http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/38203/...annon-laughing-

WHY WAS SHANNON LAUGHING?



Shannon was hidden in divan bed

Sunday March 16,2008
By David Paul Have your say(26)
POLICE want to examine the exact nature of the relationship between Shannon Matthews and the man who is suspected of abducting her.


The mystery of how she came to be found hiding under a bed in a shabby upstairs flat with her stepfather’s uncle, Paul Drake, is now the key focus of their investigation.



In a shock twist last night, it emerged that neighbours of Drake have told police that they heard the youngster laughing and joking with him.



Meanwhile, Shannon’s mother, Karen, was thrust into the spotlight as social workers also prepared to launch a full investigation into her daughter’s disappearance.



As Ms Matthews, 32, said she had been “overwhelmed” to be reunited with Shannon, it became clear she was only allowed to spend a short time with her.



Ms Matthews said: “When I first saw Shannon again I just couldn’t stop crying, knowing she’s back where she belongs and she’s safe.




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“I never gave up hope and now she’ll be able to come home and sleep in her room again. We’ve got her new pink bedding which she’ll love.”



But Shannon may be kept away from her family for several days while police gently question her about the run-up to her disappearance and what went on while she was in 39-year-old Drake’s home.



Yesterday the nine-year-old, who went missing for 24 days, was being cared for at a secret location by specially-trained officers.



They said she had been thrilled when they gave her a kitten to play with. After Shannon was found, she spent the night cheerfully watching DVDs and was described as “bubbly and excited” before enjoying a good night’s sleep.



The police added that Shannon was now “starting on the road to recovery following her ordeal” and they were letting the youngster get used to her new surroundings before even beginning to interview her.



When police are convinced Shannon is ready to talk, everything she says will be recorded on video to save the youngster the ordeal of having to give evidence in court.



It was unclear last night whether social workers had been involved with Shannon’s family before she vanished.



But in the wake of new information that has emerged since then, they are expected to hold a series of meetings to decide her future starting tomorrow.



Shannon’s grandmother, June Matthews, 64, has alleged that Karen’s lover, supermarket fishmonger Craig Meehan, 22, has hit the schoolgirl. He strenuously denies the allegation.



Shannon’s uncle, Martin Matthews, 42, claims that on the night before she disappeared Shannon pleaded to stay with him because she was too frightened to go home after falling out with Craig.



Questions began to be raised over Shannon’s home life amid speculation that she was deeply unhappy in the weeks before her disappearance. She scribbled a sad note on her bedroom wall saying: “I want to live with my dad.”



A highly-placed source in Dewsbury’s local authority confirmed an investigation into Ms Matthews’s lifestyle and parenting would be carried out in the next few days.



Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Express, he said: “It is obvious that what has happened to Shannon has raised a number of questions about her family. Lots of possibilities are being looked into at the moment.



“It is all being dealt with in a very delicate way but there is more than a small possibility that it will change.



“I also know for a fact that officers are investigating certain aspects of Ms Matthews’s lifestyle which, if true, will raise further concerns. It is pretty obvious we will also be looking into the extent to which her parents knew about what is said to have happened.”



Shannon is currently the subject of an emergency police protection order.



A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “Following medical checks, we will begin the process of interviewing Shannon.



“This may be a long process but throughout this inquiry our main focus has been, and continues to be, Shannon’s welfare.



“We have therefore taken the decision that for now it is in Shannon’s best interests that she be made the subject of an emergency police protection order. This will remain in place until we have had time to establish the full facts of what happened since her disappearance.”

I'm not surprised when I read her say somewhere that the person who had kidnapped Shannon did that to hurt her (the mother) that just sounded very munchausen.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/0804_shannon.shtml

Did she know all along?
Shannon's mum 'based kidnap plot of TV's Shameless'
By Chris Pragnell

SHANNON Matthews' mum has allegedly confessed to police she knew where her missing daughter was all along.
Karen Matthews, 32, was arrested on Sunday night on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and is still being held for questioning.

Police sources say the mum-of-seven told officers she planned to leave her partner of four years - fishmonger Craig Meehan, 22 - to start a new life.

READ: Real dad demands custody

Meehan remains in custody charged with possessing child porn.

According to reports, Meehan's uncle Michale Donovan - in custody charged with Shannon's kidnap - had offered Karen a place to live.

She may have packed her belongings but backed out at the last minute, say police sources.

Detectives are now probing the theory that panicking Karen reported her daughter missing after Donovan had already picked Shannon up from school.

And in a sensational twist, officers are also investigating claims that associates of the Matthews family tried to get cash from the Madelein McCann fund.

Bizarrely, the kidnap plan may have been based on the plot of an episode of Channel 4 drama Shameless.

Karen, of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, is the fourth family member to be arrested in connection with the nine-year-old's disappearance on February 19.

Police sources said last night that detectives had been granted a superintendent's extension to allow further questioning.

Friends and relatives in the Moorside Road area of Dewsbury spoke yesterday of their shock at the latest arrest.

Mrs Matthews' cousin, Vicky Saunders, said: "I was just shocked. I can't believe it myself.

"I was with Karen when Shannon first went missing, I went and helped, she was in a state."

Petra Jamieson, 30, a friend and neighbour, said Mrs Matthews' arrest had left the community feeling confused.

"Everyone's feeling probably exactly the same, crushed, all the news that's come out since Wednesday, everyone's had mixed emotions," she said.

Shannon was discovered in the base of a bed at an address just one mile from her home after a 24-day police search.

Donovan, formerly known as Paul Drake, of Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, was arrested on March 14 after Shannon was found in the bed at his flat.

Craig Meehan's sister, Amanda Hyett, 25, who lives next door to Shannon's mother in Moorside Road, and his mother, Alice Meehan, 49, were both arrested in connection with the alleged abduction.

The women were arrested on Thursday, the 25-year-old on suspicion of assisting an offender, and the 49-year-old on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The pair were granted bail the following day pending further inquiries.

It was revealed on Sunday that kidnap suspect Donovan slit his wrists while on remand at Leeds Prison.

The incident happened on Saturday night and he was taken to hospital before being returned to prison.

While police searched for Shannon, someone claiming to be her aunt asked for money from the fund set up to help find missing Madeleine McCann, it was reported.

McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "She didn't seem to understand why we couldn't just send a large wad of cash. I must admit I found it a bit odd.

"The fund directors considered helping the search as a gesture of goodwill.

" But I was concerned about the haphazard method of approach and suggested we didn't get involved."

It is also reported that police investigating Shannon's disappearance have asked for a tape of an episode of Channel 4's Shameless which featured a fake kidnap plot.

In the episode - shown around a month before Mrs Matthews reported her daughter missing - teenager Debbie Gallagher hides her younger brother Liam at a friend's house and pretends he has been kidnapped.

She then demands a £500,000 ransom from her father, Frank, who is thought to have won the same sum on the Lottery.