Madeleine McCann investigation 'cost £10 million to date'

Still, that's a better message than "we won't even try."

Because it (perhaps unfairly) received a lot of media attention and a lot of people empathised with and became interested in the case.

Fair point. But I think success stories of finding lost kids would be better publicised to deter further abductions.

And why did it receive a lot of media attention compared to the many other kids who also go missing? Does she deserve it more?

That's not how public funds should be spent - on how many people are interested in the case. That's ridiculous.

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I don't know why - there were probably a lot of factors at play. But people do care about this case in particular, which means the world is watching what we do.

You hear a lot about this girl and her family getting special treatment etc. - does anyone actually know how many other young children that have gone missing in the last 15 years and not been found?

Like, are we/the media/the authorities really ignoring other cases?? Or is this thankfully just a rare occurrence?

and if they found her now i guess she would run into her parents arms and live happily ever after?

Sorry but her life has been ruined I think it would upset her parents more to see her again now alive or dead. I think perhaps police are keeping the case open because otherwise they will get backlash.

So much harshness in the comments so far. Surely it's better to spend money on this than on big cars for government ministers, lavish foreign trips for MPs or any of the other more absurd things taxpayer money gets wasted on?

There also seems to be a strange thing that goes on with this case, that because she isn't a black or working class child, we shouldn't care. Surely all young children who go missing should attract the greatest possible attention and concern?

This case definitely has unusual features as there was no body quickly discovered and the latter usually means it turns quickly into a murder hunt with a different profile.

A good comparison is the case in Wales a few years back, April Jones, who was neither middle class nor the child of doctors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_April_Jones

Her case caused huge coverage, massive deployment of resources and huge searches.

There have been others. The difference in the McCann case is the length of time the parents have managed to keep the case alive - in the past there was a tendency for old cases to quietly get dropped. I think that's considered less acceptable generally now, regardless of the ethnicity or social background of the child.

You've not read the thread. I won't even bother lolPosted from TSR Mobile

I'm not gonna go on about her parents or anything, because it's already been done.

I agree with spending money on missing cases and trying to find children, but I can't wrap my head around this. Children go missing all the time and how often do you hear about them? I will never understand why this case is any more important than any other. They don't spend large amounts of money trying to find anyone else.

It's awful, but how many other children/people have also gone missing?

It's a travesty that the authorities have such little backbone they give preferential funding for those cases (not completely extraordinary - children have gone missing before) which generate media traction. If they spent £10MM on this case, they should spend it on all other similar cases. The fact is they don't (nor shouldn't - however many years ago the case was, it is obvious now she will not resurface), and that is wrong.

And government cars are there for the safe transport of red boxes. I'm not sure the public would appreciate sensitive material being lost from the basket of a minister's bike given the brouhaha when the PM left his red box unattended on a train.

That's a fact is it?

Can we see the evidence of that fact, please?

Right, so that's another case where the response seemed similar, just the outcome was different. I expect lots of money would have been spent on searching for her too, if the case had remained unsolved for so long.

What is causing your outrage? Do you have any evidence that more public money was spent on the McCann case than on other long-term unsolved missing children?

Obviously very few cases cost £10 million, how can you even imagine that's the case?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cost-madeleine-mccann-investigation-spirals-6365140

Average cost is 2.5k for missing children. £10 million is ridiculous overkill. I rest my case.

The average child does not go missing from a foreign country for 12 years though. Come on, I'm not trying to be insulting but this is basic stuff. Of course most missing kids don't cost the public 10 million quid. But most are found within days.




What is? The fact that other similar cases don't cost that much? What other similar cases are we even comparing with here?

What is? The fact that other similar cases don't cost that much? What other similar cases are we even comparing with here?

The money they're throwing at this case comes from the police budget. Parliamentary subsidies are a completely irrelevant issue.