Sunday, April 05, 2009

Madeleine McCann: McCanns stage reconstruction - minus the McCanns

On the night of May 3, 2007, three year old Madeleine McCann vanished after being left in charge of her younger siblings - something she had come to accept on this so-called family holiday in the picturesque Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. Her parents took it for granted that such responsibility was within the capabilities of a three year old in an unfamiliar environment, to the extent that her mother Kate McCann, who admitted in her diaries that she found Madeleine difficult to cope with, ignored her daughters crying the night before her mysterious disappearance and along with the little girl's father, made the decision to leave the three toddlers alone the following fateful night.

Despite the official McCann directive that Madeleine was kidnapped either by an opportunist or an organised gang of evil paedophiles - depending on what line best suits the overall strategy of family spokesperson Clarence Mitchell, not one shred of valid evidence has been found to support such claims. Team McCann have hired various teams of private detectives - each as equally incompetent and inexperienced in the field of missing persons as the other. Despite the fact that specialists in this field are available, they consistently opted for those with questionable track records in both results and methodology.

These private investigators, along with the McCanns themselves and their team of high-level lawyers, have allegedly scoured the official Portuguese police files and yet the little girl described by Team McCann as "findable" has still not been found. Nor has any evidence suggesting that Madeleine's fate was the result of actions by any person or persons unknown to the little mite.

Now, almost two years later, the McCanns decide to launch a pointless and unwelcome poster and letter-box drop campaign targeting the people of Praia da Luz, thereby ruining yet another holiday season for the locals who depend upon tourism and whose lives have been turned upside down because of an event that at the very least, was the result of deliberate and selfish decisions made by Kate and Gerry McCann.

Despite having previously refused to take part in official police reconstructions of the night Madeleine McCann became Brand McCann, they have decided to stage a made-for-TV reconstruction. As with the Find Madeline fund, the production team is stacked with family, friends and others who directly benefit from their selection to Team McCann.

The reconstruction, has been set up by the family’s team of private investigators - a team of retired British detectives. Gerry McCann is a technical advisor. Jane Tanner, is also an advisor. Tanner's description of the man she claims she saw walking away from the McCanns’ apartment block has repeatedly changed, and photofits of the alleged suspect became increasingly ludicrous - such as the man with no face (pictured). Another advisor is Matt Oldfield, also a member of the Knees-Up-Mother Brown Tapas Nine.

In other words, the reconstruction will be stage-managed by McCann, (a former suspect in the case) a team of Detectives who have no connection to Portugal and are paid for by The Find Madeleine Fund and one witness who can't decide who or what she saw or what they looked like. Keeping a watchful eye on things will be Clarence Mitchell, another who benefits financially from playing the McCann Game to the McCann Rules.

The McCann Barmy Army marching into Praia da Luz, riding roughshod over the local residents who are sick and tired of the McCanns, includes 15 actors and a television crew to shoot the Crimewatch-style film of the events surrounding Madeleine's disappearance. Needless to say the perspective is hardly likely to be impartial and will follow the official McCann line. A reconstruction would have had far more credibility and been far more effective, had the McCanns agreed to an official police managed reconstruction when they had the opportunity to do so.

The part of Madeleine will be played by the daughter of a family friend. The McCanns seem to know a lot of people who have daughters similar in appearance to Madeleine. Robert Murat, who for a long time was the target of finger-pointing allegations by Team McCann, The Tapas Nine and the compliant British Media, has a daughter who looks like Madeleine McCann. Even Madeleine's sister is frequently described by the media as having a remarkable resemblance to Madeleine.

Although there is no mention of it, I would hope the production team includes child-protection officials as is customary in such cases in child-friendly countries such as Australia. Similar reconstructions involving children have caused controversy because of the potential stress caused to the child playing the role of the missing child. No such misgivings have been mentioned in this case. Mind you, so many innocent children, the victims of ludicrous "sightings" that in some cases have been instigated by those with a link to the McCanns, have been traumatised by the Self Preservation Society, they probably think one more wont make much difference.

Kate, the little girl's mother will not be appearing or even travelling to the place she last saw her daughter. Kate constantly refuses to participate in any activity or questioning that may be beneficial to finding the "findable" daughter she found hard to cope with. The excuse is always that she finds it too daunting or distressing. Other mums of missing children cooperate fully with authorities. They too found it daunting and emotionally distressing but they put all that aside because they would do anything - anything at all - that may help reunite them with their child.. Kate has done nothing apart from mysteriously shouting out, "They've taken her" as soon as she saw Madeleine's bed empty, with the twins still soundly asleep.

Even Gerry will not be taking part - he is only calling the shots. He is following the McCann tradition of letting others do their work for them by having an actor play his role.

In recent times the value of eyewitness testimony has been called into question by scientists and lawmakers alike. Although traditionally such evidence has been a cornerstone of most judicial systems, there is debate wether eyewitness testimony is scientifically sound or inherently flawed. The science of perception and memory that lies at the core of eyewitness testimony -- how we form memories, and how our perceptions influence how we remember is now being questioned by experts.

Most eyewitness testimony is taken close to the event - not two years later and stage managed by those with a vested interest in insuring only one point-of-view is portrayed It would be reasonable to assume that perception and memory of potential "new" witnesses would be greatly influenced by both passage of time and execution of the reconstruction.

The poster and letterbox campaign is timed for the second anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. The reconstruction is also timed for the second anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.

So too is a potentially damaging documentary made by a Portuguese television company. The documentary is based on a book written by Ex-detective Goncalo Amaral, who headed the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance until he was sacked for criticising British police. The documentary will reportedly show the McCanns and the events of May 3, 2007 in a light Team McCann have desperately tried to keep dim for the last two years.

Team McCann - making coincidences happen.
Written and published by Mike Hitchen, Mike Hitchen Consulting
Putting principles before profits