'The Last Photo': The key questions

Marian wrote:I can see what people mean when they say that it looks as if Amelie's right arm is missing but I think that's an optical illusion. You can in fact see a little of her arm above the shadow on Gerry's leg and shorts.

I am now going to lie down after staring too long at Gerry's legs!

Hope you've recovered!

Sorry, I'm sticking firmly with Amelie's arm. Page 4 of this topic third post from the bottom, by Edwards, if you click on the link and then on the icon right bottom to enlarge, you get quite a lot of detail.

Amelie's arm : there is some faint blurring between the crease of her elbow up to the hem of the sleeve. That makes no sense, since everything else around and even beyond it, is in focus. The sleeve should not be empty at the top. Together with the blurring it looks clearly shopped to me.

But as I said : why? because she looks firmly fixed in the environment. I don't agree with the poster op p. 4 that the hair isn't possible to photoshop. Imo it's a doddle, done it loads of time.

tigger wrote:

Marian wrote:I can see what people mean when they say that it looks as if Amelie's right arm is missing but I think that's an optical illusion. You can in fact see a little of her arm above the shadow on Gerry's leg and shorts.

I am now going to lie down after staring too long at Gerry's legs!

Hope you've recovered!

Sorry, I'm sticking firmly with Amelie's arm. Page 4 of this topic third post from the bottom, by Edwards, if you click on the link and then on the icon right bottom to enlarge, you get quite a lot of detail.

Amelie's arm : there is some faint blurring between the crease of her elbow up to the hem of the sleeve. That makes no sense, since everything else around and even beyond it, is in focus. The sleeve should not be empty at the top. Together with the blurring it looks clearly shopped to me.

But as I said : why? because she looks firmly fixed in the environment. I don't agree with the poster op p. 4 that the hair isn't possible to photoshop. Imo it's a doddle, done it loads of time.

tigger, I have 2 agree - I've just viewed the pic on my dads laptop to see if it was clearer than my phone, I couldn't see any arm there. It's a no from me!

just looked closely at the blown up photo as sugested by tigger, zoomed in more, and yes I can see what I could not previously.
Just beneath the sleeve of her top down to where there is a bump in the middle of her top, part of Amelie's arm is visible, look closely,next to Gerry's shorts there is a short section of the arm visible.Follow the inside of the sleeve downwards, it is a small portion visible, but it is there.

Yes Russian Doll I agree with you. I too think that a tiny portion of Amelie's arm can be seen. It's clearer in some copies of the photo than others.

[quote="C.Edwards"]The best quality version of the pic I've seen is here: link to big pic


I forgot to add the link on my last message.

Jean wrote:Yes Russian Doll I agree with you. I too think that a tiny portion of Amelie's arm can be seen. It's clearer in some copies of the photo than others.

Even close up it still looks odd that there is not a single glimpse of Amelies arm

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The Black line between Amelie and Maddie close up
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Could this "fake" photo story be used to compare with the last photo?
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The blocky grey colour shadow on the sun lounger.....notice all one colour grey block
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The shadows on gerry and Amelie.....not one solid block but differing shades of the same shadow
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Gerry did return home to collect photographs (old report) 20 May 2007
Alone, the father of Madeleine McCann began the saddest journey of his life Daily Mail - Online link has been removed

Seventeen days after his four-year-old daughter disappeared, Gerry McCann flew back to an empty house that is still fresh with her memory.

Madeleine parents

[Photograph appeared here] with accompanying text:

Taunt: Kate McCann with an armful of Madeleine's toys, and husband Gerry walk from church past a shop window poster that apparently blames them for the disappearance of their child

Her room is as she left it when the family set off on their holiday to
Portugal last month. Her toys are still there on the bed, her clothes in the wardrobe.

But with remarkable fortitude, the 38-year-old consultant embarked on a heart-rending mission in his ceaseless campaign to find his little girl.

He will trawl through four years of family albums and videos to select new pictures of her for his 'Find Madeleine' website. Then he will prepare to return to the Algarve to continue the search.

Madeleine 'sightings'

The visit was the first time Mr McCann has been apart from his wife Kate and their two-year-old twins since Madeleine vanished from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3.

He volunteered to make the journey alone to spare Mrs McCann the ordeal.

Last week the 38-year-old GP said she "couldn't even consider" leaving Portugal while Madeleine was missing.

The prospect of returning without her daughter to the home where they shared so much happiness would have been "too painful to contemplate", according to a relative.

