Will we ever know the truth about Madeleine?
Updated on 15 September 2007
Will forensics ever really reveal what happened?
What do cutting edge DNA tests, a cuddly toy, a yacht, sniffer dogs, a diary, sedatives and around a thousand journalists have in common? The answer you might expect is Madeleine McCann, but in fact we don't know.
We don't know, because nobody knows if all these things are linked to each other or are just police suspicions, journalists' headlines, scientists' facts or suspects' - who might be victims - nightmares.
It's starting to become clear, through the fog of all the 'misinformation' that we may never know the real story because of the failure of the police to investigate Madeleine's disappearance properly.
As team McCann keep reminding us, there are only two facts in this story: Madeleine went missing on May 3 and Madeleine is still missing. Up until a week ago there was another fact: The parents aren't suspects. This went out the window last Thursday when Kate McCann was made an 'aguido' by the Portuguese police.
This was the moment when the focus previously directed on the search for Madeleine and the comings and goings of the only other suspect in the case, Robert Murat, turned sharply on Kate and Gerry.
It was as almost as if the media had been waiting for this moment from day one. Suddenly there was a possible explanation for the behaviour we'd all found extraordinary.
Why did they seem so calm and controlled? Why did they launch a world tour leaving their twins behind? Why did they keep insisting Madeleine was alive when most experts gently pointed out that an abductor would have killed her within 24 hours? Why did they plan the 50 day anniversary two weeks in advance? Why did they refuse to publicly criticise the police despite the obvious mistakes at the start of the investigation?
This can of course all be explained if you see it in a different light: they were two grieving parents who'd lost their beloved child, who felt guilty about leaving her alone and were determined to make amends. As we have all said at some point in the last four months: "who knows how we would react in the same situation?"
It's starting to become clear, through the fog of all the 'misinformation' that we may never know the real story because of the failure of the police to investigate Madeleine's disappearance properly. If they had mounted a proper search and released Madeleine's description immediately a kidnapper could have been spotted within hours. At the same time, if, as they allege, Madeleine's parents hid her body nearby, they would surely have been far more likely to have solved the case in days.
As we as journalists are starting to realise, forensic tests are all well and good but the longer the samples have been sitting around the less they tell you about who was where and when and the easier they are to discredit in court.
British forensic scientists are the best in the world but ultra forensic tests lose their value unless they're recovered from an uncompromised crime scene.
Their good work could have all been for nothing as Portuguese police - not use to getting such sensitive results - did not apply the same rigorous standards of collection that we've grown used to in Britain.
It's now a week since the McCanns woke up in their rented villa in Praia da Luz to face the world which had offered them unconditional support, suddenly questioning them. Now they're back in England and working out their fight-back while all the time assuring us their main priority is to find their missing daughter.
Yesterday (Friday) they spent their day meeting lawyers and meeting their new PR firm. Their job will be to steer team McCann through the maelstrom of rumour, fact, accusation and conspiracy. Every 24 hours.
