WOW! This is incredible,
fantastic news! /insert *happy dance emoji*
I know this happened way back in August but I took a bit of an hiatus from WS so am only found out about this while scrolling through my subscribed threads yesterday. (That'll teach me not to take such long hiatuses next time around
).
Just fantastic news!
Maria sounds like she's doing considerably well given the horrible circumstances she's been through... I cannot even imagine. Her mother NEVER stopped believing she was out there somewhere - and frankly, most of us here didn't either!
Not to be all "coulda-shoulda-woulda", but I recall awhile back in this thread there being some theories that Maria could likely be in Italy or Spain. And then it came out that one or two people thought they had seen her in Italy, to which they reported it to police and/or media. Turns out, they were right.
However, it's quite apparent that neither Interpol, Europol nor Italian LE ever fully followed up on those sightings, or at least they didn't bother investigating her disappearance further and with more scrutiny. That will always bother me (and how lackadaisical the authorities took her case for the most) as it could've saved Maria and her parents a few years less of turmoil and anguish if she had been found sooner.
Anyway, so glad about this wonderful outcome. I'm sure it's going to be really rough for her for awhile but at least she's back where she should be and with the people who love her most, and knows that she is loved and that her dear mother never stopped loving or looking for her, even when people told her to stop. I hope Haase gets the maximum in prison and deals with consequences of his actions for the rest of his life, as we know Maria definitely will.
