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Tourists Try to ‘Rescue’ Madeleine McCann Look-Alike
August 19, 2008 10:55 AM
By Stephen Webb, ABC News London
We all want to see missing British girl Madeleine McCann brought home safe and sound, but the intensity of emotional investment on the part of the public in the case demonstrably has its perils.
Two British tourists on holiday in Croatia recently were so convinced that a small blond child they had spotted was Madeleine that they decided to rescue her. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the missing 5-year-old. It wasn’t even a girl.
The U.K. newspaper The Mirror reported the unnamed Brits, who were vacationing on the island of Krk, saw the look-alike walking along a beach with a woman. They followed the pair and even secretly took photos.
The Daily Mail, another U.K. newspaper, reported that when the woman wasn’t looking, they grabbed the child's arm, and then realized their mistake.
The child was in fact the 2-year old son of a Crotian footballer, Dino Drpic, and glamour model, Nives Drpic.
It is reported that yesterday Nives said: "I started getting suspicious when the British woman approached Leone and started chatting with him … Suddenly she grabbed him by the arm, apparently thinking nobody was watching him … However, when I went over she realized her mistake and apologized."
Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007 while on holiday in Portugal with her parents. She was 3 years old at the time. There have been hundreds of reported sightings across the world since.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
August 19, 2008 in Stephen Webb | Permalink | User Comments (3)
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That's kind of weird. How do we know they weren't trying to kidnap the little boy, and just made up the Madeline story when they got caught?
I dunno, maybe reading too much news has jaded me a bit.
Posted by: Mina | Aug 19, 2008 11:43:04 AM
If they thought it was her they should have stayed close and phoned the police. If I were the parent I would have pressed charges against them if that was something that could be done there. I'm sure the people meant well but they should have stopped for a minute and thought it through.
Posted by: Melcoast | Aug 19, 2008 3:45:22 PM
Why doesn't someone just shoot the look-alike, pedophile father of Jon Benet Ramsey? Who knows, maybe they'll get it right.
Posted by: THELAWTODAY8 | Aug 20, 2008 12:31:01 PM
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