Although it's undisclosed, the reward went from 1.5 million to 2.1 million after JK Rowlings donation, so that virtually puts her figure at £1.1 million (2.17 million US$). I think it's great that celebrities are putting their hands in their pockets for a safe return of Madeleine, and JK's offer is very generous.

Yeah i read that in the paper today. I think J.K really deserves a pat on the back there. It was really kind i hope that money will help for Madeleines safe return. J.K's husband is portugese i think? So ui suppose that on top of haveing a little girl herself made her do it. Well Done J.K and come home Madeleine.

You seem to have forgotten all the other people who put in for the reward. JK isn't the only one you know.

However I think it's a great effort by all of them. Sort of makes you glad there are some decent people out there. On MySpace, Tom put up ad advert about this missing girl too. So it's become a world wide issue now. Totally amazing. I hope they find her but after 9 days and someone that young.....well to me it doesn't look good. I mean they can't even find a 14 year old that was kidnapped like four years ago here in Australia. A reward will only make people more willing to come forward with information and you can bet your bottom dollar people will give any sort of information to get their hands on that money.

But it's also a good incentive for those with real evidence to come forward instead of biting their tongue, afraid that their telling will result in their family being targeted. At least the money can ensure them a safer home, what with all the new security systems they're bound to put in.

I mentioned that other celebrities have contributed. I posted this here because JK has made the largest donation and this is a Harry Potter website, so her fans may be interested. Maybe I’ll mention individual celebs on Wayne Rooney or Simon Cowell websites

Call me cynical, but there are a couple of things that bother me about this. I would have thought far more of all these people had they wanted to remain anonymous, but no...they're happy to say they've donated, but not how much. Makes me wonder at the reasons behind their apparent generosity.

I've been following this case since the beginning and whilst I feel very deeply for Madeleine's parents and can't even begin to imagine what they're going through - or more to the point, what their little girl is going through - I can't help but feel that they have failed dismally in their duty as parents to protect their child. They left three children, under the age of three, alone in an apartment in a foreign country while they had dinner. I'm sorry, but it is completely incomprehensible to me that any parent would do something so incredibly foolish in this day and age. If they hadn't left her alone, this wouldn't have happened. But I guess that's something they're going to have to live with for the rest of their lives, so condemning them for it now is pointless. At the moment, I gather they've enough problems with explaining to the Portugese authorities why they left their children alone in the first place - which is illegal not only in Portugal, but also in Britain. It's like leaving your kids at home while you nip across the road to the pub. I just don't understand it.

I don't know...there's just something disturbing about this whole thing on so many levels. I sincerely hope that they get Madeleine back, but this media frenzy at the moment seems tacky to me when she is far from the only missing child from Britain, and I can only imagine how the parents of those other children must be feeling at the moment.

I just don't think we should expect celebrity donations and internet campaigns to replace what the parents should have done in the first place - be there for their daughter when she needed them.

On the subject of the money itself, I think they're hoping to break the child p0rnography rings that exist in Europe by getting the people responsible to turn on each other. It doesn't appear to be working at the moment though, sadly.

I didn't point the finger at only you Killian. All you did was re-post the article. But whatever.

I agree with Louise, they were negligent. Who on Earth would leave their children alone in an unfamiliar place? Or even a familiar place for that matter. I'm all for conspiracy theories and right now I'm thinking they did it for publicity. You've heard of mothers that are continuously taking their children to the hospital with some mystery illness because they want attention. I do hope the little girl is alive and well and if the parents are in on it then she is.

However I don't think she'll be found alive. But I'll be happy to print this out and literally eat my words if she's found alive and the parents had nothing to do with it. My one question is - Why only take one child. Why not take all of them? Unless it's just some pervert doing it for his own.....ugh. If it was for ransom three kids is better then one.

Are they an important family in Britain? Or at least a rich one?

No, they're not. I guess they're pretty well off, being doctors, but no, this is just media frenzy because there's nothing else worth reporting at the moment. If Madeleine had gone missing during a terrorist alert or a natural disaster, the case would never have been hyped the way it has been. I think it's a case of the media making their own news for the most part, because the truth is that there have been no new developments, no arrests, no nothing, and the police just don't have a clue. The media still want to keep it in people's minds for now though because they still haven't found her, but it's a very sad reflection of us as a race that as soon as something new comes along, the case will dip lower and lower in the headlines before disappearing altogether.

They reckon they have got a suspect, but not enough evidence to charge him, though they're not saying to charge him with what exactly. I suppose that there's not much more going to happen until they find her.

Yeah, I kind of agree with Louise. It's all very nice that people donate for getting her back, but what about all the other families that have to suffer alone just because their story came at a wrong time for everyone else? It's a little sickening to see how people can follow the story with such fervour and be awed by the generosity of celebrities, just to forget about it in a month or two when something new comes along.

And good grief, now Gordon Brown's gone and said he would help find Madeleine! That is the most blatantly transparent move I've seen a politician make in a long time, what with Blair stepping down and all. He is effectively cashing in on the suffering of others for the sake of the popularity polls. It's disgusting.

I mean, of course there is nothing wrong with helping to find her, but if my child had been abducted (or if I had been abducted) without it causing so much as a blip on the political and social radar, I'd be feeling rather abandoned. Madeleine happens to be a very pretty little girl, and it is absolutely heart wrenching to think of what she must have went through/must be going through now, but the sleaze of celebrities and politicians who are getting involved bothers me. I'm not saying they're not genuinely concerned or that it's purely a gimmick, but if they're not doing it for publicity, why not do it anonymously, and if they want to bring awareness by using their name, why this case? Everyone already knows, and more awareness probably won't change a thing for Madeleine.

