Madeleine McCann: Met Police rules out its four official suspects

Jose Carlos da Silva and three others were investigated for six months before being told they would face no further action.

21:04, UK,Tuesday 25 April 2017


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Image: Madeleine McCann went missing in May 2007

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

The only four official suspects investigated by the Met Police over the abduction of Madeleine McCann have been ruled out of the inquiry.

But Scotland Yard insists it is still investigating one significant lead.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley told Sky News: "We have one significant line of inquiry which is worth pursuing and because it's worth pursuing it could provide an answer."
The suspects were believed by Scotland Yard to have taken her during a burglary gone wrong at the McCanns' rented holiday apartment in Portugal.
They were identified by their mobile phone use, their location near the apartment on the night and their backgrounds.
One is Jose Carlos da Silva, 35, a former driver at the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz, where Madeleine vanished on 3 May, 2007.


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Image: Police search for clues to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal

He and the others were questioned and investigated for six months before being told they would face no further action.
Mr Rowley said: "Somebody's doing a burglary, panicked maybe by a waking child and that's what's leads to Madeleine going missing."
Asked if that was an unlikely scenario and if any surprised burglar would simply run away, Mr Rowley said: "In my experience, if you try to apply the cold, rational logic of a normal person sitting in their front room to what criminals do under pressure, you tend to make mistakes.
"It was a sensible hypothesis and it's not entirely ruled out."


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Image: A Scotland Yard team has spent more than £11m on the investigation

Madeleine disappeared as she slept in a room with her younger twin siblings while their parents Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors, dined with friends nearby.
Scotland Yard began investigating six years ago after the failure of the first Portuguese police investigation. The team of detectives, cut in 2015 from 29 to four, has spent more than £11m of UK Government funds.
Mr Rowley said new information was still being received daily.
The Metropolitan Police was recently given an extra £85,000 by the Home Office to keep the investigation going until September.
Portugal's deputy national director of the Policia Judiciaria, Pedro do Carmo, told Sky News that he was under no financial or political pressure to wind up his re-opened investigation.
He said: "If the Metropolitan Police decides to close its investigation that doesn't mean we are going to close ours.
"Our two investigations are not dependent on one another."

The Daily Mail headline is stating the parents 'are not behind the disapearance'   Even though this is not in the statement given anywhere!  

 It's just a blatant lie, one that they will not object to obviously.

Just complete nonsense.

Do the basic policing you bunch of muppets.

OK, so let's get this right. 

There were four suspected burglars, who killed her during a botched burglary, except it wasn't them. So is there another suspected gang of burglars still out there? How many gangs of burglars, all likely to to panic and kill an awoken child instead of running off, were running amok in PdL then? Why didn't anyone notice them?

The more "sensible" questions you ask, the more you want to tear your hair out in frustration.

Sorry, I meant say burglars who supposedly abducted her rather than "killed her". I withdraw that.

I don't want to bring the opprobrium on the McCs down on this forum.

All in IMO.

The taxpayers have stumped up approx £12 million so that S.Y. could avoid sitting in their "front room" (lest the cold, rational logic of the normal person should intrude). To have come up with this deluded tosh they must have spent the last few years in the back room - of a pub, pxxxed out of their minds. 

I've 'read' the 'lot'!

A few 'snippets'

Mr Rowley is in overall command of Operation Grange,

Madeleine McCann: Met Police rules out its four official suspects
Tuesday, April 25th, 2017 11:49pm

The only four official suspects investigated by the Met Police over the abduction of Madeleine McCann have been ruled out of the inquiry, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley told Sky News:

In an interview nearly a decade on from her disappearance, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner ruled out Maddie's parents as possible suspects.

He (Rowley) said: ‘The parents’ involvement: that was dealt with at the time by the original investigation by the Portuguese.

'We've got some thoughts on what we think the most likely explanations might be and we are pursuing those.'

Mr Rowley said there was still a 'lot unknown' in the case, adding: 'All the different hypotheses have to remain open.'

He said: 'What we started with here was something extraordinary. We've achieved a complete understanding of it all.'

He would only say: “Ourselves and the Portuguese are doing a critical piece of work.

Information is still coming in on a daily basis.

But Mr Rowley said: “I so wish I could say we will definitely solve it but a small number of cases sadly don’t get solved. What I’ve always said on this case, and I’ve said it to Kate and Gerry as well, we will do everything reasonably possible to try to find an answer."

"...but we will do everything we reasonably can do to try to get there.”

But he added that there was no "definitive evidence" as to whether Madeleine was alive or dead.

But he added that "there was no reason whatsoever" to suspect Madeleine's parents were involved in her disappearance.

"However she left that apartment, she's been abducted," he said. "This is a young girl who is missing."

And Operation Grange, with its unusual government funding, can't go on for ever. No more leads can only mean no more money - and the end.

With "no new appeals that the police wish to make at this moment in time" she said the family, from Rothley, Leicestershire, was "keeping any media involvement marking this unwanted milestone to a minimum".

