APARTMENT 5A NO LONGER 'FOR LET' - ANOTHER TRACEY KANDOHLA / SUN STORY

'wiping away the horror'


Infamous holiday villa where Maddie McCann went missing is closed to ‘spooked’ holidaymakers


Infamous Apartment 5A has now been sold to a British gran after complaints from tourists

THE holiday flat where Madeleine McCann vanished from has finally been closed to tourists after complaints they were “too spooked” to stay there.

Infamous Apartment 5A in Portugal’s picturesque Praia da Luz has now been sold to a British gran who is enjoying holidaying there while trying to “wipe away all memories of the horror that happened.”


Madeleine McCann disappeared while on holiday with her family in Portugal
The property, which the new owner is partially shielding from public view, was axed from tour operators’ recommended accommodation after stunned holidaymakers learned it was “the Maddie flat.”

A British expat living in the resort told The Sun Online said today: “The place is no longer being used as a holiday option. I’m surprised it lasted so long as a viable let with its grim history.”

Portuguese police fear the youngster died accidentally in the seaside resort’s sought-after property. But her parents believe she was kidnapped while they were dining in a nearby tapas bar with pals, and could still be alive.


As the Spring holiday season approaches the ground floor, two-bedroom apartment in the popular Algarve destination is no longer available to families and couples after Maddie’s disappearance nearly 10 years ago.

The local villager said: “Quite wrongly, many people staying there over the years were never told of its past and when they found out they were spooked out and some asked to move. But is wasn’t always possible because the complex is busy and often full.

“There were lots of complaints from clients and unfortunately it put them off ever coming back again.”
Whitewashed Apartment 5A in the Ocean Club was once sealed off as a crime scene as forensic experts and cadaver “blood” and “death” trained sniffer dogs scoured it after three-year-old Maddie was snatched from her bed during a family holiday in May 2007.

But it was later re-let by posh tour operator Mark Warner, who are now understood to have completely pulled out of that holiday complex after negative “kidnapped girl” publicity.


The McCann family stayed in an apartment at the Ocean club, The Disapearance of Madeleine McCann, Praia Da Luz, Portugal

Sketch of man seen carrying a child in Praia da Luz on the night Maddie was last seen

The little girl would be 14 this year after disappearing almost 10 years ago

Gerry and Kate McCann arrive for the libel case against former Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral at Lisbon’s Palace of Justice in Lisbon
Tasteless “Maddie” bus tours had even been given in later years, showing ghoulish holidaymakers the flat from the street and the church where heartbroken parents Kate and Gerry McCann once prayed for their daughter’s safe return.
A Dutch mum and her husband who stayed in the accommodation last summer blasted holiday bosses for not warning them of the sickening past.

The middle-aged woman and her husband looked visibly shocked when they learned it was the place where Maddie had last been seen alive by her parents.

It’s terrible. No one told us when we booked the apartment, we didn’t have a clue.
Mumwho stayed in the accommodation last summer

The woman, speaking in perfect English and who declined to be named, said: “We had no idea this was where Madeleine had disappeared from. It’s terrible. No one told us when we booked the apartment, we didn’t have a clue.

“They should have let us know because we would have chosen another villa. We will be speaking to the manager about this. I know it is the past but it is their duty to explain what happened because some people, definitely those with children, would be put off.

“We’re here on our own but we don’t like the thought that something horrible happened to that little girl where we’re staying. It’s tragic and the worst thing that could ever happen to a parent, particularly a mother.”



Kate and Gerry McCann have spent years searching for their missing daughter who they believe to still be alive

Kate McCann: Son asked if she'd hid Madeleine


The holidaymaker added: “Even in Holland we all know about the Madeleine story and that she disappeared from this resort but did not dream it was from the place we booked. The villa has been renovated and decorated nicely and we will stay put. But it sends shivers down my spine to think that girl came to harm here and that all the police and dogs were searching for clues inside.”

The apartment owner had been renting it out for many years through the Ocean Club.
"The retired teacher from Liverpool co-incidentally called Ruth McCann – no relation to Maddie’s parents despite being from her mum’s home city – died a few years ago.

