Madeline McCann

[-Tess-]

I don't know much about the Madeline kidnapping story, so forgive me if I sound insensitive. I don't mean to. But, why is she getting all this media attention? Children get kidnapped all around the world, every day. So what makes this kidnapping so special that it is splashed over TV screens all over the world? I hope people see why I'm asking this, and don't think I'm an insensitive prick for asking. I'm just curious...

Because her parents were only away for a short time, and that she is 80 something days missing, and still no word. Also, celebrities and her parents have been keeping it in the media on purpose.

[Ryan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome

[Traceve]

Maddie 'treated as murder case'

Portuguese police have found traces of blood on the wall of the apartment where four-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann went missing and now fear she might have been murdered, a local newspaper reported today.

Police seem increasingly convinced that Madeleine was murdered the night she disappeared three months ago and no longer think she was kidnapped, the Diario de Noticias daily cited sources close to the investigation as saying.

However, it was not clear whether the blood belonged to Madeleine as tests have not yet been completed and the newspaper did not say how police had come to the conclusion that the child was murdered.

A police spokesman declined to comment on the report.

"Portuguese police have known for a month that Madeleine McCann was killed that night (May 3) at the apartment in the Praia da Luz resort, having definitely rejected the chance that she may have been kidnapped," the newspaper said.

"It is confirmed that there were vestiges of blood found in the apartment occupied by the McCanns," Diario de Noticias cited unnamed police sources as saying.

Madeleine went missing from the Praia da Luz resort in the Algarve tourist region on May 3, just yards from where her parents were dining.

Briton Robert Murat, 33, has been identified by police as the main suspect in the investigation and his property has twice been searched.

The daily also said police had identified a second suspect – a 40-year-old white man – and were also investigating some friends of the McCann family who were staying at the resort when the girl went missing.

Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have campaigned relentlessly to draw attention to her disappearance. British business tycoons and celebrities ranging from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling to soccer stars have contributed to a reward for her return.

There have been a number of possible sightings of Madeleine – from Morocco to Argentina – since she went missing but police have come up with no concrete results.

Last week Belgian authorities said they were conducting DNA tests on a bottle and a straw after another possible sighting of the missing girl.

Source

[~Rosey~]

Maddddie

I think i'm going to cry :( :(

[~Rosey~]

A DNA sample taken from a Belgian pub where someone reported seeing Madeleine McCann was not that of the missing British four-year-old girl, Belgian prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Tests were carried out on a milkshake bottle left on a table outside a cafe in the east Belgian town of Tongeren after a woman said she was certain to have seen the missing British four-year old with a Dutch-speaking man and an English-speaking woman.

But the DNA from the test belonged to a man, said Tongeren prosecutors in a statement.

There have been at least two previous reported sightings of the girl in Belgium this northern summer after she disappeared three months ago from a resort hotel in Portugal's Algarve region.

"This does not mean that that Maddie's presence is ruled out,'' said an emailed statement from prosecutors' spokeswoman Katja Vandoren.

"The possibility exists that the bottle was finished by the man who was with the little girl present.''

Vandoren said the DNA profile had been checked with Belgian and Dutch central DNA databases and had not found any matches.

No vehicle matching the one the witness reported seeing had been found, Vandoren said.

"We continue to examine all useful tips.''

----------------------

So she could still be alive. Even though the DNA wasnt hers

[HeavenForbid]

I want to believe she is still alive and that she will return home to her family, but after 3 months, I don't think she will. The whole case was all over the world so her kidnappers would realise that they are in a job a trouble and will go down for years if they were caught, so they would have to do something to her then go into hiding or something

[claire_louise]

I'm not sure if that report about it being treated as a murder investigation is entirely accurate. There's been a lot of speculation over the past few days, with the papers, the police and the McCanns themselves all seeming to contradict each other. Basically it seems that they haven't got anything new to go on, with supposed leads all coming to nothing, so people are trying to stir up rumours.

[~Angel~]

If they found her alive. It would be a miracle.. I was listening to the news a few nights ago and i couldn't believe dat 3 months had passed... I really hope she is alive

[claire_louise]

I don't think it would be a miracle for her to still be alive, as there are various possibilities as to why she was taken. It would, however, be a miracle if they actually found her. She could be anywhere in the world now.

[Ashirr-Leigh]

It's such a sad story but like others have said, it's one that's repeated all over the world every day. Madeleine McCann is not the only little girl to go missing for three months+.

Obviously I hope she's found, who wouldn't? I guess finding the blood is a good thing. I don't think it necessarily means that she's dead, even if the blood does turn out to be hers. She could just have grazed herself, anything like that.