The "German Madeleine McCann" story

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/527755/Peggy-Knobloch-body-found-missing-child-school-girl-Germany-Bavaria-forest


Body found in search for 'German Maddie' after 15 years hunting

THE body of a schoolgirl who went missing 15 years ago has been found at last, bringing the story of her disappearance to a tragic conclusion.





By Michael Havis / Published 5th July 2016

Peggy Knobloch never came home from school in 2001, sparking an international effort to try and find her that ended without success.

Her disappearance aged nine has drawn comparisons to that of Madeleine McCann, which also led to an international missing person search.

The three-year-old went missing from the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal in 2007, with sightings soon following from all around the world.

But now Peggy’s story is at an end, with authorities in her native Germany saying a body found near her home is "most probably" hers.


After Peggy disappeared in 2001, police and army officers searched in and around her village for weeks, even using military planes in a bid to help.

Their search soon led them to the Czech Republic and Turkey, with it theorised that she might have been kidnapped, yet she remained missing and a murder probe began.

Now a body has been found in a forest just nine miles from her home in Bavaria, along with personal items apparently belonging to Peggy, including her watch.

She was found by a mushroom picker, most likely after wild animals picked up the scent of the body and excavated it, according to a legal representative.


DNA testing and a radiological examination are expected to shed more light on how she died, but her cause of death has not yet been established.

However investigators believe that Peggy was not killed at the site, which remains under lockdown as police continue looking for clues.

Attorney Thomas Villwock told German newspaper Bild: "Obviously wildlife have picked up the scent and excavated the body parts.

"She was found at around 1.30pm by mushroom pickers on Saturday. Personal items were also found that indicate it was Peggy."

A local man with a learning disability was in 2002 accused of killing Peggy to cover up that he had sexually abused her.

Though he was convicted and jailed for life in 2004, his conviction was overturned and he was later freed.

Since then nobody has been charged with the murder.

The body has not yet been formally identified.

The BBC's report on it (which doesn't include the word 'Maddie' in it)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36706263

And here's the Sun with the 'German Maddie' headline.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1393769/girl-who-went-missing-from-school-15-years-ago-is-discovered-in-forest-just-nine-miles-from-her-home/


I must admit, I've never heard of this tragic case until about half an hour ago.

Poor little Peggy. RIP.

The 'German Madeleine McCann'.....

Not read anything yet saying Peggy's mother reeked of cadaver or her father was seen carrying a child matching the same description etc...

Madeleine McCann WAS NOT ABDUCTED..... So struggling to see any comparisons at all.

Apart from that sadly 2 little innocent girls lost their lives.

Certainly nothing like the McCann case either in view of the total absence until now as far as I'm aware of any publicity outside Germany.

I fail to see how this case has any resemblance to that of Madeleine McCann. The child is much older and was walking home from school.

On the other hand, it might be interesting to hear about more about the family of the girl...no quotes from the family at all?

Possibly strange...

ETA:......maybe the McCanns were aware of this case.....

The expression 'digging your own grave' springs to mind....

Andrew wrote:The BBC's report on it (which doesn't include the word 'Maddie' in it)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36706263

So the family put up a headstone above an empty grave in the same year that the child went missing???

 

ETA: the same MONTH she went missing.....

The headstone gives the 'death' date as 7th May 2001....so what date did she disappear in May - that only gives 7 days for the headstone to appear...

I'd be looking closely at the relationships the child had with her mother and particularly step-father and 'friends' who came to the house.

Unbelievable.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/3xoxjd/the_disappearance_of_peggy_knobloch/

poster wrote:

Andrew wrote:The BBC's report on it (which doesn't include the word 'Maddie' in it)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36706263

So the family put up a headstone above an empty grave in the same year that the child went missing???

 

ETA: the same MONTH she went missing.....

The headstone gives the 'death' date as 7th May 2001....so what date did she disappear in May - that only gives 7 days for the headstone to appear...

