Was 50 metres from the apartment 50 metres too far?

[Alfred R Jones]

Possible but not probable.  If Madeleine was in fact taken then whoever did it was monitoring the parents movements.  As Gerry claims to have seen Madeleine around 9.15pm whilst on his last visit to the apartment then the abductor had to have made his move after that time.  Had at least one of them stayed put in the apartment then I believe Madeleine would not have been taken, assuming again of course that that is what happened.

Moral of the story is, do not leave young children unattended for any length of time.

I was talking about a theoretical situation as mooted by Pegasus that the McCanns should have dined on their verandah.  Say they had done this every night for 6 nights, dining at the same time each evening then a potential abductor, knowing this, could have in theory gained access to the kids' bedroom from the front, whilst the McCanns ate out the back, and taken a child.  We know from other cases of intruders entering and taking children when the parents were actually present but not aware, so eminently possible in such a scenario IMO. 

[Alfred R Jones]

Would there have been any less condemnation of the parents had Madeleine been snatched from her bedroom while they were boozing on the balcony with the couple from next door, patio door closed to keep out the noise?

No there would not, instead the title of this thread would have been Was 9 metres from the children's bedroom 9 metres too far?

[Alfred R Jones]

If the parents had been sitting on the balcony eating a Tapas takeaway this case would never have happened Misty.

And you know this for a fact how?

[pegasus]

Why do PR people measure to the wrong end of the apartment? Because it knocks 10 metres off the true distance.

[pegasus]

Why do PR people measure flying distance? Because it knocks another 30 metres off the true distance.

[Alfred R Jones]

Why do PR people measure to the wrong end of the apartment? Because it knocks 10 metres off the true distance.

What difference does it make?

[Alfred R Jones]

At what distance in metres does a parent lapse from being a responsible parent to being an irresponsible parent?
5?
10?
15?
20?

[pegasus]

Why do PR peeps spout about diners' visibility of the top part of a balcony door? Fact: the child is not a balcony door. 

[pathfinder73]

What difference does it make?

Name the episode? 

"Now, look, Columbo, I've had you up to here.
And frankly, I'm not interested in locks and keys and open doors and air conditioners, and how he got in here.
What the hell difference does it make how he got in here? The fact is that some crackpot war veteran came in here, shot and killed Allen Mallory, and then frames me out of some insane belief that Allen and I stole his lousy little story.
Now, that's all I know.
And that's all I'm interested in."

[Alfred R Jones]

Name the episode? 

"Now, look, Columbo, I've had you up to here.
And frankly, I'm not interested in locks and keys and open doors and air conditioners, and how he got in here.
What the hell difference does it make how he got in here? The fact is that some crackpot war veteran came in here, shot and killed Allen Mallory, and then frames me out of some insane belief that Allen and I stole his lousy little story.
Now, that's all I know.
And that's all I'm interested in."

Err...yes very interesting I'm sure... &%+((£

[pegasus]

At what distance in metres does a parent lapse from being a responsible parent to being an irresponsible parent?
5?
10?
15?
20?

Exactly 10 metres from the children Alfred in this case. Eat a Tapas takeaway on the balcony. Excellent audibility of children. Very safe.

[Alfred R Jones]

Exactly 10 metres from the children Alfred. Eat a Tapas takeaway on the balcony. Excellent audibility of children. Very safe.

But not 100% safe.

[Eleanor]

At what distance in metres does a parent lapse from being a responsible parent to being an irresponsible parent?
5?
10?
15?
20?

You forgot Tied to their Apron Strings, or Braces.

[John]

Exactly 10 metres from the children Alfred in this case. Eat a Tapas takeaway on the balcony. Excellent audibility of children. Very safe.

I believe the parents did say that they were lured into a false sense of security by the ambiance at Ocean Club Garden complex.

[G-Unit]

I was talking about a theoretical situation as mooted by Pegasus that the McCanns should have dined on their verandah.  Say they had done this every night for 6 nights, dining at the same time each evening then a potential abductor, knowing this, could have in theory gained access to the kids' bedroom from the front, whilst the McCanns ate out the back, and taken a child.  We know from other cases of intruders entering and taking children when the parents were actually present but not aware, so eminently possible in such a scenario IMO.

If that had happened then they wouldn't have been facilitating it. Leaving the property = facilitation.