Mr Rowley said: "Somebody's doing a burglary, panicked maybe by a waking child and that's what's leads to Madeleine going missing."
Asked if that was an unlikely scenario and if any surprised burglar would simply run away, Mr Rowley said: "In my experience, if you try to apply the cold, rational logic of a normal person sitting in their front room to what criminals do under pressure, you tend to make mistakes.
"It was a sensible hypothesis and it's not entirely ruled out."

Portugal's deputy national director of the Policia Judiciaria, Pedro do Carmo, told Sky News that he was under no financial or political pressure to wind up his re-opened investigation.

He said: "If the Metropolitan Police decides to close its investigation that doesn't mean we are going to close ours.
"Our two investigations are not dependent on one another."

Mr Rowley said new information was still being received daily.
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Imo, this 'bloke' must have been 'nominated' for McCan't PR 'Spinner' of the year!

Mr Rowley said there was still a 'lot unknown' in the case, adding: 'All the different hypotheses have to remain open.'

He said: 'We've achieved a complete understanding of it all.'

So, there is STILL 'a lot UNKNOWN' in the 'case' but, BUT....... he HAS 'a COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING of it ALL'!

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said “Ourselves AND the Portuguese are doing a critical piece of work."

Portugal's deputy national director of the Policia Judiciaria, Pedro do Carmo, said: "If the Metropolitan Police decides to close its investigation that doesn't mean we are going to close ours. Our two investigations ARE NOT DEPENDENT ON ONE ANOTHER"

"However she left that apartment, she's been abducted ," Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said.

Bet he wouldn't be too 'keen' to 'swear' to 'that' in a UK High Court, under OATH!

The only place the parents have been ruled out is in the Daily mail no other publication is running this quote so far.

Portugal is watching and as JeanM reminds us from time to time - the Portugese files will be released on this investigation at some point.


No matter what anyone in UK says the Supreme Court has made a ruling about a crime which took place in Portugal and it should be investigated as such -not as if an abduction had taken place in the UK imo.

Haven't got too much to say about the latest police statement as I cannot work out exactly what we are supposed to understand from it.

PeterMac's latest writings are in my mind and it makes perfect sense to me.

plebgate wrote:Portugal is watching and as JeanM reminds us from time to time - the Portugese files will be released on this investigation at some point.


No matter what anyone in UK says the Supreme Court has made a ruling about a crime which took place in Portugal and it should be investigated as such -not as if an abduction had taken place in the UK imo.

Haven't got too much to say about the latest police statement as I cannot work out exactly what we are supposed to understand from it.

PeterMac's latest writings are in my mind and it makes perfect sense to me.

A reminder of PeterMac's post in case anyone has missed it.

How I wish PeterMac was in charge of Operation Grange and Gonçalo Amaral in charge of the Portuguese investigation !
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This is a precis for a new chapter of PeterMac's FREE e-book, currently being written:


Recent hysterical Press reports are still concentrating on who could have done it, and are refusing to concentrate on whether it was done at all.

I could believe in an Abduction if I was presented with evidence of the MO - The Modus Operandi  - the evidential signs which detectives look for when investigating a report of crime, and which when placed in sequence can tell the story of what happened.

Many criminals stick to a particular MO which can be revealing for future detection

The list of points is long, but includes

Point of entry - window, door, front, back, side, locked or unlocked


Method of entry -  was it forced, using instrument or bodily pressure,  duplicate key, by fraud, by intimidation, silent,  . . .

Tools used - blunt instrument, sharp instrument, brick, concrete, wood, ladder, climbing . . .

Times between - 

Day of week -

Point of exit - as entry, or using door, climbing on furniture

Method of exit

Search - was this orderly professional, or amateur, 

Items taken - money, antiques, etc

Marks and items left at scene - fingerprints, foot prints, DNA, hair, clothing fibres, bodily fluids and solids, cigarette ends, artefacts from elsewhere

Victim - age, gender, characteristics

Trademark - eating food from fridge, drinking from bottles or glasses, using facilities, wanton damage to specific items, use of fire to hide evidence, cleaning, attempt removal of forensics

Witnesses

And so on.

Here we have - NOTHING.

No point of entry, 

No method of entry, (even Mitchell conceded both these)

No time window

No search

No items taken

No marks of any sort, inside or outside

No trademark

No witnesses

What then do we have ?

We have two people insisting that “For us, there is only the abduction theory possible", without providing or being able to point to a single piece of evidence.

And we have the top police and detectives of two Countries after a 10 year investigation unable to find a single piece of credible evidence

And by that we do not mean unable to find 'sufficient evidence to prosecute' - but unable to find a single piece of evidence.

Until we have that, there is no point in speculating about who might have done 'it'.

OG.

Bollocks.

There we have it.

Absolutely ZERO investigation of the parents.

NO bog standard policing.

The sickening face of Police corruption.

It sickens me to the core, this level of corruption. 

