Madeleine (51 page)

Description
: Caucasian male; fair-skinned, assumed not to be Portuguese; aged 30–40; medium height; medium–slim build; very fair, cropped hair.

Clothing
: Pale T-shirt.

Portrait
: Sketch number 4 in the
Picture Section
.

In terms of both timing and location, these reports are highly relevant to the investigation into Madeleine’s abduction. While the individual concerned may not be the same in all cases, there are certainly common characteristics to suggest that some of these sightings, if not all, could be related.

We believe that identifying these individuals could bring us much closer to finding Madeleine.

If you can help, please contact
[email protected]
or 0044 (0)845 838 4699.

MISSING, ABDUCTED AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: DID YOU KNOW?

The available statistics on missing, abducted and exploited children, nationally and worldwide, are patchy and incomplete. This is a problem readily acknowledged by those working in the field and it tells its own story. Without more extensive research and comprehensive figures, it is very difficult to identify and implement the necessary measures to safeguard children.

Although the situation is improving in some countries, there is still a long way to go. Many of the statistics below relate to findings in the UK and the USA. This does not mean that crimes against children are more prevalent in these countries, simply that these are among the countries where most research has been undertaken, leading to a better understanding of the issues. In fact, if anything, these countries are likely to become, or may already be, safer for children as a result.

There is a great deal the figures don’t tell us and many come with caveats, but I hope the examples recorded here will at least provide an indication of the scale of crimes affecting children, and of the success of properly functioning child rescue alert systems.

Missing Children

More than 200,000 reports of missing children and teenagers were received by UK Police during the year 2009–10.

NPIA Missing Persons: Data & Analysis 2009–10

Approximately three-quarters of missing persons return or are located within twenty-four hours of their disappearance.

NPIA 2010

In the USA, one in seven missing children is found as a direct result of somebody simply recognizing their face on a poster or flyer and notifying law enforcement. 97 per cent are located using a variety of efforts in addition to photograph distribution.

NCMEC

Abductions

An average of 600 cases per year of child abduction, or attempted abduction, have been recorded in England and Wales for the period 2005–6 to 2009–10.

UK Home Office Crime Statistics

The majority of completed child abductions are parental/family abductions, with 16 per cent involving abduction by a stranger.

G. Newiss and L. Fairbrother:
Child Abduction: Understanding Police Recorded Crime Statistics
, Findings paper 225 (Home Office, London, 2004)

The majority of abducted children are not taken to be killed, and murder in these circumstances is a rare event: an estimated 100 incidents occur in the USA each year. Of those victims who are murdered, over 70 per cent are dead within the first three hours.

Katherine M. Brown, Robert D. Keppel, Joseph G. Weis and Marvin E. Skeen:
Case Management for Missing Children Homicide Investigation
(Office of the Attorney General and US Department of Justice, Olympia, Washington, May 2006)

There are approximately 115 cases of ‘stereotypical’ (stranger) kidnapping per year in the USA. 40 per cent of these victims are killed, 4 per cent not found and 56 per cent recovered alive.

Andrea J. Sedlak, David Finkelhor, Heather Hammer and Dana J. Schultz:
NISMART 2 – National Estimates of Missing Children: An Overview
(US Department of Justice, October 2002)

In the US, 532 abducted children have been safely recovered as a direct result of an AMBER Alert activation since the programme’s inception.

NCMEC

For the period 2005–9, in those cases where an AMBER Alert had been activated, 79 per cent of children were recovered within 72 hours.

NCMEC

Alerte Enlèvement, the child alert rescue system in France, has been launched ten times (for eleven children – one alert involved two children) since its inception in February 2006. Ten of these children were found alive.

In Greece, AMBER Alert Hellas has been activated fifteen times, for sixteen children, since May 2007 and thirteen of these children have been recovered alive.

Child Exploitation

Sex offenders are among the most consistent re-offenders and travel around to avoid conviction. Only three of the twenty-seven EU member states have functioning sex-offender registers – UK, Ireland and France.

In 2000 and 2001, of the arrests made in the US in connection with possession of images of child abuse, 39 per cent of the images involved children between the ages of three and five. 19 per cent involved children under three.

NCMEC

The World Health Organisation estimates that 150 million girls and 73 million boys under eighteen experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence during 2002.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/study.htm
)

Mexico’s social service agency reports that there are more than 16,000 children engaged in prostitution. Tourist destinations are among the areas with the highest number.

UNICEF (
http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_exploitation.html
)

In Lithuania, 20 to 50 per cent of prostitutes are believed to be minors. It is known that some are as young as eleven. Children from children’s homes, some aged ten to twelve years old, have been used to make pornographic films.