I imagine that the headstone was put up at some later date, not the date shown on the stone

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/five-reasons-german-maddies-disappearance-8356967



Five reasons why 'German Maddie's' disappearance 15 years ago is strikingly similar to the McCann case

20:49, 5 JUL 2016 UPDATED 20:50, 5 JUL 2016

BY SOPHIE EVANS
Peggy Knobloch vanished on her way back from primary school in Germany in May 2001 - six years before Madeleine McCann disappeared in Portugal



It was tragically confirmed today that a nine-year-old girl who went missing in Germany 15 years ago has been found dead in woodland.

Peggy Knobloch disappeared on her way home from primary school in Thueringen, Bavaria, in May 2001, sparking an international manhunt.

Six years later, the youngster would come to be dubbed the 'German Maddie' - after another blonde-haired girl, Madeleine McCann, vanished in Portugal.

While Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, remains missing, Peggy's bones were discovered by a mushroom picker near her family's home on Saturday.

It is believed the remains were found alongside a piece of jewellery - possibly a watch - that the little girl was wearing when she disappeared.

But what do Peggy's case and Madeleine's ongoing disappearance have in common? Here, we have listed five remarkably similar things about the two girls.

Police/AFP/Getty ImagesPeggy (pictured) disappeared on her way home from primary school in Bavaria, Germany, in May 2001Peggy (pictured) disappeared on her way home from primary school in Bavaria, Germany, in May 2001
1. Similar appearance
Peggy had blonde hair - just like Madeleine. The German youngster also had bright blue eyes, while Madeleine has 'blue and green eyes'.

However, the latter has a distinctive blemish on her right eye - something that has been widely-publicised during the ongoing search for her.

The pair also have a similar face shape.

2. Both vanished with no clues
Both of the girls vanished with no clues as to why or how they had disappeared.

On the day she went missing, Peggy's last words to her mum, Susanne Knobloch, as she left the house for school were, 'I love you'.

Hours later, the alarm was raised after the youngster vanished while walking home in broad daylight, Abendzeitung reports.

No trace of her was found until Saturday - 15 years after her disappearance - when her remains were discovered in a German forest.

PAPeggy had bright blue eyes, while Madeleine (pictured) has 'blue and green eyes' with a blemish on the right onePeggy had bright blue eyes, while Madeleine (pictured) has 'blue and green eyes' with a blemish on the right one
Similarly, Madeleine, then just three, vanished without a trace from her family's apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia de Luz on May 3, 2007.

At the time, her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were eating at a nearby restaurant.

Over the past nine years, the couple, along with police in Britain and Portugal, have desperately tried to find clues that may lead them to the missing youngster.

3. Fears of abduction
In both cases, there have been abduction fears - with police officers sent to various countries.

After Peggy vanished, German officers were dispatched to the Czech Republic and Turkey amid concerns the youngster had been kidnapped and taken abroad.

READ MORE
Madeleine McCann and Ben Needham feature in video for International Missing Children's Day song
And since Madeleine's disappearance, members of the public have claimed to have seen the youngster in Paraguay, Spain, Morocco and Sweden, among other places.

There are also numerous theories about the latter case, including that Madeleine was abducted by a paedophile or snatched by thieves during a botched robbery.

4. Confessions
There have been 'confessions' in both disappearances.

In 2002, a man with a learning disability who lived near Peggy's home was accused of murdering her after allegedly sexually abusing her.

He was locked up for life in 2004 after confessing to killing the primary school student in a bid to cover up the reported abuse.

Action Press/REX/ShutterstockPolice officers carry a box at the site where Peggy's remains were foundPolice officers carry a box at the site where Peggy's remains were found
However, the man was released 10 years later after he withdrew his confession and his conviction was overturned.

Meanwhile, in Madeleine's case, a paedophile who was suspected of being involved in her disappearance apparently admitted to knowing what happened to her.

Raymond Hewlett claimed in a letter to his estranged son that he knew the toddler had been abducted 'to order' by a gypsy gang, the Daily Mail reported.

The 64-year-old reportedly made the claim in 2012, shortly before he died.

4. Families thrown into the limelight
The distraught families of Peggy and Madeleine were reluctantly thrown into the limelight after the little girls vanished.

Susanne Knobloch delivered a public statement after the man who confessed to killing her young daughter was sentenced to life in prison.