I'm not condemning the fact that people react sympathetically to stories that are painful. It's natural, but what isn't acceptable is the media frenzy over this girl, when thousands of other children have gone missing and have fallen prey to sick minds without it being mourned all over the world.

I wish with all my heart they find her unscathed, both for her sake and for her parents' sake, but I don't like the superficial hype that is bound to plummet when another juicy story hits the news. It's not a very flattering picture of how humans react to the suffering around them.

This makes me so mad I so agree with you Capricorn. Gordon Brown is up to take over from Tony Blair as PM in June. He's after making himself more popular. Hint...this is not the way to make friends Gordon.

You know, all the reports that I've read, say that JKR has donated a undisclosed sum, not a million or whatever. Still, I don't think this is reward per say, more like as Louise said and use it to lure out those willing to 'grass' up paedo's.




This is the part of the whole sorry tale that I can't comprehend either. But in some ways I empathise. It's one of those stupid things us parents do when we are abroad. We get lulled into this false sense of security, like they are safer in another country than they are at home. We take more risks, give our kids more freedom than we would at home, why? Because we're on holiday. I have been guilty of some things myself. No I've never left my children at home alone while I wine and dine it, no matter how close to the bar/restaurant the hotel or apartment is. I've never even used a babysitting service, mine always came with me. No, I have done things like lie on a sunbed with my eyes closed while the kids are playing in the swimming pool I could have fallen asleep at any time and probably did. Is this as bad as laying on the sofa for forty winks while they are in the bath tub? I'd have never done that, so why would I think that it would be any safer for them in a pool? If I could answer this, I'd be able to tell you why the McCann's chose to go to that Tapas bar and leave their kids behind.

I really hope that we don't forget about this little girl.



DITTO!!

You know what is going to really tick me off about this entire situation? Is if it is somehow a scam and the parents planned this whole thing. I mean call me terrible for thinking it but society in general seems to be a wee bit obssessed with money and there have been cases where parents have done an injustice against there own child for the sake of insurance money or inheritence or what have you.

I don't knock that these celebraties have a desire to help and as celebs usually have more money then the Pope, (pardon the expression, don't want to offend) I applaud their effort to spend some of their fortune helping others. I am concerned as many of you have posted that this is just another publicity stunt. They could have donated the money just as well and stayed anonymous. The money would still be used to fund rescue operations and a reward.

I would never under any circumstances leave my children in a situation like that. I even get nervous if I have to run into a gas station to pay and leave them in the car for a few minutes. Most times I just take them with me even if it is a small inconvienience. It is better for them to be safe with me even if it does take me a few extra minutes to get them buckled out and in of the carseats.

I too hope we don't forget this little one and pray she is found soon.

i heard that Madeleine's parents checked on them every half hour but i dont think that matters. they shouldnt have left them by themselves. she was 3 years old.

when we were in holiday in france, at the train station there was a poster of kids who went missing around 20 years ago and they never found them. there were about 20 people on the poster. if they were still alive theyd be 25 - 30 years old.

i just hope they find her soon she was four years old on saturday, lets just hope whoever done it didnt kill her and i hate to say it but its better that they find her body then never finding her at all.

I think its great that people who have lots of money are giving away to give people a larger incentive to find her because even though people say all the time that money doesnt matter you are likely to try harder if you will be given a reward.
i just hope they find her and that shes ok - come home madeleine

Im so glad this topic is up here. This is exactly what the campaign to help find Madeleine needs!Publicity! As i know, people from all over the world visit veritaserum everyday, so if we can perhaps help find her by having people all around the world looking out for her, that would be excellent.
Id like to thank J.K.Rowling for giving the money, but we have got to remember the others who have also pledged money for this little girls safe return! The way everyone, everywhere has been getting together to help find Madeleine is spetacular.

I've got to agree with most of you. So many people/children go missing every year but don't get the publicity. if your loved on goes missing in the summer when parliament is out you've got a much higher chance that the strory's in the paper.

Tonks, that poster you saw in France is creepy. Unfortuantly people go missing and then the police just... give up Not even a body's found. I hope, if the worst comes to the worst, they at least find Madeleine's body. bring closure...

I asked my mum the other day about how she felt about leaving me and my brother alone in the house when we were small. She said that she'd never done it. Not when we were as small as Maddie was. When i was 6 my brother 8 she nipped out for a pint of milk leaving us on our own, but that's the first time we were on our own. What shocked my mum the most was that the kids were sleeping and in a foreign country while they had dinner.

The Mcann's have been punished for their mistake in the worst possible way, I can't even begin to imagine how they feel. They must be racked with guilt. Like everyone I hope that Maddie comes home safely relitively unscathed. I hate to say it but stats weigh heavy against her. Apparently if a person hasn't been found within 72 hours they probably won't find them

Like Tahra said, I have thought that the parents might have been involved in some way. It's scaryingly common unfortuanly. Normally there's a fight and a parent can get so angry they hit the child too hard and then disater. to cover it up they launch a campaign saying that he/she's been stolen. I don't think that this is the case as I think they would have found some evidence by now. It's been over two weeks...

I read in the Sun (don't judge me, please! It was on the table in the staff room at work, it was either read about the case in that monstrosity of a paper or read the work handbook....) That a woman is 99.99% postitive she saw Maddy in Morocco while holidaying there Apparently it would be easy to get to from portugal. That was May 9th. The woman thought it odd to see a blond little girl asking for her mummy with a man who didn't look as though he could be her father, but didn't know about Maddie being missing until she came back to the UK.

I think it's generous of JK to have given the money of course. I would give myself also if i actually had a penny to my name. But like everyone's said, lots of others have given to the fund. It stands at £115,856.92. According to Bring Madeleine Home