The child gate located at the top of the steps.

[misty]

Yes same document Misty and it was written by the T9 themselves.

I sometimes wonder if any of the 5 SIOs who were or are on this case looked at small important details like the make and model the stairgate was or know how it works, how to lock it, how to unlock it. The instruction book is clear - closed does not equal locked. And if it wasn't locked it would provide no obstacle at all to a child.

Why would anyone bother locking it anyway if they were so sure a child wouldn't wake and wander?

I think you have to look at the crime scene as a whole.
At the front of the property there was reportedly a closed door & an open window/shutter.
At the rear of the property there was a closed side gate, a stairgate in an unconfirmed position & a closed patio door.
Madeleine's shoes were near the front door, her(?) pink jacket was over the back of the dining chair.
The front suggests an intrusion of some sort.
The rear appears undisturbed.
There appears no sign anyone left in a hurry.
There appears no sign a controlled & untroubled child consciously left the premises to look for her parents.


Why lock the gate at all? Habit/just in case.
Were the McCanns asked if Madeleine could open the safety gate on her own?
Why didn't the additional gate dissuade an intruder from attempting to enter via the front & exit via the rear?

[pegasus]

I think you have to look at the crime scene as a whole.
At the front of the property there was reportedly a closed door & an open window/shutter.
At the rear of the property there was a closed side gate, a stairgate in an unconfirmed position & a closed patio door.
Madeleine's shoes were near the front door, her(?) pink jacket was over the back of the dining chair.
The front suggests an intrusion of some sort.
The rear appears undisturbed.
There appears no sign anyone left in a hurry.
There appears no sign a controlled & untroubled child consciously left the premises to look for her parents.


Why lock the gate at all? Habit/just in case.
Were the McCanns asked if Madeleine could open the safety gate on her own?
Why didn't the additional gate dissuade an intruder from attempting to enter via the front & exit via the rear?

"There appears no sign anyone left in a hurry" ... Certainly it appeared to the witnesses that someone had left. And that person's shoes and coat were still there. So one of the possible explanations is, that person left in a hurry. The stairgate could be easily opened, unless it was locked.

[Brietta]

"There appears no sign anyone left in a hurry" ... Certainly it appeared to the witnesses that someone had left. And that person's shoes and coat were still there. So one of the possible explanations is, that person left in a hurry. The stairgate could be easily opened, unless it was locked.

Or she could have been lifted and handed out of the window or carried out through the front door ... both scenarios missing going anywhere near the child gate or back entrance.

The big flaw in the argument that Madeleine woke and wandered or was frightened and ran is that she has never been found.  Relatively quickly after the last time she was seen, there were people out in the streets looking out for her. 

If searchers had passed open road works, I doubt they would have been ignored.  So where did she go?

[Anna]

"There appears no sign anyone left in a hurry" ... Certainly it appeared to the witnesses that someone had left. And that person's shoes and coat were still there. So one of the possible explanations is, that person left in a hurry. The stairgate could be easily opened, unless it was locked.

I cant believe this could be a possibility. It would be pretty daft to exit the patio doors carrying a child and descend the stairs at the risk of being seen or walking straight into one of the child checkers, at the bottom.
 
I had thought that a wander scenario was possible at one point, but not with bare feet.
These are probably the reasons that her parents believe that she must have been taken.

If she was taken, I think she would have been passed through the window or taken out of the door, near the car park.

[misty]

"There appears no sign anyone left in a hurry" ... Certainly it appeared to the witnesses that someone had left. And that person's shoes and coat were still there. So one of the possible explanations is, that person left in a hurry. The stairgate could be easily opened, unless it was locked.

That person. ie Madeleine, ventured out into the cold night air, sleeveless & barefoot, yet was controlled enough to close the front door, possibly the safety gate, then the side gate behind her, leaving her siblings in the room where she had been woken by the noise of the opening shutters (not so loud the twins were awoken, though, or subsequently woken by Madeleine leaving the room).
The stairgate is a deterrent to most scenarios involving the use of the rear in the disappearance, imo.

