#2- Jorge- Same here. My parents never left us alone either. What if these little ones woke up and no one was around? I'm sure the parents are feeling very guilty.

I think it is a mistake for them to say they "know the prime suspect". No need to give that info. I think that puts the child in more danger.

I hope they get that beautiful little girl back.

We have two boys who are now teenagers but we never used to leave them alone. Even when going next door for a couple of hours we'd get a baby-sitter. I don't mean to be critical of the parents and I don't know the circumstances but, please, always watch your children. The McCanns would do anything to have their daughter back safe and I sincerely hope that's what happens.

#1 Your correct in this, big question is why would you leave kids alone regardless of time between check ups, something wrong somewhere!!!!!!!

#1 & #5 I agree I struggle with this too. It has been suggested there was some kind of baby sitting service that could have been purchased. I hope the wee girl is found safe, but the parents have to accept some responsibility here to.

Having holidayed in Portugal for 26 years both with and without our family who are all now adults, we found the Portuguese people to be the most loving and family oriented people so this sad case should not be a reflection on them. I sincerely hope this little girl is found alive and well but why oh why did they leave the 3 children alone? What if a fire had started or one of them had been sick ? Whatever the outcome , the parents will surely regret having that meal out for the rest of their lives-but none of us should be too quick to lay the blame at their feet. Never would they think this was going to happen. I would never have left my children alone but, as a mother,I do sympathise with their awful plight. Please God this little girl is found alive soon.
PS. Could the abductor be some opportunist paedophile on holiday and NOT from Portugal at all ?

# 7 Scots Wha Hae ....A clear-headed , compassionate contribution and coming to much the same conclusion that I floated in a forum yesterday ; that the paedophile could well turn out to be another Brit.

In this country (Scotland) I thought it was an offence to leave any child on their own that was under 16 years old. The parents should not have assumed it was ok to leave the children on their own in a foreign country.
Hope she is found

Bottom line is the parents should not have left the children alone. Irresponsible. As a mother I cannot imagine the pain and grief they are going through now but they SHOULD not have done it. Simple. And they are doctors? Is there any common sense in that intelligent head? Also, they had two younger ones as well? UUUGH.

Easy to say they should not have left them alone but they were on holiday and just out for a meal not far away being very responsible checking every half hour, I do not see anything wrong in this, after all the children were asleep. We used to do the same when on holiday when our children were young which was a few years ago now - you never think anything like this will happen especially in a holiday village, you just do not think of things like this but I suppose nowadays things are so different so many terrible people about. I feel heart sorry for them, they should not be blamed. They have done nothing wrong.

This is so sad. I hope that this child is safe and will be returned unharmed. I am sure her parents will live with the guilt that they left the kids alone for the rest of their lives. The kids were locked in the apartment with the window shutters also locked. A fire could have killed them all in minutes. Very irresponsible. Lena, they did do something wrong. It is illegal to leave children alone and I am sure they would not do it at home!!

#7

An excellent post.

Cannot add more to it.

Do you live in a big house ? How often do you check your kids even when you ARE at home ... with the TV blaring etc ?

It could still happen. Anytime, anywhere. It just goes to show the sad state of the world.

Let's hope that another one of these things happens to end happily for once.

#7 it has been sugested that the kidnapper is a brit afterall ...

#6 as far as I am aware (from all I read in the portuguese & world newspapers), yes, they had a babysitting service available for them, and not payable, it was from free and came with the package.

#15 yes, it could happen, unfortunately. But would you really try to increase the odds to it?

Unfortunately the Portuguese and the hotel image is being very stained with all this. Several reservations have been cancelled and some residents have asked to move from the hotel. Portugal might not be the best country in the world when it comes to security, but I assure you that it is surelly one of the TOP5 in Europe in that regard. Algarve region lives out of turism, specially British one (in the summer you'd think Algarve is a brit. city) and I'm pretty sure this case is going to be very harmful for them.

