ABC’s 20/20 did a story this week about the missing little girl, Madeleine. A year ago the world learned that the sweet little girl named Madeleine had been kidnapped from the hotel room her family was in while vacationing in Portugal. You’ll remember the media making their buck off of the story as it turned from tragic, to accusatory, to critical. It was as if the parents were to blame for the kidnapping of their own daughter.

I watched the special on 20/20 and couldn’t help to think how horrible this really is for Madeleine and her family. An innocent little girl apparently taken from her hotel room while her parents, both doctors, were enjoying dinner with vacationing friends 50 feet away at the hotel’s restaurant. I can think of no harder thing for a parent to have to live with. The only thing keeping their heads somewhat on straight is the fact that they still have to raise Madeleine’s younger twin brothers.

Amazingly Madeleine’s parents are trying to turn their nightmare into something positive for all of Europe by pushing for a European version of the Amber Alert system here in the U.S..

At this point Madeleine could be almost anywhere and it would be easy to write her off and try to block her out of our minds. Please don’t. Please think of her every day and maybe you’ll spot her, or maybe you’ll spot some $#@$%#@!! in the process of taking some other child and be able to help stop this worst possible crime.

To stay abreast of this sad story or to help Madeleine’s parents continue to investigate this kidnapping please visit their site at: Find Madeleine

Never forget.

Let’s hope someone out there who knows her whereabouts does the right thing. Let’s also do what we can to help prevent this from happening to any other child. Be alert, stay alert, help protect children that can’t defend themselves.