Madeleine's parents will search the whole world for her

Madeleine's aunt, Philomena McCann revealed: "They're both finding it so incredibly difficult. They can't grieve but they can't be normal. They're just focused on finding Madeleine, because that's all that matters.

"Gerry wants to go through all the photographs and pick some to put on the website. The more images there are, the more she will be in people's minds."

Mr McCann who has been spearheading the Find Madeleine Internet and publicity campaign from an apartment in Praia da Luz, will meet lawyers and UK organisers during his brief stay in Rothley, Leicestershire, where he and Kate live.

The family's website [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] has received 100million 'hits'.

Madeleine McCann: Missing since May 3

A spokesman for the couple in Portugal said Mr McCann was returning to Britain "to do positive things".

"He's very focused," the spokesman added. "He is going out there for very practical reasons and he's going to get back here as quickly as he can."

The trip will also give him the chance to deal with the routine domestic matters that have been neglected during their extended stay abroad and allow the two doctors to make arrangements for staying away for the foreseeable future.

For the last 17 days they have been trying to keep some sort of routine in their life, on the advice of trauma counsellors and for the sake of their other children, Sean and Amelie.

When they are not working from their campaign 'nerve centre', or praying in church for their daughter's safety, the couple are steeling themselves to create little pockets of comparative normality.

At the weekend Mr McCann played tennis and the couple sat on the beach with the twins. Mrs McCann is trying to clear her mind by exercising and jogging against the clock.

And the couple have again sought solace at Mass in the tiny church in Praia da Luz - their third Sunday service since Madeleine disappeared.

During their walk they passed a poster apparently blaming them for the disappearance. Stuck in a shop window, it consists of four pictures of their child arranged around the words: "Mummy help me".

Workers in the car hire shop - Auto Rent III - refused to take it down.

Saleswoman Maria Rocio said: "Whose fault is it that the girl has gone missing? It's the family's. They should never have left the children on their own."

***********************************************************************

Why is this report, which does not appear on any online search engines, so significant to the investigation? Because it clearly states that Gerry went home to collect photographs and videos of Madeleine.

But why is that so significant?

Other reports, related to this trip, vaguely stated that Gerry made the flying visit home to attend to "personal matters" and to meet organisers of Madeleine's Fund. If the trip was as described in this report and confirmed by Philomena McCann, to innocently collect some more photographs of Madeleine, then why the veil of secrecy?

Gerry released his first blog that day and there was no mention then, or afterwards, that he had been home to collect more photographs of Madeleine. Surely, that would have been information he would have been only too happy to pass on - the release of new photographs is always of great interest to people. (Gerry's Blog vanaf 20 men)

Perhaps he kept it quiet to avoid association.

For just 3 days after arriving back in Praia da Luz, from this trip back to the UK to collect photographs and videos, the 'last photograph' of Madeleine suddenly appeared - 21 days after Madeleine had been reported missing. (May 24, 2007 The last family picture of Madeleine McCann The Times)

We know that Alex Woolfall sat with the McCanns on May 5th and went through the images on their digital camera to find good pictures of Madeleine for publication.

The Times reported: 'The McCanns had photographs of Madeleine on their digital camera, which Mr Woolfall began transferring to a laptop computer. "I said to Kate, 'Let’s try to identify pictures where her face is visible'. Downloading the images was a very difficult process for them. It was upsetting.

"They were trying to do two things at once: one, emotionally deal with what was actually, really happening to them; two, operate in some sort of logical way to help get her back." Mr Woolfall transmitted the photographs to the Press Association in London, from where they were distributed to the media. The portfolio included the now famous image of Madeleine wearing a hat on a tennis court.'

It is surely extraordinary that the 'last photograph' of Madeleine, showing her full face, should not have been chosen for release at that time. Even if the photograph had been grainy and indistinct, it's significance to the investigation, as the last 'living' picture of Madeleine, cannot be overstated.

That is, unless it wasn't there.

Just 4 days after the 'last photograph' was released, mobile phone video footage was produced allegedly showing Madeleine and the family setting off on their holiday - one showing them all on the shuttle bus and the other showing Madeleine stumbling on the steps as she boards the plane.
(Mobile phone footage of Madeleine boarding the plane)
(Mobile phone footage of bus trip)

So, given the significant time these images had suddenly appeared, could it really be possible that these were actually 'old' images, collected by Gerry on his trip home and subsequently falsely presented as being of the current holiday? If they were, then it would have a massive impact on the investigation because it would destroy the photographic evidence that Madeleine was still alive at 2:29pm on May 3rd.