In the end, what matters is that this sad thing hapenned, and hopefully the child will be safe.

#17
Do you go on holiday?? Get a life. It could happen at home with you in the house, remember the little girl taken from her bath while her mum was in the house. Do you check your children in the house when they are sleeping every half hour. This family did not leave a door or window open, they were safely sleeping.

There will be plenty of time to speculate who should or should not have done what.
Please focus on positive thoughts of finding this lovely little girl safe and unharmed.

Please return her to her family.....

Lena

There was a report in the Sunday Times that the French windows had been left unlocked. I personally cannot believe that anyone would do that.. as there would have been nothing to stop the child getting out of bed and wandering outside herself. However, it was reported in that newspaper.

I hope they get her home soon ... safe and well.. this is every parent's nightmare.

#12 Lena, pull your head out your a***.

No one will feel more guilty than her parents - they would never have left her alone with the gift of hindsight. Mistake - big price to pay though. Please God she will be found well.

I echo everyone's sentiments regarding her safe return.

Apparently the law in Scotland requires a child to be 12 before they can be left alone for a short time (eg between arriving home from school and parent getting in from work) 14 to baby sit siblings and 16 to baby sit non family members.

Continental Europe is so child friendly why on earth did they not take the kiddies with them to the restaurant? If more people did this from an early age we would not have to endure the appalling behaviour exhibited by children who simply do not know how to behave in public.

#12 Lena - why the heck did you have kids if you are constantly abandoning them to pursue your own pleasure?

Before anyone asks, I have 3 kids, and yes I did practice what I preach - I can take them to restaurants, even posh ones, and they will not upset every other diner in the place. I had kids to enjoy them and their company.

As this case along with the recent death of a toddler by hanging shows, you must never leave small children alone. Thats NEVER. Frankly I would make it a criminal offence.

No. 16 Jorge --Sorry to hear that this has already had repercussions in Portugal for the tourist industry as I know the Algarve depends on that so much. Like everything else no matter how terrible , it will soon blow over and all be back to normal. I for one am looking forward to my return in late summer when hopefully this latest incident will have been successfully resolved and wee Maddy returned home safely.
Portugal is beautiful and so are most of the people so they bare no responsibility for this. It happens all over the world unfortunately. Something like this makes you want to hold your youngsters closer to you. I look forward to hearing that this child has been found unharmed.

#27
You do not need to be so offensive but if that is what you want.
I know your sort, let the kids run riot in the pubs and bars and hotel - I have seen them - up till all hours because their parents want a drink and half the time the parents do not know where they are. Out by the pool etc knocking drinks over etc etc etc. Not like these sensible people who thought they were okay leaving their children and checking on them all the time and knew exactly where they were. I just hope they get her back safely.

#23
why do you bother!

hope the little one is found safe and well

i cannot agree with the comments of readers such as 'Lena' of that age kids should not be left alone for any reason. I have three ages 14/12/3 and even if in the garden socialising I go up to check especially the wee one. My older kids carry mobiles all the time. The parents could have had a babysitter...no excuse.. they could have had dinner earlier with the kids.... a carry out.... if they had the income to travel as drs do they had the income for childminder ....no excuse .

god bless this wee one and return her safetly.

Society must stop kids being placed in these dangers.

#19 LENA - yes, I do very much have a life. I do also go on holiday. I have two gorgeous daughters, the youngest being two and I would NOT leave them alone while I went to dine. In fact, I do not leave them with a babysitter at home while I go out and dine. We dine out and in as a family. I also, for your interest, have a monitor on my youngest child with a CCTV camera while she is asleep but still go in and check on her and my eldest as they sleep. You need to grow up and get a life. Maybe you need to have children as well to appreciate just how precious they are!

when babysitters are not available or too expensive it is parental responsibility to take turns in staying with the kids. Had they wanted the evening social life on holiday they should have taken child care with them they have the income or they wouldnt have been there

#33
The couple on holiday were also going to check. Just the same as you being in the garden and going up to check. There is no difference. They did not do wrong - it was the person who took their child. People who do this kind of thing always manage no matter how diligent we are so stop blaming the couple.

