It is only since Madeleine was taken from us, that Gerry and myself have become aware of just how many children go missing each year from all around the world. The scale of the problem is huge. In fact, it is terrifying. I have asked myself many times “why did I not know about this? Am I that naïve or is it the fact that the problem itself is not well publicised for whatever reason?”
Madeleine's abduction itself was quite unusual, in that it was the abduction of a ‘foreign national’. This introduced unique difficulties, not least a language barrier. Given that people and families travel quite extensively nowadays particularly within a ‘borderless’ Europe, we believe that a Europe-wide response to the problem is mandatory.I would think that not an unreasonable request of countries belonging to a ‘European Union’?
NCMEC now offers a vast range of invaluable resources to law enforcement agencies, helping to investigate cases of missing children and child exploitation cases as well as training and education.These resources along with the Amber Alert system which operates in the USA (a nationwide effort between police departments and the media to blanket local airwaves immediately with information and photograghs when a child is abducted) have led to the safe recovery of many children.Needless to say, the Americans have a great deal of experience and knowledge to offer, and we need to learn from them if we wish to make Europe and the rest of the world a safer place for our children. In recent years, similar Rescue Alert systems have been introduced in certain European countries- Belgium, France, UK and Greece but we have a long, long way to go.
Colin Blanchard and Vanessa George.
A judge has given parents whose children attended the nursery where paedophile Vanessa George worked the choice of knowing if she has named their children among her victims.
Mr Justice John Royce confirmed that George, 39, had provided the names of some of the children she said she had abused at Little Ted's nursery in Plymouth, Devon.
"I take the view that if parents want to find out whether their child has been abused and if that information has been given then they should be in a position to do so," the judge told Bristol crown court.
"If they do not want to know, and I fully understand why some parents should not want to know, then the information should not be thrust upon them, it should be a parental choice."
George and her co-defendants, Colin Blanchard, 38, and Angela Allen, 39, pleaded guilty to a string of offences of sexually abusing children, photographing the abuse and exchanging the images with each other via the internet.
George's barrister, Nicolas Gerasimidis, successfully applied for the trio's sentencing to be delayed to give more time to prepare. He said George intended to claim that Blanchard "used" her to access indecent images. "It will be Vanessa George's case that she was used by Colin Blanchard, who is a principle mover in the contacting of women of a certain age so that the type of material this court is concerned with is disseminated back to him."
Some parents have made it clear they do not want to know if George has named their children.
Sentencing has been adjourned to the week beginning 14 December.
Also see:
12 year prison sentence for Málaga paedophile
One Paedophile Priest in Prison, One Sought with Warrant
The following subject has failed to comply with the Notification Requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and is currently wanted urgently by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.
Most Wanted
Powered by Crimestoppers Most Wanted System
Video - A Minute for Madeleine
Findmadeleine.com
Missing Children UK
Missing Children Europe
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Gerry and I have been criticised at times for publicising Madeleine's disappearance. We did what we felt was best at that time, obviously having no experience of such ordeals. Thankfully NCMEC has assured us that this was the right thing to do. People have asked (usually in a critical manner)“why has Madeleine received such attention when there are thousands of missing children around the world?”
My feeling is that the publicity surrounding Madeleine's abduction was not inappropriate- Every child in such a situation should receive this same amount of attention, but it shouldn't be down to the family to instigate it. The public awareness of Madeleine's plight has at the very least, highlighted cases of other Missing Children and the extent of the problem as a whole, and from that we can take a small bit of comfort.
All missing children are vulnerable to exploitation including sexual exploitation, with this being the motive in many of those cases of stranger abductions where a motive can be determined. Child sexual exploitation and child pornography in particular, is sadly and shockingly extensive worldwide. It is a multi-billion dollar industry aided by the use of the Internet with the ‘thirst’ for younger victims growing. Once again, my ‘bubble’ of a life burst as I began to discover the facts relating to this now global crisis.
As we travelled through Europe in an attempt to raise awareness of Madeleine's abduction and appeal for help, we were repeatedly made aware of the unbelievable existence of such a horrifying activity and its vastness in our so called civilised and ‘child-loving’ society.
