One of the most mysterious news in recent years is it close to the outcome? Maddie McCann, three and a half, mysteriously disappeared in 2007 in Portugal. In Germany, where the investigation recently rebounded, police say they have evidence of the death of the little Briton. Investigators hold a suspect, Christian B., a 43-year-old German pedophile repeat offender already jailed for another case. The announcement moved across the Channel and even more particularly in Rothley, in the center of the country, the village where Maddie grew up.
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"We were hoping to find her alive"
In this very peaceful village of less than 4,000 souls, everyone knows Maddie and her family. The locals watched it grow. And his parents still live in the area. "It makes us really sad. We were hoping to find her alive," reacts Liz Robson, a trader who says that this announcement is causing a lot of pain for the whole community. "It would be nice to finish this case. We now hope to know the truth," she said.
But after thirteen years of investigations, false leads, the inhabitants of Rothley remain cautious. They need more to think that this is the end of the matter. "If the guy they have in detention says he did then I tell him 'show me, where is she? Where is her body?' I would like proof before accepting it completely, "said one resident.
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"If I were her parents I would like to be able to bury my daughter, to see her body to be sure," he adds. Residents are therefore waiting for the British authorities to decide on the German announcements and confirm them. It is only after they accept the proof of the little girl's death.