The parents of missing Madeleine McCann said an emotional goodbye to each other as Mr McCann flew to America on a global crusade to hightlight his daughter's plight. Heart specialist Gerry, 39, flew out of Portugal to Washington DC for a four-day visit - where he will meet with politicians and child abduction experts. It is the first time he has crossed the Atlantic to publicise his little girl's disappearance. But a request to meet First Lady Laura Bush was turned down by the White House. The family hope the trip will nevertheless not only raise Madeleine's profile but also bring attention to the thousands of children who go missing around the world each year.Madeleine's mother Kate, also 39, decided to stay in the resort rather than accompany her husband to the States in case of any developments. Mr McCann said: "Kate and I felt it was important to make this trip to America. It's not that we think Madeleine is in the US. It would be a very strange decision to take her there. But it is predominantly a trip to meet and speak to the top experts in the field of missing children. It's a fact-finding mission. Kate would have loved to come but we are not happy leaving the twins on their own and being so far away from Portugal for that length of time. A breakthrough could happen any time and one of us needs to be in the country if that was to happen. Somebody somewhere knows something, even if it's just someone acting suspiciously. We are just waiting for that key piece of information that leads us to our daughter."
Tomorrow Mr McCann will meet with US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the Department of Justice. The two men will discuss the implementation of new legislation introduced last year aimed at giving greater protection to youngsters in the US. Mr Gonzales - a close ally of President George Bush - was instrumental in the passing of the bill which has now become the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.The new law will help in the fight against sexual and other violent crimes against youngsters, eliminate child pornography, and make the internet safer. Its introduction forced an expansion of the sex offenders register and imposed stiffer penalties for crimes as well as funding specialist training for police. (Sunday Mail)
This story is literally 'spinning' before my eyes with so much for intuition to muse over. Gerry is anticipating something significant to occur whilst he is away in the US. References to 'breakthrough' and 'developments' are made a number of times in this story. All is not what it appears to be here. Reading betwen the lines provides a different story (once again) than what is being reported. Why make this trip so high key? Why let it be known Gerry is out of Portugal and Kate is staying on her own?
