OMG. Anybody just seen GMTV? 3 yr old girl abducted on holiday on the Algarve.

[tiredemma]

kate said reports just in, cant find anything on bbc.

bloody awful.

They'll be watching the suspect, following their every move
BTW it might be a woman or a couple

jesus i have goosebumps

not icdentyfying at all -

No - people are guessing male - poloice will not say if male/female/brit or portuguese

If they are mentioning kidnapping maybe they have received a ransome note or something?

There is definetley more info and they are not releasing it to the media. Something has made thme realise she is still alive and in the vicinity. Maybe they have spoken with her?

They had 30 odd reports from locals - people must have seen her, and described who she's with

Good point Northerner

To those who blame the parents' actions, it is a protective mechanism to comfort ourselves that such a devastating thing could not happen to our children because we would
NEVER take those risks. Our way of distancing ourselves away from the horror of the situation and convincing ourselves it could not happen to us. Just like some people seek to lay the blame of being raped on the victims' skimpy clothing/drunk behaviour. Let us not forget that if we or our children are targetted in any way, there is very little we can do. Nobody is 100% vigilant.

The parents have my every sympathy. I cannot begin to comprehend the unspeakable strain they must be going through.

Sorry, someone said this had been talked about too much - but in amongst all the concerns for her, exactly why did her parents think it was ok to leave not one but three small children alone whilst they went off for tapas. I think MW offer a nanny service as well. No they didn't bring it on themselves, but it was gross irresponsibility to leave their young children this way. Probably used to having a nanny do it all for them.

MW have a set-up which is conducive to leaving yr children asleep, safe in the knowledge that nannies will be listening in )they don't operate a nannies in room policy unless you specifcally book one as a babysitter.

so it doesn't seem like a risk! TBH, as people have no doubt, said more risky every time you drive yr kids somewhere than to leave them like this!

But they chose not to use this service - and for doting, careful parents, that is odd.

I am NOT blaming them, far from it, but I do question WHY they chose not to use the listening service...

i thought they'd chosen not to use the child supervision thing they have in this particular resort.generally meant for older children, I'd have thought,as based away from bedrooms in communal area during evening so wouldn't leave a 3 yr old there, would you?

I heard there wasn't a listening service but a drop in facility where you brought children along in PJ's. If you have good sleepers used to a routine perhaps this didn't suit them. Obvioulsy reports are changing so perhaps I have this wrong now.

Judge! Judge! Judge!

Never taken your child in a car?
Never walked with your child along a busy road?
Never turned your back on them in a supermarket?
Never been distracted in a busy place?
Never lost a toddler?
Toddler never run off from you?

This incident is a freak and exceptional.

Please be reasonable.

why are the police telling the media this? surely if they have a suspect they don't want to alert him/ her to this?

THere isn't a MW room listening service at this particular location - it is too far spread out. Parents would either have to bring children with them to the restaurant, or leave them in a creche.

that's what I thought too. Definitely wouldn't suit mine so would/have gone for babylistening (but this was at different MW resorts in Greece)

NoodleStroodle - who is judging? Read the thread, I am certainly not.

But it is natural to question actions/decisions.

There is a big difference between judging/questioning!

In my view the parents did nothing wrong and we've done that tons of times. A child was taken from her house out of her bath in the North East last year with parents in the house. These things can happen anywhere. I hope they find her. It's her 4th birthday today.

Is there a market for sale of children around that region? There was that little boy stolen Kos in the Greek islands I think years ago, never seen again.

JUST LOOKED ON BBC NEWS WEBSITE AND POLICE SAY SHE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN ABDUCTED AND THEY HAVE A SUSPECT AND BELIEVE SHE IS IN THE AREA AND ALIVE!!!!!

sorry if this is repeating another post!!!

'Probably used to having a nanny do it all for them' that's a bit much isn't it? The finger of blame, people can never wait to wave it around, get off your high horses and stop judging. As someone else has already pointed out, abductions have happened from peoples gardens, peoples houses and even bathrooms while parents were in the house.

The news said the police have said the parents should not be blamed in any way.

but what noodle says is true! We all take risks several times a day with our kids and ones which are far more dangerous on the whole than leaving children in a child-friendly resort when mere yards away. That is the culture of an MW resort (maybe this will now change) - they feel v v safe, 99% of people are families so everyone looks out for one another and most do leave kids unattended in their rooms in the evening.
It doesn't feel much of a risk at the time.

also, apparently this kind of crime is practically unheard of in Portugal.