Saturday, September 08, 2007

What the heck is going on in Portugal?

I've been fairly interested in the Madeleine McCann case. Mostly because it seemed like such a tragic end to one of those parental mistakes you are always warned about but think you can beat just this once. (For the record, no, I would not have left Munchkin alone in a strange hotel while I went out to dinner but here in Europe, that kind of thing is not all that uncommon -- especially in a closed resort).

But from the beginning, I wondered what evidence there was that the little girl was taken. The most obvious scenario -- to me, anyway -- was that the little girl had woken up in a strange place, found her parents gone and found a way to open the door to find them. From there, she could have wandered just about anywhere.

Today, the Portugese police have announced that both parents are suspects after finding the little girl's blood in their rental car, 25 days after they reported her missing. That would be right around the time they were off visiting the Pope, I think.

It's just so odd. I know that many folks have thought that the parents were involved with the little girl's disappearance in some way. But with all the media attention, how could they have made a move that would have resulted in their daughter's blood in the car without notice? If the police contend that the parents accidentally killed the little girl, how is it that with all of their searching, they were unable to find her body or some forensic evidence before then?

Guess my interest will continue for a while. I just hope that we don't have another Lindy Chamberlain case on our hands. A botched police investigation paired with public outcry is usually not a great formula for justice.

No comments: