This case has intrigued me from day one.
I remember that delightful May morning - I'd got up early and opened all the windows. The sun was streaming in as I watched Sky News inform the nation by ticker-tape that a little British girl had gone missing in Portugal. That little girl was soon to become a household face and name. Madeleine Beth McCann, age 3. Her eyes would be imprinted on our souls with the 24/7 news coverage of her disappearance.
I have to say that my initial feelings of utter anguish for the little girl were soon coupled with shock that these children had been left on their own in a holiday apartment. Quite frankly, I was gobsmacked. Her parents had apparently left the child and her twin siblings alone, while they dined and drank some distance away from the apartment in a restaurant. I was further shocked at seeing the situation of the restaurant in the complex, along with the fact that the childrens' bedroom was on the other side of the apartment block, out of sight.
Over three years later, little Maddie is still missing. Those three years have included a rollercoaster of events and a bucketload of money. Donations from the general public (rich and poor), elderly people and schoolchildren, but still no child.
A myriad of false sightings, numerous threats of court action and a multi-million pound reward which is never, ever mentioned. But still no child.
Maddie McCann, the child who vanished without a single trace on that cool May evening... and not a trace to be found since. Is that even possible?
One day I hope the truth will emerge, one day I hope.
