Madeleine herself

Before I start, happy new year world!!! May the year bring all you wish for you and yours.... Now lets continue with the Madeleine mystery.....

You are reading these words because you are interested in the disappearance of a little girl by the name of Madeleine Beth McCann, while asleep, on holiday in Apartment 5A at the Mark Warner Holiday Complex in Praia Da Luz, Southern Portugal on 3rd May 2007: That or your internet browsing experience has taken a rather odd turn and you are about to hit the browser back button.  Of course I'm interested too, enough to write a blog on the subject that will explain how the state of affairs we are at now has evolved, for the benefit of new recruits to the mystery.

Apt 5A showing the steps leading from the
balcony onto Rua Dr Fransisco Gentil Martins

The more pertinent question, however is why are we so interested.  People disappear every day and are never seen again, many of them children.  Sometimes the disappearance makes it into a national newspaper, footnoted alongside adverts for deaf aids and competing with reports of World Conker/Bungee jumping competitions.  So why has Madeleine McCann become a global news story?

Putting a face to this little girl is easy, for images of her abound throughout the internet.  What we see is a pretty, but otherwise physically unremarkable young girl. She was not even special as a personality, how could she be? Not even four years old; a personality is still embryonic; evolving, and therefore generic in terms of any other little girl; nothing to point her out in a crowd.

Some may argue that the 'social status' of the parents, being professional people to whom we would trust our well-being, even our lives, is part of the fascination.  Personally, I disagree, if only because, in my opinion, their perceived complicity in the girl's disappearance - or not, has shallow roots in the chattering classes who inhabit internet forums:  They are a subset to the mystery; the tail of the dog, and we all know the tail never wags the dog.

This is no reason, though, to ignore what little information we have about her short life up to the point of her disappearance.  To do so would relegate her to a debating point devoid of any personality; any humanity, however much it may be a mere work in progress for one so young. So let's, out of respect take a look at what we do know, little as it is, to reinforce our understanding that she did have an effect on those she came into contact with, however superficial that may be.

Whatever the reader may feel personally about Kate McCann, as Madeleine's mother she knew the little girl best.  We have a few of these recollections from Kate in her book. Madeleine suffered from colic and cried for much of the first 4 months.  In 2006 Kate tells us of a little girl on a visit to Stonehurst Farm who loved feeding the sheep, talking to donkeys and swinging on a rope in the Barn, and chatting away to the farmer.  She was a confident independent little girl who at 3 was incredibly bright and perceptive.  She loved Harry Potter, introducing an imaginary Harry, Hermione and the rest to her mum one at a time.  Some insight too can be found from others.

From Karen McCalmen's Rogatory interview with Leicester Police on 16th May 2008.

"I never saw Madeleine ill and I consider her a healthy child. I never saw changes in her behaviour.

Madeleine never made complaints about anybody. She never showed bad behaviour, in fact she was almost the perfect child. We could hear her reason [talk/discuss/argue] like she was an adult.

She never seemed scared. She was not hyperactive.

Regarding the sleep habits of Madeleine, Kate told me that when they lived in Queniborough Madeleine used to wake in the middle of the night and come to bed with the parents for the rest of the night. When they moved to Rothley she began to do this less often and the parents used to give her stickers as a bonus to sleep all night alone.

I remember that many of these stickers were there at home, by night she slept the night all alone. The stickers were stuck on the door of the refrigerator.

Kate and Gerry never seemed tired and never argued about how to handle the children.

I have no knowledge of Madeleine at any time to have been subjected to medication. I only remember her being given paracetamol once when she had a cold.

I think the behaviour of Madeleine appropriate for her age. She was very energetic, but a model child. She liked to swim, play tennis and ride a bicycle and attend kindergarten."

Also from Hayley Plummer in her Rogatory interview with leicester Police on 6th May 2008

"Madeline was a very polite and affectionate girl, particularly in respect to the twins. At the nursery she was a very popular girl and it was a pleasure to have her near.

She seemed to be a very alert girl and she always adapted well. The only time I remember her feeling a little intimidated was when she changed classroom for the first time and she was placed with more children who were a bit older.

She would show some shyness when she was left by her parents but she adapted rapidly so that they would leave after she finished her breakfast.

Madeleine made many friends at the nursery but her best friend was Sophia. I think that Kate and Sophia's mother (Sally) became good friends based upon the friendship between their daughters."

And from Sharon Lewin, a teaching assistant in her Rogatory on 21st April 2008

"I always think of Madeleine as an alert and affectionate girl who liked to live. She was very advanced for her age and independent. She liked to dance and to dress up."

Not much I'm afraid, but at least we can remind ourselves she was a living breathing little human being with it all in front of her.