Abduction is neither plausible nor logical because…

[Lace]

Are you sure?

"I wouldn't expect an almost four year old to turn around on the steps outside in the dark and close a gate behind her."

I don't know if it was that light on the balcony and Madeleine would have had to turn around on the steps to shut the gate behind her.

[Mr Gray]

I bet the probabilities change for children who are prone to wake and wonder or get distressed because their parents aren’t there. Where did you get your 10 a year figure from?

The ten a year is from the link you supplied

[Vertigo Swirl]

It was so dark Maddie couldn't even operate gates apparently, so short of walking up to the child & taking it's pulse there'd be no way to tell it was dead.

If it was that dark, then no way of telling who was carrying the child or what gender it was either.

[Vertigo Swirl]

It hasn't been proved that anyone carried an uncovered corpse through a holiday town, so that can't be used as an argument against parental involvement. Interacting with the media doesn't suggest innocence or guilt, as both innocent and guilty people have done it.

No shit Sherlock.  We are discussing what is and isn’t plausible not what has been proven.  If it had been proven that the child’s father had carried a corpse through town we wouldn’t need to be having this conversation.

[Vertigo Swirl]

The statistics are not clear about the numbers of stranger abduction imo.

Not clear, or just unacceptable to you? From 2016

“The charity Action Against Abduction, formerly Pact, estimates that roughly 50 children under the age of 16 are abducted by strangers every year”.

That’s in the UK, and is 5 times the number who die in falls.

[Vertigo Swirl]

I bet the probabilities change for children who are prone to wake and wonder or get distressed because their parents aren’t there. Where did you get your 10 a year figure from?

Davel - I was replying to his post!

[G-Unit]

I don't know if it was that light on the balcony and Madeleine would have had to turn around on the steps to shut the gate behind her.

I'll have to take your word for that as I don't know how those child gates worked. They couldn't just be pushed to then?

[G-Unit]

Not clear, or just unacceptable to you? From 2016

“The charity Action Against Abduction, formerly Pact, estimates that roughly 50 children under the age of 16 are abducted by strangers every year”.

That’s in the UK, and is 5 times the number who die in falls.

It seems they're not sure, using words like estimate and roughly. They don't say where they get their estimate from, so it's not possible to check their figures. The official figures aren't clear as child abduction by stangers isn't recorded specifically.

[Mr Gray]

If a child’s head is six foot above the floor because they fell from a window sill onto a tiled floor that could cause trauma to the head. Then there are several ways that a child would then stop breathing. Four or five minutes of apnoea could lead to fatal cardiac arrest. I work in Critical Care btw before you try to shoot me down!!

There is not one report anywhere in the world of that happening... Ever.
Children who die from head injuries in s house do not die immediately... They die later in hospital

[Vertigo Swirl]

It seems they're not sure, using words like estimate and roughly. They don't say where they get their estimate from, so it's not possible to check their figures. The official figures aren't clear as child abduction by stangers isn't recorded specifically.

Well, you gain comfort from the words "estimate" and "roughly" if you must, as it is a charity specifically dealing in action against abduction they would be remiss would they not for plucking figures out of the air?   I'm sure they are an  impeccably professional organisation.  Why do you doubt them?  where is your counter evidence on the number of children abducted?

[Vertigo Swirl]

If a child’s head is six foot above the floor because they fell from a window sill onto a tiled floor that could cause trauma to the head. Then there are several ways that a child would then stop breathing. Four or five minutes of apnoea could lead to fatal cardiac arrest. I work in Critical Care btw before you try to shoot me down!!

Why would Madeleine be climbing up to stand on the sill of that window out of interest?

[Vertigo Swirl]

I wonder what the stats are for being raped by a complete stranger in your own home as a percentage of total reported rape.

[Eleanor]

There is not one report anywhere in the world of that happening... Ever.
Children who die from head injuries in s house do not die immediately... They die later in hospital

You actually did prove this some considerable time ago.

[Vertigo Swirl]

There is not one report anywhere in the world of that happening... Ever.
Children who die from head injuries in s house do not die immediately... They die later in hospital

As a baby I fell from a changing table onto a tiled floor.  I landed on my head.  According to my (neglectful mother) my head swelled up to twice its normal size (she may have exaggerated for effect).  She rushed me to the doctor where I received no specific treatment, just got the once over and my mother was told I'd be fine.  Which I was with no ill effects whatsoever apart from the swollen head which soon subsided.  I wonder why I didn't suffer breathing difficulties and die almost instnataneously?  I also wonder what my mother would have done if I had?  Probably carried me to the garbage disposal chute and pretend to my Dad that I'd been abducted by the Triads. 

[Billy Whizz Fan Club]

The ten a year is from the link you supplied

From the same source:
Facts and figures
The home is the most common location for an accident to happen
Every year across the UK, there are approximately 6,000 deaths as a result of home accidents
Children under the age of five years and people in later life (those over the age of 65, and particularly those over 75) are most likely to have an accident at home
Falls are the most common accidents and can cause serious injury at any time of life, but the risk increases with age….


An accident (not necessarily fatal) is far more common than rare stranger abduction. Being without adult supervision increases the risk as does falling onto a hard tiled floor.