This is what I think happened to Madeleine.
I think she was kidnapped by someone who was aware that holidaymakers at the resort were inclined to put the children to bed and then go and eat at the restaurant.
It isn't easy to snatch a child of that age because they are usually with a parent or responsible adult. Taking a child from its own home is risky because a child of that age is rarely left alone in the house and certainly not on a regular basis such that a pattern could be established. Also, private residences often have alarm systems or family pets. A stranger would also stand out in a residential area.
The holiday apartments are basic. There wouldn't be family pets or a burglar alarm. Not just that - the neighbours wouldn't have dogs either and they wouldn't report a srange face. The abductor could easily walk around the apartments and familiarise himself with layouts and habits without drawing attention to himself. Resorts are full of transient holidaymakers who stay for a week or a few days and then disappear.
The McCann apartment was secluded at the back and afforded a great deal of privacy for anyone who wanted to hide and wait for their "big moment". The rear of the apartment is enclosed by a wall and mature trees. Not only that, but there is a smaller wall closer to the apartment which would provide additional protection from any passers-by. The rear of the apartment also faces onto the road and would provide an easy escape route by car.
I think the kidnap was planned. I don't think Madeleine was specifically singled out from the perspective of being Madeleine McCann, but I think she may have fitted the bill of being the right age, sex and living in a convenient apartment. I think she was "acquired". I also think the abductor may have been watching and waiting for the right moment for a few weeks. There were reports of a man hanging around and an attempted break during the days and weeks before Madeleine's abduction.
It was well known that British and Dutch holidaymakers were inclined to use Baby Listening services so that the parents could eat or drink in the bar. I think the abductor saw that as providing an ideal opportunity to take a child.
So, if someone wanted a child to use for whatever purpose, this would provide an ideal and comparatively low risk opportunity to acquire one.
I think the abductor watched to see who was coming and going and that he entered the apartment and was out again in a flash. I don't think she died in the apartment although she may have been quietened in some way in case she wakened and started screaming.
I think if we hadn't been reading about Madeleine McCann, we would have been reading about some other child.
I don't think this is beyond the realms of possibility. I don't know whether her abductor is also her captor or whether she was abducted "to order".
I also think it's entirely possible that the abductor had a key. Plenty of people had access to keys:-
- cleaners
- previous occupants
- maintenance staff
These apartments often have master keys too. I'd be looking at people who had access to keys. I'd also be wanting to see any cctv footage during the previous weeks.
I know there was an appeal for holiday photos taken by people who had been at the resort during the weeks prior to the abduction. I don't know if this was done or if they were studied to look for the same man or woman appearing in photos taken during different weeks. I do think it's possible the abductor was a woman. I wouldn't ignore Jane Tanner's eye-witness testmony, but I wouldn't exclude everything else on the basis of it either.
I think it's likely that her abductor or a person who facilitated the abduction has a connection with Praia da Luz. Not necessarily a local, but perhaps someone who worked there temporarily.
Is she alive?
I don't think she was murdered straight away. I don't discount the possibility that she may have been murdered later and I worry that her coloboma would have been the reason for that - too easily identifiable. I think she was abducted either for purposes of abuse or adoption. If it were the latter, her coloboma would make her too "hot". However, sick and perverse though it may be, we know there are people who keep human captives for their own sick pleasures and that some of them manage to do this successfully for decades (Fritzl & others). I've personally heard of about five such cases in the last couple of years. Therefore, it is entirely possible that Madeleine is being held captive in a house somewhere and that she may be discovered some day through pure chance as some of the other captives were. When you think about it, when we hear about Shannon Matthews, Fritzl's daughter was still being held captive so to was this latest Italian one. How many others? Maybe more than we think.
I think this is what her parents are working on. They need people to believe she may be alive and to be vigilant. Who knows what secrets your neighbours are keeping? Madeleine's abductor may be a kidnapper and even a paedophile, but he may not be a murderer. Had it not been for her eye, her changing appearance as she grew would make her increasingly harder to identify, therefore, her captor would have two options - kill her or hide her and if he's not a murderer, he would take steps to do the latter.
When news of Fritzl broke, some of the neighbours were shocked but for others, some things started to make sense. That's what we need to think about. Madeleine could be anywhere in the world by now. If her abductor took her by car, she could have been at a marina before her parents could raise the alarm and in Africa the following day - sooner if a powerboat were used. If the person who "ordered" her has money, she could even have been taken by yacht to America.
If people are convinced that Madeleine was killed by her parents, they won't be looking for her as a potential captive. How awful would that be? Someone sees something suspicious but they think "Nah, can't be anything to do with Madeleine McCann - she was killed by her parents." and they dismiss it.
That is what I feel. I know it's jumbled and I apologise for that, but it's a brainstorm of what I think happened.
