Global Manhunt Coordinated on the Internet
The Internet has become a key tool in the fight against child abductions. It spreads kidnapping information and victims’ pictures in a flash worldwide. Law enforcement authorities, family members, and friends are hoping this tool will be of utmost use in the search for the individual who kidnapped a British child a few weeks ago in Portugal. Therefore, they have created a comprehensive website to coordinate the search for Madeleine McCann. At the moment, there’s a massive hunt for the abductor of the four-year-old child.
Madeleine was kidnapped on May 3rd from her parents’ rented flat in Praia de Luz, a seaside Portuguese community frequented by British tourists. Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, were having dinner a few meters away when Madeleine was snatched as she slept alongside her twin brothers, Sean and Amelie. Since that day, they haven’t ceased in their efforts to find her. Cricket and football stars, including David Beckham; politician and Tony Blair successor, Gordon Brown; the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall; and even the Pope have shown their support.
Sponsored by UK-based, IT specialists Infohost LTD, www.findmadeleine.com has been created to coordinate attempts to track down Madeleine’s abductor and hopefully bring her back home safely. It includes details on the abduction and her parents’ desperate efforts to find her and provides downloadable posters and Internet banners (with their respective installation codes) picturing Madeleine. These pictures clearly show a distinct mark in Madeleine’s right eye, which her loved ones hope will allow anybody who sees her to recognize her and contact the authorities. The posters are in twelve languages, including major EU languages, as well as Norwegian and Turkish.
The hotlines for the Portuguese Police, the British Police and Crimestoppers are included in the website. A link to the United Kingdom’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center (CEOP) containing information on the case is also present. Through the CEOP, which is affiliated to the Serious Organized Crime Agency, British Police request people who were at The Ocean Club Resort in Praia de Luz around the time of Madeleine’s kidnapping to upload pictures taken there containing unknown people.
A £ 2.6 million reward for anyone with valid information is also available. More than 200 email messages have been sent to the website including potential evidence on this case. Donations made via PayPal will be used to investigate this and other cases, bring the perpetrators to justice and provide financial assistance to the families. The website is operated by a group of teenagers, who were also former students of Madeleine’s aunt. Gerry McCann posts blog entries regularly enabling the site to remain in the public eye.
Gerry and Kate McCann recently traveled to Spain to disseminate information on the case and garner public support. They held interviews with US news stations, widely broadcast in Europe, North Africa and Asia, particularly in English-speaking hotels and outlets. At a news conference, representatives of child welfare groups urged EU Member States to strengthen standards to prevent pedophiles from operating “freely” in the region. A Spanish child, Yeremi Vargas, has also been snatched as he played near a relative’s house on the Canary Islands. Apparently, Madeleine may be in Spain and her case could be linked to Yeremi’s.
So far, www.findmadeleine.com has received more than 142 million hits. A Sky News video urges visitor to continue with the efforts to find the child. “Maddie’s parents may be devastated,” the Sky News reporter says. “But they haven’t given up hope. We shouldn’t either.” Gerry and Kate McCann are asking anyone who saw a man carrying a child bundled in a blanket near the time of the abduction to contact the police. The devout Catholics have also called on the kidnapper to voluntarily leave Madeleine at the local church. Hopefully, there will be a positive outcome in this disturbing situation.