Madeleine McCann: Bowe Bergdahl, JFK And 15 Minutes Away
Madeleine McCann: Anorak’s look at the missing child in the news media.
Stefano Hatfield, Indy: “Reward MH370”: We need to have faith in those who govern”
…I’ve never lost anyone truly close to me in mysterious circumstances, so I cannot know how that must feel. I cannot know therefore how bewildered the desperate families of missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 must be to set up a crowd-sourced whistle-blower fund, “Reward MH370”, in the hopeful belief that someone, somewhere must know what happened to the jet that went missing two months’ ago with 239 people on board.
And…
Nor, can I know the overwhelming terror, guilt, worry and helplessness that Gerry and Kate McCann must endure daily as they continue to search for answers regarding the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, seven years ago.
So. 239 people most likely dead on an airliner that has not been found. And the story of one missing child.
As the police dig in Praia de Luz, and stories fly around the possibility of “interviewing”three people, these events pass for “latest developments”, whereas in truth there have been no meaningful developments since that infamous May night.
True enough.
I have also – luckily – never had to deal with a child or other loved one being known to have been kidnapped, taken or otherwise held, apparently against their will, an occurrence rare [sic] even that the two preceding cases.
The kidnapped child is not the innocent Madeleine McCann, rather Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier released in a prisoner swap with the Taliban after five years in captivity.
…Was Bowe a deserter? Did he ‘go native’ or ‘turn’ like Sgt Brody in Homeland? Whatever the truth, was his release worth trading five Guantanamo terrorist suspects for?
We can all debate that one safely, freely and dispassionately. Just as some of us can “tut” over the supposed “waste” of time and resources in continuing the hunt for Madeleine McCann, and criticize her parents as “delusional”. The same charge of course is being levelled – at least in private – at the MH370 relatives, whose belief in a cover-up has already won its place in some people’s great conspiracies list alongside 9/11 and the JFK assassination.
That’s how big the story of a missing child became in the media. It’s up there with 9/11 and the murder of JFK. The disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been the tabloid story of the last decade.
In these moments we need to have faith in those who govern though. So, yes, it does matter what Obama traded in return for Bowe; what the Portuguese and British police forces did or did not do in time, and what the Malaysian government does and does not know about that plane’s disappearance. But, attacking the relatives? Where is our humanity? Heaven forbid it should happen to you.
As others look for 270 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls and what happened to the Marie Celeste, we turn to ITV News:
Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are being “realistic rather than optimistic” in their expectations, ITV News Correspondent Martin Geissler has said.
Martin Geissler reports:
“The big site we assume yielded nothing last week. There was a definite sense of disappointment among the British and Portuguese investigating teams and they’ve now moved on. We think the second site will be searched and possibly exhausted by the end of the day, they’ll move onto site three tomorrow and if necessary they’ll continue that investigation until Friday. I think they are realistic rather than optimistic in their expectations from now on. That begs the question – if they find nothing here then what next for the Madeleine McCann investigation?”
Good question. Maybe a drink?
Daily Star: “Madeleine McCann: British cops are keeping Portugal’s bars in business”
BRITISH police hunting for Madeleine McCann are welcome in Portugal because they “drink lots of beer”, a bar worker said yesterday.
It’s hot work. The Mail reports on the search:
Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have cordoned off a new area of land 500 yards from where the youngster went missing seven years ago.
The Mail sums up in in bullet points:
Detectives are looking at an area of land on the edge of Praia da Luz resort
It lies 15 minutes’ walk from the Ocean Club resort where the McCanns were
British and Portuguese police are starting to comb the scrubland today
Sniffer dogs from South Wales Police have already begun working on site
Overnight, Portuguese graffiti appeared on wall calling British police ‘stupid’
The BBC adds:
A source said Portuguese police had searched the land in 2007 – after Madeleine disappeared – and have visited the site “four or five times”.
The Telegraph adds:
The Madeleine McCann investigation is facing a backlash from Portuguese locals as officers begin searching a second site. Graffiti slurring the McCann family and describing British police as “stupid” appeared scrawled on a wall opposite a new site being investigated.
The Met are far, far removed from stupid.
Sniffer dogs are being used on the area near where Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal seven years ago after a fresh area of land was cordoned off by police in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz at first light this morning. The words “policia ingesa [sic] estupidos” appeared on a nearby wall, as well as accusations against the McCanns, alleging they were responsible for her disappearance.
More to follow…
Posted: 11th, June 2014 | In: Madeleine McCann, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
