To think that today's news offers a glimmer of hope

[boringnickname]

here that Madeleine could still be alive. I have always thought the worse but this being bought up again now seems to be quite out of the blue and i can't help but hope.

I know its bad form, but i just wanted to share the glimmer

actually I don't think that prosecution would achieve anything.

After the event there were plenty of people on mn who were happy to admit to having done the same in the past. It's not an isolated thing to leave your children sleeping in a hotel when going to dinner, it was apparently not uncommon in this particular resort, so where do you draw the line at prosecution? Only the parents whose child came to harm? or all of the parents... iyswim?

But we dont know what informed decisions around prosecution, so how do we know if that had any effect?

The portuguese police wanted to arrange a reconstruction but the family and friends refused to take part.

I assume they thought they would get implicated all over again if they agreed to it. Given that the various witness accounts don't add up at all, this would be my concern as well.

cats have inboxed u hun x

'Very much an anti website'

Most people are neither pro nor anti in my opinion, they just wonder what happened to the poor little girl. One of the problems with this case is that if you dare to question you get called a 'vile McCann hater' or similar and it's assumed that you are anti. Why shouldn't we be allowed to question? It's our taxes that are paying for the Scotland Yard review.

We would all be delighted if Madeleine, (or Ben Needham, or the other little girl who disappeared in Germany 30 years ago) were found, but sadly, it's very unlikely.

No one would be prosecuted under English law for an offence of child neglecct (assuming there was one) committed in Portugal.
And as for: had no idea about the signing her over to the courts early on - is that something her parents would have done? Why would they have done that?
becoming a ward of court does not mean the child is effectively headed for care if found or that the parents have signed over all parental responsibility. It would mean, in MM's case, that if found she could be better shielded from publicity/disclosures and the Official Solicitor could take all necessary steps to protect her. It is essentially a protective measure and indicates nothing surprising or dubious about the parents at all, in my view. Talk about avidly suspicious...

It's standard procedure to make an abducted child a ward of court isn't it?

I hope they find her but it's unlikely isn't it. The few that have been found have usually not had a very nice life (Jaycee Dugard for example). She may not even look like the computer generated aged image. I know someone who was a victim of parental abduction. They did an aged picture and when she was found she looked nothing at all like the picture.

Imo there is no way, no way at all, that her parents are connected with her disappearance. I won't go into why because I'm sure others have their own opinions but I find it extremely unlikely that the mccanns had any involvement at all.
It might be statistically the most likely explanation but it is certainly not the only explanation. What possible motivation would they have?! Why would they then have spent all this time making sure their daughter stayed in the public eye.
I feel nothing but sympathy for them, god only knows how horrific it must be for them.

I've got a daughter a few months older than Madeleine and it breaks my heart looking at that photo. Sadly there's a tiny tiny possibility that she's still alive. The story got more worldwide publicity than any other missing person and if she's still out there I'd be utterly amazed.

Actually, it isn't just on MN that discussions of this topic have been censored or banned. It was banned on Digital Spy and various other UK and US forums, IIRC. The spokesman for the parents also had the Daily Mirror forum shut down to end discussion of the subject there. I have absolutely no idea what happened in this heartbreaking case, but the way in which it has been handled in the media is slightly unusual, IMO.

but they were both doctors and had been present at deaths before going out to the Algarve (this was reported at the time) so that would explain the dogs getting the scent of death etc.

Portugal have said today they won't be re opening the case and also interestingly that they have had no request to do so. It seems they have all teh info they need to come to their decision. The whole case in english translation is available online to read there is obviously nothing new. I wonder why tha UK detectives have contradicted this?

Yes Kate did say that in her position as a part time one day a week GP she had attended 6 deaths before she went on holiday and took teh trousers with her(this is in the files before anyone lynches me)

hmmm... very

I think the conspiracy theorists would have been stopped in their tracks if kate McCann had answered the questions put to her and if they had stayed in Portugal rather than go home when made arguidos. Gerry said the reason they left the children was becasue it was out of season felt safe and was a bit like dining in your garden in the summer whereas Kate said she thinks they were being watched.

Any thread about the McCanns I find extremely distasteful.

noddy there are far more inconsisties in the case than the refusal to answer questions et all that you mention....sorry agree with most of your posts except that point...