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Original poster

Madeleine McCann documentary - part 2

167 replies

HollowTalk · 25/03/2019 21:19

There isn't space on the first thread so thought I'd start another.

I'm watching the first episode and have a couple of questions.

When Kate went back to the apartment (and found her daughter was missing) she was surprised the door was open further than it should be. Yet she hadn't been there before, had she? The friend went the previous time (and didn't bother to check the children were there) and Gerry went the time before. So why was Kate surprised to see the door further open? And why was she going to go back again without checking? The door slammed due to the open window, which made her open it to check the window.

Also, the woman (don't know her name, sorry) who played tennis with Gerry said that he was going up the hill to the apartment (for the first check) and she said, "You're going the wrong way!" and he said, "I'll be back in a minute, Madeleine's (or my daughter's) gone missing. And then when the woman heard a child had gone missing she didn't realise it was Gerry's. That sounds so odd. Not suspicious, just odd.

OP posts:
Original poster
HollowTalk · 27/03/2019 18:43

It's very unlikely she would've gone to the beach when she could see the restaurant from the door of the apartment. Surely she'd go to her parents rather than to the sea?

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acciocat · 27/03/2019 19:19

And Of course there are other possibilities than abduction from the apartment / wandering off. She could have wandered out and fallen victim to an opportunist abductor. There are quite a number of high profile U.K. cases where children have been snatched in the blink of an eye from outdoors. Or she could have wandered out and been knocked over by a vehicle in the dark. After all that’s the conclusion that the police have come to several decades later re Ben Needham. There was lots of talk of gypsy gangs stealing children, but ultimately it seems most likely it was a tragic accident followed by a panicked concealing of the body. You just have to imagine that it might be someone who’d had a few drinks or was in an untaxed vehicle and it’s not hard to imagine an awful chain of events.

It just seems so far down the list of terrible possibilities that someone would take the very high risk of abducting a child through the window. And to do that without leaving any trace, not even disturbing lichen on the window. Also (it feels awful saying this) but there would be far easier children to take. It’s far more usual for children with a vulnerable lifestyle ... MM was by all accounts a generally well looked after child from a middle class family, which isn’t the typical pattern.

Onceuponacheesecake · 27/03/2019 19:25

It's just so bizarre that they could think within ten minutes she'd find her daughter dead in the apartment and hide it from everyone

I don't think Madeleine had been seen by anyone other than her parents/siblings since 6pm that night...

RunAndBeeHappy · 27/03/2019 19:41

those PJ statements....they name a child of the tapas 7. how is that right?

huntinghighandlow · 27/03/2019 19:55

Plus the unreliable crèche records. The police have looked into their movements from the day they arrived at the resort.

Original poster
HollowTalk · 27/03/2019 23:40

@Onceuponacheesecake, are you really suggesting that they killed her or watched her die and then went off to have a lovely meal with friends, and went back to the apartment to check only on the twins, come back looking unperturbed and only later raise the alarm?

Really? They would both have to be psychopaths to do that. And why would they be continuing the search now? And how, in the hour or so they had free between kids' club and dinner for the children, and then dinner themselves, would they hide a child in a small apartment? They had no car and nobody found Madeleine, despite huge searches.

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Original poster
HollowTalk · 27/03/2019 23:41

ultimately it seems most likely it was a tragic accident followed by a panicked concealing of the body

That is absolute bollocks. Nobody in authority is suggesting that.

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AlexaAmbidextra · 28/03/2019 00:49

Also, the woman (don't know her name, sorry) who played tennis with Gerry said that he was going up the hill to the apartment (for the first check) and she said, "You're going the wrong way!" and he said, "I'll be back in a minute, Madeleine's (or my daughter's) gone missing.

No, she saw her tennis coach going up the hill, not Gerry.

shiveringtimber · 28/03/2019 01:06

I'm watching it now too. It's very disturbing.

