Madeleine McCann's Case File

Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann has now been missing for over 11 years, the case still puzzled detectives and police all over the world. Following multiple rumours and speculation many people have came up with various conspiracy theories behind her disappearance. This case is one of the largest missing persons hunts in history. Over a decade on and there has been no definitive breakthroughs in the case and her fate remains unknown. Take a look at the video below of one of the first news reports which announces Madeleines disappearance.

Details 

• Madeleine McCann was born on the 12th of May 2003, in Leicester, to Gerry and Kate McCann two upperclass physicians.
• The family went on holiday along with seven other adults and their children to Praia de Luz, Portugal.
• The families stayed in the same apartment complex, a three story building with the McCanns staying in the ground floor room. Madeleine slept in a bed near the window while her 2 year old twin siblings slept in travel cots.
• On the 3rd of May 2007, at approximately 8.30 pm the children were put to bed. The adults then left and went to the resorts nearby tapas bar (180 feet from the hotel). The adults would check on the children every half hour (or so).
• When Madeleines mother went to check on the children she discovered that Madeleine was no longer in the bedroom and had disappeared.

The distance between the bar and the apartment, notice the obstacles they would have to cross including a large swimming pool.

Theory 1 - Burglary Gone Wrong 

• At the time of the investigation, there had been a string of break ins at apartments across the Algarve, including Praia de Luz.
• Investigators found a ‘fourfold’ increase in the number of burglaries in the same areas in the months running up to Madeleines disappearance.
• The McCanns apartment patio doors have been left unlocked on the night Madeleine disappeared, meaning opportunistic thieves could have had easy access to the apartment.
• The burglaries were the work of a gang of roving thieves and police began to explore the theory that Madeleine may have been snatched after waking up and disturbing the intruders.
• Kate McCann said that when she arrived to the apartment at 10 pm she knew a crime had been committed because Madeleine had been put to sleep with her favorite stuffed animal named Cuddlecat and Cuddlecat had been moved out of Madeleine's reach.
• It is also suspected that Madeleine may have been abducted by a gang of pedophiles. Only a couple of years prior to Madeleines’s disappearance, a ten year old girl was sexually assaulted by a gang in the same apartment complex the McCanns were staying in.
• Further, 2 men were seen prowling the resort pretending to be charity collectors going door to door trying to get donations.
• Please see the below video, this shows someone opening the shutters of the apartment 5A (the McCanns apartment) which may have been used by burglars. As seen from the video they are very noisy and could've possibly woke the children up, also the shutters do not fully open so would be hard for an adult to fit through the small gap.

Theory 2 - Abducted for a Childless Couple

• There is no evidence to actually suggest that Madeleine is dead, some people have suggested the possibility that the child could have been stoled by criminal acting on behalf of a wealthy childless couple.
• Witnesses claim to have seen suspicious characters (blonde men) around the resort in the days leading up to Madeleines disappearance who could've been acting as 'spotters' searching for a child which fit the requirements of the couple.
• Another witness claimed to have seen two blonde men on the balcony of a nearby apartment, only 2 doors down from where the McCanns were staying, it was reported they were speaking Dutch or German.
• The head of the investigation at the time DCI Andy Redwood said: "Madeleine McCanns disappearance does, on one reading of the evidence, have the hallmarks of a pre-planned abduction. That would undoubtedly have involved reconnaissance and so we are really keen to understand who these people are."

The men who were seen around the resort at the time of Madeleines disappearance 

Theory 3 - Murdered by her Parents

• When Kate realised that Madeleine was gone she screamed "THEY HAVE TAKEN MADELEINE!" Why would she make such a statement? When someone realises someone isn't there they would say "... is missing!" not that they've been taken, how would she know?
• The McCanns didnt even search for Madeleine. They searched the apartment, the beach and round the complex then went to sleep. They didnt search again until six the next morning.
• Kate reported Madeleine missing around 10 pm, but also refused to answer the questions of authorities, even after being told she would damage the case if she didnt answer:
• Q- "Are you aware that in not answering the questions you are jeopardising the investigation which seeks to discover what happened to your daughter?
• A- "Yes if thats what the investigation thinks."
• The portuguese police decided to recreate the crime scene which is often done to figure out what it may have looked like in order to explore possible explanations, Kate and Gerry did not attend this reconstruction despite police asking them too.
• Around the same time that Kate found Madeleine missing, a man was spotted on the beach carrying a child in his arms. It is not confirmed wether Gerry was at the tapas bar at this time. The family who saw the man on the beach say they are 80% sure that it was Gerry and gave a description for a digital sketch.
• A couple of days after the disappearance, one of the McCanns friends went to police in the UK and reported that she had witnessed Gerry and his friend David Payne (who was on the holiday) having a discussion in which they were talking very sexually and making sexual gestures about Madeleine.

This is the digital sketch of the man on the beach, compared to Gerry McCann.

My Opinion 

This case is hard to try your head round and explore the possibilities of each theory. In such a prominent and well known case, everyone has their own thoughts and theories of what happened on the night that Madeleine disappeared. When discussing this case with my friends and family the discussion always seems to stem back to one predominant speculation - the parents involvement.

I find it incredibly hard to overlook parts of this case which the parents are heavily involved and are to blame for. However, I don't think the parents had the intention of harming Madeleine, in my opinion an accident has occurred within the apartment and the parents have chosen to deal with it themselves.

Goncalo Amaral, who is now retired led the investigation in Portugal and has now released a book stating what he thinks really happened that night. He believes that with Gerry and Kate McCann both being from professional backgrounds, gave the children sleeping pills/sedatives to ensure the children would sleep whilst they were out. Maybe giving Madeleine too much, she becomes unwell and drowsy and has an accident (falling, head injury) or even worse having an overdose.

If it was discovered that the McCanns had given their children sleeping pills/medication, their prestigious careers would be ruined and their other childrens safety would be taken into consideration.

Another part which is hard to overlook is that fact that on the morning of the disappearance, Madeleine asked her parents "why didnt you come when [her brother] and I cried last night?" Its hard to believe that with such a statement, the parents would go out again and leave the children.

Furthermore, two British sniffer dogs were brought into the investigation to help. They alerted police to the scent of blood and human remains behind the couch in the apartment, the scent of human remains in a wardrobe in the apartment and the scent of human remains on Madeleines comforter 'cuddle cats'. Moreover police secured a warrant to search the McCanns rental car with the sniffer dogs, the human remains sniffer dog alerted to the drivers door and the dog which alerts to human blood alerted to the boot and the compartment in which the car keys were kept.

So, I find it very hard to overlook the parents involvement in the Madeleine case. However, this is only my opinion and for the purpose of the blog.

What do you think? Comment below