With that 'evidence' gone, there are no independent witnesses to Madeleine being alive on May 3rd - beyond the apparent statement of Charlotte Pennington, who has already changed her story once before. (pagina gewijd aan Pennington)

Miss Pennington, speaking originally to dispel the story that there was a missing 6 or 7 hours leading up to Madeleine's disappearance, said: "I was helping give the children high tea. The twins were there and Madeleine and both parents. "It was supposed to finish at 5.30pm but because they were a big group and really social, it didn't finish until about 6pm. There was nothing out of the ordinary at all."

Yet, speaking on the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary 'Searching For Madeleine', the following month, she said:

"On May the third, it was just Madeleine I was reading a story to. I later saw them around lunchtime. That's the last time I saw them together as a family." It should also be remembered that Charlotte Pennington was not Madeleine's nanny. That was Catriona Baker, who has refused to comment on the investigation, saying: 'I don't want to go through it again.'

We know Bridget O'Donnell, Jeremy Wilkins partner, was at the tennis courts that day. She writes: 'Earlier that day there had been tennis lessons for the children, with some of the parents watching proudly as their girls ran across the court chasing tennis balls. They took photos. Madeleine must have been there, but I couldn't distinguish her from the others. They all looked the same - all blonde, all pink and pretty.' So, she cannot confirm that Madeleine was there.
(My months with Madeleine The Guardian)

That only leaves one person to positively confirm that Madeleine was alive that day - the McCanns friend, David Payne. It is claimed that Mr Payne was asked by Gerry McCann to pop by and look in on Kate at the apartment, whilst Gerry was on the tennis courts. (genoemd o.a. in de BBC-docu)

David Payne has said nothing publicly to confirm or deny this. In fact, he has said virtually nothing throughout the investigation but has been quoted by Portuguese newspaper, Sol, as saying: "We have a pact. This is our matter only. It is nobody else's business."

But is there is a fatal flaw in this line of thought? The 'last photograph' clearly shows Gerry, Amelie and Madeleine sat around the kiddie's pool in the Ocean Club. How could Gerry have collected that photograph from home if this was the first time they had holidayed at the resort?

But was it their first time? The Sunday Times doesn't seem to think so. They printed on 13 May 2007 that: 'The McCanns are believed to have stayed once before in Praia da Luz and had returned because they considered it a safe resort.'

In the MSNBC documentary, Richard Gaisford said, when talking of Praia da Luz: "It's a very warm welcoming friendly place. And it was a place the McCanns knew well. They'd been to the resort before." (MSNBC Missing Madeleine en op 3arguidoforum)

So, is the 'last photograph' not a forgery, as has been widely speculated, but a simple fraud?

Did Gerry go home to collect photographs/videos from a previous trip in order to deceive the Policia Judiciaria into believing the photographs were from the current trip. More importantly, that Madeleine was alive and well at that particular time on that particular day?

Only the McCanns and their close family can answer that question.

But, if it should be the case, then it would appear to imply that no photographic evidence exists of Madeleine that day - despite Bridget O'Donnell stating that the children were all running around the tennis courts being photographed by their parents. The need to deceive suggests there is something to cover up. The obvious conclusion being that Madeleine was not there to be photographed.

That is a very disturbing thought.

It would be interesting to know whether Alex Woolfall is one of the people the Policia Judiciaria intends talking to when they arrive in the UK to begin their questioning. If Mr Woolfall confirms the 'last photograph' was not on the digital camera he examined in Praia da Luz on 5th May, then, it would appear, the McCanns will have an awful lot of explaining

Also there is not one single photo of kate with maddie from the holiday...after a week are you sure. She loved to be photographed remember and they loved to photograph her

Quote: snipped.Taunt: Kate McCann with an armful of Madeleine's toys, and husband Gerry walk from church past a shop window poster that apparently blames them for the disappearance of their child

Her room is as she left it when the family set off on their holiday to
Portugal last month. Her toys are still there on the bed, her clothes in the wardrobe. Unquote.

Fantastic post JD! As are your other ones to open this year!
I just picked up on those two bits:
Maddie only had cuddle cat,(well, when her mother had no need of it, it's quite possible that she never saw the toy at all) so Kate was simply carrying the donated toys from well wishers. They could have donated all those toys to Portugese orphanages, but everything went back to the UK.
Her toys still on the bed, sounds to me like a stage-setting. The McCanns aren't the tidiest people I've come across.

