The Science of Conspiracy Theories

Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann

This well could be the most discussed disappearance ever. The disappearance of Madeleine McCann on the evening of May 3, 2007 from an apartment in Praia da Luz, which is a resort in the Algarve region of Portugal, has raised a plethora of conspiracy theories.

Basically, her wealthy UK parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, are believed to be involved, but so far no indictments have resulted from this well reported incident despite the fact that the parents swear they know nothing and have conducted their own investigations with private detectives.

The McCann's were on a holiday with their children, including younger twins, and a group of family friends and their children. Madeleine and the twins were left asleep at 19:00 in a ground floor apartment while the McCann's and friends were in a restaurant only 50 meters away. They claim to have checked the children at times but found Madeleine missing at 22:00.

Of course the tabloids made hay on this incident, intimating that the parents knew something and weren't talking. The McCann's are physicians and Catholic.

Jane Tanner, one of the so-called Tapas Seven (friends of the McCann's), supposedly saw a man carrying a child the night. This would suggest an abduction. Two people on holiday from Ireland, Martin and Mary Smith, also saw a man carrying a child. There were other indications of a man being involved. Another factor is that there was no sign of forced entry into the apartment.

The Portuguese police did an investigation but didn't reveal much about what they found because of a secrecy clause in their penal code.
The ultimate result of this is that the McCann's were suspected of having something to do with Madeleine's disappearance. Supposedly, as the theory goes, there was an accident and the McCann's had the child's body disposed of.
There were subsequent investigation by Scotland Yard and other agencies, but nothing came from them.

Who was this Madeleine McCann? What was so special about her? Madeleine was born on May 12, 2003 and was 3 years old when she disappeared. According to Wkii, she was a blond and her right eye was green with a distinctive dark stripe on her iris. Her left eye was blue and green. She had a small brown mark on her left leg calf. Assuming that the McCann's were responsible for her disappearance, what was the reason for this particular child?

What seems strange about this is that most abductions result in an attempt to obtain ransom, especially if the parents are wealthy. The only exception would be a child molestation in which the child is raped and killed.

This case reminds me of the JonBenét Ramsey case in which a child disappeared and the mother was suspected of killing her, but the police botched the investigation and no indictment was issued.

I'm a member of the Facebook group for the McCann incident, and it's still very active. I suppose in the long run it shows that people still think that the McCann's are guilty and want to see justice served.

Thanks for reading.