McCluskey sighting 4-5 May 2007

by Guest 19.02.12 19:02

Has the McCluskey sighting been analysed on this Forum?
I tried the search engine, but nothing came up. It reads:

Apensos V, Vol 1 Page 136 (PDF Page 118)

Email from Stephen Robinson, Northumbria police to Leicestershire police

13th September 2007

Please
find attached a witness statement provided by Richard McCluskey.
Firstly may I apologise for the delay in forwarding but the system
crashed at this end and the problem has taken some time to resolve.

Mr. McCluskey states he has already provided a witness statement in relation the enquiry having been on holiday in Portugal
at the relevant time. He provided a statement in relation to suspicious
activity he observed in the early hours of Saturday 5 May 2007.In the
original statement Mr. McClusky states he described a male alighting a
white coloured van and walking along a road carrying what appeared to be
a motionless child. He then states he observed a distressed female run
down a road and approach the same white coloured van.

Mr
McCluskey did go into detail regarding the incident but then stated that
all details were covered in his first statement, provided in May 2007.
Not having had sight of the original statement it is obviously difficult
to comment on the context and accuracy of the account given.

Having
viewed recent media coverage regarding the investigation, M, McClusky
now states that the female he saw and described is Mrs. McCann( the
missing child’s mother). He states he is "almost certain" that they are
the same person and has agonised for days over what to do and whether to contact Police.
He is acutely aware of the possibly implications of his account. When
asked why there had been such a time lapse in him making this
"identification" he explained it as follows:
Mr. McCluskey states the
thought had never crossed his mind that a child's parents could be
implicated in such a matter. Media coverage over the past week or so has
cased him to take a renewed interest in the case.
The only thing which prevents Mr. McCluskey from stating he in 100%
certain in his "identification" is the fact that he would , in his
words, " hate to incriminate and innocent person."

Mr McCluskey appears to be a credible person and is not recorded on local intelligence systems.

_________________

by Daisy 19.02.12 20:41

Very interesting, I've only looked at this witness briefly so thanks for posting Portia.

Edit: just seen this bit "It has already been checked! They are Ukrainians from Alvor with
a blonde daughter who attends the “A Flor” crèche in Portimao."

Here's Richard McCluskey's earlier statement.

STATEMENT
Richard McCluskey

Age 61

Retired

Statement Date 9/5/2007

On Saturday 05 May 2007 at approximately 01.50hrs I was with my
wife Susan in the holiday resort of ALVOR, PORTUGAL. We were
walking up the bank from the town of Alvor in order to return to
our hotel, known as the Clube Alvorferias, after a night out. As
we approached the junction I observed a white ford transit
vehicle drive up the bank and stop well away from the kerb in
the junction turning right, blocking traffic turning right. I
would describe the vehicle as a flatbed 'transit' vat with a
white cab area with white metal fold down side flaps/boards. I
recognise the type of vehicle as I used to drive one. I did not
notice whether it had any identifying marks of advertising on
it.

As it had caught our attention I stopped and watched. I then
observed a dark skinned male, well built, dark hair (page 1) get
out of the vehicle and begin to stagger up the bank in a drunken
manner. I could not see much detail because it was dark but I
could see that he had cradled a child of about 3-4years over his
left shoulder. Again I could not give anything else due to the
darkness but it was clear that the child was not making any
noise, or crying, or appear in distress. There was no movement
at all.

I was aware that a child was missing in the area and therefore
went and took the registration of the vehicle, which my wife
wrote initially on her hand and later on a piece of paper.

I watched him stagger approx 200m up the bank and then turn
right on a road into a complex area. It was at this point that
the situation appeared very strange and so we decided to take
the vehicle number.

As we were taking the number a woman appeared half running
towards the van from the road on which the van was parked. She
was clearly in distress and upon seeing us began to talk in
Portuguese. We could not understand her and at this point we
were the only other people on the street; but as we were talking
a young Portuguese couple appeared from (page 2) the same
direction as the woman in a small red vehicle and stopped. The
male came over and was able to speak good English he translated
what the woman was saying. In the conversation it became
apparent that the couple had observed the male with the child in
a situation further up the road and had seen the man hit the
woman and had driven around the block and found the woman with
us. He said he had phoned the police. Thinking everything was
alright we left the couple, woman and van in situ and entered
our apartment.

Statement continues with a description of what happened when
they reported the incident.[/size]

Upon entering the apartment we put on Sky
news and became aware of a news report about a young couple
acting suspiciously in relation to the disappearance of the
British child. I therefore went to complex and informed them of
what I had seen and gave him the registration on the paper. We
then returned to the area and saw the woman and the vehicle
still in place. I returned to the apartment and after an hour
hadn’t heard anything so I contacted the police. Eventually I
got through to an English speaker and explained what had
happened. The police stated they were sending someone to
reception. I decided to go down and wait for them. As I got
downstairs I could see two police in a patrol vehicle outside
reception. The officers spoke English and I explained the
situation and gave them another copy of the registration which
we had written down. They told me they were dealing or had dealt
with the situation. Then at about 03.15 we checked the area
again and the van and woman had gone.

