I don’t mean to sound heartless, because there’s a family out there who are still grieving, but how many theories about Maddie are we going to entertain before we leave this family in peace?

It’s been almost 10 years, and this is still a favourite topic of conversation amongst people all around the world, so I suppose we’ll dive in once again.

Let’s assume for a second you’re not familiar with the story of Madeleine McCann, and get a quick summary of her story via the Daily Beast:

…the disappearance of British 3-year-old Madeleine McCann [was] from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal. It has been 10 years since the young girl vanished while her parents, Kate and Gerry, dined with friends at a nearby tapas bar on the compound…

In the decade since she’s been gone, her parents have faced relentless scrutiny and accusations from people who think they intentionally or accidentally killed her and hid the body. Even the chief investigator, Goncalo Amaral…is convinced they were involved. There are theories that she was kidnapped for a childless couple, or snatched by a sinister pedophile [sic] ring led by a man from an e-fit drawing.

Here’s a pretty grim story – I was in Praia da Luz [below] once and someone said there was a ‘Maddie Tour’. No thanks.

Onto those theories about her being alive, then:

Ian Horrocks, a retired Metropolitan Police homicide detective who is now a senior consultant BGP Global Services, believes McCann is still alive.

“Having visited the scene, it is easy to see how Madeleine could have been snatched and her abductor made good his escape in less than two minutes. By turning right from the apartment, he could have been totally out of sight within 30 seconds,” he told The Daily Beast in an email. “The talk of Madeleine being kidnapped by a pedophile [sic] ring, or people traffickers, for a client in some distant place, or some of the even more farfetched theories may be worth discussion, but are not in my opinion credible. Likewise, the idea that a random burglar suddenly deciding to take a child instead of valuables is also unlikely”…

Instead Horricks thinks McCann was targeted after the abductors studied their behavior, which should be a lesson to all young families who may easily fall into set routines. The McCanns [below] had dined at the complex every night, taking turns with their travel companions at 20-minute intervals to check on their children after they put them to bed in their holiday suite nearby. Horricks believes this adherence to a routine made it easy to take the child…

“Whether they were local to the area or a visitor, I am of the view that Madeleine was seen early in the week, and from then the plan was developed to abduct her,” the detective says. “If local, they could have initially stayed in the area, and if from further afield, would have left on Thursday, and possibly even vacated their accommodation before this.”

On this basis, Horricks and many others, including McCann’s parents, believe she may still be alive. “Also, don’t forget that whoever took Madeleine knows that she could be recognized at any time and therefore they will go to any means necessary to ensure this does not happen,” he says. “Could her hair be dyed a different color, has she got a tan, is she now speaking a different language?”

If she is alive, Horricks wonders if she, like other teenagers, will start to wonder where she came from. “Madeleine, if alive, is now a teenager. She may become curious as to her background. No one knows where this could lead.” Hopefully for the McCanns, it would lead her home.

Whatever her fate, one really hopes authorities can solve this one and put an end to all the speculation.

[source:dailybeast]