Butterymuffin · 28/03/2019 01:12

Agree with Hollow. It seems impossible to me that concealment could have happened. The McCanns were in company and scrutinised from the moment Madeleine was discovered missing. It's just not feasible that they could have sneaked away to hide a body. All their odd behaviour for me comes from them feeling guilty and defensive that they left the kids alone, not from anything else.

snitzelvoncrumb · 28/03/2019 01:19

I agree the odd behaviour was guilt, I don't think the parents had anything to do with it. The poor little girl was either abducted or she wandered away and something happened.

ColeHawlins · 28/03/2019 01:20

their odd behaviour for me comes from them feeling guilty and defensive that they left the kids alone, not from anything else.

Completely agree.

shiveringtimber · 28/03/2019 01:21

From what I've seen so far, I think the most likely explanation is abduction. Madeleine and her family were watched, their activities monitored and then Madeleine was taken. She was supposedly very tired that night, too. Unlikely she wandered off; little ones are generally scared of the dark. Algarve is easily accessible by boat and so close to North Africa. The Portuguese police were incredibly slow to react. She was probably taken to Morocco or Algeria. When her abductor(s) realised she had a very noticeable birthmark (her eye), they probably killed her.SadThis seems the most likely scenario to me.

Amber1079 · 28/03/2019 01:39

I'm only on the 3rd episode and am finding it very hard going. Can't believe those statements from the couple who are friends about witnessing what the other family friend did, making that horrible gesture about M to G on two separate occasions?! I can't believe a seemingly decent father would sit there and take part in a conversation like that?? Hmm

ColeHawlins · 28/03/2019 01:51

I think there was an awful lot of peer pressure at play in that friendship group.

HeyCarrieAnneWhatsYourGame · 28/03/2019 02:03

I started watching this last week but it’s very drawn out. I’m interested in the case and reading a lot of these links, but not sure I will make it to the end of the documentary after watching half of the episodes.

GirlRaisedInTheSouth · 28/03/2019 02:22

I think there was an awful lot of peer pressure at play in that friendship group.

I agree. And I wonder if the McCanns - who came from quite humble beginnings - felt pressured to do things like leave their kids alone. Kate said she hadn’t wanted to do that.

ColeHawlins · 28/03/2019 02:24

And I wonder if the McCanns - who came from quite humble beginnings - felt pressured to do things like leave their kids alone.

Yes, I think we're picking up on exactly the same thing. Switching classes and fitting in is a tough thing.

GirlRaisedInTheSouth · 28/03/2019 02:34

And - in my experience - the upper middle classes tend to be more relaxed around child safety.

sashh · 28/03/2019 04:13

OK hand up here, I'm not a parent so my thought process may not be in tune with parents.

I'm not making an accusation, just asking if you went to check on your child and they were not in bed would you immediately think, abduction and not wandered off / hiding?

Onceuponacheesecake · 28/03/2019 04:41

@HollowTalk

No, I don't believe that. I don't believe they didn't anything malicious at all actually. I was just pointing it out.

Onceuponacheesecake · 28/03/2019 04:45

@sashh according to Kate McCann it was because Madeleines cuddle cat that she apparently was obsessed with was now out of reach on a shelf(I think a shelf?) rather than in bed with Madeleine from when they put her to bed.

lboogy · 28/03/2019 05:57

'
@Crockof I agree. I'm amazed anyone thinks they did it. I reckon they came off arrogant to the police precisely because they were probably expecting the Portuguese police to show urgency which they didn't and seemed to concentrate on finding the McCann's guilty.

If my child was missing and the police instead of looking for her were asking me a whole bunch of accusatory questions I'd stop cooperating too.

All the so-called evidence of blood and bodies has been debunked too.

The best outcome is for the child to be dead or with a loving family because the alternative is too scary to contemplate

SnuggyBuggy · 28/03/2019 06:09

I wonder if she wandered outside and then went with someone she knew

acciocat · 28/03/2019 06:10

Yesterday 23:41 HollowTalk

‘ultimately it seems most likely it was a tragic accident followed by a panicked concealing of the body

That is absolute bollocks. Nobody in authority is suggesting that.’

If you bothered to read my post you’d see that the above statement is referring to Ben Needham. So what youve written is absolute bollocks, because this scenario is exactly what the authorities now believe is most likely!

I was suggesting a possible explanation for MM. None of us know what happened and there is zero evidence of anything