When / What made you first question this "story"?

by mexx 20.05.11 6:15

My first WTF moment was day 3 or thereabouts, when it transpired that the parents had been dining in a restaurant and Kate came up with that still unbelievable "at worst we were naive".

by ROSA 20.05.11 6:45

The McCanns & freinds all leaving the kids alone in the dark so they could party Sad

by Guest 20.05.11 9:06

Yes, I too could not believe that professional people could ever leave their most precious possessions on their own, in a cold, dark, strange place. But I suspected something very fishy was up when I heard the one off report that someone in the groups identity is being witheld. A claim that has been vigourously denied over the last 4 years, but I know I am not alone in hearing that first report.

by NewGuest 20.05.11 9:22

I have not heard that report Stella - intruiging - it doesn't help does it?

For me:

Finding out that they routinely left their children alone each night to go out to a tapas bar.
Constantly insisting that this was like their back garden.
Putting their other two children back in the creche each day and every day once Madeleine had disappeared.
Their strange behaviour leaving their other two children with relatives while they went off to Germany, Italy, Netherlands, in Gerry's case - USA.
Gerry's odd denial about use of sedatives - not a straight no or something like 'when they have a cold we use Calpol' but 'I'm not going to comment..waffle, waffle, waffle, ... (scratches ear ) .. No'.
Their insistance that they would stay in Portugal until Madeleine was found. As soon as they were made arguidos I said to my husband - I bet they go home now. Sure thing - they more or less jumped on the next plane home.

by Mini Slueth 20.05.11 9:37

All of the above really except the identify of someone been kept secret.

I was also apalled to hear that they had set up a fund straight away!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] That would have been the last thing on my mind.

Seeing them out jogging so soon afterwards.

Ok, so i know we all deal with things differently.....each to their own...BUT come on, who under these circumstances thinks they would do the things the McCanns have done.
I wouldnt be able to concentrate on anything, and while i may need family and friends to help out with the other children, it would be because i would be so distressed..........NOT so that i could concentrate on setting up a fund and travelling all over the place. I mean the news was out there, they didnt need to physically go anywhere to spread the news, the world was already watching.

Another thing was the group writing down their movements.........................i would have questioned why they were doing that. I also dont think i would have allowed the twins to be removed to another apartment, i would have kept them close to me, after all, one of my children was gone, i wouldnt want to let the others out of my sight......

So many mnay things made me feel somethig isnt right here.

by Guest 20.05.11 9:45

I've never heard about there being another person in the group either. I can remember discussing the case with a work colleague sometime within the first year and, while she was adamant that she didn't think the parents were involved, I said I wasn't sure either way. I'm not positive as to why I said that as I hadn't seen anything on the Internet to put doubts in my mind. Perhaps it was just the sadly common fact that most crimes of this nature don't involve strangers. I have to thank Carter-Ruck (God bless 'em!) for bringing the Madeleine Foundation to my notice in 2009 and the rest as they say is history.

by ufercoffy 20.05.11 9:53

Gerry's ~~curious~~ blog where he was giving ~~secret~~ info to the ~~freemasons~~ ~~Tony Blai~~r ~~Gordon Brown~~ ~~MI5~~ people who he hoped would search for his ~~dead~~ abducted daughter and give him lots of money so he could ~~pay off his mortgage~~ hire detectives like.... titter

Edgar and Cowley and a lawyer who goes drinking at the Elephant and Castle with Shocked

"Greg the Groomer"

by pennylane 20.05.11 9:59

The minute I saw them I thought something wasn't right... Kate looked fed up and irritated, and Gerry looked crafty and calculating... After the first day, Kate's stride and body language was way too energetic, and they both looked more like they had lost a pet, and not a very loved one, rather than a child. There seemed to be not a shred of empathy between the two of them, and they never said anything affectionate or nurturing about Maddie whatsoever. It all stunk to high heaven, and things just slid rapidly down hill from there, with the pair of them making some bizarrely chilling statements re Madeleine's "situation" along the way.

