Madeleine McCann: 200 ‘Maddies’ Abducted Every Year – Says Daily Star
THIS year alone – just in 2011 – the have been 200 “Maddie-style abductions“.
So says the Daily Star on its front page.
The hard facts of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are that:
She went missing in Portugal.
And that’s it.
As for the Star’s story:
MORE than four Brit kids are snatched by strangers every week, a shock Daily Star Sunday investigation can reveal.
Fact!
The only centrally-held statistics cover all child abductions but have no breakdown of those involving strangers.
So. How does the Star know this fact?
Our probe found that there were at least 500 reports of child abduction in England and Wales in 2010 and 211 and, of those, around 42% involved strangers snatching or attempting to snatch youngsters.
Go on…
The figures, obtained by contacting every police force in England and Wales, show the whereabouts of abduction hotspots. Just under a quarter of cases involving strangers were in the Metropolitan Police force area, while Greater Manchester Police reported 46 cases of “abduction of a child by other persons”.
And:
West Midlands police had 25 cases, although they pointed out that none had been “successful” stranger abductions.
Those Maddie-syle abductions were not abductions at all. The facts are getting murky:
Almost all the figures submitted for child abductions included attempted abductions, so a breakdown showing how many children were snatched was not available.
So. How do you know there were 200 abductions every day? And might it not be an idea to ask the police how many children are missing, presumed kidnapped by a stranger?
We’ve been here before, of course. Back in May this year, the Star yelled:
“SCANDAL OF 150 MADDIES”
An estimated 150 children a year are victims of Madeleine McCann-style abductions in Britain.
The Star then delivered a shocking statistic:
But the number of missing children could be as many as 130,000 a year, according to one campaigner.
Where do 130,000 children go in Britain?
Back then we heard from a campaigner:
Lady Catherine Meyer, of charity Parents & Abducted Children Together, says: “How many are abducted? We don’t know. We guess about 1,000. And stranger abductions (committed by persons unknown to the family) about 150 but that is a complete estimate.”
Today we hear from her again:
Lady Catherine Meyer, who runs the Parents and Abducted Children Together charity (PACT)… says “a lot of children abducted by strangers”.
How many? Well, we don’t know. This site lists 201 missing children since . But when we do, we may find one of the kidnappers and Madeleine McCann. In the meantime, enjoy your summer holidays, mums and dads…
Posted: 7th, August 2011 | In: Madeleine McCann Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