The place is no longer being used as a holiday option. I’m surprised it lasted so long as a viable let with its grim history.
British expat living in the resort

Her family who inherited the “damaged” property were desperate to sell it while still being used as a holiday but failed for a long time to find a buyer because of the history.

A British expat living in the resort told The Sun Online said today: “The place is no longer being used as a holiday option. I’m surprised it lasted so long as a viable let with its grim history.

“No one wanted to rent the place and no one wanted to buy it.

"What happened to Maddie was awful and everyone hopes she can be found alive but it seems very doubtful.
"It’s a lovely resort and although it’s still busy at times the drama surrounding that poor girl has taken it’s toll on tourism generally.”


Holidaymakers have slammed the 'appalling' tour of the apartment where Maddie was last seen

Kate McCann - Exclusive Appeal


Portuguese police fear three-year-old Maddie died accidentally in the apartment while her parents insist she could still be alive after being kidnapped while they were dining in a nearby with seven friends.

Former GP Kate and heart doctor Gerry, both 48, of Rothley, Leics, have vowed never to give up the search for their daughter, who would now be aged 13.

A duty manager at the Ocean Club, which is now believed to have been re-named the Garden Club and used by Thomas Cook, said:  “I’ve been told not to say anything about Apartment 5a.”

The new owner recently declined to discuss the global fascination with her flat, saying: “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m trying to wipe away all memories of the horror that happened here.”

She refused to say if she lived  there year-round or used it as a holiday home.


A duty manager at the Ocean Club refused to comment on Apartment 5a
A gate to the front of the fairly exposed property – which overlooks the tapas bar where Maddie’s parents had been enjoying a night out nearly a decade ago – has now been boarded up.

And blinds at the windows remain drawn to keep prying eyes away.

Despite the tragic past, tourists are still tempted to the resort. Thomas Cook boasts on its website: “You’ll love the location with shops and restaurant very close to hand.

"The beach is further afield but you’ll be rewarded with golden sands, beach bars and water sports.”


The little girl caught the whole world's attention when she vanished in 2007

McCann parents interviewed


Madeleine McCann’s disappearance is still shrouded in mystery as investigators continue to hunt for the tragic girl.
She vanished on May 3, 2007, when her family, from Leicestershire, were holidaying in the Algarve.

Portuguese police fear the youngster died accidentally in the seaside resort’s sought-after property.

But her parents believe she was kidnapped while they were dining in a nearby tapas bar with pals, and could still be alive.
This week a Madeleine McCann tour guide defended his “ghoulish” business – insisting he’s just trying to help find the missing toddler.


As the 10th anniversary of her disappearance approaches, Gerry and Kate McCann have slammed claims they are plotting to make hundreds of thousands out of the milestone.

The pair recently lost their latest court appeal to silence former cop Goncalo Amaral, who claims they covered up their daughter’s death in his book.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2895292/infamous-holiday-villa-where-maddie-mccann-went-missing-is-closed-to-spooked-holidaymakers/

I hope Apt 5a isn't the £490,000 Fixed asset investment the 2016 accounts.

Any is possible in this case.

Kate McCann isn't a British gran
And neither is Gerry McCann

Hey! I can feel a limerick coming on here

It is to be hoped that Portugal has a Land Registry scheme - as we have in the UK.

I hope PT members can look into this, 

Who is the Grandmother who now owns apartment 5A?

How would TRACEY KANDOHLA know:

• The general age of the new owner (a grandmother)
  
• The nationality of the new owner (a Brit)
  
• The new owner is 'enjoying holidays' there
  

What does "which the new owner is partially shielding from public view" mean?

Get'emGonçalo wrote:Kate McCann isn't a British gran
And neither is Gerry McCann

Hey! I can feel a limerick coming on here

How do we know that the media have reported truthfully on the Gran bit?  Could be just a ploy to stop us from guessing who the owners are - they haven't been named have they?   Why the secrecy?

Besides, there are grans in the McCann family.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if that property was now in the hands of someone connected to the  McCanns

RosieandSam wrote:It is to be hoped that Portugal has a Land Registry scheme - as we have in the UK.

