From the archives: Why all parents should watch ‘The Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann’

File photo: Gerry and Kate McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing during a family holiday to Portugal in 2007. Picture: Reuters

File photo: Gerry and Kate McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing during a family holiday to Portugal in 2007. Picture: Reuters

Published Feb 23, 2023

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A 21-year-old Polish woman, Julia Wendell, has came forward, claiming to be missing British toddler Madeleine McCann who disappeared almost 16 years ago in 2007 during a family holiday in Lagos, Portugal.

McCann was three at the time of her disappearance.

With the latest person coming forward claiming to be Madeleine McCann, we revisited the Netflix documentary.

It's one of the biggest mysteries of our generation - a 3-year-old girl goes missing in a sunny seaside Portuguese town without a trace. When the world learnt of Madeleine Mccann who went missing in 2007 from her holiday rental in Praia du Luz, we were gobsmacked.

Fingers were pointed, mostly at her British parents, and conspiracy theories were abound. With social media in its infancy stage at the time, many took to trolling Gerry and Kate Mccann, blaming them for her supposed death. The world took sides - either you were for or against the Mccanns.

It's a sad story, one made even more tragic by the fact that Madeleine has never been found, and no substantial leads have ended in solid arrests. But what makes this story such a phenomenon is that all parents can relate - we feel the Mccanns's pain and the unimaginable reality that if your child goes missing, how far are you willing to go?

Her story resonates because there are hundreds of thousands of Madeleines out there.

The question sits heavy on our minds. After watching the 8-part docu-series, many theories have come to light, and the facts remain murky. But what the Netflix series has given us is some insight into the murky and insidious world of human trafficking.

During a recent interview with the media, the McCann spokesperson Clarence Mitchell said he has his own theory of what he thinks may have happened to Madeleine.

"People also assumed the worst. That [the McCanns] were getting drunk, that they were having fun and that they did not care about their children," he told The Telegraph.

Clarence believes Maddie was chosen, and abducted. "A child was taken to order from that room."

It's a real and plausible possibility. And many experts in the series have pointed towards the same theory. Ultimately it's up to the viewer to decide. And even after the final credits roll, you're left with a bitter taste in your mouth: Who took Maddie and why haven't we found her yet?