Madeleine McCann Is Sjanneke Hofstede And Ribeiro Is Columbo
THIS is the face of the girl they thought was Madeleine McCann, or Maddie, as the Mail’s front page rebrands the missing girl.
By way of a compare and contrast, the Express has its quotidian picture of Madeleine McCann on the front page. (Although it is expected to shift on the tenth anniversary of the Bouquet Revolution when Diana died, Elton sang and Britain’s top lip became soaked in tears and emotion.)
It is clear in an instant that Madeleine looks a bit like the Mail’s girl. But this new girl has a mole on her face, her eyes are dark brown and not marked by a dropping iris, her hair is blonder and her lips fuller.
And her name is not Madeleine McCann. Her name is Sjanneke Hofstede. She was the girl spotted by the child therapist who told the police and then posed for pictures in the Express. She was 100% sure Sjanneke was Madeleine.
The therapist wishes she’d have done more. Had only this expert walked over and seized the child she would have been the saviour. She would have been the child therapist who not only talked but did. She would have been the recipient of a massive reward. The therapist would have been wrestled to the ground by Sjanneke’s father, with whom she was having lunch, while his girlfriend, also present, dialled the authorities.
The Express makes no mention of this development. Doubtless it is still awaiting the results of DNA tests on the straw Sjanneke used to drink a strawberry milkshake before publishing the news. It will not jump to conclusions.
The Express focuses on the investigation. The Mail does hear “Portugal’s top policeman” Alipio Ribeiro answer critics that he has not deployed enough manpower to find the missing child. Says he: “I have always said that Poirot acted alone and was effective. This is not about numbers. Currently, it is not even about resources.”
We have always said that Poirot was Belgian, too overweight and a work of fiction. But we concede that if Ribeiro is to model himself on any crime fighter, better Poitot than, say, Spiderman or PC Plum from Balamory. Or Cracker.
But there is something of Lieutenant Columbo about Ribeiro’s investigation. He is waiting or the assumed kidnapper to slip up. He has a sense of who the criminal is, and then hounds them, all the time gathering evidence.
“Just one more thing…” says the Express. “MADELEINE – British suspect to be arrested in hours say police.”
Why let the papers know this unless the police want their man to make his move?
And this suspect is British. A Briton has been monitored for several weeks. Minds turn to Robert Murat, who, like Columbo, has a bad eye.
But before the denouement, the Express gathers all around. We are back to Poirot as it revisits the evidence and recaps the story so far. And then it revels all.
But not yet. Soon. Stay tuned…
Posted: 20th, August 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (205) | TrackBack | Permalink
