Maddie McCann

[ExiledGael]

This must be the worst thing ever to happen to any parent, regardless of whether they were negligent.
Apparently Portuguese Police have just sealed off a villa nearby, the first time this has happened in the case.
It's not looking good, God help her family

[ziggysego]

f**k. Well I always feared it would come to a terrible end.

However, and forgive me, in the long run it would be better to know...

[pintsofguinness]

Terrible story but I'm having a real hard time feeling sorry for her parents!

[ziggysego]

Forgive me, again.

What is the story with her parents? I've heard a lot of people say that, but I never heard why.

[ExiledGael]

They were having a meal in another part of the holday village, around 50 metres from the room, where they left their children.
They were going up to check at 15 minute intervals apparently, and found the window broken in and their little girl gone.
Maybe they were being a little careless, but that's the last thing in the world you'd expect.
You'd need to have a heart of stone not to feel for them, it must make it even worse

[pintsofguinness]

They were in a bar drinking and eating while they left their children, a 3 year old and 1 year old twins? in the room and checked on them hourly. How stupid can you be! Someone breaking in and taking one of the children might be the last thing you'd expect but you wouldn't be surprised for children to wake up sick, scared, dreaming or whatever and where are their parents? In a bar drinking!  ffs

I've no sympathy for them but my heart goes out for the wee girl.   

[Syd]

This may not be a popular sentiment but i think if the parents were working class they would have been hauled across the coals by the media. I also cannot get over the media covergae of this, no one is doubting that it is a serious event but usually something like this is top news for a day or two then it fades away, but this has been the top story for almost 2 weeks.

[Stalin]

Police have acted on the suspicions of a Mirror reporter and ahve took some English bloke in for questioning. His mother owns the place being searched atm.

[dublinfella]

This may not be a popular sentiment but i think if the parents were working class they would have been hauled across the coals by the media. I also cannot get over the media covergae of this, no one is doubting that it is a serious event but usually something like this is top news for a day or two then it fades away, but this has been the top story for almost 2 weeks.

Agreed. Just because they are doctors they seem to have been let off somewhat by the (very disturbing) media. Imagine this was a chav family.

This is why you hire babysitters when you go out to dinner.

[Orior]

My cousin was bridesmaid at the parents wedding.

[cicfada]

I do feel  sorry for the parents. They were going back every half hour to check on them!!How could they have anticipated someone stealing their child for Christ's sake!It's easy for people to criticise them  but unless you're a parent yourself then you can't really comment on it as you know little of the stresses that parents go through when raising kids!!It's impossible to be 100% on guard over your children all the time!How long were the parents in the bar for??HOw many drinks did they have??How far away was the apartment??I have heard so many versions of answers for these questions, that's it's hard to start blaming the parents!!

[Rufus T Firefly]

I do feel  sorry for the parents. They were going back every half hour to check on them!!How could they have anticipated someone stealing their child for Christ's sake!It's easy for people to criticise them  but unless you're a parent yourself then you can't really comment on it as you know little of the stresses that parents go through when raising kids!!It's impossible to be 100% on guard over your children all the time!How long were the parents in the bar for??HOw many drinks did they have??How far away was the apartment??I have heard so many versions of answers for these questions, that's it's hard to start blaming the parents!!

100% correct.

Sydney

I also cannot get over the media covergae of this, no one is doubting that it is a serious event but usually something like this is top news for a day or two then it fades away, but this has been the top story for almost 2 weeks.

Whilst I agree, I have no problem with that, as I feel that the greatest hope of finding the wee girl depends on keeping the issue in the public eye.

That said, I saw interviews with a couple of Portugese (sp) families who lost kids in similar circumstances, and whilst they had sympathy for the plight of the McCanns, they gave off big time that there was never a response from the police, or the media, to compare with what has happened here.

[pintsofguinness]

cic

I do feel  sorry for the parents. They were going back every half hour to check on them!!How could they have anticipated someone stealing their child for Christ's sake!It's easy for people to criticise them  but unless you're a parent yourself then you can't really comment on it as you know little of the stresses that parents go through when raising kids!!It's impossible to be 100% on guard over your children all the time!How long were the parents in the bar for??HOw many drinks did they have??How far away was the apartment??I have heard so many versions of answers for these questions, that's it's hard to start blaming the parents!!

What has the stresses a parent goes through got to do with anything? It's a stressful job so it's acceptable for them to have a couple of hours off while the children look after themselves? No one is expecting a 100% guard, it wasn't as if they took their eye off them for 2 minutes. 
They left 3 babies alone in a room while they popped out to a restaurant and felt that checking on them every hour was sufficent!
No one is saying that they should have anticipated someone stealing their child but they would never anticipate a child being sick, unable to sleep, even needing a toilet?? and where are they?? 200 yards away in a restaurant??  You don't need to be a parent to know they were grossly negligent.

[Fionntamhnach]

The media coverage of this case is that of the white blonde woman syndrome. There was a great clip on Family Guy one time of the media rushing to the scene where a young girl had been lost. When they found out the girl's surname which meant that she was Hispanic, they left just as quickly.

You would have to have a heart of stone to not hope that the little girl doesn't turn up safe and well, but this story is blown out of all proportion by the UK media, whom as rightly pointed out above aren't daring questioning the parents responsibilities because of their social class. And the reason for that is because most of the journalists in the press belong to that same class of society and therefore don't want themselves to be tarnished by "chavvy" behaviour. Also there hundreds if not thousands of little children taken away lost or kidnapped every day across the world and what they end up getting involved in doesn't bear thinking about. Oh, and there were dozens of people killed in an explosion today in Iraq, but that doesn't matter in the eyes of the media in Ireland and Britain, except for maybe 5-10 seconds.

[J70]

God help those people. If they don't get that child back safely, they will never have a minute's peace for the rest of their lives. How could you live with yourself? And I don't even want to imagine what a little three-year old girl experienced in whatever the situation turns out to be. Pints is correct - there are some things you do not take chances with, no matter how small you think the risk is. However, while I would hope I've never remotely approached or will approach their apparent levels of negligence, I've got away with certain dumb things in my life, and incredibly stupid and reckless as these people were, I can't help but feel sorry for what they're going to have to go through if this doesn't turn out well.