Madeleine McCann : Rumors, Denial and DNA
Posted: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
by Aidan Maconachy
Aidan Maconachy
The disappearance of Madeleine McCann while on a family vacation in Portugal, has generated more news coverage than some regional wars being waged around the globe. The fascination with this story is understandable as it is offensive. It’s understandable because an innocent child was allegedly abducted while on vacation. What makes it offensive is the fact that thousands of children go missing with barely a mention. For example in the UK alone hundreds of black children have gone missing over the past few years according to British police. Many of these cases have only received scant mention in the press.
The disappearance occurred while the family was on vacation in an up-market Portugese resort, adding an exotic touch to what has really become a sort of reality who-done-it show, with people taking sides and pointing fingers.
The perception that the case was being given special priority by the media for all the wrong reasons, was underlined in comments made to the press by Jose Miguel Judice, a former head of Portugal’s bar association. He said the extraordinary attention and effort devoted to the case was because the little girl is “English, white and the daughter of doctors".
It has also become a case of ‘us against them’, with some British commentators on blog threads making their prejudiced view of Portuguese authorities crystal clear, while displaying uncritical support for the parents.
Some news outlets have presented a version of events that frequently understates or glosses over important facts. While acknowledging that the McCanns may indeed be the victims of a rumor mill and unusual circumstances, I think it is important to state what is factually known about the events before and after Madeleine went missing without spinning it to suit a ‘pro-McCann’ prejudice.
The picture painted in some media outlets of devoted parents who have been wronged, on the face of it doesn't seem altogether accurate. First of all, devoted parents don’t abandon their young children in a vacation apartment and head out for the evening. This fact has been glossed over by those who have become fixated with the abduction theory. As anyone who has raised a child knows, this is something you simply don’t do - especially when the children are small, easily frightened and in a strange place. Moreover this wasn’t the first evening the McCann’s left their kids in the apartment alone. The evening prior, they headed out to dinner with friends and according to a neighbor in the apartment complex, Pamela Fenn, left the children in distress - she used the word “screaming".
The decision to leave the children alone in the apartment is hard to understand. A local company, Mark Warner, offered babysitting services for just ten pounds a night. Hardly too pricey for a well heeled professional couple. The entire cost of babysitting for the duration of their vacation would only have amounted to only 140 pounds ( 280 US dollars).
There are also reports about the way the children were handled that have raised eyebrows. Allegations have been made that the parents sedated Madeleine to put her to sleep since she could be difficult around bedtimes. There is also an allegation that a syringe was found in the apartment. The parents deny this.
It seems odd though that the twins, Sean and Amelie, slept through the ruckus following Madeleine’s disappearance. This has led to speculation that they had been sedated. Kate McCann is a GP and a trained anesthetist. She would certainly have known the type and quantity of drug to administer, if in fact sedation was involved.
The tapas bar where the McCanns went for dinner and drinks is some 65m from the apartment. A longer distance than the McCanns initially claimed. There is no way they would have been able to hear the children crying or even screaming for attention at that distance, especially when seated in a noisy bar.
Kate McCann returned to check on the children at 10 pm. For some reason she didn’t bother alerting local management or police when she discovered Madeleine was missing. Instead she returned to the tapas bar crying “they’ve taken her ... they’ve taken her". Her use of the plural struck a number of observers as odd. At this point she couldn’t have known if the child had simply wondered off. Nor could she have known if Madelaine had hidden away somewhere in the apartment. Children can do unexpected things if they feel alone and scared.
After the initial discovery why would an abductor immediately spring to Kate McCann’s mind before taking time to vet the scene properly and alert security. Moreover why refer to abductors in the plural as “them", without anything to go on that might lead a person to believe that.
Various inconsistencies come into play around the time of the alleged abduction. The McCanns' claim that whoever took Madeleine broke into the apartment. However there was no evidence of any break in.
The McCanns claim they raised the alarm within 10 minutes of discovering Madeleine was missing, but local police claim that they didn’t receive a call until 10.50 pm. Moreover the offer of a neighbor to make an emergency call was rejected by Kate, who told the neighbor she had already placed the call, whereas she in fact waited for another 40 minutes before placing the first call. The McCanns reject this version of events.
In the strangest twist of all, traces of Madeleine’s blood or possibly bodily fluid, was discovered in a Renault Scenic rented by the McCanns. The evidence was examined by the Forensic Science Service laboratory in Birmingham. The odd part though is that the Renault was rented by the McCanns 25 days after their daughter’s disappearance. Not surprisingly, the police are interested in knowing why it was rented and how Madeleine’s DNA ended up in the vehicle.
Recent news (Sept 12) reports are now say that a "substantial" amount of Madeleine's hair has been discovered in the vehicle.
The discovery of Madeleine’s DNA suggests that she was in the car at some point 25 days or more after her disappearance - either dead or alive. A more benign explanation, is that some article with traces of her blood or bodily fluid made its way into the car and was responsible for leaving the traces. Let’s hope the latter is the case.
The inconsistencies in the story as reported and the rumors that have been circulating should not be used to leap to rash conclusions at this point. People can have memory lapses and behave in a manner that is out of character when under pressure of this sort, especially with the intense media coverage the case has been receiving It’s entirely possible that the McCanns are the victims of unusual circumstances and misunderstandings - perhaps even of police misconduct. They have certainly steadfastly maintained their innocence throughout the ordeal. However the above mentioned inconsistencies coupled with forensic evidence do raise legitimate questions.