I can confirm that the registration was 3893 VL for the transit
vehicle. I have also produced a hand-drawn map of the local area
which I now produce as RMC/1.
Signed
R. McCluskey

This link also contains Susan mcCluskey's statement: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by Guest 19.02.12 21:27

Thank you for your immediate replies

by Badboys 20.02.12 0:15

This turned out to be an ukrainian couple that live in algarve

by Lance De Boils 01.07.13 19:25

I was just reading this statement again, and the info about the Ukrainians.

Interesting:

1. How the Mother said she realised that her daughter looked very similar to Maddie and had already considered that she could be mistaken for the missing child.
2. That the Mother was the spitting image of Kate McCann (according to the statements.)
3. That the man was carrying the child in a way which reminded Mr McCluskey of Gerry McCann as he got of the plane carrying one of the twins.
4. That the couple's little girl then left the country a few days later, with her Father, for an unspecified length of time.

[5. That this bizarre incident occurred at the time it did.]

by suzyjohnson 01.07.13 21:16

Lance De Boils wrote:I was just reading this statement again, and the info about the Ukrainians.

Interesting:

1. How the Mother said she realised that her daughter looked very similar to Maddie and had already considered that she could be mistaken for the missing child.
2. That the Mother was the spitting image of Kate McCann (according to the statements.)
3. That the man was carrying the child in a way which reminded Mr McCluskey of Gerry McCann as he got of the plane carrying one of the twins.
4. That the couple's little girl then left the country a few days later, with her Father, for an unspecified length of time.

[5. That this bizarre incident occurred at the time it did.]

Lance De Boils, I don't know too much about this particular sighting but I don't think it was Mr McCluskey who said the man he saw resembled GM. It was Martin Smith who commented that he recognised GM (by his manner of walking and the way he carried one of the twins from the plane) as the same man he saw at 9.50pm in PdL on 3rd May.

by Guest 01.07.13 23:01

Correct.
[Sorry, I'm Dutch and we're very direct ...] winkwink

by littlepixie 02.07.13 0:12

This sighting has always intrigued me too.

by Lance De Boils 11.07.13 21:33

Table of Contents : APENSOS V, Volume I, Supposed Sightings and Locations (FILE 01)....(PDF Page 119)....Page 137?"Handwritten Richard McCluskey statement"

Page 137 (Page 1 of 1) (Copied and pasted from the Page 131 reference)

Statement made 12th September 2007

I am the above named person and I live at an address know to Police. In early May 2007 myself and my wife were on holiday in Portugal. I have already provided a witness statement in relation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. I would like to add the following;

The events of the past week or so, with the McCanns being very much in the news, have triggered my memory in relation to the incident.

In my original statement I described a distressed female who ran down a road towards a white van I had described.

Having viewed recent news footage of Mrs McCann I am now almost certain that she is the female I described as being in a distressed state. I say this because of her slight build, high cheekbones and her eyes and hairstyle.

I've agonised for days over whether or not to contact the police about this because it is a terrible thing to accuse somebody of. It had just not crossed my mind that the child?s parents could in some way be involved in her disappearance.

I have watched a good deal of news coverage about the McCanns over the past week or so. Another thing which has played on my mind is the coverage of Mr McCann walking off the aeroplane holding one of his young children. The way he was holding the child over his left shoulder reminded me of the man carrying the child from the white van in Portugal.

Although I could not describe the male I'd seen in Portugal because he had his back to me, it was the particular way Mr. McCann held the child that made me think. He held the child over his left shoulder with his left arm supporting the child?s weight.

(signed).......R McCluskey

Definitely in the McCluskey statement.

(Yes, Smith said similar.)

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by Praiaaa 11.07.13 21:50

Very interesting!

by Guest 11.07.13 21:56

Lance De Boils wrote:
Table of Contents : APENSOS V, Volume I, Supposed Sightings and Locations (FILE 01)....(PDF Page 119)....Page 137?"Handwritten Richard McCluskey statement"

Page 137 (Page 1 of 1) (Copied and pasted from the Page 131 reference)

Statement made 12th September 2007

I am the above named person and I live at an address know to Police. In early May 2007 myself and my wife were on holiday in Portugal. I have already provided a witness statement in relation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. I would like to add the following;

The events of the past week or so, with the McCanns being very much in the news, have triggered my memory in relation to the incident.

