PICTURE!!!!! Is it Maddie???

[CaliKid]

I hope it's her but don't think it is. Remember the little Belgian girl?

 

[sleuthin4fun]

No, it doesn't look much like Maddie. A child of the same age and sex, but that's about it.

McCanns have hired a private detective agency, CRG, which is generating these Morocco leads. More spin.

It may surprise some here to learn that not all Moroccans are dark. The country was occupied by French and Spanish forces over the years. Germans, too. (Remember the movie "Casablanca?) There are blue-eyed, fair-haired Moroccans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco#European_influence

That is so true. I was an L&D nurse for years. I had a young couple who came in and had a baby. Hispanic couple with typical features both dark skinned, dark hair, dark eyes. The baby was born and looked just like them. Dad left to get the 6yo sibling. When he came back with her she was blonde haired and blue eyed. I was speachless. They said that they were not sure where the hair and eyes came from but said that his sister looked the same.

 

[solidarity]

I think a good exercise would be to get a child of similar proportions to those of Maddie, and place her in a sling on someone's back just to see how much of a bulk she creates. I personally think that the child in the picture is more like a 2 year old than a 4 year old....but then again, we've heard Maddie was small for her age. I have my doubts that it is her, but I feel every avenue should be explored.

If this photo gets enough coverage in Morocco, then surely someone could identify these people, or they themselves could come forward and present the child look-alike.

 

[JanetElaine]

I don't know a darn thing about cell phones but I do know that 200 meters is 656 feet. So how good are the cell phone cameras these days? Can they take pictures like that at such a distance?

 

[JanetElaine]

I think the woman wearing navy blue walking next to the grandmother looks like a Westerner. The baby is probably her child.

Do you think this only because of the clothes she's wearing? Because they are pretty normal for Morocco.

 

[ThoughtFox]

The part being on the wrong side doesn't matter either, if these are photoshopped. Even with MS-Paint, you can flip an image with one click - easy.

To me it just lacks proper proportion. You can't see the childs bum, or hands securing her to the adult or any indication she is holding on as a child that old would be doing, in my experiences. The woman doesn't look like any significant weight is being carried, not in her shoulders, not in her stance. Plus the blond child happens to be looking directly at the camera like so many beautiful pictures of Maddie taken prior to her missing. If she was taken, they wouldn't at least try to disguise her?!?!

I agree with all that - I kept looking for her hands and feet. Why carry a child that large so low on your back? It's very odd. My first thought was why they were making an older woman carry a heavy child, instead of the younger woman?

 

[wtsn5]

I think it is a man carrying the child. I also see an arm of the little girl in the picture, pink on the shoudrs with a offwhite on the arm. Also the little child is not the only one looking at the camera look at the boy in orange he is also looking at the camera.

I pray to God that it is her and she is safe.

 

[Kezlyn]

I don't think it's her. Just a child with light hair that people don't expect to see in Morocco.

You cannot see her arms and legs because she is being carried in a sling wrapped around the adult - that is also why she is low and doesn't seem to be much of a burden.

 

[Chanler]

I would be surprised if it is Madeleine. More likely, it is a picture of two European children being escorted to or from school/day care by family servants (not at all uncommon in Morocco.)

 

[hcc2007]

Oh how I could hope it is Madeleine! You guys are geniuses, having figured out so much about the picture already (natural part, morphing, etc.). Wow.

She looks like MY daughter at that age -- and so, unfortunately, like 1000s of little girls the world over, as someone has already said.

As for dark people having blonde children, light coloring is recessive so it can pop up unexpectedly when two dark people have the recessive gene. AND there's a historical connection between Morocco and Ireland, so I've heard. Via ancient sea routes.

I'm not inclined to think it's a fake, as some have said. But then again, this case is nutty enough that anything could happen. And the timing is a little suspicious.

Good sleuthing you all!

 

[Elphaba]

You know me, I am going to inject my photographer's eye... I am not perfect in reading pictures, but my abilities have been recognized by NASA, in the past, if that is worth anything of credibility.

The picture: on first glance, the child in the picture seems to have a broad nose... my feeling is that a shot that far away would be more about brightness, than contrast, because since the nose projects from the face it will be the part that captures the most light... so in my opinion: Maddie's nose probably wouldn't appear that broad. As well, the child in the image seems to have deeper set eyes... again, far away shot, brightness vs contrast... eyes are inward on the face, so they will capture less light. Maddie's eyes, since they aren't really set too fark back in her face, wouldn't look as deep as the child's in the image As well, the hair: how the hair lays and with the prominent gap in the part, suggests that the child has a definitive "cow lick" parting her hair... Maddie's hair is straight like the child in the picture, but Maddie's images do not seem to show any hint of a "cow lick"... plus when Maddie's hair is slightly parted, it's on the opposite of her head.


