So what actual searching was there?

[misty]

It has always puzzled me why Kate didn't check with Tanner to see whether she had Madeleine. Any mother would check every possibility no matter how unlikely before being forced to accept the inevitable.

I wondered why she didn't go out into the car park to check, either.
I believe the answer is - she didn't have the key to the locked front door. Despite the belief the key was apparently on the kitchen counter, I think Gerry had it with him back at the Tapas Bar.

[misty]

And a list of people who stated they actually moved any items to check there was nothing behind/in/underneath when they looked in the wardrobes that night...

Maybe you do a disservice to the GNR officers who searched the apartment that evening. I think their training would have given them a more disciplined approach than a PSP/PJ officer.

[mercury]

I wondered why she didn't go out into the car park to check, either.
I believe the answer is - she didn't have the key to the locked front door. Despite the belief the key was apparently on the kitchen counter, I think Gerry had it with him back at the Tapas Bar.

Only they said in their statenents the front door was a) Kate  NOT locked / b) Gerry probably not locked

[misty]

Only they said in their statenents the front door was a) Kate  NOT locked / b) Gerry probably not locked

When they gave their statements initially no-one could differentiate between the front & the rear door. Gerry's statement of 10th May is also an undeniable mess.

[Brietta]

Kerry follows up sightings,   the McCann's followed up sightings,  it is all they can do to search and they don't know where the children are.

Agreed, Lace, they will be studying faces and mannerisms wherever they go.

It is arrant nonsense to suggest that the family members of a missing child are either equipped or should have to mount their own full scale searches while the policing authorities abrogate total responsibility.


**Snip
From the start, the military were convinced that Katrice had simply wandered off.

“They thought I hadn’t kept a proper eye on her.

I remember soon after she disappeared, the Royal Military Police came to our married quarters.

They were friendly but I’ve come to wish I’d said nothing.

They asked me whether Katrice liked ducks and I quite innocently said, 'Yes, of course, don’t all children like ducks?’

“Looking back, that seems to have sealed my daughter’s fate.

The Royal Military Police and the local German police decided that she had walked out of the shop and wandered to the nearby river and fallen in and drowned.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9812934/I-just-want-to-know-what-happened-to-my-Katrice.html

I recommend reading that link. 

It appears we are now in a "ranking" system for missing children (British children who simply vanish on foreign soil) and how to search for them.

30 years ago the Lees were treated abominably by the authorities and who has heard of Katrice?

24 years ago the Needhams were treated abominably by the authorities but a bit better than the Lee family and communications being more advanced most people have heard of Ben.

8 years ago the McCanns were treated abominably by the authorities but if they were treated a bit better than the two previously mentioned families is a matter of opinion.  They were made arguidos in their daughter's disappearance suffering opprobrium as a result which some still berate them with day and daily.

The fact that Madeleine and Ben are well publicised is as a result of the internet age ... the fact that Katrice's father is justified in feeling his child was neglected may also be that thirty years ago there was no internet.

As a result of technology and the use made of it in missing child cases ... there should never be another apparently anonymous Katrice Lee.


There ... that has dealt with the ranking order.


Think about it very carefully.

Circumstances stood in the way of the Lees physically looking for their child.

Circumstances of isolation meant the Needhams had to search the immediate area on their own.

Circumstances of being in the middle of a holiday resort populated with residential and holiday residences made the McCann situation different from the Needhams or the Lees.

Each family faced the same trauma ... each family faced a different situation. 

There is something so terribly sad about trying to make capital one family over another by making comparison in situations which apart from the loss of a child ... there can be no comparison and it does disservice to people's suffering to use it as a debating point.

[Alfred R Jones]

Agreed, Lace, they will be studying faces and mannerisms wherever they go.

It is arrant nonsense to suggest that the family members of a missing child are either equipped or should have to mount their own full scale searches while the policing authorities abrogate total responsibility.


**Snip
From the start, the military were convinced that Katrice had simply wandered off.

“They thought I hadn’t kept a proper eye on her.

I remember soon after she disappeared, the Royal Military Police came to our married quarters.

They were friendly but I’ve come to wish I’d said nothing.

They asked me whether Katrice liked ducks and I quite innocently said, 'Yes, of course, don’t all children like ducks?’

“Looking back, that seems to have sealed my daughter’s fate.

The Royal Military Police and the local German police decided that she had walked out of the shop and wandered to the nearby river and fallen in and drowned.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9812934/I-just-want-to-know-what-happened-to-my-Katrice.html

I recommend reading that link. 

It appears we are now in a "ranking" system for missing children (British children who simply vanish on foreign soil) and how to search for them.

