Establishing the identity of an abducted child by DNA.

[Mr Gray]

Why would one need proof? Is it not for the police to prove?

If the police suspected that an adult was with a chip that had been abducted they wouldn't need proof
)

[jassi]

Indeed they would, but would it not be for the police to provide that proof? That's how it usually works.
After all, you keep telling us that the McCanns don't have to prove their innocence, so why should the parent of a child?

[Eleanor]

I suppose that if someone wanted to be difficult then the Police could always follow them about.  Check with the neighbours.  Check with the school.  Check with the local doctors.  That all might help.

[slartibartfast]

If the police suspected that an adult was with a chip that had been abducted they wouldn't need proof
)

I would have thought theft rather than abduction. 

[G-Unit]

how many people carry sufficient proof

If you read back, I'm at home minding my own business.

[Brietta]

I'm talking about an innocent person with her own child and sufficient proof of that without needing any other.

If a person were to adopt the exceedingly odd behaviour you describe I think that alone would arouse suspicion and therefore determination to check the identity of the child.
Therefore running the risk of turning what should have been a very simple request for assistance into a traumatic event for the lookalike child.

[Carana]

Indeed they would, but would it not be for the police to provide that proof? That's how it usually works.
After all, you keep telling us that the McCanns don't have to prove their innocence, so why should the parent of a child?

It would seem to be a simple matter of responding to a request / yellow alert (if that is still current) to eliminate the child in question if the report / description / age seems plausible.

Personally, I see it as just one step further than having an officer flick through your ID before saying "next".

If ever a single DNA mouth swab was used to check all your family members, contrary to procedure, and collectively you happened to have 15 alleles in common with Madeleine, then there might be room for confusion pending clarification...

[Carana]

I'm talking about an innocent person with her own child and sufficient proof of that without needing any other.

What proof would that be, though?

A birth bracelet isn't proof of the identity of the child with you, nor is a birth certificate / passport, nor even 5-year-old family photos.

[jassi]

Is it not for the police to prove that the child is not yours, rather than the other way round, IE to demonstrate that the documentation etc is false?

[Eleanor]

Is it not for the police to prove that the child is not yours, rather than the other way round, IE to demonstrate that the documentation etc is false?

They do this with a DNA Test.

[jassi]

That sounds like a sledgehammer to a nut.
There need to be proper grounds for taking DNA samples.

[Angelo222]

I know you were, but I reckon she still didn't look like that then.

A coloboma cannot be corrected so yes, her eyes would look the same.

[jassi]

It would, except that the McCanns themselves say that it wasn't  anything very much - barely noticeable at times.

[Angelo222]

What proof would that be, though?

A birth bracelet isn't proof of the identity of the child with you, nor is a birth certificate / passport, nor even 5-year-old family photos.

A birth certificate can be forged very easily in most countries  but a birth is easily checked in the records office.

[Eleanor]

I seriously do not understand the fuss about this.  It takes less than ten seconds, it doesn't hurt, and the results are destroyed if they aren't relevant.

And the one thing an abductor would be wanting to avoid is a DNA Test.