Grandad says

I found this post left on a site which shall remain annonymous. I am posting because it was the anniversary of Madeleines 100 days disappearance and the comment was signed Grandad. Not only does Grandad call Madeleine, Maddie but he seems to have inner knowledge and tries to explain the situation. However, maybe I am seeing things that are not there. Either way it is a nice comment full of understanding and hope although Grandad seems to know his hope is futile.

1. I have had grave misgivings that things were not as they were portrayed right from the start, from the first press conference given by Gerry. Until now, I didn’t know this website existed and I kept my thoughts to myself, so it’s amazing to see that so many of you are as confused and uneasy as I am. I won’t list the things that don’t add up about Maddie’s disappearance, there are so many and they have been well documented here by others.
3. For me, the thing that really sent a shiver down my spine was the revelation that Maddie may be autistic. Whatever really happened to Maddie (I think the probability of abduction is very low), if she has even mild autistic tendencies this may be key to the odd attitudes and behaviour of Gerry and Kate.
5. I suspect that they were more in love with the idea of having a family rather than the reality. Their need to use IVF to conceive created a delay of several years, during which they became entrenched in an indulgent lifestyle, but euphoria would have taken over when they heard that Kate was pregnant at last. Even a perfect child can be a culture shock to first-time parents and it’s impossible to imagine just how much an established and self-centred lifestyle must change, until you experience it for yourself.
7. I’m sure that Gerry and Kate, as doctors, would have been aware of the risk of giving birth to a child who was less than perfect. But high-achieving parents can tend to assume that their offspring will naturally follow in their own footsteps. If Maddie is autistic at the less severe end of the autistic spectrum, her condition may have become apparent fairly recently. However, if it had been detected earlier, this may explain why Gerry and Kate decided to try IVF again when they did, in frustration that the first attempt hadn’t produced the perfect child they craved.
9. It seems that Kate was finding it difficult to cope as a mother and there is little doubt that she and Gerry couldn’t reconcile responsible parenting with a self-centred lifestyle they were reluctant to give up. This would have been accentuated by a realisation that, if Maddie did have autistic tendencies, her demands on them would only increase over time.
11. I have a strong feeling that Gerry or Kate (or Gerry and Kate) do know what really happened to Maddie. If so, I fear that she will not be found alive. I hope that I (and the rest of you) are way off-beam and that Maddie is found, safe and well, but it is a slim and desperate hope.