30 years ago the Lees were treated abominably by the authorities and who has heard of Katrice?

24 years ago the Needhams were treated abominably by the authorities but a bit better than the Lee family and communications being more advanced most people have heard of Ben.

8 years ago the McCanns were treated abominably by the authorities but if they were treated a bit better than the two previously mentioned families is a matter of opinion.  They were made arguidos in their daughter's disappearance suffering opprobrium as a result which some still berate them with day and daily.

The fact that Madeleine and Ben are well publicised is as a result of the internet age ... the fact that Katrice's father is justified in feeling his child was neglected may also be that thirty years ago there was no internet.

As a result of technology and the use made of it in missing child cases ... there should never be another apparently anonymous Katrice Lee.


There ... that has dealt with the ranking order.


Think about it very carefully.

Circumstances stood in the way of the Lees physically looking for their child.

Circumstances of isolation meant the Needhams had to search the immediate area on their own.

Circumstances of being in the middle of a holiday resort populated with residential and holiday residences made the McCann situation different from the Needhams or the Lees.

Each family faced the same trauma ... each family faced a different situation. 

There is something so terribly sad about trying to make capital one family over another by making comparison in situations which apart from the loss of a child ... there can be no comparison and it does disservice to people's suffering to use it as a debating point.

Excellent post - this from the article about missing Katrice jumped out at me and goes a long way I think to explaining the terrible treatment of some other parents of missing children, by the authorities:

"We were treated without empathy or humanity".

This could also be extended to those who enjoy ripping such parents to shreds because these parents didn't behave in the way that the sanctimonious know-it-all commentators believe they should have behaved.

[Carana]

Agreed, Lace, they will be studying faces and mannerisms wherever they go.

It is arrant nonsense to suggest that the family members of a missing child are either equipped or should have to mount their own full scale searches while the policing authorities abrogate total responsibility.


**Snip
From the start, the military were convinced that Katrice had simply wandered off.

“They thought I hadn’t kept a proper eye on her.

I remember soon after she disappeared, the Royal Military Police came to our married quarters.

They were friendly but I’ve come to wish I’d said nothing.

They asked me whether Katrice liked ducks and I quite innocently said, 'Yes, of course, don’t all children like ducks?’

“Looking back, that seems to have sealed my daughter’s fate.

The Royal Military Police and the local German police decided that she had walked out of the shop and wandered to the nearby river and fallen in and drowned.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9812934/I-just-want-to-know-what-happened-to-my-Katrice.html

I recommend reading that link. 

It appears we are now in a "ranking" system for missing children (British children who simply vanish on foreign soil) and how to search for them.

30 years ago the Lees were treated abominably by the authorities and who has heard of Katrice?

24 years ago the Needhams were treated abominably by the authorities but a bit better than the Lee family and communications being more advanced most people have heard of Ben.

8 years ago the McCanns were treated abominably by the authorities but if they were treated a bit better than the two previously mentioned families is a matter of opinion.  They were made arguidos in their daughter's disappearance suffering opprobrium as a result which some still berate them with day and daily.

The fact that Madeleine and Ben are well publicised is as a result of the internet age ... the fact that Katrice's father is justified in feeling his child was neglected may also be that thirty years ago there was no internet.

As a result of technology and the use made of it in missing child cases ... there should never be another apparently anonymous Katrice Lee.


There ... that has dealt with the ranking order.


Think about it very carefully.

Circumstances stood in the way of the Lees physically looking for their child.

Circumstances of isolation meant the Needhams had to search the immediate area on their own.

Circumstances of being in the middle of a holiday resort populated with residential and holiday residences made the McCann situation different from the Needhams or the Lees.

Each family faced the same trauma ... each family faced a different situation. 

There is something so terribly sad about trying to make capital one family over another by making comparison in situations which apart from the loss of a child ... there can be no comparison and it does disservice to people's suffering to use it as a debating point.

Very true.

[Mr Gray]

Agreed, Lace, they will be studying faces and mannerisms wherever they go.

It is arrant nonsense to suggest that the family members of a missing child are either equipped or should have to mount their own full scale searches while the policing authorities abrogate total responsibility.


**Snip
From the start, the military were convinced that Katrice had simply wandered off.

“They thought I hadn’t kept a proper eye on her.

I remember soon after she disappeared, the Royal Military Police came to our married quarters.

They were friendly but I’ve come to wish I’d said nothing.

They asked me whether Katrice liked ducks and I quite innocently said, 'Yes, of course, don’t all children like ducks?’

“Looking back, that seems to have sealed my daughter’s fate.

