Did the McCann"s sudden flight from Portugal engender suspicion?

[Brietta]

At least we are agreed that normal practice is to scale down a search with elapsed time so one should not read anything sinister or untoward in the scaling down.

I answered your question ... you did not answer mine.

"Do you think that was the case in the eight day search for Madeleine in an area described as being 150 square miles?"

[Mr Gray]

Thank heavens the diggers and dogs found nothing in PDL...Shows Maddie may still be alive

[Carana]

No dave, the PJ had more than a clue, they just didn't have the evidence.

Aren't police investigations supposed to be led by evidence?

[Alice Purjorick]

I answered your question ... you did not answer mine.

"Do you think that was the case in the eight day search for Madeleine in an area described as being 150 square miles?"

Yes! If after 8 days blitzing it progressing out from a centre to 16km radius and finding nothing scaling down makes sense. Scaling down does not = terminating.

But as point of interest who said 150 square miles? Which in round numbers is 390 km²
PdL is 22km².

[pathfinder73]

[Angelo222]

I don't see how... the PJ, based largely on flawed understanding of numerous aspects, had decided that the child was dead and the parents had covered it up (with the help of just about everyone under the sun).

They were simply not looking for a possibly living child. They weren't actually even looking for a potentially dead one, either. They were just banking on one or other of the parents cracking and confessing.

If they'd stayed, there was no guarantee that certain officers wouldn't find some new half-baked "evidence" and the whole thing would have gone from bad to worse. Amaral's next steps were to get "members" of the Smith family, in all likelihood just Martin Smith and wife, over to make a new statement - which would again be in Portuguese in reported speech. Oh, and to carry on looking for a fridge, possibly one with an undateable trace of unidentifiable blood in it. Job over.

I'm not surprised that some people thought that they were fleeing: the tabloids (and sometimes the broadcast media) had been leading the public to believe that they were guilty, after all the PJ "knew" so. At that time, no one knew what was fact and what was fiction.

Is that any different from Scotland Yards understanding seven years on?  They aren't looking for a live child, that much is very obvious.

People forget that the McCanns were already contemplating fleeing from Portugal the moment they realised the PJ were going to make them official suspects.  Didn't Kate admit in her book that Gerry wanted to load up the hire car and high tail it over the border to Spain?

The truth is they only delayed their exodus by a few days so as not to appear guilty.  The PJ made a huge mistake in letting any of them go until every possible avenue had been examined.

The conduct of certain members of that tapas group leaves much to be desired imo.

[Benice]

Is that any different from Scotland Yards understanding seven years on?  They aren't looking for a live child, that much is very obvious.

People forget that the McCanns were already contemplating fleeing from Portugal the moment they realised the PJ were going to make them official suspects.  Didn't Kate admit in her book that Gerry wanted to load up the hire car and high tail it over the border to Spain?

The truth is they only delayed their exodus by a few days so as not to appear guilty.  The PJ made a huge mistake in letting any of them go until every possible avenue had been examined.

I thought we were not allowed to state opinions as if they were proven facts? 

[Angelo222]

I thought we were not allowed to state opinions as if they were proven facts?

It isn't opinion since it is supported by evidence. 

SY spent a week looking for a body and not a living child and the McCanns did contemplate fleeing over the border to Spain. They delayed their exodus by a matter of days. Maybe you will tell me that's a myth?

[Mr Gray]

It isn't opinion since it is supported by evidence. 

SY spent a week looking for a body and not a living child and the McCanns did contemplate fleeing over the border to Spain. They delayed their exodus by a matter of days. Maybe you will tell me that's a myth?

abduction is supported by evidence...imo

[Benice]

It isn't opinion since it is supported by evidence. 

SY spent a week looking for a body and not a living child and the McCanns did contemplate fleeing over the border to Spain. They delayed their exodus by a matter of days. Maybe you will tell me that's a myth?

So can you provide a cite for when SY officially announced that they are no longer looking for a living child?

IIRC the McCanns ultimately left one day earlier than originally planned - not several days later.

[John]

From the beginning the McCann's bravely promised Maddie that they would not return home without her and I for one admired their tenacity for doing so.

However, this was all to change when they were made arguidos or official suspects in her disappearance.  The moment their official police interviews had been concluded (an interview in which Kate McCann exercised her right to silence) they sought permission to leave Portugal. They were fast tracked through Faro Airport and were never again to spend any significant time in Praia da Luz.

Did this sudden turnaround and the flight which followed it engender suspicion?

Well it most certainly didn't help their cause.  They should have worked with the police as any innocent parent would do, encouraging the police and offering support where and when necessary.  From what I have read this investigation very quickly became a game of cat and mouse, an us and them scenario.  I will never understand how the parents of a missing child could criticise the very police charged with finding her, unless of course...

[ferryman]

Well it most certainly didn't help their cause.  They should have worked with the police as any innocent parent would do, encouraging the police and offering support where and when necessary.  From what I have read this investigation very quickly became a game of cat and mouse, an us and them scenario.  I will never understand how the parents of a missing child could criticise the very police charge with finding her, unless of course...

Telling the Portuguese police everything they knew was the fullest extent of the assistance they could offer to an investigation into them as prime suspects.

I doubt the McCanns hanging around in PdL would have hastened the eventual judgment that the McCanns had no case answer and that third party(ies) were responsible for crme(s) against Madeleine ...

[stephen25000]

abduction is supported by evidence...imo

You need more than an opinion.

[John]

Telling the Portuguese police everything they knew was the fullest extent of the assistance they could offer to an investigation into them as prime suspects.

I doubt the McCanns hanging around in PdL would have hastened the eventual judgment that the McCanns had no case answer and that third party(ies) were responsible for crme(s) against Madeleine ...

But they didn't though, did they?  Answering questions fully and frankly no matter how upsetting is part of it, Kate McCann in particular abdicated that requirement.  There was in fact no full and free disclosure.

[Benice]

Well it most certainly didn't help their cause.  They should have worked with the police as any innocent parent would do, encouraging the police and offering support where and when necessary.  From what I have read this investigation very quickly became a game of cat and mouse, an us and them scenario.  I will never understand how the parents of a missing child could criticise the very police charge with finding her, unless of course...

How can innocent parents be expected to work with police who have already decided they are guilty?   That makes no sense to me.    Can you explain how that would be achieved.   The police had already lied through their teeth to them about the DNA evidence - so why would you expect the McCanns to have any trust in them after that.

The McCanns reacted as any other innocent person would IMO.