# Madeleine McCann Mystery
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 2, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498 "2012-10-02T17:36:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/61 "2012-10-07T21:49:00Z")
Ah, so now they might have been too buzzed on coke to think through their plans on hiding the wife’s alcoholism?
I’m done here.
---
### Author:  [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/62 "2012-10-07T21:51:35Z")
> [@badger5149](#):
>
> Again, in a normal situation I would agree with you. After reading all the allegations of heavy cocaine use I threw normal out the window. Paranoia and sound decision making processes go down the toilet.
Good point, but the Apricot Brandy enemas typically help smooth out all of the crazy thoughts…
---
### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/63 "2012-10-07T21:58:09Z")
It’s the old “I’m just asking questions” ploy. Is Glenn Beck Moroccan now??
---
### Author:  [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/64 "2012-10-07T22:09:12Z")
> [@badger5149](#):
>
> I can see where a fair skinned blue eyed child might grab the attention of a pedofile in Portugal but it would seem much easier opportunities would be present.
Huh? I can see where this might have gotten lost in the rambling about wide-set eyes and cocaine binges, but where the hell does this come from?
Or do I live in a cave, and has it been proven by rigorous statistical analysis the Portuguese are as obsessed with blue-eyed female victims as the U.S. sensationalist press?
---
### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [October 7, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/65 "2012-10-07T22:56:18Z")
> [@badger5149](#):
>
> This particular case has been discussed openly in forums and everywhere else.
“discussed openly in forums”. You know what you are? You are an emotional vampire, feeding on the anguish, regret and pain of others. Still, it’s good to have have a hobby.
---
### Author:  [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/66 "2012-10-09T03:15:35Z")
> [@badger5149](#):
>
> Inever felt the parents intended to kill the child. I have always felt that they went to Portugal to transfer the child to a surragate parent possibly in Morrocco. I believe the mother feared that once the child was older a defect would come out exposing her as an alcoholic and ruining her career. Once all the publicity was given the case she had no other option but to instruct the person she transferred the child to have the baby murdered. Very weak theory on my part but that is the general impression I have carried.
On what evidence do you base this preposterous theory?
> [@badger5149](#):
>
> **I know we have several medical proffessionals here and was curious as to what they might think based on the photos**. (snip) Over the past 25 years I have worked with quite a few alcoholics and have seen children with this condition. The overall look is what got my attention, along with the time frame of the child being 4 which is the age it is usually diagnosed and becomes apparent. FAS could be damaging to a Dr.s career etc. I\*\* thought and still think it is worth looking into as no one with any real credentials has debunked it yet\*\*.
I don’t know a single medical professional with “any real credentials” who would ever “debunk” or bunk any diagnostic theory based on photographs.
[Here](http://www.google.com/search?q=madeliene+mccann+life+pictures&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=KJJzUIG7GcmpiQL1oIDYBg&ved=0CCAQsAQ&biw=1277&bih=612) are some add’l pictures of Madeliene McCann and I think your theory that she suffers from FAS is incorrect.
ETA: the CDC describes the primary symptom of FAS to be central nervous system disorders. Madeliene was described by family, friends, and teachers as precocious, “sharp as a tack” and quick witted.
---
### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/67 "2012-10-09T03:26:48Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#):
>
> I haven’t followed the case but I have two questions after reading the wiki:
>
> Why on earth did they leave the apartment unlocked?
>
> I can’t imagine leaving a four year-old and twin two year-olds unsupervised in that manner. 120 meters isn’t all that close, and even with regular checks I wouldn’t feel comfortable. Am I being harsh or would most people feel the same?
>
> The parents are either stupid, negligent or somehow complicit.
I’m not a parent, but it strikes me as sloppy at best to leave children that young without a caretaker continuously present. I have enough babysitting experience to know that kids that age are FAST when it comes to escapes or finding hazardous situations to get into.
How many people outside the parents, their friends, and hotel staff would have known that Madeleine was even there, let alone with no adult watching her, thus grabbable?
---
### Author:  [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/68 "2012-10-09T03:34:14Z")
> [@badger5149](#):
>
> Inever felt the parents intended to kill the child. I have always felt that they went to Portugal to transfer the child to a surragate parent possibly in Morrocco. I believe the mother feared that once the child was older a defect would come out exposing her as an alcoholic and ruining her career. Once all the publicity was given the case she had no other option but to instruct the person she transferred the child to have the baby murdered. Very weak theory on my part but that is the general impression I have carried.
Big hole in the theory: Madeleine’s younger siblings are alive and well. If Mom had that big a problem (and her doctors during the whole IVF situation somehow failed to spot it) during her first pregnancy, do you really think she wouldn’t have in the second pregnancy, thus being in the same situation again with the twins?
---
### Author:  [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/69 "2012-10-09T03:55:35Z")
Is FAS the new fad or something? Unless half the people in three countries had FAS I’m thinking you cannot look at someone’s face and diagnosis this over the internet.
[ ](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6GwoSFjj56E/SYKIT0H3uoI/AAAAAAAAFuU/hRh-7wTTqjo/s400/fas.jpg)
[http://smilesandtrials.blogspot.com/2009/01/explain-fas-to-me-christine.html](http://smilesandtrials.blogspot.com/2009/01/explain-fas-to-me-christine.html)
[http://ictmncdn1.tgpstage1.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/LO-RES-FEA-photo-FASD-1-morgan-fawcett-facebook-e1313690314182-615x434.jpg](http://ictmncdn1.tgpstage1.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/LO-RES-FEA-photo-FASD-1-morgan-fawcett-facebook-e1313690314182-615x434.jpg)
[http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/09/05/fetal-alcohol-syndrome-rate-higher-among-american-indians-48085](http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/09/05/fetal-alcohol-syndrome-rate-higher-among-american-indians-48085)
[http://allourregrets.onsugar.com/Do-you-think-Jayden-James-has-FAS-Fetal-Alcohol-Syndrome-671761](http://allourregrets.onsugar.com/Do-you-think-Jayden-James-has-FAS-Fetal-Alcohol-Syndrome-671761)
Huh? This is starting to seem nutty.