[Alice Purjorick]

That person. ie Madeleine, ventured out into the cold night air, sleeveless & barefoot, yet was controlled enough to close the front door, possibly the safety gate, then the side gate behind her, leaving her siblings in the room where she had been woken by the noise of the opening shutters (not so loud the twins were awoken, though, or subsequently woken by Madeleine leaving the room).
The stairgate is a deterrent to most scenarios involving the use of the rear in the disappearance, imo.

That was the opinion of WonderfulSpam as I recall but he couched it in different terms.
The window looks flaky too so what's left?

[Brietta]

That person. ie Madeleine, ventured out into the cold night air, sleeveless & barefoot, yet was controlled enough to close the front door, possibly the safety gate, then the side gate behind her, leaving her siblings in the room where she had been woken by the noise of the opening shutters (not so loud the twins were awoken, though, or subsequently woken by Madeleine leaving the room).
The stairgate is a deterrent to most scenarios involving the use of the rear in the disappearance, imo.

The front of the apartment had everything an intruder could wish for, particularly if he had a key, and if not it would have taken seconds to ascertain if the window behind the shutter was locked.

The later addition of a spotlight and the cutting back of the overhanging trees indicates the vulnerability in 2007.  The front door was recessed and dark ... the overhanging trees provided cover as well as blocking the street lighting.
The front of 5A is at street level ... making unnecessary any requirement on exit to close the sliding door and either to drop into the small garden or negotiate two gates and a stair.

Were I making an illicit entry and exit, I know which route I would choose.

[Anna]

Are we are slipping off topic, guys? Please lets get back on track. Thanks.

[G-Unit]

Or she could have been lifted and handed out of the window or carried out through the front door ... both scenarios missing going anywhere near the child gate or back entrance.

The big flaw in the argument that Madeleine woke and wandered or was frightened and ran is that she has never been found.  Relatively quickly after the last time she was seen, there were people out in the streets looking out for her. 

If searchers had passed open road works, I doubt they would have been ignored.  So where did she go?

Her father said he saw her at 9.05pm. Her mother discovered her missing at 10pm. There's quick!

[ferryman]

Her father said he saw her at 9.05pm. Her mother discovered her missing at 10pm. There's quick!

Quite.

It takes far longer than half an hour to abduct a child ....

[slartibartfast]

That person. ie Madeleine, ventured out into the cold night air, sleeveless & barefoot, yet was controlled enough to close the front door, possibly the safety gate, then the side gate behind her, leaving her siblings in the room where she had been woken by the noise of the opening shutters (not so loud the twins were awoken, though, or subsequently woken by Madeleine leaving the room).
The stairgate is a deterrent to most scenarios involving the use of the rear in the disappearance, imo.

A thought just occurred, it may be possible that Madeleine had reached the stage of being able to open stair gates (not an unlikely situation). She may also, because of her siblings, have been encouraged to shut the gates behind her.

[misty]

A thought just occurred, it may be possible that Madeleine had reached the stage of being able to open stair gates (not an unlikely situation). She may also, because of her siblings, have been encouraged to shut the gates behind her.

I wouldn't argue with that, except for the case of her fleeing the apartment in a state of panic.

[Miss Taken Identity]

Who saw the locked gate?
who said Maddie was bare footed?
 When was Maddie last seen (before being declared missing) by an independant witness?
We only have parents input to this story.

[misty]

Who saw the locked gate?
who said Maddie was bare footed?
 When was Maddie last seen (before being declared missing) by an independant witness?
We only have parents input to this story.

Why don't the police tear up all the statements & make up their own script?

[G-Unit]

Quite.

It takes far longer than half an hour to abduct a child ....

You really should read the previous posts before commenting. Otherwise you're comments are meaningless because you don't know what you're commenting on.