I hope PT members can look into this, 

Who is the Grandmother who now owns apartment 5A?

How would TRACEY KANDOHLA know:

• The general age of the new owner (a grandmother)
  
• The nationality of the new owner (a Brit)
  
• The new owner is 'enjoying holidays' there
  

What does "which the new owner is partially shielding from public view" mean?

Well, obviously the reporter had a meal and a few vinos at the tapas bar, and couldn't see all entrance points to the apartment.

The fact that it had obviously been moved 100m further away since May 2007 was put down to the vino.

Does anyone else find this piece of 'non-news' risible?
What next?
Crayons used  by children in creche all used up?
Sand on beach trodden on by sardine-munchers?
Sunglasses stall sells sunglasses on a rainy day?
Nice work if you can get it, isn't it?

It was said that The apartment was for sale many years ago by Ruth McCann, after her husband died,  where is the proof that it only sold recently after Ruth McCann apparently died?
It hit media headlines on and off over the years, some links below ...

May 2012

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/madeleine-mccann-few-people-rent-apartment-5a-since-maddie-vanished-26850396.html

August 2011

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026531/Madeleine-McCann-flat-market-couple-young-child-holiday-there.html


May 2011

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1387281/Madeleine-McCann-flat-rented-4-years-vanished.html

IMO it is all media spin and hype since the SC ruling.


Edit First on the market in 2008

http://portugalresident.com/madeleine-apartment-for-sale

THE APARTMENT rented by the McCanns while they were on holiday in Praia da Luz in May 2007 is on the market for 215,000 euros.The British owners, who bought the ground floor property in 2002, have asked local estate agency Houses & Casas to handle the sale of the two bedroom apartment at the Ocean Club.A spokesman for Houses & Casas, based in Luz, confirmed that they were selling apartment 5A but refused to give any further details about the property.The apartment is described on the estate agency’s website as being a two-bedroom property that would be suitable for the rental market.Police investigators from both the UK and Portugal focused on evidence collected from the apartment to help in the investigations related to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.InfamousThe apartment has become infamous after British sniffer dogs found evidence of blood and detected the smell of death during the investigation.Pictures of the sitting room and the bedroom used by Madeleine McCann at apartment 5A have been published by media across the world, arguably making 5A the most famous apartment in Portugal.According to reports in the Portuguese media, the apartment has received interest from a number of potential buyers but remains on the market.Do you have a view on this story? Email: editor@the-resident.com

It's probably haunted by someone who died there and wants resolution so they can move on.

RosieandSam:
 
What does "which the new owner is partially shielding from public view" mean?
 
Doesn’t look as though she’s been out there to ask ‘the gran’ the questions or even had a look.
 
She says:
 
‘A gate to the front of the fairly exposed property – which overlooks the tapas bar where Maddie’s parents had been enjoying a night out nearly a decade ago – has now been boarded up.’
 
I think she means the back and it’s hardly ‘boarded up’.
 
A new high metal gate was fitted at the bottom of the stairs some time ago, in place of the former short waist high gate, with an infill, so you can no longer look over or through the gate. A fill has also been put behind the balcony trellis screen.

Not too good with photos, but fingers crossed:
 
 

A comment posted on CMOMM facebook

Will O'keeffe I am a chartered accountant so immediately looked up these accounts as there "should" be further notes to the investments within the back of the abbreviated accounts. There are no notes shown which means one thing that they are being hidden to keep information from the public. They are listed as "investments" which would sugget an investment in shares of another company rather than property - however that could be poorly/strategically worded to make them vague. Either way the lack of a note contravenes UK COMPANIES ACT 2006. Could be reported to Companies House or the Financial Reporting Council. As these accounts are in the public eye and include public interest money, they are more sensitive in relative terms to other similar sized companies so an appeal against their validity may be considered. They should provide the reader with a "true and fair" view of the financial position of the company as at 31.12.16, and if the biggest single figure within them does not provide the necessary accompanying disclosures i would suggest they are not compliant.