How can such ‘businesses’ be condoned or tolerated by us all?What are the benefits for our children of being in a European Union where several member countries offer child pornography as a LEGAL past time?
The most vulnerable members of our society are our children and they deserve better than this. Lack of sex offender registers, lack of reliable tracking systems for known offenders and no CRB check requirements , not even for those working with children are other major areas of concern within many parts of Europe.
My eyes have certainly been opened to a whole new world out there - a very worrying one. As a parent of an abducted child, I can tell you that it is the most painful and agonising experience you could ever imagine. My thoughts of the fear, confusion and loss of love and security that my precious daughter has had to endure are unbearable - crippling. And yet I am not the victim, Madeleine is.
No child should EVER have to experience something so terrible.
Timeline of McCanns' quest to locate their girl
MAY 3, 2007: Maddie vanishes after Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a tapas restaurant.
May 5: Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.
May 14: Detectives make Brit Robert Murat an “arguido”, or official suspect.
May 25: They release the description of a man reported by McCann’s family friend Jane Tanner.
August 11: Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, police publicly acknowledge that she could be dead.
September 7: Portuguese cops make the McCanns “arguidos”.
October 2: Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police.
October 25: The McCanns release a new artist’s impression showing the man described by Jane Tanner.
February 4, 2008: Portugal’s top detective, Alipio Ribeiro, says that police were “hasty” in making Madeleine’s parents suspects.
July 21: The Portuguese authorities shelve investigation and lift “arguido” status of McCanns and Mr Murat.July 24: Mr Amaral publishes a book alleging that the young girl died in her family’s holiday flat on May 3rd
August 4: Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files are made public.
April 22, 2009: The McCanns record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey.
May 2: US forensic experts create a computer image of how Maddie would look two years on.
May 7: New Madeleine suspect revealed in Channel 4 documentary.
A new initiative backed by
Madeleine McCann's parents is to be launched to help keep children safe on holiday. The six point plan - named Code Madeleine - outlines what parents should do if their child goes missing.
The code - similar to the Code Adam scheme in the US which is named after abducted six-year-old Adam Walsh - was developed by the Federation of Tour Operators, the Association of British Travel Agents and the News of the World which will launch the plan in Sunday's newspaper.
The objective of Code Madeleine is to trigger a system of securing premises and systematically searching for a missing child in the critical hours immediately after they are reported missing.
Madeleine's parents Gerry and
Kate McCann are supporting the scheme. "Kate and I fully endorse the Code Madeleine scheme," said Mr McCann.
"Kate and I hope that this new code will help protect British families when they are on holiday."
Andy Cooper, director general of the Federation of Tour Operators, said: "All of our major members have agreed to support Code Madeleine and adopt the six-point plan to help make children safer while on holiday."
Code Madeleine launchedBring Madeleine home'We will NEVER give up looking for Madeleine.' Official site of Kate and Gerry McCann's search for their missing daughter.
Every Child MattersMissing ChildrenSarah's LawFor Sarah Campaign
International Missing Childrens Day is commemorated on May 25th. The day was born out of tragedy, following the tragic disappearance in 1979 of six-year-old Etan Patz, who went missing on his way to school. Nine countries: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Romania, South Africa and United Kingdom, have joined together to honor missing children by raising awareness of the issue of missing children globally.
This case is about pedophilia, child pornography, child prostitution, mind control, and torture. The FBI has covered up the details, and the perpetrators have links to the CIA.
Read the book "Why Johnny Can't Come Home," by Noreen Gosch, Johnny's mother, for more details. Please visit the Justice for Johnny Gosch web site.
Website:
http://www.justiceforjohnnygosch.com/
On the morning of Friday,
May 25,
1979, six-year-old Etan put on his prized blue captain's hat and left his
SoHo apartment by himself—for the very first time—to walk the two blocks to catch the
school bus. He did not reach the bus stop.
When he did not return home from school at 3:30 that afternoon, his mother reported him missing. An intense search, using nearly 100 police officers and a team of
bloodhounds, began that evening and would continue for weeks. Various circumstances surrounding this case, such as it being Etan's first time outside alone, made it into a greatly media-driven incident.
