here and it may very well have spoiled the chance to ever recover this child or the person(s) responsible.
Also, a former nanny for Mark Warner reported to LE, and now to the private investigators hired by family, that she reported a man lurking around the outside of the flat for which she was babysitting. The man was hiding in the bushes when she spotted him. This was the same flat the McCann’s stayed in and was during the summer of 2006. The below quote comes from yet another nanny who worked there during 2007:
“A former Mark Warner nanny, Charlotte Pennington, said she was told about reports of a man hanging around the resort when she started work at the Ocean Club this year.
She said: “I did know that a complaint had been made. We were told about it when we arrived.
“We were told we shouldn’t walk around by ourselves, and that we should lock our apartments because there had been some break-ins. They told us not to tell the guests.�?
http://tinyurl.com/34l7y5
I hope for Madeleine’s sake management at Mark Warner has at least been honest with LE. I realize they are concerned with the bottom line, but we have a missing little girl and parents under suspicion. If what the nanny’s say is true it is very relevant and may show a pattern. I keep thinking of the fact that if a kidnapper were to sneak into a flat and take a child they could not have had a better locale then where the McCann’s flat was located in that villa. Its the closest to being off property and out of sight. Had they been in a middle room surrounded by their friend’s flats or in another section all together I’d be less inclined to believe someone could have pulled this off.
- Frankly Scarlett Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 7:01 am Ok, I wasn’t informed enough. I stand corrected that it was OK to use the money for their own needs. Makes sense. Although I did qualify my opinion by saying that I understand the financial difficulty this must put them under.
My suspicious feelings remain. Until I hear more answers to some of their strange behaviors, I’m not ready to shout “they didn’t do it�? I WANT that to be the case, and I hope it is�?BR>My main thought is that if they did this, and I would definately lean toward some sort of accident, WHY WHY WHY, as 2 highly educated people would they try to cover it up instead of going directly to the authorities and confessing what happened.
The news still keeps airing that story about the “Sabrina�?baby and those 2 parents. It appears they MAY have covered up something, and their lives have been a living hell for YEARS now. Once again, speculation, suspicious actions�?
That said, as far as washing stuffed animals�? I thought they kept those types of things�?like you see all the time in true crime stories�?. the “evidence boxes�?piled up at police stations. No matter, I CAN see being a distraught mother and having to keep busy with any tasks, no matter how trivial, just to keep your mind off the horror.
Answers…�?questions�?. answers�?. questions…�?
- Terri Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 8:33 am Wow, that is a big mortgage payment. But they probably have been off work looking for Madeline and therefore unable to earn money to make the mortgage payment. I don’t see what is wrong with it.
- Einstein's Mom Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 9:55 am That is a large mortgage payment, even if it’s in pounds, rather than dollars. Lol
- KimPossible Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 10:53 am I don’t see anything wrong with it either - IF�?the people that donated the money to the Maddy fund were made completely aware of the small print/terms. IF they were, than it’s similar to donating money to the Jessica Lund fund, even though I know she’s gone. That money goes to her dad who has been traveling the country to get Jessica’s law passed, missing as much work as he can afford to, and paying for his hotels and travel. Now, if I gave my money to Mark with the understanding of this, and then found out he was not working at all, not working to get the law passes, and living off the donations, that would be a different story.
So, I guess unless those questions are answered, I’m still on the fence about the parents.
- A. Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 11:23 am If I gave money to a fund like this, I would assume that their were administrative issues, cost of living issues, etc, that were going to be recipients of the fund. I also think that a lot of “giving�?means letting go of what one thinks should be happening, and trusting that the appropriate thing is being done. If you’re overly worried about the management of a fund–don’t give.
The one thing that would truly bother me wrt giving to this type of fund, is if the people were partying with it. Or if they were spending it on pure luxury or comfort items.
- Robert M. Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 3:12 pm WAAAAY to go, Emerson. Two excellent ripostes to our “headlining�?Admin here, who clearly thinks ’tweren’t the dingo did it.
BUT its ALWAYS how things look, especially where headline writers are concerned, attention grabbers sell more papers.
For the McCanns it will always be “ya can’t win for losin�?
Still, I notice that INTERESTING quote from the former Mark Warner nanny, Ms Pennington, which you posed above, re the ongoing lurker:
“They told us not to tell the guests.�?