In my original statement I described a distressed female who ran down a road towards a white van I had described.

Having viewed recent news footage of Mrs McCann I am now almost certain that she is the female I described as being in a distressed state. I say this because of her slight build, high cheekbones and her eyes and hairstyle.

I've agonised for days over whether or not to contact the police about this because it is a terrible thing to accuse somebody of. It had just not crossed my mind that the child?s parents could in some way be involved in her disappearance.

I have watched a good deal of news coverage about the McCanns over the past week or so. Another thing which has played on my mind is the coverage of Mr McCann walking off the aeroplane holding one of his young children. The way he was holding the child over his left shoulder reminded me of the man carrying the child from the white van in Portugal.

Although I could not describe the male I'd seen in Portugal because he had his back to me, it was the particular way Mr. McCann held the child that made me think. He held the child over his left shoulder with his left arm supporting the child?s weight.

(signed).......R McCluskey

Definitely in the McCluskey statement.

(Yes, Smith said similar.)

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thank you Lance, I don't think I have ever seen that before, I think I must have seen just the original statement. I had never realised someone else had said almost the same thing as the Smiths...........wow. bigshock

by Lance De Boils 11.07.13 22:40

Wow indeed.
And the woman looked just like Kate, too.
And the child was small and blonde and looked like Maddie.
And then the child left the country.
Wow again.

by Guest 11.07.13 23:06

Did they do a photofit? I found this

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Possible Suspects Who Abducted Maddy

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by Guest 11.07.13 23:13

But ... if read the witness' statements correctly, they're talking about
- a seemingly lifeless child
- a woman who resembled Kate and
- a man who resembled Gerry

Pfff, it's getting too late. Will be back tomorrow.
Good night :-)

by sallypelt 11.07.13 23:22

McClusky's May statement is so different from his September statement. This is his May statement:

On Saturday 05 May 2007 at approximately 01.50hrs I was with my wife Susan in the holiday resort of ALVOR, PORTUGAL. We were walking up the bank from the town of Alvor in order to return to our hotel, known as the Clube Alvorferias, after a night out. As we approached the junction I observed a white ford transit vehicle drive up the bank and stop well away from the kerb in the junction turning right, blocking traffic turning right. I would describe the vehicle as a flatbed 'transit' vat with a white cab area with white metal fold down side flaps/boards. I recognise the type of vehicle as I used to drive one. I did not notice whether it had any identifying marks of advertising on it.

As it had caught our attention I stopped and watched. I then observed a dark skinned male, well built, dark hair (page 1) get out of the vehicle and begin to stagger up the bank in a drunken manner. I could not see much detail because it was dark but I could see that he had cradled a child of about 3-4years over his left shoulder. Again I could not give anything else due to the darkness but it was clear that the child was not making any noise, or crying, or appear in distress. There was no movement at all.

I was aware that a child was missing in the area and therefore went and took the registration of the vehicle, which my wife wrote initially on her hand and later on a piece of paper.

I watched him stagger approx 200m up the bank and then turn right on a road into a complex area. It was at this point that the situation appeared very strange and so we decided to take the vehicle number.

As we were taking the number a woman appeared half running towards the van from the road on which the van was parked. She was clearly in distress and upon seeing us began to talk in Portuguese. We could not understand her and at this point we were the only other people on the street; but as we were talking a young Portuguese couple appeared from (page 2) the same direction as the woman in a small red vehicle and stopped. The male came over and was able to speak good English he translated what the woman was saying. In the conversation it became apparent that the couple had observed the male with the child in a situation further up the road and had seen the man hit the woman and had driven around the block and found the woman with us. He said he had phoned the police. Thinking everything was alright we left the couple, woman and van in situ and entered our apartment.

Statement continues with a description of what happened when they reported the incident.

Upon entering the apartment we put on Sky news and became aware of a news report about a young couple acting suspiciously in relation to the disappearance of the British child. I therefore went to complex and informed them of what I had seen and gave him the registration on the paper. We then returned to the area and saw the woman and the vehicle still in place. I returned to the apartment and after an hour hadn’t heard anything so I contacted the police. Eventually I got through to an English speaker and explained what had happened. The police stated they were sending someone to reception. I decided to go down and wait for them. As I got downstairs I could see two police in a patrol vehicle outside reception. The officers spoke English and I explained the situation and gave them another copy of the registration which we had written down. They told me they were dealing or had dealt with the situation. Then at about 03.15 we checked the area again and the van and woman had gone.

I can confirm that the registration was 3893 VL for the transit vehicle. I have also produced a hand-drawn map of the local area which I now produce as RMC/1.
Signed
R. McCluskey

There is a handwritten note in Portuguese on the statement :

It has already been checked! They are Ukrainians from Alvor with a blonde daughter who attends the “A Flor” crèche in Portimao.

