So are the MCCanns innocent?

[El Pibe]

. ahh whats the point

wot bob said

[StraferJack]

Alan, using a right to remain silent is perfectly advisable and sensible

[SCSB79]

StraferJack Wrote:

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> Alan, using a right to remain silent is perfectly

> advisable and sensible

Even if it could possibly hinder the search?

[Otta]

I don't feel strongly like SCSB79 does, but equally, "On site"? Really?

I'm not a perfect parent by any stretch, but I would never leave my kids alone in an apartment out of my line of vision, even on a family holiday resort.

The main thing that bugged me was the class thing and I think miga's post is very good.

Do I have sympathy for them? Absolutely, assuming it doesn't turn out they've been covering something up (which I doubt).

Do I think they are partly responsible? Hell yes!

But my God they've suffered for it, even if they're not particularly lovable caracters.

[Salsaboy]

I've always thought that as doctors they had access to drugs to allow them to get the children off to sleep and keep them asleep so that the parents could go out for the night. I've also always thought that's what they did but they overdosed them by mistake and used the stranger abduction thing as a 'get out'.

[Otta]

Alan wrote

"I looked up stats on missing/abducted kids in the UK and the number is a lot, yet we rarely hear about them. "

And this was the main thing that annoyed me about the whole thing at the time.

[StraferJack]

"And this was the main thing that annoyed me about the whole thing at the time."

That's annoying as a general rule, but you can't blame any parents who get to drum up as much publicity as possible for whatever reason - not really their fault the media isn't interetsted in others?

[*Bob*]

So you're saying that medical professionals accidentally administered too much of a drug which was capable of causing death - to their own child - so they could have a meal out?

Jesus wept!

[Otta]

StraferJack Wrote:

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> "And this was the main thing that annoyed me about

> the whole thing at the time."

>

> That's annoying as a general rule, but you can't

> blame any parents who get to drum up as much

> publicity as possible for whatever reason - not

> really their fault the media isn't interetsted in

> others?

No, I don't blame them for that at all, I was just annoyed by the attention it got compared to the nothing that lots of other kids get, I didn't blame them for it.

Totally separate issue to whether or not they share a bit of the responsibility for her going missing (which they do).

[Alan Medic]

If I was allergic to whiskey, I might well be dead now. Thankfully (for me at least), I'm not.

[*Bob*]

Sue must be absolutely itching to release her cadaver dogs on this one.

[El Pibe]

obviously it got attention, not because of class per se, but because its a situation that resonates with so many.

Hence the protest-too-much hysterical condemnation by many, rather than be honest with yourself and go 'there but for the grace of god...'

Pretty and blonde just added to rag editors' frothing at the bunghole.

Stories about little poor kids running away because of parental abuse might occassionally make the papers and let us feel warm and fuzzily superior, but they're not big sellers really lets face it...unless you can say how they went on the game and print an inappropriately tittilating stock photo of an underage prostitute with her face fuzzed out.

That'll get em all frothing, oooh yeahh......

[Seabag]

*Bob* Wrote:

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> Sue must be absolutely itching to release her

> cadaver dogs on this one.

No *Bobster* Sue's got other pressing issues

Her Ol' Micra Mirror is bent out of line

[Tallulahdoesthehula]

I haven't checked the stats for UK child abduction (would rather not know!), however, I would assume the figures to include abductions where the parents are estranged and the abduction is one parent from another. I would also assume this situation accounts for a large percentage.

Do people really think this case received huge publicity just because the parents were middle classes professionals?

My take is it's not, it's that the parents knew how to gain publicity and have kept it in the public eye.

[DaveR]

"I looked up stats on missing/abducted kids in the UK and the number is a lot, yet we rarely hear about them. "

It depends on what you mean by a lot. Missing kids, there are a lot, because that includes anyone under 18 reported missing. Reported abductions run at about 500 per year, but that is everything reported to police as abduction; usually reported crime figures include those subsequently cleared up as 'no crime' i.e. police conclude that crime initially reported was not committed (a practice widely abused, but not often, I would think in cases of child abduction). And most actual abduction cases arise out of parental disputes. It is undoubtedly true that what is reported is a small number of cases that appear to have news value (and not only middle class kids - there's plenty of mileage in 'scummy underclass' stories in certain sections of the press) but it is nevertheless a rare crime.

Some years ago, a friend's daughter was invited to a birthday party. The plan was for the group of kids to go horseriding, then back to the house for tea, and then camp out in the garden for the night, with the kids in one tent and Dad and brother in another tent. Most of the parents were happy with the horseriding, but wouldn't allow the camp out, because they were worried about a madman/paedophile. As an entirely irrational approach to risk I thought that was hard to beat.

I have no idea what happended to M McCann - it's difficult enough to be sure about a case of any complexity when you have all the evidence, because (to coin a phrase) unless it's obvious, then it's really not. But the idea that the parents are completely responsible whatever happened is absolutely bonkers - though of course everyone is entitled to an opinion, even if it is bonkers.

[miga]

.

[uncleglen]

The drug angle is interesting. It reminded me of when my children were young and one was restless at night. An aquaintance (not a doctor or nurse) suggested I administer Ativan since she gave it to her toddler every night with great success. (Not my style so I didn't heed this 'advice'). It wasn't until later that I found out that Ativan is a benzodiazepam drug and therefore highly addictive. I don't know what happened to her poor child- I know she went on to have another one though!

[*Bob*]

So what you're saying is that you had an acquaintance once with no medical qualifications who gave their kid benzos?

And somehow this gives you some sort of angle on the McCann case?

Deranged.

[Alan Medic]

Deranged? What if the child wasn't abducted? What do you think might have happened?

[*Bob*]

What if.. What if the McCanns are in fact the 'topside' agents of a subterranean lizard-worshipping cult placed on earth by giant bees during prehistoric times?

What if? Just think though. Think about it. Once you'll eliminated the boringly plausible, what must remains MUST be - something else - and you can just make it up.

[uncleglen]

Alan Medic mentioned this possibility earlier on and it reminded me of the acquaintance- yes she did give her kids benzos- a paediatric formula way back in the 1980s so it was probably prescribed. My gran used to give her kids a sugar dummy dipped in brandy and they ended up with rotten teeth.

[*Bob*]

Seriously though, what do YOU think happened? Was she abducted?

Call 0901 1111111 for 'yes'

Call 0901 1111111 for 'no,

Call 0901 1111111 for 'don't know'

Calls are charged at premium rate. In the event of a tiebreak please complete the following caption using no more than ten works "I have become deeply suspicious about two people I have never met, my only contact with whom has been as viewed through a warped media lens because .................................................". Judges decision is final. First prize: two weeks self catering at Praia De Luz and a metal detector.

[SCSB79]

Are you one of the Tapas 7 Bob?

[aquarius moon]

If Madeline really was abducted, of course the parents are partly to blame.

They left a 3 year old & two babies unsupervised. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were close enough to be able to see the apartment from where they were dining but they weren't. Anything could have happened & unfortunately it did.

I took my daughter to Butlins once when she was 3. We used to spend the evenings watching the entertainment in the clubhouse until she was tired, then went back to the chalet, put her to bed, and put the TV on.

We wouldn't ever have dreamed of going back out partying & leaving her on her own.

You just don't do that when you have young children.

[ClareC]

They were in the wrong leaving the children alone undoubtedly. I wouldn't say the obvious consequence was abduction though; it was a locked apartment (worse in terms if fire risk)but you don't expect a random stranger to have a key to your apartment.

Arguably they could have been asleep in the other room and she could have still been taken. More risk to the abductor but still possible.