6yo girl missing in London, Greenwich - has now been found (updated by MNHQ)

[Theremedy]

From the BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce58e7mjlxko

Mumsnet seems to have quite a large London population I thought it couldn’t hurt to spread the word. I can’t even imagine how scared a 6 year old would be out alone all night.

You don’t know what has happened, please save your judgement until you have the facts. How nasty.

I'd rather be shouted at than be one of the 30, was it adults who saw James Bulger being taken away.

I absolutely would and have. I think men perhaps feel that way but in public places you can't exactly be accused of anything and it's much better to be safe than sorry.

Does it - really? When there is so little detail
in the report. Why is blaming the parents out first reaction, where’s our empathy?

A seizure, mental illness, anything that could have left a mum incapacitated

She was in her nightwear at midday and wasn't reported for at least 10 hours after she went missing. Something not right there and being a "busy single parent" doesn't cut it.

@Iasonnas I am not sure I meant to quote you other than that I was agreeing with you really, that most posters on here really don't know this kind of area at all. I hope my post didn't sound racist, I have always felt free range is the right and globally/ historically normal way for children to be and since I had DC have been fascinated by cultures who allow it, hence the conversations I have sometimes had with families in London who do. Yes there are dangers outside but there are colossal dangers online which is where most UK kids spend way too much time.

Come of it! This child is almost certainly going to be from a single parent household.

Oh the James Bulger case is still so upsetting. All those people who saw him being dragged through the streets by his killers. I know they weren’t to know, but I’m sure Thompson & Venables even told a couple of people that they’d found James in the shopping centre. I’d have taken him off them and taken him to the police myself.

Nonsense. There was so much backlash against them for doing that (it was an apartment, not a hotel room).

She is on grass near some flats/houses. She looks as though she lives near and is playing. I wouldn't think twice. If I did feel worried It's likely I wouldn't do anything assuming that there's a brother father or mother round the corner who are likely to accuse me of all sorts.
Hell, there was a little dog on an empty local beach at the weekend who followed me and my dog for at least a kilometre. No human in sight and no collar. I put a slip lead on him as he looked terribly lost and started walking towards the village to see if I could find his humans when a woman screeched at me from a car parked on the road that I was stealing her dog! She was about 500m away! Thats a dog. Not a human child. You can see why people would assume or be reluctant.

This is so sad. Poor child.

And how are people just coming and going without concern? Do children just regularly roam the green unmonitored ☹️.

I know everyone walks around afraid of everything now, but we can all call the police at least. Less time would've passed, and she'd have more chance of being safe.

Hope she's found safe poor girl.
I don't think posters can be Mad at the people who drove past without stopping in daylight how many times do we drive past kids playing out we usually assume the parents are watching from their windows/balconies. The parents not reporting this till 11 at night thats terrible no excuses for that

Maybe her parent/guardian had a medical emergency and she let herself out. No one realised until they couldn't get hold of said parent/guardian until much later.

I think we have all drawn our own conclusions but the above scenario does happen.

Also that's not a great part of London but it's not a total shit tip. Lots of young kids play out by the flats and in the park, she won't have stood out that much unfortunately. After dark it's pretty sketchy though.

The circumstances surrounding this suggest a chaotic level of parenting so perhaps there has been a misunderstanding somewhere and she is with a friend or extended family member. Wishful thinking perhaps. Poor little girl.

I can imagine people might be reluctant to approach a child on their own but fgs, most people have mobile phones these days - surely you would at least stand a little way from the child and phone the police to report it.

"Does it - really? When there is so little detail
in the report. Why is blaming the parents out first reaction, where’s our empathy?

A seizure, mental illness, anything that could have left a mum incapacitated"

Yeah. All of that could easily happen. But then for the girl to actually go missing and for someone to realise at 11pm. It's those details that make it far fetched.

The whole picture, including not releasing any details about the parents, including her surname, suggests neglect.

No there wasn't for ages. They had people donating and were actually unbelievably able to write a book about it.

Only later after the media circus died down did they receive any criticism. People forget that even the media shut down any negative appraisal. You couldn't even discuss them on Mumsnet. They received strange protection, it is weird even now. Katie Hopkins said as a journalist she was not permitted to write about it in a negative slant until she made a fuss. It's one of the few things I have agreed with K.H. about. She quite rightly said - as this thread demonstrates - that had poor Maddie been the daughter of a Single mum on an estate who'd gone shopping for groceries when she was taken, or a druggie, the mother would have been mercilessly vilified and there would have been no fund raiser.

They were middle class white professionals and people overall gave them great leniency. We are a terrible society when it comes to weighing people's worth through the lens of class in the UK.

In a couple of areas in Greenwich that I know, children play out from that age and it would not be a priority or even a concern for the police or social services who are dealing with far worse things.

I often tell dh to drive slower down one road locally as there are a family who are always playing out between the cars. He tuts in his British way about unsupervised children and I always tell him that's how children ought to be.

I hope she is ok and is found soon

Well not that they ought to be playing round cars, but that there ought to be outside spaces they can roam in...

Twitter suggesting she's been found safe?

"She quite rightly said - as this thread demonstrates - that had poor Maddie been the daughter of a Single mum on an estate who'd gone shopping for groceries when she was taken, or a druggie, the mother would have been mercilessly vilified and there would have been no fund raiser."

Rubbish. No fundraisers for those who take drugs, rough, working class, single parents. Not Jay Slater's experience. KH hates them too mind

"Twitter suggesting she's been found safe?"

Hope so

I really hope so.

Greenwich Police tweet

She's been found, thank Christ