As matters stand, the Portuguese police have submitted their case against the McCanns to the public prosecutor , who will decide what charges, if any, will be brought against the couple.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Well, the reason it must be so fascinating to people (including me) is that if the parents did it, the level of fraud is unprecedented. If they did it, how and when could they possibly get rid of the body? It's a case for Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, etc. It really is an amazing story. The reason I've always been suspicious (and hence followed the story) is that I found it so strange that they waited 25 days to hire a car. If one of my daughters was missing, I'd get a car immediately and frantically drive around in ever larger concentric circles for weeks. I would not stay in one place waiting for others to look. I would look every day, obsessively. But maybe that's just me.Yes you're right Lili, I would also. There is something amiss with the version of events we have been getting and I suspect the Portuguese police know a lot more than they are free to disclose. Thanks for your comment.
Aidan (and Lil) We have to acknowledge that what we are getting is the media's version, and there are multiple reasons why people behave in certain ways as well as the strong possibility of details and facts which we don't yet know. When my children didn't come home from school one day, my immediate thought was abduction. My husband and I both went searching while neighbouring shop owners watched our shop for us. We rang the school several times, all their friends and finally, the police. While I was dialing, a policeman walked in the shop and told us our son had been hit by a car and both children were at the hospital. It never once occurred to us to phone the hospitals, and it was over an hour before we thought of phoning the police. With hindsight, and the calm mind of knowing where your children are, it is easy to say 'I would do this' or 'I would do that'. I can see now I 'could' have done some things straight away which I didn't do. Is it because I'm a bad or uncaring parent? No. Far from it. I had to discipline myself to let my children out into the world in the first place. And the one thing I hated about having a shop was that I couldn't walk my children home from school. So, we need to be very careful on judging how other parents act or react, especially in public, to something which none of us have faced. The law court will finally be the right place for judgement, rather than the court of public opinion. I do agree with you about white children who go missing compared to black children who go missing. I always feel disgusted when someone says of a young woman who is abducted or murdered or dies young, 'What a shame. She was so beautiful.' It makes me wonder if 'ugly' girls are irrelevant, or are they just too 'polite' to say, 'Ah well, at least she was an ugly girl.' Hannah ps: my son only had minor injuries and was able to come home later that night."Hi Hannah - there is also the side to it, that a white, affluent professional couple may be cut a lot more slack than a couple that might appear less attractive. At this point I'm reserving judgment but there have been so many anomalies and inconsistencies in the story it makes you wonder if perhaps the police aren't on the right track. The fellow who was suspected of abducting Madeleine, Robert Murat, was cleared after an extensive search of his property. There have also been questions raised about the reliability of Ms Tanners' sighting of a suspect - I gather her version was even contradicted by a tennis partner of Gerry McCann. Yes, it comes down to the courts - let's hope due process is allowed to hold sway."
I dont think the mccanns have anything to do with this. But if they have i think Kate found the body when she went back to check then dispossed of Madaline before the alarm was raised this would account for the delay in alerting the police
i too find the whole story fascinating. the obvious sadness aside, whether the parents were involved or not (and there are too many smoking guns) has got to be prime content for a movie. i am sure some enterprising studio has or is trying to tie this one up. they could do two endings!
I truly hope the parents are not involved in any way in Madeleine's disappearance, but I can't help but wonder since so many things just don't add up. I have had my 2 year old daughter (a beautiful blue-eyed, curly haired blonde) wander off several times in a shopping mall or grocery store and I immediately panic that someone might have taken her, but my first response is to dash around as fast as I can and look everywhere I can before actually leaving where she disappeared to go tell someone. That just seems so odd to me that Kate McCann would go all the way back to the Tapas bar to tell everyone she was missing rather than looking under the beds, in all the rooms, around the apartment, etc. first. And that she would leave the other two children at the room when she thought there was an abductor involved. The thing that I really don't understand is the way they go on television and talk about how THEIR lives are not complete without Maddy, THEY can't sleep, and THEY are upset. It seems to be all about THEM, I would have forgotten all about myself and putting on makeup and looking nice and worrying to death about whether my daughter were dead or alive, being well taken care of, if she was scared, if she had a warm blankie and if she was being fed. This is not about them, it's about a sweet and innocent little child. However, I acknowledge that all mothers are not the same. I have a sister who would rather work than care for her own children and doesn't even carry a cell phone and when asked what would happen if one of her children would fall ill and she could not be reached she answered, "I'm not a doctor, what could I do?". Hello! Be there to comfort them. So I really don't want to judge and want to believe that Madeleine's parents are innocent, and will believe that until proven otherwise. I say a prayer for them often as I can't even imagine what they're going through and especially when people like myself has so much to say without knowing the facts. I just hope they find Madeleine soon and that she is alright. I am ready to get to the bottom of this.
Hundreds of white children go missing every year too without a mention. Madeleine's race might have something to do with the public interest, but its not the whole reason. Yes, she is hallmark cute, but thats no reason to resent her. Madeleine is still a child who needs to be found. She is no more important than other kids, but other kids arent necessarily more important than her either. Gerry and Kate made a horrid mistake leaving their kids alone, but its not like it was likely that an abductor would sneak in at night, and some people are acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world. They made a mistake, cry about it all you want, but reality is that no matter how much they regret it or how much you resent them for it, its not going to change it. Whats done is done, and now we need to focus on finding her.
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