Madeleine's mother formally declared a suspect?

[Mary Akpala]

Breaking news this morning - after hours of formal questioning by the Portuguese police.

This is shocking, and the possibility is just too awful to contemplate.

However, their relentless media campaign did make one wonder, just a bit.

Really too awful to think she may have been involved.
But stranger things have been known to happen.

What do you think?

[Shelagh Watkins]

It is usually better to give parents the benefit of the doubt. But the doubt returns time and time again in the absence of any leads suggesting third party involvement. No matter which way the disappearance is viewed, it always comes back to the parents, as the last people to see Madeleine before she disappeared.

Like the police, I have many questions. Who was the last person (apart from her parents) to see Madeleine before she was put to bed that evening? At what time was she seen? Where was she? Outside the apartment? Playing by the pool?

And more questions. If a paedophile ring abducted the little girl, why not take all three children? How much different does a three year old sleeping child look to an eighteen month year old sleeping child? How did anyone get into or out of the apartment?

So many unanswered questions that would dispel the doubt.

[Shelagh Watkins]

I've read a great deal on the 'net since my last post and I've been unable to find answers to my questions. One thing that struck me, time and time again, was Kate McCann's outcry when she re-entered the restaurant on May 3rd at 10.10pm or thereabouts.

Every quote I have read says the same: "They've taken her!" Who are they? Only one of her three children was missing.

If you thought that more than one person had taken your child, would you leave the twins for a second? Imagine the dilemma. Your child is missing and you need to go and look for her. You suspect she has been abducted by the faceless "they" and all your maternal instincts tell you to go out and find your child.

Then your protective instincts take over: "they" may have taken one child, but you'll be damned if they'll take another. So what do you do? You scoop up both children in your arms and take them with you to raise the alarm. How else could you be sure the twins would be safe? But she didn't. She left them without a second thought. She knew they were safe. How did she know? Ask the Portuguese police. They have to prove how she knew that it was safe to leave the twins, unattended, after their sister had gone missing.

Or did she use a mobile phone and ask Gerry McCann to hurry back to the apartment so that she could raise the alarm? If she didn't, why didn't she? I've yet to see a doctor without a pager.

[Mary Akpala]

You know Shelagh, the whole thing is very mysterious.
And the conduct of the parents is quite baffling.

While I understand their campaign to raise awareness of their daughter's disappearance, I find their adversarial attitude towards the police really puzzling. For example, their briefings and "pre-emptive strikes"

Your questions have not been answered.
One of the mysteries I can't understand is how Madeleine's blood came to be in the hire care 25 days after the alleged abduction. They did not have that car before Madeleine's disappearance, so how did it get there.

I am so glad the forensic lab analyses were conducted here in the UK, if not they would have found something to accuse the Portuguese labs of, too.

And guess what?
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said she is satisfied with the way Portuguese police have conducted the investigation.
Fancy that?

Regards
Mary
http://www.business-in-barnet.com

[Shelagh Watkins]

The conduct of the parents seems odd, possibly because of the way it is reported. My questions remain unanswered and now I must get on with my life and leave the McCanns to do the same and focus their attention on the twins.

I posted a blog on the Telegraph web site that you might, from a wellness point of view, find interesting:

http://my.telegraph.co.uk/shelagh/september_2007/madeleine_mccann_s...

[Mary Akpala]

Thank you for the link, Shelagh.
Have a wonderful day!

Regards
Mary
http://www.business-in-barnet.com