Suspect
In 1991, jailhouse informants claimed that
Jose Antonio Ramos, a convicted
child sexual abuser imprisoned in
Pennsylvania, admitted to his murder. Ramos had been a friend of Etan's one-time
babysitter. He promised that no body would be found, saying "It's too horrible. No one would ever represent me".[
citation needed] In a special feature on missing children, the
New York Post reported on
October 23,
1999 that Ramos was the prime suspect in Etan's disappearance.
His parents, Stanley and Julie Patz, pursued a
civil case against Ramos, who was found liable for Patz's wrongful death in May 2004. They were awarded a sum of $2 million,
which they have never collected, as Ramos is serving a prison term for molesting boys in Pennsylvania. Though he has served his full sentence of 12 to 15 years, he has not been released on parole because he has yet to complete mandatory counseling. Without evidence, a body, or a crime scene, some New York investigators do not believe they will ever be able to convict Ramos for Patz's death.[
citation needed]
Each year, on the anniversary of Etan's birthday and his disappearance, Stan Patz sends Ramos a copy of his son's MISSING poster. On the back he types the same message: "What did you do to my little boy?"
http://nationalvigilforhope.org/?page_id=147Since 1983, our nation has observed May 25th as National Missing Children’s Day. First proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan and observed by every administration since, May 25th is the anniversary of the day in 1979 when 6-year-old Etan Patz disappeared from a New York street corner on his way to school.
His story captivated the nation. His photo, taken by his father, a professional photographer, was circulated nationwide and appeared in media across the nation and around the world. Etan became the poster-child for a movement. The powerful image came to symbolize the anguish and trauma of thousands of searching families.
For nearly three decades, the search for Etan has continued. However, today, just as that day when President Reagan proclaimed the first National Missing Children’s Day, Etan is still missing.
The widespread attention brought to his case and those of others eventually led to a nationwide commitment to help locate and recover missing children. National Missing Children’s Day honors this commitment by reminding parents, guardians, and other trusted-adult role models to make child safety a priority.
http://uk.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PublicHomeServlet?LanguageCountry=enGB
John Walsh "America's Most Wanted"
The Adam Walsh Story
On July 27, 1981, 6-year-old Adam Walsh and his mother Revé went to a department store about a mile away from their home to shop for lamps. When they entered the store Adam saw several children playing video games on a television monitor and asked if he could stay to play. His mother let him stay and went to the lamp department, which was about 75 feet away. Because the lamp she wanted was not in stock she returned rather quickly, less than 10 minutes later, but couldn’t find Adam. After looking for Adam on her own for two hours, someone finally called the local police department. By the end of that week thousands of fliers with Adam’s photograph were distributed through the local area. Sixteen days after Adam disappeared from the store his body was found and identified.
http://www.amw.com/missing_children/
A parent's worst nightmare:
The recent media attention on the cases of Danielle van Dam, Elizabeth Smart, Samantha Runnion, and most recently, Erica Pratt, who made a daring escape from her captors Tuesday, has heightened the public awareness of child abductions even though most experts agree there is no current epidemic. Some suggest that while the number of cases may not have changed, their nature has and this shift has drawn the extra attention. "They are quite brazen and that is a different kind of perpetrator than the kind that tries to get close to the family," said Nancy McBride, director of prevention education for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, referring to the man who snatched Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom, and Alejandro Avila, the man accused of kidnapping Samantha Runnion, 5, her yard, and killing her.
A Special Video For Ylenia Lenhard (RIP)
For those who don't yet know the history of this forum, please watch this video which was made by Treasure. The balloon was sent to Merlynsam by Ylenia's mother as a ‘thank you’ for a kind letter and a Perpetual Mass sent by this forum. Merlynsam returned the balloon to Switzerland via Treasure - and this is the result. It is a special tribute to a precious child. We will never forget what was done on our behalf for Ylenia. Isn't this the power of forum friendship? We may have differing opinions in this forum, but we have great respect for each other and a compassion for all missing children. Together we CAN make a difference!!
http://find-madeleine.forumotion.net/forum.htm