Dreadful business altogether, and like all the rest I too hope they find this child safe and well.

It's all wrong to go blaming Portugal or the Portuguese police though; after all, they can hardly be held responsible for people who don't take care of their children.
I find it very hard to understand people like Lisa on this forum, and like these parents, who put their own selfish pleasure before the interests of their children.
If you feel that looking after infants is too much bother (and it IS hard work), then why on earth have them? I'm afraid that all too often these days people have youngsters, but when it comes to sacrificing their own time, that's too much trouble, and the chldren are left here there and everwhere with anyone who'll watch them, or with no one at all.

And this wasn't just one infant, it was THREE, all under three years old, too awful to contemplate. As others have said, an offence in this country, and rightly so.

#36 LENA - No, it's NOT the same as checking your kids while in your garden. You are obviously just here to wind people up! You've had your little play now go away!

PS, FYI the patio doors of the apartment were NOT locked so you should go and read some news and get a few more facts.

1. misconception that it's illegal to leave a child on its own, legally any child in the UK can be left on its own for a period of time.
2. Has everybody forgotten the Hi de hi days of the chalet camps where kids were regularly left alone in bed, the only means of notifying parents was a tannoy message.
3. Get a life, blinkered view of parents abandoning children to go out and live the high life, when 3 year old kids are accidentaly hanging themselves in playparks unattended at 8pm in Scotland.

I am praying for the little girl's safe return to her family. I have a granddaughter the same age as little Madeleine, and I can empathize the fear and remorse the family must feel.

However, I CANNOT imagine leaving 3 young children unattended for even a moment. Everyone knows the dangers of the world we inhabit, and we must be ever vigilant in protecting our little ones.

I’ve had the pleasure of living in the Algarve for the last 15 years. It is a very child friendly place. For the Portuguese it is normal to take children out to restaurants from a very early age and therefore children are welcomed. It is easy for us to say this is what should have happened in this case or that they should have had a baby sitter but I doubt if anything we say will hurt these parents more than their own thoughts. The mistake was made, it cannot be undone so let’s concentrate on finding the child.

Brits should be aware that there are huge differences in the way the British and Portuguese police work and in particular their relations with the press. In Britain, the press demand to know everything and print any old rubbish without considering the possible effects. In Portugal they have a much more cautious approach. This does not mean they are doing nothing. Given their attitude to children I’m certain they are pulling out all the stops. Perhaps they could have acted faster in closing the borders but they are only an hour away. This is the first time I’ve heard of a case of child abduction in Portugal, indeed the last child story was of a Brit who abandoned her baby boy on the way to the airport!

Finally, I see reports in the local press that they may have a video of a non- Portuguese – possibly Brit – leading a small child in that area and about the right time. So who knows?

I really hope and pray for this family to find Madeleine safe and well. I cannot imagine what they are going through. In today's world, you simply cannot ever leave such small children, 3 years old and younger, alone anywhere, particularly in a foreign country. I can't understand having such small children out of your sight for any length of time, even if you are only 50 yards away.
Let's hope she is found safe and well, and soon.
My thoughts and prayers.......

I think portioning out blame is useless.. I hope and pray this little girl is found safe and alive and well. There is really no point in everyone saying who they blame because it doesn't solve anything now.

It's a terrible world we live in sometimes but there are so many good people out there and I hope all of those people are keeping their eyes peeled for clues.

Remember as well that this is not a missing person...it's a child kidnapping and as such whatever resourses are available should be used for the investigation. I don't think it's fair to say things like 'all this fuss'. This is a 3 year old child not a missing tourist who got lost out shopping!

Lena, xxxxxxxxxxxxx

My children are regularly praised by complete strangers for their behaviour in pubs, restaurants and hotels.