UNICEF (
http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_exploitation.html
)

The Inhope 2007 Global Internet Trend Report states that during the last quarter of 2006, the number of ‘processed reports about child pornography’ stood at approximately 9,600 per month.

In 2001, the CyberTipline operated by NCMEC had received more than 24,400 reports of child pornography. By the beginning of 2006, that number had climbed to more than 340,000 and by 2010 to over 990,000.

The Internet Watch Foundation reports that many children seen being sexually abused in images broadcast on the internet are very young. Many are subjected to severe levels of abuse.

72 per cent of the victims appear to be between the ages of birth and ten. 23 per cent are six years old or under. 3 per cent are two or under.

44 per cent of images depict the rape or torture of the child.

IWF Annual and Charity report 2009

European hotline number for Missing Children: 116
000

International Missing Children’s Day: 25 May

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Writing this book has been emotional and exhausting. I hope and pray it helps us to find Madeleine and to uncover the truth.

Despite my ‘stubbornness’ (I still prefer to call it determination) and finishing ability, I’m not sure I would have had enough energy to complete it if it hadn’t been for the invaluable help and support I’ve had along the way. In fact, I doubt it very much.

My editor, Caroline North, has been incredibly understanding, patient and perceptive. I’m aware that the last five months have been a bit of a crash course for her in learning about our life since Madeleine was taken from us – possibly not the most pleasant experience. In spite of that, Caroline has worked tirelessly to guide and encourage me through the process and thankfully we’ve also managed to share quite a few laughs along the way. I am confident our friendship will not end here.

It was evident to Gerry and me on our first encounter with Bill Scott-Kerr, Sally Gaminara, Janine Giovanni and Alison Barrow from Transworld that they immediately saw the bigger picture. This wasn’t just about raising money for Madeleine’s Fund, it was about finding her. And they genuinely wanted to help. The effort they have put into this campaign is confirmation of that. I don’t think we could have asked for more from a publisher.

We originally met Neil Blair of the Christopher Little Literary Agency in early 2008. At that stage, I couldn’t have entertained the idea of writing a book. It didn’t feel right and I simply wasn’t strong enough. Once I did make the decision to share our story, I knew exactly where to take it. The warmth and professionalism shown by Neil and Christopher Little from the start have made the whole experience much more bearable.

Our family and friends have continued to be a wonderful support and have rallied to our aid on numerous occasions, allowing me to lock myself away for long periods at my computer to get the job done. Maybe I’ll actually get to have a cuppa and a conversation with them now.

Not only had I never expected to get to know so many lawyers, I didn’t expect to like quite so many of them. Ed Smethurst, Adam Tudor, Isabel Hudson and Isabel Duarte in particular have laboured faithfully out of the goodness of their hearts, on Madeleine’s behalf and ours, regardless of the day or the hour. Their priceless expertise and commitment has extended to the completion of this book. Cláudia Nogueira from LIFT Consulting has also been a vital source of knowledge and advice and a very good friend.

There are two special people who have not been mentioned by name in these pages, but whose support and companionship have been unfailing. One is our lovely Portuguese friend from Luz. She has helped us in countless ways, including with this book, since we first met her on 11 August 2007: the hundredth day since Madeleine was taken from us. I will not name her as I’d hate to draw unnecessary intrusion into her life but I want to pay tribute here to her kindness and courage. It will never be forgotten.
Beijinhos,
a
minha
amiga
.

And Emma Loach. Emma is one of the most selfless people I have ever come across and her input on so many levels has been invaluable. She played a significant role in our campaign for a child rescue alert system across Europe and in 2009 worked with us to produce a filmed reconstruction of the events surrounding Madeleine’s abduction. She has also responded willingly to my many queries and requests for an opinion on my writing. Even more importantly, she has helped me through the darkest and most unfathomable times over the three years I have known her. Our friendship is precious to me and I thank God that she walked into our life.

Although she is an integral part of my story, I couldn’t overlook acknowledging my dear friend Fiona. She has been at my side since Madeleine was taken. While coping with her own grief, she has kept me afloat with her love, encouragement and strength-restoring hugs, as well as providing endless practical help. Gerry and I considered Fi and Dave special friends before 3 May 2007. Now we understand just how special they are.

Many of the people who have helped our family and our search for Madeleine over the last four years appear in this story. There are many more who do not, but we are no less indebted to them. I could have written a whole book about the thousands and thousands of others, in the UK, in Portugal and around the world, whose assistance and empathy have meant so much to us. I hope I have managed to convey in these pages the positive effect of such kindness and inspiration on both Gerry and me, and on our efforts to find Madeleine, along with our eternal gratitude. Indirectly, these people have all contributed to this book, too, by playing their part in buoying up my wellbeing and resilience.