They may not be the tidiest but by all accounts they are the cleanest. Apart from washing curtains and blinds Kate washed Madeleine's pyjama top and their travel clothes (Sean's, Gerry's & Madeleine's) from 28th so they could wear them again on 2nd in the playground. She doesn't mention washing them (ew, lets assume she did) or the photo opportunity she had on that date. She also doesn't mention how it was possible that one of the playground photos of Madeleine was stamped at 17.15 pm whereas Madeleine wasn't signed out until 17.30 pm that day.

But if the last photo and tennis photo were taken in PDL why are they not on the PJ files? Is this because they have been withheld like some of the other evidence or is it because they weren't on the cameras?

I have been thinking about the "last photo".

I think it is a genuine photograph but it wasn't taken on the 3rd May.

I have looked at historical weather data from Faro for the week the McCanns were there.

28.4.07 - Sunny Max Temp 22 deg
29.4.07 - Sunny Max Temp 22 deg
30.4.07 - Mostly Cloudy Max Temp 19 deg
1.5.07 - Sunny till 10.30am then Scattered Clouds & after 1.30pm Cloudy Max Temp 18 deg
2.5.07 - Rain then Cloudy later Max Temp 18 deg
3.5.07 - Scattered Clouds /Cloudy Max Temp 20 deg (Temp at 2.30pm was 19 deg)

Below is a link to the weather for the 3rd May 2007 in Faro

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I think Gerry needed to come back to the UK simply to get the date changed on the photograph as from what I can see it wasn't sunny or hot enough for them to get a sweat on by the pool on the 3rd May.

will double check but am sure I read in the book that Kate was admiring Maddie in a speically bought little suntop but that she wished she had put a cardigan on her as it was cool.......I can't recall the time of day though but have it in my mind it was late am or early pm. book not here at present, would be grarteful if someone could check and put a quote from the book here regarding this date, Maddie's clothes and the weather.

Kate also describes being in the pool with Maddie near the start of the holiday, again can't recall her description of the weather but she said the water was freezing but Maddie wanted to swim nonetheless.
I still find it hard to believe this photo was taken any time on that holiday as the girl looks so much younger and chubbier than the lean girl on the tennis court photo.

One thing that made my blood boil about the swimming episode described from earlier that week was Kate McCann stating that she made a comment to a holidaymaker at the pool, due to water temperature and her discomfort...the things we do for our kids!
hmm, if she is to be believed about leaving them unattended regularly, there was one hugely important thing she and her husband did not do for their kids....ensure their physical safety for a few hours every evening.

[quote="russiandoll"]will double check but am sure I read in the book that Kate was admiring Maddie in a speically bought little suntop but that she wished she had put a cardigan on her as it was cool.......I can't recall the time of day though but have it in my mind it was late am or early pm. book not here at present, would be grarteful if someone could check and put a quote from the book here regarding this date, Maddie's clothes and the weather.[/quote

It's from chapter 5. Quote
Some images are etched for all time on my brain. Madeleine that lunchtime is one of them. She was wearing an outfit I’d bought especially for her holiday: a peach-coloured smock top from Gap and some white broderie-anglaise shorts from Monsoon – a small extravagance, perhaps, but I’d pictured how lovely she would look in them and I’d been right. She was striding ahead of Fiona and me, swinging her bare arms to and fro. The weather was a little on the cool side and I remember thinking I should have brought a cardigan for her, although she seemed oblivious of the temperature, just happy and carefree. I was following her with my eyes, admiring her. I wonder now, the nausea rising in my throat, if someone else was doing the same. Unquote.

Possibly Kate didn't mean anything sinister but to me the mention of "admiring" Madeleine in the way that someone else (the alleged abductor) might have been doing, is very unsettling. As is her mention elsewhere of "loving and pleasing" her. Ugh!