The more I knew, the more I doubted their credibility, and I can honestly say that to this day I've never believed a single word either of them has uttered!

by dragonfly 20.05.11 10:24

Stella wrote:Yes, I too could not believe that professional people could ever leave their most precious possessions on their own, in a cold, dark, strange place. But I suspected something very fishy was up when I heard the one off report that someone in the groups identity is being witheld. A claim that has been vigourously denied over the last 4 years, but I know I am not alone in hearing that first report.

YES I did see that as well you are not alone on that one

by Zelina 25.05.11 11:27

I don't remember which came first but it was one of three things:

- The fact that anyone (never mind doctors) would leave three children under 4 alone, not just once but on several occasions.

- The discrepancies and lack of cooperation with the police, I believe if a small child was missing anyone connected to her would spill their darkest secrets to ensure her safe return.

- The way they talked about Madeleine made me feel they didn't cherish or love her and their choice of words made me feel she had passed away. Of course these are just feelings but most of human communication is non-verbal and their body language gave them away.

by LittleMissMolly 25.05.11 14:04

It was immediate with me ... I hadn't even seen them on TV at that time - I had literally just been told the gist of the 'abduction' story by a work colleague and it hit my WTF? button immediately.

"How do they know she didn't just wander off?" I asked "Why on earth would you assume that your child had been abducted just because she wasn't where you left her?"

Then I was told about the 'jemmied shutters' and I thought to myself "Bullshit! Small children of all ages, colours and appearance are sadly available to buy all over the world from poverty stricken families ... and if paedophile rings don't want to pay money then there are literally millions of children who are there for the taking and won't be missed. Why in God's name would a highly organised paedophile gang take such risks to obtain a child from a middle class resort in the EU? - It makes no sense"

A lone paedophile made just as little sense ... the vast majority groom their victims and are known to the child, whilst the few that are opportunistic, impulse snatchers inevitably leave the poor childs body abandoned within a few hours of the snatch.

As for the idea that she could have been stolen for a childless couple ... well come on! Who the hell would take a 4 year old when there are two younger children available who would be much more likely to adapt ... lets face it people who want to adopt, want to adopt a baby.

It just never added up for me

by WasNew 25.05.11 14:47

whilst the few that are opportunistic, impulse snatchers inevitably
leave the poor childs body abandoned within a few hours of the snatch.

And would not have spent 45 minutes or more wandering around with the child! As the Bard said: "Methinks the lady doth protest too much"

by mama 25.05.11 14:50

From the minute I heard 2 doctors left a 3 year old in charge of 2 year old twins. Then knowing immediately that 'they have taken her'. Thereafter just about every time I heard them speak or saw a video clip. The visits all over the world smiling and shaking hands with one and all added insult to injury, especially the visit to the pope. The Catholic church has been mired in scandel of sexual abuse for years and yet they left the twins in the place their sister went missing and went off to shake the pope's hand. It was simply obscene. Maybe because we live in an African country where you would not take your eyes of your babies for a second i am biased.

by lj 25.05.11 16:14

You're not biased mama, you're a mother. I lived in quite a few places all over the world and safe or not safe, you keep your eyes on your kid. We sometimes had to live in hotels for weeks on end, but even then the kids were not left alone until they were well in their teens, and that only after a check and double check that the room was double locked and all phones were working, that's what normal parents do.

Obscene is a very good word for their behavior, obscene and absolutely not compatible with that of parents of a missing child. That they were involved was clear for me too since the beginning. For 4 years I have always given them the benefit of the doubt as too what happened, I liked to think it was all an accident they found hard to own up too. But the recent discovery that the whole coloboma thing was made up, making it so much more difficult for Madeleine to be found, and all because it was a good marketing ploy, makes me suspect their was more evil planning involved than I would like to think before.

by Wickedkitten 25.05.11 19:43

There were a couple of things really. If "they" had been watching the McCann's throughout their entire holiday, then how is it that when "they" had the opportunity to take three sedated children, they only took one, and the oldest one at that? The bloody shutters did it as well, my parents had those types of shutters when they lived in Germany and there is no way that their explanation of them made any kind of sense.