Overall, I can't say with 100% surety that this is not Maddie... I'll go with "80% not her", "20% probablity of it being her". As well, I really can't dismiss the probability that it isn't her based upon if someone kidnapped her they would have changed her appearance. There are enough dumb criminals out there to prove that sometimes people don't know how to cover their bums to go undetected.

So... that's my take on things...

 

[JanetElaine]

I think it is a man carrying the child. I also see an arm of the little girl in the picture, pink on the shoudrs with a offwhite on the arm. Also the little child is not the only one looking at the camera look at the boy in orange he is also looking at the camera.

I pray to God that it is her and she is safe.

That's a girl... look at the skirt.... or are my computer settings off?

 

[pinto]

I think it is a man carrying the child. I also see an arm of the little girl in the picture, pink on the shoudrs with a offwhite on the arm. Also the little child is not the only one looking at the camera look at the boy in orange he is also looking at the camera.

I pray to God that it is her and she is safe.

You are correct, the other child is looking at the camera. I was originally looking at the cropped picture in the Telegraph article, not the other link; that child is only half shown. (I think it's a girl in the orange ... with a flower on the tshirt, and a skirt ... and a ponytail?)

And I do see a child there ... you can see the weight pulling on the strap across the chest of the carrier, and also the waist, right above the red stripes. I think it's a man, except it appears to have *advertiser censored*? LOL. I don't think women wear hats like that ... usually scarves. And everything else looks like a man, except for those boob things.

If you look up "berber people" on Wikipedia, there is an engraving of a Berber family crossing a river, and the men have the babies strapped on them in a similar fashion. Kinda weird.

berber family

 

[JanetElaine]

Again, if anyone knows this: are cell phone cameras able to take pictures at 656 feet distance?

 

[pinto]

Again, if anyone knows this: are cell phone cameras able to take pictures at 656 feet distance?

Yeah, I wondered about that, but I didn't see where it said it was a camera phone? Except on this thread. The article only says "200 meters."

Unless I missed something, which is always possible.

And to reiterate, if it's true that Interpol is taking it seriously, I think they'd have been able to tell if it's a chop or not.

 

[Texana]

Again, if anyone knows this: are cell phone cameras able to take pictures at 656 feet distance?

JanetElaine, my 14 year old just came running to tell me that I HAVE to post immediately and answer your question:

Yes, good photos can be taken from such a distance, especially with some of the newer phones including the Razr., iPhone, even her (cheap, her sister is adding) two year old cell phone, using the zoom feature.



(post dictated by both little Texanas.)

 

[Chanler]

You are correct, the other child is looking at the camera. I was originally looking at the cropped picture in the Telegraph article, not the other link; that child is only half shown. (I think it's a girl in the orange ... with a flower on the tshirt, and a skirt ... and a ponytail?)

And I do see a child there ... you can see the weight pulling on the strap across the chest of the carrier, and also the waist, right above the red stripes. I think it's a man, except it appears to have *advertiser censored*? LOL. I don't think women wear hats like that ... usually scarves. And everything else looks like a man, except for those boob things.

If you look up "berber people" on Wikipedia, there is an engraving of a Berber family crossing a river, and the men have the babies strapped on them in a similar fashion. Kinda weird.

berber family

I think that it is a woman carrying the child. My girlfriend and I saw numerous large size, sturdy-looking women in Morocco; it's not surprising: they perform lots of manual labor. From what I remember, you see few racially mixed couples, especially in Marrakesh and the rest of the south.

 

[philamena]

Looks like a joke to me. The man-woman-whoever is supposed to be carrying the child isn't carrying anyone imo. Looks like someone superimposed a blond haired child on the original picture. Doesn't look like anyone in that family would have a blond haired child does it? Or maybe it's just me.

 

[pinto]

Doesn't look like anyone in that family would have a blond haired child does it?

I think that's the point.

 

[haypaula]

Although the photo is blurred, the little girl's features (nose) and hair color resemble Maddie's.

I was struck by how out of place the little blond girl looks amid the dark-haired boy and the raven-haired woman carrying her.

IMO