The Royal Military Police and the local German police decided that she had walked out of the shop and wandered to the nearby river and fallen in and drowned.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9812934/I-just-want-to-know-what-happened-to-my-Katrice.html

I recommend reading that link. 

It appears we are now in a "ranking" system for missing children (British children who simply vanish on foreign soil) and how to search for them.

30 years ago the Lees were treated abominably by the authorities and who has heard of Katrice?

24 years ago the Needhams were treated abominably by the authorities but a bit better than the Lee family and communications being more advanced most people have heard of Ben.

8 years ago the McCanns were treated abominably by the authorities but if they were treated a bit better than the two previously mentioned families is a matter of opinion.  They were made arguidos in their daughter's disappearance suffering opprobrium as a result which some still berate them with day and daily.

The fact that Madeleine and Ben are well publicised is as a result of the internet age ... the fact that Katrice's father is justified in feeling his child was neglected may also be that thirty years ago there was no internet.

As a result of technology and the use made of it in missing child cases ... there should never be another apparently anonymous Katrice Lee.


There ... that has dealt with the ranking order.


Think about it very carefully.

Circumstances stood in the way of the Lees physically looking for their child.

Circumstances of isolation meant the Needhams had to search the immediate area on their own.

Circumstances of being in the middle of a holiday resort populated with residential and holiday residences made the McCann situation different from the Needhams or the Lees.

Each family faced the same trauma ... each family faced a different situation. 

There is something so terribly sad about trying to make capital one family over another by making comparison in situations which apart from the loss of a child ... there can be no comparison and it does disservice to people's suffering to use it as a debating point.

Excellent post

[faithlilly]

Excellent post - this from the article about missing Katrice jumped out at me and goes a long way I think to explaining the terrible treatment of some other parents of missing children, by the authorities:

"We were treated without empathy or humanity".

This could also be extended to those who enjoy ripping such parents to shreds because these parents didn't behave in the way that the sanctimonious know-it-all commentators believe they should have behaved.

And meanwhile back on topic. Reading the effort the male members of the Needham family put into searching for Ben right from the time he went missing makes Gerry's limited efforts seem even more lack lustre than they first seemed.

[stephen25000]

Agreed, Lace, they will be studying faces and mannerisms wherever they go.

It is arrant nonsense to suggest that the family members of a missing child are either equipped or should have to mount their own full scale searches while the policing authorities abrogate total responsibility.


**Snip
From the start, the military were convinced that Katrice had simply wandered off.

“They thought I hadn’t kept a proper eye on her.

I remember soon after she disappeared, the Royal Military Police came to our married quarters.

They were friendly but I’ve come to wish I’d said nothing.

They asked me whether Katrice liked ducks and I quite innocently said, 'Yes, of course, don’t all children like ducks?’

“Looking back, that seems to have sealed my daughter’s fate.

The Royal Military Police and the local German police decided that she had walked out of the shop and wandered to the nearby river and fallen in and drowned.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9812934/I-just-want-to-know-what-happened-to-my-Katrice.html

I recommend reading that link. 

It appears we are now in a "ranking" system for missing children (British children who simply vanish on foreign soil) and how to search for them.

30 years ago the Lees were treated abominably by the authorities and who has heard of Katrice?

24 years ago the Needhams were treated abominably by the authorities but a bit better than the Lee family and communications being more advanced most people have heard of Ben.

8 years ago the McCanns were treated abominably by the authorities but if they were treated a bit better than the two previously mentioned families is a matter of opinion.  They were made arguidos in their daughter's disappearance suffering opprobrium as a result which some still berate them with day and daily.

The fact that Madeleine and Ben are well publicised is as a result of the internet age ... the fact that Katrice's father is justified in feeling his child was neglected may also be that thirty years ago there was no internet.

As a result of technology and the use made of it in missing child cases ... there should never be another apparently anonymous Katrice Lee.


There ... that has dealt with the ranking order.


Think about it very carefully.

Circumstances stood in the way of the Lees physically looking for their child.

Circumstances of isolation meant the Needhams had to search the immediate area on their own.

Circumstances of being in the middle of a holiday resort populated with residential and holiday residences made the McCann situation different from the Needhams or the Lees.

Each family faced the same trauma ... each family faced a different situation. 

There is something so terribly sad about trying to make capital one family over another by making comparison in situations which apart from the loss of a child ... there can be no comparison and it does disservice to people's suffering to use it as a debating point.

Yet still no determination of who removed Madeleine from the apartment.

[faithlilly]

That Gerry, or indeed the rest of the males in his group, made any more than a token search in the hours after Madeleine's disappearance is one of the more odd aspects of this case. There is nothing wrong in illustrating just how odd their behaviour was.