This is the accounting policies page. You should ALWAYS have an accounting policy for fixed asset investments if you have them to explain how they were recognised, measured and held going forward. As you can see no policy exists. This is a another issue of non-compliance with the accounts





https://www.facebook.com/groups/JillHavernCompleteMysteryofMadeleineMcCann/permalink/1884049475172870/

sharonl wrote:I hope Apt 5a isn't the £490,000 Fixed asset investment the 2016 accounts.

Any is possible in this case.

No, the apartment is not that high worth, I have the same thought, that it the fixed asset is property.
Why would they be allowed to do that when the fund is to search for Madeleine, is it so no one can touch it ?

A pension?


PLUS THEY MOVED FUNDS TO A SPECIAL ACCOUNT , WHY AND WHAT AMOUNT IS IN THAT ACOUNT.

The fund is supposed to be transparent, it is far from!

Get'emGonçalo wrote:A comment posted on CMOMM facebook

Will O'keeffe I am a chartered accountant so immediately looked up these accounts as there "should" be further notes to the investments within the back of the abbreviated accounts. There are no notes shown which means one thing that they are being hidden to keep information from the public. They are listed as "investments" which would sugget an investment in shares of another company rather than property - however that could be poorly/strategically worded to make them vague. Either way the lack of a note contravenes UK COMPANIES ACT 2006. Could be reported to Companies House or the Financial Reporting Council. As these accounts are in the public eye and include public interest money, they are more sensitive in relative terms to other similar sized companies so an appeal against their validity may be considered. They should provide the reader with a "true and fair" view of the financial position of the company as at 31.12.16, and if the biggest single figure within them does not provide the necessary accompanying disclosures i would suggest they are not compliant.




This is the accounting policies page. You should ALWAYS have an accounting policy for fixed asset investments if you have them to explain how they were recognised, measured and held going forward. As you can see no policy exists. This is a another issue of non-compliance with the accounts





https://www.facebook.com/groups/JillHavernCompleteMysteryofMadeleineMcCann/permalink/1884049475172870/

Now why would the McCanns think that this would not be noticed, why have HMRC not queried it?

Get'emGonçalo wrote:A comment posted on CMOMM facebook

Will O'keeffe I am a chartered accountant so immediately looked up these accounts as there "should" be further notes to the investments within the back of the abbreviated accounts. There are no notes shown which means one thing that they are being hidden to keep information from the public. They are listed as "investments" which would sugget an investment in shares of another company rather than property - however that could be poorly/strategically worded to make them vague. Either way the lack of a note contravenes UK COMPANIES ACT 2006. Could be reported to Companies House or the Financial Reporting Council. As these accounts are in the public eye and include public interest money, they are more sensitive in relative terms to other similar sized companies so an appeal against their validity may be considered. They should provide the reader with a "true and fair" view of the financial position of the company as at 31.12.16, and if the biggest single figure within them does not provide the necessary accompanying disclosures i would suggest they are not compliant.




This is the accounting policies page. You should ALWAYS have an accounting policy for fixed asset investments if you have them to explain how they were recognised, measured and held going forward. As you can see no policy exists. This is a another issue of non-compliance with the accounts





https://www.facebook.com/groups/JillHavernCompleteMysteryofMadeleineMcCann/permalink/1884049475172870/

If he looked more closely, he will see that these investments are listed under "fixed assets" and not "current" assets which is where stocks and shares would usually appear.

Has this Kandohla person offered herself up as the proverbial sacrificial lamb - to take all the flack if ever the ?

She is so desperate to throw a white light over the McCann, no holes barred.  Doesn't she realize how ridiculous she appears churning out this utter nonsense year on year?  This latest episode is, again, nothing but a re-hash of old news with a ample helping of poetic licence.

The stigma attached to Ocean Club apartment 5a is nothing new.  To suggest that suddenly tourists are horrified by the prospect of being accommodated therein is plain stupidity - Madeleine disappeared ten years ago, just a generation away, surely everyone in the western hemisphere and beyond are aware of Ocean Club apartment 5a.  Even past member of this forum, user name Olca Craig (I think) otherwise known as Shinning in Luz, was or still is, organizing conducted tours of the area, including visiting the crime scene.

