Madeleine McCann would be 11 now

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

\link{http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/12/the-hunt-for-madeleine-mccann-s-grave.html\article from the Daily Beast}

She's still that tiny girl in my head. I'm astonished that she would be sitting SATs this week & starting secondary school in September.

So sad for the family.

Swannery
I think that the circumstances of Maddie's disappearence was horrendous and can't be compared to children dying of natural causes. I feel its unlikely that Maddie is alive, but it will be heartbreaking for her parents if they do find a small body. It will be a death of all hope that Maddie is alive.

However bad news may well be better than no news. If they do find a body then Maddie can have a proper funeral and the family will have some closure.

It is worth spending vast sums of money to prove that murder has taken place. It means we are a step closer to finding the perpertrator and preventing another child being murdered. April Jone's body was destroyed, but those sniffer dogs were effective at proving that Mark Bridger killed April. Mark Bridger might have murdered another little girl if he had not been caught.

Dying of starvation isn't really dying of natural causes, is it. Those many many deaths are entirely preventable, as are many of those caused by disease. I do think it's rather obscene that so much money has been spent on trying to find one body, when so many equally valuable children are dying worldwide for lack of a small amount of money. I'm sure their parents are devastated too.

There will always be children in the third world dying from war, disease and famine. There are charities to help these communities if you want to help them. Those two poor girls in India who were raped and hanged probably share a lot in common with poor little Maddie. Lack of proper sanitation was a partial cause of their murder.

The fact is that the McCanns raised money to help with the search for Maddie rather than any other child. People choose to contribute money (rightly or wrongly) to this particular cause. I feel that decision to contribute to the cause of finding Maddie rather than Save the children should be respected. Some people choose to keep their cash.

" I do think it's rather obscene that so much money has been spent on trying to find one body, when so many equally valuable children are dying worldwide for lack of a small amount of money. I'm sure their parents are devastated too."

Bare in mind that Maddie's parents feel its pretty obscene that their daughter has disappeared without trace. We are lucky to have the knowledge that our children are alive and well.