Madeleine McCann related

[CiderLover]

Just came across a post about MM on here and it got me thinking.

AIBU to think that if MM was found alive, she would be terrified being returned to her parents? After all they would be nothing but strangers to her now surely?

bemybaby It's not an odd question. In cases of adoption people will have had years to ponder on whether or not they want to contact their family.

If /when she is found the scene will change dramatically overnight. We have no idea what, if anything, she remembers or will have been told by her captor. She might well be very angry with her loving family for having taken such a risk leaving her alone.

Another factor is age at discovery. The younger the child (and therefore the shorter time away from the family) then I would guess it is much more possible to reintegrate successfully.

An older teen would need a totally different style of support, and would have more say about where they wished to live. At some point, the child is gone.

I have no memories of being 3.

I think the age from which a person has their earliest memories is highly variable from one individual to another. I have definite memories from when I was 3, and some hazy ones which may be earlier.

Many people have no clear memories from when they were that age, but some do, so it is possible MM does, if she is still alive (fingers crossed on that one).

Hi Summerbreezing, thanks for pointing that out, we have changed her name now.

In the US, after Jaycee Dugard was found she was rehabilitated along with her family. They all went to a different state and spent months learning how to be a family again.

I know that the length of time and the age is different.

If it was my child, I'd want them back instantly. It must be so difficult for the few families who have had children found after long abductions to have to go through an even longer process before they can be together again.

With the Elisabeth Fritzl case, she and her children are looked after by a team of specialists. If any journo come near the village where she lives, the villagers apparently chase them away! The youngest boy who was 4 I think when she was released, spends a lot of time outside playing in the grass. The eldest girl Kristen had serious kidney problems and difficulties with walking upright. But they are having big problems with reconnecting the siblings who were taken as babies to live upstairs, and who are now feeling very guilty and can't understand why they were chosen and why the other siblings were left downstairs.

Elisabeth herself has learned to drive and loves to go shopping. So you have a family who were imprisoned at different ages, but it seems that with great care and a media blackout, it's possible to recover.

Natascha Kampusch was 10 when she was kidnapped and imprisoned and 18 when she escaped. Her book addresses her time kidnapped and what happened afterwards.

If I recall correctly Natascha chose not to return home to live with her parents.

Unfortunately, I think the chances of finding her alive are so remote that any conversation like this is pretty pointless.

It's heartbreaking but I hope they get some closure.

I imagine that if Madeleine were to be found alive that as a Ward of Court the court's primary concern would be how would her welfare be best served. As an 11 year old, they might even take her own wishes into consideration.