I truly hope Lena that you will never return from pursuing your own pleasure to find one of your children missing. You may be a fool but your children are precious innocents.

Hope wherever she is, she is safe and not too afraid, bring her back to her parents where she belongs.

Portuguese people are friendly, warm and sincere people,and their reputation for kindness is evident even now, in spite of increasing unemployment since 2000 and worries of 21% increase in mortgage rates since joining the Euro. When society suffers such experiences some people can turn nasty but that is certainly not my experience of the Portuguese people. They display nothing but absolute dignity and high standards and are very kind to all nationalities.

When there is a short window to catch an abuductor time is of the essence and, if the abuduction was not taken seriously, any distraught family would be unhappy.

I felt very annoyed when I reported a "flasher" near a playground with young children and all the police here could say was phone another police station which was meant to be nearer but it wasn't! By the time they got their act together the "flasher" was and truly gone - ready to surface somewhere else for another day.

It is so sad that this family, who thought that their children would be safe behind locked doors and shutters found that their child was abducted.

We can all be armchair critics about the rights and wrongs of leaving children on their own (In Scotland children left under 15 on their own was a crime when I was a tot - not sure what the situation is now) but, there is an urgent need to find this little girl. I hope she is found safe and well.

If a sicko has got her and damaged her how awful for that wee three year old tot. If it is an international abuduction for wealthy parents, will she ever be found?

The danger of abuduction of children from all over the world needs to be highlighted.

If children are disappearing this should be aired more than the press rubbish we constantly get to hear: " Posh this and Jade Goody that. "

It is just awful for any loving parent to find their little one stolen, murdered or in the hands of a sex monster.

No-on

The loss of this little girl to her parents must be devastating, and i'm sure they are blaming themselves. Best wishes to them all and I hope the little girl is recovered well and alive.

#46 FAYE - if you look at the news reports you will see that the doors were unlocked! Also, in the reports it is quoted that the parents were checking every half hour and that all was fine when the father checked at 9pm but when the mother went at 10pm(!!!!!!????) she found her daughter missing!
DUH, something not right there.

And PS - it is spelt ABDUCTION, not ABUDUCTED.

Oops, you've got me at it! ABUDUCTION.

Whatever the facts here, (and we can all blame someone or other in the case), the most important thing is the suffering of this innocent child. Imagine her terror at being separated from the people who are her whole world, without other horrific things which may be being done to her at this time. The trouble is she was already in another Country before the airports and docks had been put on alert. I have never believed that she is still in Portugal. She could be anywhere in the World. My heart goes out to her and to her Family, and all I can offer is my prayers for her safe return.

#50 - Rev.

Good post. And you're probably right that she's no longer in Portugal.

I join my prayers with yours.

As the days pass this just gets worse and worse.

I have to agree it is irresponsible to leave three children under 3 alone. Regardless of abduction, what about fire? What if a child had woken up screaming and there was no one there? There is a difference from being away from the apartment so you can't hear them to being downstairs or in another part of the property where you can keep a proper check on your child.

It is not the same as these awful cases where a child is taken from a home with the parents in another room. As a parent of twin 5 year olds I wouldn't leave them in a strange apartment to go and have dinner away from that place. Especially if they were in a back bedroom, hidden by bushes and walls as could be seen on the tv reports.

Yes it is wrong to judge the parents at this time but if just one family think twice about doing that while on holiday this year then lessons will have been learned.

The laws on child trafficking need to be tightened world wide. Not just for pretty, blonde, British children but for every single child.

The only good news is that she has a distinctive mark on her iris. Even if her outward appearance has been changed she could still be recognised.