So, the male was "DARK SKINNED" and the woman "SPOKE IN PORTUGUESE".

Gerry McCann isn't a dark skinned male, and I am not aware that Kate McCann can speak Portuguese.

This appears to be the couple who the McCluskey's saw that night:

Date 2007/05/25

To: The Coordinator of the Criminal Investigation

From: Inspector F. Antonio

Subject: Communication of facts about the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

We inform you that today this police station received a phone call followed by the sending of this handwritten document by fax at about 11.15 by a person who identified herself

Handwritten:

- Same situation
- Two different number plates
- One (JG) already discounted => NEG
- The other (CG) Toyota Maize => NEG
28th May

Typed text continues:

as MK with residence at Rua R. A. D, Leca do Balio.

At this address at about 13.00 KZ, a Ukrainian citizen with temporary residence permit no. +++, mobile n+++ the wife of the aforementioned accompanied by her baby son DK was contacted by myself and my colleague Milton Trigo. She identified her husband as being the owner of vehicle with NIF nº 234700025, her husband, together with a colleague from work, on Monday 21-05-2007 at about 15.00 left for the Ukraine for some time, also taking with them her daughter aged 4, IK, who like her son was born in Portugal where they have lived for the past 6 years. Her husband and daughter are staying at the following address *******, Ukriane, telephone number *****.

Personal identification documents for the husband and daughter wee not presented as they had them with them but other proof of their names was presented. Recent photos were shown, of April this year and from before with their daughter in Leca where they live. Physical similarities were noted with the missing girl Madeleine McCann, although (the Ukrainian girl) was bigger and with a rounder face.

Having previously spoken to the neighbours it was established that the girl had left with the father and a colleague on Monday for the Ukraine. It was observed that having taking this girl on such a long journey was justified that she did not stay with the small boy (which would have been) a burden for the mother.

The description of the facts denounced was explained in this way. There was no doubt that the girl was the daughter of both, known by the neighbours and having lived at the address for a long time.

By the woman's admission, without mentioning the case of Madeleine McCann further, as she was now being heard by the police and regarding any doubts concerning the motive, she says that she had already observed - as had her husband - that her daughter could be confused with Madeleine because of the physical similarities and age.

For your information.

Signed

The Inspector

by Lance De Boils 11.07.13 23:38

At this address at about 13.00 KZ, a Ukrainian citizen with temporary residence permit no. +++, mobile n+++ the wife of the aforementioned accompanied by her baby son DK was contacted by myself and my colleague Milton Trigo. She identified her husband as being the owner of vehicle with NIF nº 234700025, her husband, together with a colleague from work, on Monday 21-05-2007 at about 15.00 left for the Ukraine for some time, also taking with them her daughter aged 4, IK, who like her son was born in Portugal where they have lived for the past 6 years. Her husband and daughter are staying at the following address *******, Ukriane, telephone number *****.

Personal identification documents for the husband and daughter wee not presented as they had them with them but other proof of their names was presented. Recent photos were shown, of April this year and from before with their daughter in Leca where they live. Physical similarities were noted with the missing girl Madeleine McCann , although (the Ukrainian girl) was bigger and with a rounder face. [Than the picture of a much younger Madeleine? Which photo were the PJ comparing her with?]

Having previously spoken to the neighbours it was established that the girl had left with the father and a colleague on Monday for the Ukraine. It was observed that having taking this girl on such a long journey was justified that she did not stay with the small boy (which would have been) a burden for the mother.

The description of the facts denounced was explained in this way. There was no doubt that the girl was the daughter of both, known by the neighbours and having lived at the address for a long time.

By the woman's admission, without mentioning the case of Madeleine McCann further, as she was now being heard by the police and regarding any doubts concerning the motive, she says that she had already observed - as had her husband - that her daughter could be confused with Madeleine because of the physical similarities and age.

For your information.

Signed

The Inspector

This is the info about the Ukrainian couple they identified as the couple seen by the McCluskeys.

My additions are in blue, any bold font or underlining is my doing.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by Guest 11.07.13 23:46

It is very strange. He says this woman spoke to them in Portuguese, so she must have been very close to him and he would have had a good look at her , and yet months later, knowing Kate McCann was from UK, he says this....

Having viewed recent news footage of Mrs McCann I am now almost certain that she is the female I described as being in a distressed state. I say this because of her slight build, high cheekbones and her eyes and hairstyle.

I wonder if he was shown a photo of this couple the police went to interview, so he could indentify them.

by Lance De Boils 11.07.13 23:47

Well, if he was dark skinned, he doesn't sound Ukrainian either. Going by the ones I've known, anyway.

...

I don't get it either...
it's all weird.

All of it. wft