Action Press/REX/ShutterstockPolice officers at the site where remains were found
The mum, who was also pictured in court during the case, found her family in the headlines again a decade later when the same man was released.

Meanwhile, Madeleine's parents have frequently appeared in newspapers across the world during the ongoing search for their missing daughter.

The couple have set up an official website, Find Madeleine, and held a prayer gathering in May to mark the anniversary of the day the little girl vanished.

The pair recently lost a £360,000 libel battle with ex-Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral, who wrote a book accusing them of 'lying' about Madeleine's disappearance

Andrew wrote:http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/five-reasons-german-maddies-disappearance-8356967



Five reasons why 'German Maddie's' disappearance 15 years ago is strikingly similar to the McCann case

Typical crap reporting,it should read The McCann case is similar to the German disappearance,if its similar at all,the family friends hand are all over it.

Shockingly sh!t and very disrespectful as per usual when trying to shoehorn the Madeleine McCann case into literally anything.

... Plenty of clues left when Madeleine 'vanished' though.

The dogs confirmed that. Not to mention the parents mountain of bullsh!t lies and discrepancies.

What a load of ball clips and pickled onion sh*t!

Just to add the Express version on it as well, so they didn't feel left out.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/686584/Peggy-Knobloch-Body-of-German-Madeline-McCann-found-15-years-after-her-disappearance

14 pictures of Madeleine (when you click on slideshow thing) and a picture of Kate and Gerry.

I am sick to death of seeing a picture of Kate and Gerry.

froggy wrote:

poster wrote:

Andrew wrote:The BBC's report on it (which doesn't include the word 'Maddie' in it)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36706263

So the family put up a headstone above an empty grave in the same year that the child went missing???

 

ETA: the same MONTH she went missing.....

The headstone gives the 'death' date as 7th May 2001....so what date did she disappear in May - that only gives 7 days for the headstone to appear...

I imagine that the headstone was put up at some later date, not the date shown on the stone

Ah yes - that makes sense....it would have been put up when the murderer convenient patsy was convicted in 2002 I think it was...

Of interest, perhaps, that I think it was reported that the child's biological father and grandparents did not believe the conviction was sound.

There is not much information (in English anyway) that I can find from over the years on the case of Peggy Knobloch. I say not much information, practically none.

A wiki entry in German but when you put it through translate, it's a bit over the show.

As I said earlier today, I have never heard or come across this tragic case before. Not until the 'McCann' name got attached to it like it does with practically every single child disappearance.

But did the McCanns themselves want this publicity I wonder..........

There has been mention of this poor girl over the years. Just look at the picture of her in the Sun, now we can maybe see the template TM used for the 'iconic' picture of Madeleine. Red clothes, bobbed short hair same colour, same expressive eyes, heart shaped face. Peggy was nine but the similarities are there.

I can't stand that the old headshot of a younger Madeleine is how the world remembers her, it must have been used by thousands of papers and magazines around the world. Picked because Madeleine  still looks like a toddler, but her expression has always got to me. Peggy looks more confident being older.

But there are enough similarities in the two pictures to make me wonder was Peggy's used by the McCann's when looking for the most appealing one?

Striking similarities Hope

Peggy also disappeared the first week in May.

But the rush by the media to liken the whole case to Madeleine's is a disgrace. Peggy is not the German Madeleine McCann, she was a 9 year old girl named Peggy Knobloch.  May she rest in peace the poor little pet.


But the two pictures are very similar.

I would still like to know whether Team McCann have approved all this MSM latest...

Most of the stories are planted with TM's instruction and quotes from the usual 'source' guff. Not seen anything from a 'source' which makes me think that the MSM have ran the 'Maddie' connection of their own back. (for once)

Team McCann would never want to be connected to a little girl whose body has been 'found'. If she was still missing and 'findable' then their TM paws would be over it like a rash.

Just my thoughts.....

I would guess that the only reason that this case was not mentioned previously in the same breath as the McCann one is that Peggy was assumed (correctly it now seems) to be dead and the person responsible was thought to have been caught.

The intention was always to reinforce the idea that Madeleine was alive and, with everyone's efforts apart from the McCanns, she would be found.

P.S. Just seen your post, Andrew.