[quote="tigger"]

russiandoll wrote:will double check but am sure I read in the book that Kate was admiring Maddie in a speically bought little suntop but that she wished she had put a cardigan on her as it was cool.......I can't recall the time of day though but have it in my mind it was late am or early pm. book not here at present, would be grarteful if someone could check and put a quote from the book here regarding this date, Maddie's clothes and the weather.[/quote

It's from chapter 5. Quote
Some images are etched for all time on my brain. Madeleine that lunchtime is one of them. She was wearing an outfit I’d bought especially for her holiday: a peach-coloured smock top from Gap and some white broderie-anglaise shorts from Monsoon – a small extravagance, perhaps, but I’d pictured how lovely she would look in them and I’d been right. She was striding ahead of Fiona and me, swinging her bare arms to and fro. The weather was a little on the cool side and I remember thinking I should have brought a cardigan for her, although she seemed oblivious of the temperature, just happy and carefree. I was following her with my eyes, admiring her. I wonder now, the nausea rising in my throat, if someone else was doing the same. Unquote.

Just another thought. The dress in the photo is pink, not peach. It's Amelie who is wearing peach. So I wouldn't be surprised to find the photograph was taken many months earlier, the previous year. By that time Kate had forgotten the colour, which is weird, since she is so insistent on linking 'pink' and 'Madeleine'.

Snip, quote,

She was striding ahead of Fiona and me, swinging her bare arms to and fro.

So according to this Fiona was with Kate ahead of them on their way to the pool? Does Fiona state anywhere that she was with Kate at this time?



Well here she says that most afternoons after lunch they were in the apartment for child naps,

Around 12h30/13h00 they would go to get the children from the crèche and would have lunch in the apartment, at times with other children. Immediately afterwards her children would take a nap, whilst the witness and her husband stayed in the apartment. Around 15h30/16h00 the children would wake up from their nap and all of them would head towards the pool zone or the tennis court where they would stay until around 18h00/19h00

Jean wrote:Possibly Kate didn't mean anything sinister but to me the mention of "admiring" Madeleine in the way that someone else (the alleged abductor) might have been doing, is very unsettling. As is her mention elsewhere of "loving and pleasing" her. Ugh!

Do you know Jean I'm so with you here. It might be subtle, but the inference is there. I actually find this more disturbing than the infamous 'p. 129'. Also, as you say, the comment from Maddies 4th birthday, how they were missing 'loving and pleasing her' which just sounds plain wrong. Like a line from heavy rock song and all the euphemisms they contained. The fact that this is how Kate talks about her infant daughter, and obviously sees nothing wrong in that, speaks volumes IMO.

thanks tigger and I have only just noticed an edit button here , apologies for the typing errors in my last post.
Well I thought correctly.........lunch time May 3 weather a little on the cool side.
Now I know that you can have cool weather with sunshine, however that pool photo [supposedly taken, how long after this admiring episode........90 mins approx? ] suggests real warmth to me, looking at Gerry's face and the way all 3 are dressed.
I don't believe this photo was taken afternoon May 3, not for one minute.

russiandoll wrote:thanks tigger and I have only just noticed an edit button here , apologies for the typing errors in my last post.
Well I thought correctly.........lunch time May 3 weather a little on the cool side.
Now I know that you can have cool weather with sunshine, however that pool photo [supposedly taken, how long after this admiring episode........90 mins approx? ] suggests real warmth to me, looking at Gerry's face and the way all 3 are dressed.
I don't believe this photo was taken afternoon May 3, not for one minute.

No Chance the photo was taken on 3rd May. Below is the weather from Faro (nearest weather station) for that day.

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thanks for weather info. def seemed like cardy needed 3 May pm.

Hardly a red hot sweaty type of day.

The only 2 warm sunny days (at all after 10.30am) were the 28th & 29th April. I always thought the last photo was actually taken on their 1st day there.

TrollAng wrote:
But if the last photo and tennis photo were taken in PDL why are they not on the PJ files? Is this because they have been withheld like some of the other evidence or is it because they weren't on the cameras?

The tennis photo was in the PJ files but there is nothing for the pool picture..and this is the one released 3 weeks later after gerry went back to the uk...and also the video footage was released after when he returned from the uk 3 weeks later. Plus we have not one single picture of kate with Maddie, not even after gerry went back to the uk

Gillyspot wrote:Hardly a red hot sweaty type of day.

The only 2 warm sunny days (at all after 10.30am) were the 28th & 29th April. I always thought the last photo was actually taken on their 1st day there.

I think these were taken on the 28th April

I am by no means convinced that this photo was taken at all in 2007 - Madeleine looks way too young. That is of course, if 'tennis ball girl' is actually Madeleine. Surely these are girls of different ages and sizes?
I think its highly possible they HAD been to PdL before.
This would also explain how Amelie looks so much smaller in that photo than in those allegedly taken in Donegal only 'weeks' before...