#31 Lena
I am a mother of 4 children, I did just as my mother did. I never ever left my children, I have bought them up to be responsible and know how to behave in public. I never left them unattended, ever. If we were to go out we would go out as a family, to a family oriented resteraunt. I have never ever had a babysitter to watch my children. Its just the way I am, we chose to have a family and thats how we like to spend our time. The time for us to have our lives independantly is when the children have grown and are independant themselves. How can you possibly say, that just because you take your children with you that they are boisterous, thats rediculous and uncalled for. Like you I get very annoyed with people who let their children run wild., but you cant everyone in the same catagory.
As a parent I cant even begin to imagine what the parents are going through along with the guilt, but I hope and pray that the little girl gets found and returned home to her parents unharmed.
Cazza I agree with everything you have said so far.

I do hope the wee girl is found alive and well.
I do feel sorry for her mum and dad,I think they will have alot of grief to bear and will already blame themselves for leaving the children.

My children are much older now and I never left them at such a young age without a babysitter if we were going out.
A child could take ill,there could be a fire,a child could even choke.Perhaps Im over-anxious but I couldnt have left children this young on their own even if I was only going across the road.Mine went everywhere with me.

My thjoughts are with the family. I cannot imagine their anguish.

I always find comments about how if they had behaved differently it would have prevented this difficult to understand.

They are unproductive at best and generally tend to the malign. Unproductive because they cannot change what has happened. Malign because what can they do but add to the pain. Had the poor child been taken when the parents were sleeping I'm sure somebody would be able to comment that sleeping when you have a child is just reckless. People who carry out this sort of act are opportunistic. I suggest that those people who have made such comments look that word up in a dictionary. It is a sad reflection on the society we have become that we cannot comment without passing judgement

I have been reading all the comments on the site and at first I was annoyed with Madelines parents for leaving her alone, which they should never have done...now all I can think about is that poor little innocent girl who has been snatched by a complete stranger from a deep peaceful sleep. I have two little girls aged 2 and 4 and I feel incredibly sad when I watch the news and see her pictures obviously her parents had no idea that this was going to happen and this will plague their lives forever, I personally never let my little ones out of sight on holiday so I am not excusing what they done. There is a lot of bickering and pettiness on this site with people arguing backwards and forwards at the end of the day Madeline had no say in this, she has been taken away from her secure world and I pray to god she is found safe and well

To the moderator: My previous post (#55) hopefully contravenes your rules about being offensive. It was intended to offend. If it fails then those numpties who decided to add to the sum total of human misery by their comments will continue to do so in the future. I do hope the family are never exposed to those hurtful and unnecessary comments.

I can't stop thinking about this. I'm a Dad of 2, soon to be 3.
I hope the wee soul is ok, she must be so scared on her own.
I'd love to get my hands on the scum who took her and see if they were as brave with a grown man.

Lots of if's and but's but nothing is going to change what happened. Her family needs support not a lot of negative thoughts. Lets just pray she is reunited safely and undamaged with her family soon.

How could anybody do this to a little girl? I really hope they find her soon......

The country and location matters not. I am 73 years of age. I speak from experiences, there have ALWAYS been those who cannot keep their hands off innocent people & children. They have to "touch" & there are the ones who have compulsive urges to do worse. No excuses...poor home, alcoholic famly members, bad mother, themselves victim of molestation should spare them from receiving severest punishment. These urges cannot be modified & the predator cannot be cured. The compulsion will always surface. When caught, these hunters of human prey should be killed. The world will be safer and a better place for everyone.

I hope and pray little Madeleine will be found safe and sound and returned to her parents. Having a child now safely in his 30's myself, I must admit that I was not always an exemplary parent. However, leaving children that age alone must be one of the biggest mistakes to be made. Of course, there are cases where the child is snatched off the playground from right under the nose of a careful parent....
Repeat line 1 and 2 is probably the best I can do. Catch the abductor, and hang him high, no matter how Maddie is recovered.

Something happening to your child when they have been left home alone is not the same as something happening to your child when you have been out with them at the shops or downstairs watching tv whilst they lay in bed asleep. These situations are completely unexpected and unlucky to happen whereas by leaving a child alone like that you are opening so many dangerous doors. Apart from the fact that a fire could have started or one of them could have been injured in another way, there is always that risk of abduction. Yes, abduction can happen even if you watch your children as you should do but there's nothing you could have done about that whereas plenty could have been done to possibly avoid this situation.