At some point, the McCanns WILL sue Mark Warner for some type of negligence IF more quotes like these keep surfacing. Cripe, the Prime Suspect has been hiding in plain sight for a year before!!
Guess we have to stop blaming dingos now.
- Melissa Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 4:04 pm It still comes down to May 3rd to me. How in the timespan of having dinner at 6 (confirmed), getting the kids to bed at 8, and going to the tapas bar did they manage to cover up Maddie dying? Do you think they would have been able to act normally with their friends? Do you think that SEVEN other people would be complicit in this? Even if all this were possible, where did they put the body? The police were all over this after 10 that night, and the press have been following the McCanns doggedly ever since.
I cant see any other theory other than abduction in this case, the timeline is WAY too narrow. They didn’t have the time to cover up an accident or a murder. The comparison to the Sabrina case isn’t fair for that very point, those parents (who were not convicted btw) had PLENTY of time to get rid of a body.
What I don’t understand is why people think that abduction is so unfathomable. It happens every day, thousands of kids are abducted.
- A. Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 4:45 pm You know that I agree with you Melissa. I see this the exact same way.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems that as time goes on, more and more people are feeling the same way: That the PLE have nothing here, and that the McCann’s are in fact victims of child abduction.
- Melissa Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 5:06 pm They are victims of far more than that. The ONLY thing that I agree with is that the kids should have never been left alone. I think they had a false sense of security. Seeing as how everyone else it seems was doing the same thing.
- Einstein's Mom Says:
October 31st, 2007 at 6:14 pm I agree with you, too, Melissa. And at this time, I think the press will latch onto anything for a big headline.
- Fiz Says:
November 1st, 2007 at 8:17 am One of the UK papers has now picked up the “Madeleine as sex slave in Morocco�?ball and is running with it. Which is worse? Madeleine a sex slave or dead? If it is true, being so young, I would think that she has totally forgotten about her family.
- Michelle Says:
November 1st, 2007 at 8:43 am My first reaction was �?thats terrible!
Because alot of very well-meaning individuals gave their last few dollars to help these people out, ya know?
But I was set straight when I was informed that the terms of how the donations you make to this “private business fund�?, (commonly referred to as a “charity�?..were readily available to everyone right up front. And that did include the McCann’s living expenses. So they didnt deceive anyone.
Gerry also requested to use the money to pay some of their legal fees out of the fund as well but that idea was shot down.
But since that request they did get support from a number of wealthy benefactors like Sir Richard Branson who are paying their legal expenses. The salary of their spokesman Clarence Mitchell is paid by another millionaire, double-glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy.
I do think in all fairness that while they remain arguido’s, or official suspects, then they should not be able to use the private business fund money for their personal needs. We ALL want them to be innocent but until they are officially cleared it is only proper that the board oversee’s the funds and it is used to pay for its main purpose “finding Madeleine�?
just my opinion
- shadowman Says:
November 4th, 2007 at 2:31 am First of all it is absolutely appalling that they left their children alone in the first place so that they could have some “fun�? Have they ever heard of such a thing as a “babysitter�??? Secondly they should never have dipped into the “Save Maddie�?fund for their extravagant mortgage (sheesh - $8,000 per month - some of us don’t pay that per year!). Surely their parents and family could have helped them out???
- Melissa Says:
November 5th, 2007 at 5:49 pm Shadowman, dude, the they shouldnt have left them alone thing is so old. We ALL agree with it, THEY agree with it. They just choose not to beg forgiveness for it everytime they speak. They know it was wrong.
And if you actually read above, you will see that family expenses were covered in the fund.
And I find it laughable that you think that an $8,000 mortgage is high for 2 doctors.
- linda Says:
November 16th, 2007 at 4:03 am I would like to say to everyone who dont live in the UK,that a lot who live here do not belive the McCanns version of what heppened on may 3rd.We do not go out boozing and leave our kids to fend for themselves.And people gave to the fund to find Maddie not to pay the mortgage.The show that is on your news channel 17th nov, is a joke,who when their child is missing has a friend film themit is all a load of tosh.Dont be fooled by it
- Conventional1 Says:
March 24th, 2008 at 9:10 pm Ok, imagine if your child is kidnapped and you spend 200% of your time trying to find out where she is and who took her? How are you going to pay the bills unless you have a trust fund from a wealthy family? They may be doctors but Gerry worked full-time. Would you be able to work full-time. They paid the money back. How would you eat if your child went missing? Do your bills go away. Get real, people!
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