---
### Author:  [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/70 "2012-10-09T07:24:59Z")
I am starting to feel bad I even started this thread. The FAS thing I noticed the first time I saw a pic of the child several years ago. Of course it could not be diagnosed over the internet. The whole idea here was that many purported theories for a motive are bing thrown around, most of them will be shot down. This was just one more theory based on a look and a timeline. It would naturaly be up the police or proffessionals to determine if it was worth looking at further. Sometimes when you look at everything in the box and see nothing it is time to start looking outside the box.
---
### Author:  [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/71 "2012-10-09T18:05:49Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#):
>
> This is by far the most convincing theory to me - [she’s living as someone else’s daughter](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/06/new-report-finds-madeleine-mccann-could-be-alive-and-living-as-someone-else-s-daughter.html).
>
> If it happens in hospital delivery rooms, why not elsewhere?
> [@](#):
>
> Quotes from the article you linked to:
> In his report, he asks, “Are we saying that they coldly decided that Madeleine was dead and then put together an elaborate plan to dispose of her body? Did Gerry McCann simply walk down the road with a bag containing his daughter’s body and dispose of it, and then calmly go out for dinner? This is ridiculous in the extreme.”
>
> \
>
> " … the chances that at this very moment a predator being there who is attracted to this age of victim is so unlikely that it goes beyond reasonable consideration,” the report says.
>
> \
>
> Horrocks says Madeleine, at just 4 years old, didn’t fit the normal profile of a victim of pedophile kidnapping. Madeleine’s younger twin siblings were also asleep in the apartment and they were left undisturbed. “I do not believe that Madeleine was abducted with the intention of some sort of long-term grooming and abuse similar to that experienced by Jaycee Dugard or Natascha Kampusch,” Horrocks says.
>
> \
>
> Instead, he believes that the McCanns were pinpointed the moment they arrived at the holiday resort. He says the perpetrators likely watched them for their first few days of their vacation, studying their routines and Madeleine’s behavior so they would be ready when the opportunity to snatch her presented itself.
What the hell kind of logic is this?
---
### Author:  [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/72 "2012-10-10T00:42:08Z")
> [@badger5149](#):
>
> I am starting to feel bad I even started this thread.
Oh, darn.
---
### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/73 "2014-01-14T14:31:00Z")
The British police now have three burglars as suspects:
> **[Let us quiz three Portuguese 'burglars' in McCann case](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2538472/British-police-preparing-make-arrests-Operation-Grange-investigation-disappearance-Madeleine-McCann.html)**
>
> Operation Grange officers were preparing to travel to Portugal as they pursue three burglars who were operating in the area when the three-year-old (pictured) went missing.
I wonder how substantive their evidence is. Burglars generally aren’t involved in the disappearance of young children.
---
### Author:  [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/74 "2014-01-14T17:38:12Z")
I must say, I have little expectation she will be found alive. I hope to be proven wrong, but…
---
### Author:  [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/75 "2014-01-14T17:44:35Z")
Cute kid. Terrible about her story - I feel for her parents. What a nightmare.
---
### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/76 "2014-01-14T19:05:41Z")
> [@PastTense](#):
>
> The British police now have three burglars as suspects:
> [Madeleine McCann police set to make first arrests | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2538472/British-police-preparing-make-arrests-Operation-Grange-investigation-disappearance-Madeleine-McCann.html)
>
> I wonder how substantive their evidence is. Burglars generally aren’t involved in the disappearance of young children.
I does seem odd on the surface. I can’t imagine what would motivate them. Even if she saw them doing something untoward I can’t imagine she’d be able to pick them out of a line-up or that they could even be brought to trial solely on the word of a 4 year old.
---
### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [January 14, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/77 "2014-01-14T23:00:29Z")
> [@PastTense](#):
>
> The British police now have three burglars as suspects:
> [Madeleine McCann police set to make first arrests | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2538472/British-police-preparing-make-arrests-Operation-Grange-investigation-disappearance-Madeleine-McCann.html)
The Daily Mail has three suspects. How that relates to the real world is anyone’s guess.
---
### Author:  [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2019, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/79 "2019-06-05T09:15:07Z")
reported
---
### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2019, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/80 "2019-06-05T09:15:30Z")
Reported
---
### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2020, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498/81 "2020-06-04T13:25:30Z")
Updating this thread, another suspect:
> [@](#):
>
> Madeleine McCann is “assumed” to be dead, say German prosecutors, who are investigating the disappearance of the British girl in 2007.
>
> A 43-year-old German man is being investigated on suspicion of murder, the public prosecutor added. The suspect, who has been named in German media as Christian B, is currently serving a prison sentence.
>
> He is believed to have been in the area where Madeleine, aged three, was last seen while on holiday in Portugal.
> **[Madeleine McCann 'assumed dead' by German prosecutors](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52916137)**
>
> A German man, 43, is being investigated on suspicion of murder over the British girl’s disappearance.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498.md?page=3)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/madeleine-mccann-mystery/636498.md?page=5)