Express: 'We should never give up on Maddie'

Can you imagine how many girls are out there who have been stolen from their families?

One good thing to come out of this is that the world cannot deny this child trafficking crime anymore. So that is the first step in stopping it.

Mystery Greece girl: First picture emerges of couple accused of snatching 'blonde angel'

THIS is the couple accused of abducting a mystery young blonde girl in Greece.


The image was released by Greek police today as the pair arrived at a Greek court to deny snatching the “blonde angel.”

The child, known only as Maria, was discovered at a gypsy camp in Greece last week where she was living with Constantinos Katsavos, 39, and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, 40.

DNA tests proved the Roma suspects who were living at a gypsy camp were not the child's real parents which sparked a worldwide appeal to find the girl's family.


The suspects today told a court in Larissa today that her biological mother willingly gave the child to them because she could not look after her.

A lawyer representing Katsavos said: "It was an adoption that was not exactly legal but took place with the mother's consent."

The pair were arrested after police raided a Roma camp in search of drugs and weapons and found the pale skin girl who did resemble the family she was living with.

The couple, who faced charges of abduction and procuring false documents, denied that they had snatched the child at a magistrates court.


The girl who has been dubbed the 'blonde angel' by Greek media can only utter a few works in Greek and Roma dialect.

Police believe based on her appearance she is eastern of Northern European.

It was initially thought the child was aged four but a dental examination revealed the child is between five and six-year-old.

So far the charity looking after the girl, The Smile of the Child charity, have received calls from more than 5,000 people living in Texas to Sweden.

As the couple faced charges members of the Roma community gathered outside to show their support and claim the suspects were being stigmatised.

Babis Dimitriou, the head of the local Roma community, said: "They are completely innocent. These are all fairy tales and we're going to prove it to society.

"They accuse the Roma of everything - of stealing, of snatching kids. Do these things only happen among our race? This is a huge insult for us."



Police said the couple were living with up to 14 children and Dimopoulou had two different identification documents.

The case has given fresh hope to Ben Needham's mother Kerry, who has spent 13 years looking for her child.

Her son was just 21 months old when he vanished from the Greek island of Kos in 1991, the same location where the mystery child was discovered.

While the parents of Madeleine McCann said they were buoyed by the discovery after their daughter went missing in 2007 and has yet to be found.

A spokesperson for Kate and Gerry McCann said: “They have always maintained that until there is evidence to prove otherwise, missing children can still be out there waiting to be found.”


http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/438307/Mystery-Greece-girl-First-picture-emerges-of-couple-accused-of-snatching-blonde-angel

Thank you, Lily. This must be heartbreaking for Ben Needham's family - if only those camps had been searched when he disappeared!

It must be gut wrenching for them Bonny.

I agree with the title of this topic:

WE ARE ALL HERE DOING OUR BEST TO HELP,

UNTIL THE DAY MADELEINE McCANN RETURNS SAFE AND SOUND TO HER HOME.

Absolutely, pedro.

yes lily.