A non-story.  I'll be pleased when all this latest nonsense dies down and interested observers can get back to discussing more important issues.  Fortunately these distractions are nothing like as frequent as in the early days but even now, they are still planted by team McCann and the UK media to distract and confuse - and it works every time!

On with the motley!

Sharonl
 
If he looked more closely, he will see that these investments are listed under "fixed assets" and not "current" assets which is where stocks and shares would usually appear.
 
Not unless they are specifically held on a short term basis.
 
Investments (Fixed Assets)
A resource held by the company for investment rather than trading purposes, e.g. property, shares.
If fixed investments are entered a note must be provided containing details of the cost at the start of the accounting period together with any depreciation during the period.
 
MayMuse:
 
why have HMRC not queried it?
 
Probably because with the volumes passing through, they hardly look at anything, unless questions are asked.
 
Hopefully someone with a good knowledge of  ‘small companies’ accounting will raise the appropriate questions with Companies House.
 
Under the present rules, they are entitled to not submit a P & L, which they have chosen to do, but this clearly doesn't fit with the 'transparent & open' statement originally made, iirc, by KM.

Why has the internet gone crazy, all of a sudden, over the sale of apartment A5?

 

Here are just a few of the many links to this story:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/24/british-grandmother-buys-apartment-madeleine-mccann-vanished/

 

https://heatst.com/life/british-widow-buys-apartment-madeleine-mccann-vanished-from-for-half-the-asking-price/

 

http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/24/british-woman-secretly-buys-apartment-where-madeleine-mccann-vanished-6469491/

 

It’s even in a Polish newspaper:

 

http://londynek.net/wiadomosci/British+woman+%60secretly+buys+apartment+where+Madeleine+McCann+vanished%60++wiadomosci+news,/wiadomosci/en/article?jdnews_id=42667

I wonder if it's because they can keep it on the front pages without getting a lawyers letter sent to them?

Why on earth would someone want to pay to look around the apartment?

The owners had to sell the apartment at half price? That's someone else who's lost out financially after an encounter with the McCanns. If that was me I'd be furious (because, irrespective of what happened to Madeleine, it happened because they were irresponsible enough to leave their children alone every evening) Other people just have to keep paying out for their mistakes. And what do they ever say or do about it? Nothing.

suzyjohnson wrote:The owners had to sell the apartment at half price? That's someone else who's lost out financially after an encounter with the McCanns. If that was me I'd be furious (because, irrespective of what happened to Madeleine, it happened because they were irresponsible enough to leave their children alone every evening) Other people just have to keep paying out for their mistakes. And what do they ever say or do about it? Nothing.

But why did someone from Liverpool buy it? Just another one of those MANY coincidences?

Get'emGonçalo wrote:Kate McCann isn't a British gran
And neither is Gerry McCann

Hey! I can feel a limerick coming on here

Kate McCann isn't a British gran
And neither is Gerry McCann
Their tale is so weary
Amaral had a theory
And then his book had a ban

sallypelt wrote:

suzyjohnson wrote:The owners had to sell the apartment at half price? That's someone else who's lost out financially after an encounter with the McCanns. If that was me I'd be furious (because, irrespective of what happened to Madeleine, it happened because they were irresponsible enough to leave their children alone every evening) Other people just have to keep paying out for their mistakes. And what do they ever say or do about it? Nothing.

But why did someone from Liverpool buy it? Just another one of those MANY coincidences?

A gran from Merseyside, safe to say she didn't buy it this year either! 
It's all media spin with the "ghoulish tours" and paying to view. 

Just filling up print space to hash out a mix of old with the SC ruling. 

OG know they cannot convince  the public with the bungled burglary, so in the mix is child trafficking and the McCanns first hunch of her being sold ( erm where did the "first hunch" of abduction by a paedophile go, whoosh?) 

No evidence of abduction or a stranger in the apartment, no breaking in etc, so that leaves........................?

A wander...(ing goose)  

The Maddie McCann case was weird -

'No evidence to charge', it appeared.

So many folk cheered

(While others just sneered)

When the Supreme Court decided: 'Not cleared'.

-