From the first video that I saw of them, I thought that something was suss. It wasn't that long before that that Sarah Payne was murdered, and the reactions of Kate McCann were nothing at all like Sara Payne's when she was appealling to get her daughter back. Sure no two people are going to react to a situation the same way, but the McCann's never even looked at the cameras to appeal directly to whomever had her.

by Guest 25.05.11 19:45

Hi Wickedkitten, glad you joined us and welcome

by niknaks08 25.05.11 20:03

as soon as the story broke that they had left 3 babies alone alarm bells started ringing ,who in there right mind does that in this day and age, i never believed the abduction story as there were 2 younger babies 1 of each sex for the picking , taking a younger child would b far more easier and no dout more profitable if the child was to b sold on to a childless couple . soon as i watched them on tv , there body language , strange behaviour , setting fund up so quickly (why when she could of been found at any moment if she had still been alive ) i also have never believed a word the mccanns an co have said , nothing adds up or made sense untill i read GA s book ,which was the only explanation in which all the discrpancies , evidence was explained and made sense in this whole coverup.

by Wickedkitten 25.05.11 23:25

candyfloss wrote:Hi Wickedkitten, glad you joined us and

Cheers for the welcome thumbsup

by guestio 30.05.11 16:12

For me it
was a composite:

1.       When a family member, that was a
first responder to the searches, told me that the McCann didn’t want people
looking for the child under the argument that she would never leave the
apartment by herself;

1.       When in the morning, on the TV news
it was announced that the children had been left alone while the parents were
dining;

2.       When on the 5^th of May,
my relative told me that while he and many hundreds were keeping on the searches,
the parent was playing tennis, going to the pool, giving news releases;

3.       When the McCann started saying that they
felt alone and that nobody was doing anything on the 5^th of May.
Meanwhile there were probably thousands of persons searching the little girl,
the police had taken every possible measure and the McCann kept their ordinary
daily activities: throw the twins in creche; go out jogging, go to the pool and
tennis lessons,..

There was much more indications, but this was enough…

by lj 30.05.11 18:31

guestio, please stay!

by Vanya 30.05.11 18:33

lj wrote:guestio, please stay!

Ditto.

by ufercoffy 30.05.11 18:42

Vanya wrote:
lj wrote:guestio, please stay!

Ditto.

DITTO

guestio, please register and post amongst us and I promise to stay off the coffee! Mrs

by cantfigureitout 30.05.11 21:15

For me I am still trying hard to give them the benefit of the doubt. It has to be said though, jogging,tennis and the rest beggars belief in these circumstances ( would like to know how soon they were doing theses things if anyone knows).As for the extra person unidentified--never heard this,please expand.This one gets curiouser and curiouser.
Remins me of poor Caylee Anthony in America if anyone has been following.

by Guest001 30.05.11 22:19

cantfigureitout Today at 9:15 pm

Remins me of poor Caylee Anthony in America if anyone has been following.

I've not not being following the trial avidly per say but if this poll is anything to go by I may begin to pay a little more interest in the trial in the coming days.

Poll: How do you think witnesses depicted Casey Anthony?

How do you think witnesses depicted Casey Anthony on Day 2

    Caring mother (801 responses)

    9%

    Inattentive mom (400 responses)

    4%

    Concerned friend (131 responses)

    1%

    Liar (3807 responses)

    42%

    Party girl (3909 responses)

    43%

by Guest 30.05.11 22:28

Guest001 wrote:
cantfigureitout Today at 9:15 pm

Remins me of poor Caylee Anthony in America if anyone has been following.

I've not not being following the trial avidly per say but if this poll is anything to go by I may begin to pay a little more interest in the trial in the coming days.

Poll: How do you think witnesses depicted Casey Anthony?

How do you think witnesses depicted Casey Anthony on Day 2

    Caring mother (801 responses)

    9%

    Inattentive mom (400 responses)

    4%

    Concerned friend (131 responses)

    1%

    Liar (3807 responses)

    42%

    Party girl (3909 responses)

    43%