We are not talking about a 10 or 11 year old here. That little girl is only 3 years old and her twin siblings are only 2 years old. You should not under any circumstances go out to eat or drink and leave them alone. The distance of the restaurant does not make a difference. They were not in the same building as those children, let alone the same room. And no, this is not the same as leaving your child in the kitchen whilst you hang out your washing at home. Your home is your property and you don't expect someone else to enter it. Leaving children alone in any old place is just asking for trouble.

Had a fire broken out, they would have lost more than one child . . it doesn't bare thinking about.

Those two idiots should be prosecuted and charged with neglect.

#31-Lena, I remember when my son was young (3-5 years old) sometimes I would hear his little feet running to our bedroom saying "bad dream, bad dream" and then he would climb into bed for comfort. I can't imagine how he would have felt if no one was there for him for even 5 minutes. I too, like #27, have been on plenty vacations with my son & never left him to relax & have dinner or drinks. My son was (& still is) well behaved, to the point of being complimented by others about his behavior & manners.

Put your self in their shoes for a moment.
These parents, a lot like many others, have made a mistake and their daughter may never be seen again.
She may be sold on to another family or she may be sexually abused by numerous individuals until her little body can take no more.
Don’t you think the family are going through enough without the
Insensitive comments of so many ‘Perfect Parents’.
The world is unfortunately full of people like you.
People who are quick to lay the blame on others and not so quick at
Pointing out there own mistakes.
Are you perfect and free from fault? Are you so perfect that you have never made a wrong decision? NO YOUR NOT - YOUR HUMAN!
No one walking on this earth is free from fault but many are full of Hate, self-centredness, Self regard and judgmental attitudes which is shown here on this site.
You have little thought for anyone other than yourselves and your opinions.
I pity you all and the ‘children’ you no doubt have disregarded while you type you hypocritical reviews on this site.

Think of the child and instead of pointing out the obvious-
Do something constructive: Say a prayer for little Maddy and her family.

I notice my comment @ 8 has been pulled... I'm not sure why. Was it because I dared to criticise the parents of this child for leaving her and her 2 siblings of 18 months old alone in an apartment while they dined elsewhere.

I am far from being a perfect parent or a perfect individual, none of us are, however, small children and babies should not be left alone ...... a lot can happen in 5 minutes never mind at half-hourly intervals.

I really hope this child is found safe and well as soon as possible and returned to her parents and family.

To criticise these poor parents when they are in such torment and anguish shows a complete lack of compassion or, indeed, humanity. How many of us, as parents, have made decisions that, in retrospect, we realised were wrong and shudder now at the very thought of what we'd done? Maddy's parents will be haunted forever by the decision that they took last Thursday. Right now, they are probably bitterly reproaching themselves for that decision - wishing that they could turn the clock back. Re: comment no. 63, these people are not the criminals here. The demon who snatched a sleeping toddler from her bed is the criminal.

I hope and pray that little Maddy will be renuited with her family.

I cannot believe all these 'holier than thou comments'. Dont you think these poor parents have suffered enough, how absurd to say they should be charged with neglect. I think they are full aware of the mistake they made without bitter, judjemental and unempathetic comments made by you idiots. My girls are teenagers now, i may have never left them alone when they were small but looking back like all of us, have perhaps left them in situations that could be criticised, like not fully checking childminders references. We all have done something as parents that is not perfect. Our anger should be directed at the criminal who took her, lets hope and pray the poor little girl returns home safely.

My husband and i are worried sick of what as happened to maddie,because my parents are taking my 10yr old to the algarve next week on holiday.We can not believe those three little ones were left alone while their parents wined and dined.As far as we are concerned they are very irresponsilble especially as i read that they thought they were being watched a few days before it happened.God only knows what that child is going through and if there is a god i hope he lets her be reunited with her parents unharmed.