Madeline

[Burdock]

I heard that a Portuguese kid (boy, aged 6) went missing in similar circumstances, but the Portuguese press gave it just two days coverage.

[PrinceNamor]

I heard that a Portuguese kid (boy, aged 6) went missing in similar circumstances, but the Portuguese press gave it just two days coverage.

Yes and it pisses me off to see all the ex met police detectives turning up on sky news slagging off the Portugese police.

[cailin dana]

Sky news bugs me anyway - it's so fecking sensational.

[threaded]

hanging around the crime scene, lives near the crime scene.

Apparently he's been acting as a translator. So, they found someone local who is willing to help, and his help is being a translator. That'd be why he's been near the family etc. etc..

The reason he's been to the local polis station is the newspaper reporters have been to the police station saying it's 'im y'know and then waiting outside for the police doing their duty of bringing him in because someone made an accusation!

Jeez, small wonder people look the other way and walk on by...

[BrilloPad]

It's already been said but if it was some chav couple on a council estate who locked up their kids while they went to the local boozer they would have been crucified. If I had been at the press conference the McCanns gave yesterday I would have asked them wtf they were thinking leaving three toddlers alone while they went out on a jolly.

It is amazing there has been not a single press discussion about if the kids should have been left or not. Is it now acceptable to leave the kids alone?

Personally I would have stayed in the house or taken them to the restaurant(and eaten at 6pm). I might have trusted a babysitter if over 25.

The attitude is "these parents did what every other parent does". I despair...

[rootsnall]

Yes and it pisses me off to see all the ex met police detectives turning up on sky news slagging off the Portugese police.

Also pee's me off, there is still a general assumption in the UK that we are 'better' than johnny foreigner despite lots of evidence to the contrary. And we wonder why we don't get any votes in eurovision !

[rootsnall]

It is amazing there has been not a single press discussion about if the kids should have been left or not. Is it now acceptable to leave the kids alone?

Personally I would have stayed in the house or taken them to the restaurant(and eaten at 6pm). I might have trusted a babysitter if over 25.

The attitude is "these parents did what every other parent does". I despair...

There has been quite a bit of discussion and the parents have made a statement saying they were wrong. There is more interest in finding her at the moment but don't worry the press will rip into them at some stage.

[dang65]

It is amazing there has been not a single press discussion about if the kids should have been left or not. Is it now acceptable to leave the kids alone?

Hopefully this story will stop anyone ever having a go at mums in 4x4s doing the school run. It can't possibly be acceptable to expose children to the dangers of walking to school, or of being passengers in small cars, and anyone that complains about school run mums in 4x4s is clearly an irresponsible moron. In fact, their name should go on a special register of people who openly admit that they want harm to come to children.

[andy]

I'll be relieved if they do have the perp. While sympathetic and all that, I'm fed up with all the coverage, like most people probably.

It seems to be the only major news since last week

[PrinceNamor]

Hopefully this story will stop anyone ever having a go at mums in 4x4s doing the school run. It can't possibly be acceptable to expose children to the dangers of walking to school, or of being passengers in small cars, and anyone that complains about school run mums in 4x4s is clearly an irresponsible moron. In fact, their name should go on a special register of people who openly admit that they want harm to come to children.

I've heard this argument a lot recently but it's basically a pile of tulipe. Big difference to letting school aged kids walk to school and leaving three toddlers alone. If a three year old wakes up and mum and dad are no where to be found it would be terrifying for the kid, in particular as they were in a strange appartment. On the news last night they reported that the police had found no sign of a forced entry and even hinted that they thought the girl may have left the appartment herself where she met with her abductor purely by chance. Perhaps she woke up, couldn't find her parents and in a state of panic decided to try and find them. I do have sympathy for the parents- they are going to have live with the consequences of their selfish actions for the rest of theri lives.