Well no, we can't expect them to explain everything they do. I just cannot understand how they can effectively eliminate the guy Jane thought she saw...on nothing. I mean, he was going the wrong way even for where he was meant to be coming from :S
We could all see that, Chloe. I went off in mild bemusement at the time, while I had a think about it.
I think the problem was the half an hour or more between the Tanner Sighting and the Smith Sighting, although that wouldn't be hard to explain if you consider the time required to arrange a Pick Up.
None of them would have known if it would be successful until it actually happened. So the abductor probably hid somewhere until it was arranged.
I think Madeleine was taken off from a beach, and no one would have wanted to be hanging around on some beach for half an hour with an abducted child.
I worked this out a very long time ago. And whether or not I am right is actually not that important. But I haven't changed my mind in nine years.
Yes, I have considered other options, but none of them make the same sort of sense. This why the Cell Phone Pings are so important.