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The Sad Story of Little Madeleine

The McCann family, as many others, is dwelling on the disappearance of their child. Three-year-old little Madeleine McCann went missing almost four months ago from the family’s apartment in Praia de Luz, Portugal. The search for Madeleine started on May 3. According to Mr. and Mrs. McCann, they were having dinner in a tapas restaurant nearby the apartment, when Madeleine was abducted from her bed.

It was not until May 15th that the Portuguese police came up with a name; British-born Robert Murat was the first official suspect of the case. Robert Murat was treated as a suspect or “arguido” at his request; it’s suspected that he requested this treatment because of the benefits he would receive as a suspect. He was provided with a lawyer, and had the right to remain silent; however, no arrest has been made until now.

Eleven days later, on May 26th the Portuguese police issued a description of a new possible suspect, who was seen carrying an object or something that could have been taken as a child. The McCanns felt somewhat excited that there was another hope for the finding of their daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. McCann decide to go on a tour around Europe to raise awareness about Madeleine’s disappearance. Rumors start spreading and the police started pointing the finger at the suspiciously desperate parents.

Madeleine’s case gets more complicated as the Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, on June 17, admits that vital forensic evidence might have been destroyed, due to the failure of the Portuguese police to protect the crime scene. In the desperation to find useful evidence to solve the case, two British sniffer dogs were brought to Portugal; one of the dogs has been trained to detect minute quantities of blood, and the other dog to detect dead bodies. They searched the apartment once more, along with several cars, including the car the McCann family rented 25 days after Madeleine went missing.

On August 7, the sniffer dogs found suspicious traces of blood that had been cleaned in Madeleine’s apartment. Moreover, the Portuguese police refused to confirm or deny that the sniffer dog had detected odors of a dead body, although they do admit that Madeleine may be dead.

A month later, on September 6, the Portuguese police interviewed Kate McCann, Madeleine’s mother, for 11 hours, as a witness of the crime. Gerry McCann was also interrogated. On September 7, both parents were declared as formal suspects of the case. The Portuguese police found DNA that belong to Madeleine in the car the McCann rented 25 days after her disappearance, which leads to many speculations.

Following these findings, the files detailing the inquiry into Madeleine’s disappearance are passed to the prosecutor Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses, who received the files and decided they should go before an instructional judge. On September 11, the judge received such files and was given 10 days to make a decision on the files contents. The very next day, a Portuguese prosecutor made an urgent request relating a potentially vital document in the Madeleine McCann case, believed to be her mother’s diary. Such request was logged because according to the Portuguese law, it’s the judge’s duty to respect the rights, freedoms, and guarantees of the arguidos’ private lives.

At this point the Portuguese police are working on the theory that Mrs. McCann may have accidentally killed her daughter while her husband helped cover it up. Later than month, on September 19th a Portuguese prosecutor ruled there was not enough evidence to re-interrogate the parents; this situation helps the couple on their struggle to prove their innocence. Given the nature of the case, Madeleine’s parents are still held suspects of the case even though the interrogation sessions have come to an end for them.

How far would a mother go to find her child? Kate McCann is willing to sacrifice her freedom; on September 30, Kate stated that she is willing to go to jail for one year if that would help find Madeleine. She was invited to a high-profile television show were she was to discussed the details of the case and the ludicrous accusations. According to the Portuguese Law discussing details of an ongoing investigation with the media is illegal; the sentence for such violation results in one year of jail. Kate revealed that risking a jail sentence is nothing compared to finding Madeleine.

On October 2, new evidence was found in the apartment. Portuguese police found strands of hair behind a sofa in the family’s apartment at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, Portugal. The new findings resulted in an attack by the police chief Carlos Anjos to the McCanns. Mr. Anjos accuses Madeleine’s parents of using “diversion tactics” to distract from the investigation and deliberately “hindering” the inquiry. Anjos characterized Mr. McCann’s as a neglectful father resulting from a misinterpretation of Gerry’s interrogation’s record.

Things get even more complicated. On October 3 the Portuguese detective leading Madeleine’s case was sacked from the inquiry after launching an astonishing public attack on his British counterparts. Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral accused British detectives of “only chasing leads Gerry and Kate McCann want followed up.” Amaral was also dismissed from his post as the head of the Judicial Police in the Algarve town of Portimao. This incident generated more tension between the Portuguese and the British police. Portuguese detectives say they appreciate British help and expertise but they claim they feel patronized and bullied.

So far, Mr. Amaral had investigated only two child murders in his 26 years of police career and he is facing a criminal hearing for allegedly concealing evidence, after the a woman who was jailed for the murder of her daughter claimed police officers tortured her into making a confession. She claims she was forced to kneel on glass ashtrays with a bag over her head as police repeatedly hit her during almost 48 hours of questioning. Leonor Cipriano is serving 16 years for the murder of her eight-year-old daughter Joana, however the body was never found and she has retracted her statement on several occasions. Mr. Amaral is being held as a suspect of this case.

It’s been more than five months and little Madeleine has not been found; unfortunately, she is not the only child that has gone missing. Each day more and more children disappear, and unlike Madeleine, their voice is not heard. Whether the Portuguese police haven’t been as effective as it should have, or the British police haven’t helped as much as they could have, or the parent’s are implicated on her disappearance, is not as important as the future of Madeleine. This case has been focusing too much on external factors, and it has lost its aim. Madeleine might be dead or might not, but if she’s still alive she might be wandering in this world without knowing who she really is, or where she comes from. There are many “Madeleines” out there that would never be found yet some will… We owe these children at least the hope of finding them.

Sources:

BBC NEWS UK website

CBC NEWS website

Belfast Telegraph website

La Gaceta website

Madeleine McCann

Madeleine Beth McCann (born 12 May 2003 in Leicester, England), the elder daughter of Kate McCann and Gerry McCann.[95] was living with her family (including brother and sister Sean and Amelie, two-year-old twins) in Rothley, Leicestershire, England.

A notable identification feature is the coloboma in her right eye, a complete split in the iris consisting of a black radial strip reaching from the pupil out to the edge of the white at the ‘7 o’clock’ position, about 30° clockwise from the bottom

Madeleine McCann’s right eye