[misty]

Agreed, Lace, they will be studying faces and mannerisms wherever they go.

It is arrant nonsense to suggest that the family members of a missing child are either equipped or should have to mount their own full scale searches while the policing authorities abrogate total responsibility.


**Snip
From the start, the military were convinced that Katrice had simply wandered off.

“They thought I hadn’t kept a proper eye on her.

I remember soon after she disappeared, the Royal Military Police came to our married quarters.

They were friendly but I’ve come to wish I’d said nothing.

They asked me whether Katrice liked ducks and I quite innocently said, 'Yes, of course, don’t all children like ducks?’

“Looking back, that seems to have sealed my daughter’s fate.

The Royal Military Police and the local German police decided that she had walked out of the shop and wandered to the nearby river and fallen in and drowned.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9812934/I-just-want-to-know-what-happened-to-my-Katrice.html

I recommend reading that link. 

It appears we are now in a "ranking" system for missing children (British children who simply vanish on foreign soil) and how to search for them.

30 years ago the Lees were treated abominably by the authorities and who has heard of Katrice?

24 years ago the Needhams were treated abominably by the authorities but a bit better than the Lee family and communications being more advanced most people have heard of Ben.

8 years ago the McCanns were treated abominably by the authorities but if they were treated a bit better than the two previously mentioned families is a matter of opinion.  They were made arguidos in their daughter's disappearance suffering opprobrium as a result which some still berate them with day and daily.

The fact that Madeleine and Ben are well publicised is as a result of the internet age ... the fact that Katrice's father is justified in feeling his child was neglected may also be that thirty years ago there was no internet.

As a result of technology and the use made of it in missing child cases ... there should never be another apparently anonymous Katrice Lee.


There ... that has dealt with the ranking order.


Think about it very carefully.

Circumstances stood in the way of the Lees physically looking for their child.

Circumstances of isolation meant the Needhams had to search the immediate area on their own.

Circumstances of being in the middle of a holiday resort populated with residential and holiday residences made the McCann situation different from the Needhams or the Lees.

Each family faced the same trauma ... each family faced a different situation. 

There is something so terribly sad about trying to make capital one family over another by making comparison in situations which apart from the loss of a child ... there can be no comparison and it does disservice to people's suffering to use it as a debating point.

That's an excellent and very sobering post, Brietta.

[Alfred R Jones]

Faithlilly has accused Gerry McCann and the other male friends of doing no more than a token search. 

Could you describe this "token search" & how long it lasted? 

How long should the search have lasted and what should it have entailed for it not to fall into the classification of 'token'? 

By only conducting a "token" (by the "sceptic" definition of the word) search what inferences can we draw if any from this so-called odd behaviour?   

Is this "token" searching by Mr McCann and his friends unprecedentedly odd behaviour in the annals of missing children cases?

[ShiningInLuz]

Faithlilly has accused Gerry McCann and the other male friends of doing no more than a token search. 

Could you describe this "token search" & how long it lasted? 

How long should the search have lasted and what should it have entailed for it not to fall into the classification of 'token'? 

By only conducting a "token" (by the "sceptic" definition of the word) what inferences can we draw if any from this so-called odd behaviour?   

Is this "token" searching by Mr McCann and his friends unprecedentedly odd behaviour in the annals of missing children cases?

Personally, I would classify the searching done by the T9 as both token and extremely odd.

Kate should have been out the front door of 5A in a flash and wasn't.

Gerry seems to have searched in the Tapas area, which begs the question as to why he might have thought an abducted child should be in the area the T9 had come from.

The crunchy bit is the Tanner sighting.  Tanner supposedly told the police about this soon after they turned up, and that was when Gerry learned of it.  Personally, I would have had the men-folk head in that direction as soon as the info surfaced.  That search never happened.

And just to be crystal clear, this makes the T9 guilty of no more than very odd behaviour.

[Alfred R Jones]

Personally, I would classify the searching done by the T9 as both token and extremely odd.

Kate should have been out the front door of 5A in a flash and wasn't.

Gerry seems to have searched in the Tapas area, which begs the question as to why he might have thought an abducted child should be in the area the T9 had come from.

The crunchy bit is the Tanner sighting.  Tanner supposedly told the police about this soon after they turned up, and that was when Gerry learned of it.  Personally, I would have had the men-folk head in that direction as soon as the info surfaced.  That search never happened.

And just to be crystal clear, this makes the T9 guilty of no more than very odd behaviour.

Thanks for your response, which doesn't really  directly answer most of my questions.  Interesting that none of this "very odd" searching behaviour attracted any close questioning by the PJ when they had the chance during the arguido questioning, isn't it?  Do you find that odd too?