I recently returned from holiday in Greece, we got chatting to someone who was talking about corruption in general and how we are brainwashed by the media. He happened to mention Madeleine McCann and said there is something not quite right there, he mentioned the constant press reports over the last few weeks. My husband rolled his eyes, laughed and said 'don't mention that to her, you will regret it'. I had an interesting chat with him, he didn't know the in's and out's of the case but he didn't believe what we were being told by the MSM. By the end of our conversation at 2am   he was quite informed, he didn't seem at all surprised though. 

This case stinks to high heaven, I hate to say it, but I am 100% convinced the McCann's will NEVER face justice. I hope I am wrong, and I will always live in hope that one day the truth will out!

jeanmonroe wrote:*SNIPPED*

He (Rowley) said: ‘The parents’ involvement: that was dealt with at the time by the original investigation by the Portuguese.

Yes, and we all know just what the original investigation thought!

princess_leia wrote:It sickens me to the core, this level of corruption. 

I recently returned from holiday in Greece, we got chatting to someone who was talking about corruption in general and how we are brainwashed by the media. He happened to mention Madeleine McCann and said there is something not quite right there, he mentioned the constant press reports over the last few weeks. My husband rolled his eyes, laughed and said 'don't mention that to her, you will regret it'. I had an interesting chat with him, he didn't know the in's and out's of the case but he didn't believe what we were being told by the MSM. By the end of our conversation at 2am   he was quite informed, he didn't seem at all surprised though. 

This case stinks to high heaven, I hate to say it, but I am 100% convinced the McCann's will NEVER face justice. I hope I am wrong, and I will always live in hope that one day the truth will out!

They will have to face natural justice, we all do. Karma comes knocking for for everyone.

Dear Met Police



Please highlight anywhere in the history of policing where - a burglar killed a child during the burglary, ran off with the body, having first cleaned the crime scene so thoroughly and forensically in a matter of moments every posh villa in the Algarve would like to employ them.

Thanks

PS can you please also debunk the statistic that 24 out of 25 child disappearances are at the hands of persons known to the child which is why you’ve ruled out parents and friends in this case.

princess_leia wrote:
This case stinks to high heaven, I hate to say it, but I am 100% convinced the McCann's will NEVER face justice. I hope I am wrong, and I will always live in hope that one day the truth will out!

The McCanns are facing justice at every moment of every day as the vast majority of the public know they were responsible for Madeleine’s fate – either directly or vicariously through neglect. They live in a world where they have been judged and sentenced, in the world’s largest open prison. They are pariahs in the public’s gaze. My thoughts go out to Sean and Amelie every day.

Dear Met,

You have failed in your Remit to convince us Maddie was taken by a stranger and that her parents are innocent, so what on earth will you do now please?

pennylane wrote:Dear Met,

You have failed in your Remit to convince us Maddie was taken by a stranger and that her parents are innocent, so what on earth will you do now please?

They really don't give a monkey's what us plebs think.

Brunt has zero credibility IMO.  He is a puppet of the cover up, not a journalist IMO.  Like Mitchell, everything that comes out of his mouth must be assumed to be unreliable unless good evidence can show it is true IMO.  I suspect he could be one of the few people that does know how Madeleine died and the real reason for the cover up IMO.

A burglary that went wrong hmm?

A burglary where nothing else was taken, and no fingerprints were left? Sounds likely.

Rogue-a-Tory wrote:

princess_leia wrote:
This case stinks to high heaven, I hate to say it, but I am 100% convinced the McCann's will NEVER face justice. I hope I am wrong, and I will always live in hope that one day the truth will out!

The McCanns are facing justice at every moment of every day as the vast majority of the public know they were responsible for Madeleine’s fate – either directly or vicariously through neglect. They live in a world where they have been judged and sentenced, in the world’s largest open prison. They are pariahs in the public’s gaze. My thoughts go out to Sean and Amelie every day.

I appreciate what you are saying but it isn't enough, it is simply not acceptable that we are being played for by SY, by MSM, by politicians. It's absolutely disgusting! And there isn't a thing 'we' can do about it because the level of corruption runs so deeply. 

I am so angry and upset...I haven't felt this way about this case in such a long time, I kind of go with the flow but I've had enough of it.

ChippyM wrote:The Daily Mail headline is stating the parents 'are not behind the disapearance'   Even though this is not in the statement given anywhere!  

 It's just a blatant lie, one that they will not object to obviously.

It comes to something when the headline has to debunk a theory.

"THE PARENTS AREN'T THE PERPS HERE, HONEST, LOOK OVER THERE"

S.Y. will never change its tune now. They have painted themselves into a corner by not investigating thoroughly at the start. I believe this only adds another reason to continue the cover-up. In the case of Mary Boyle (Donegal '77) missing for 40 years this March, the man regarded as the prime suspect by the investigating officers at the time, has never been re interviewed, despite requests raised in parliament and in the European parliament! The investigation was scuppered at the time, allegedly by political interference. The Gardai bowed this pressure and now it is too embarrassing to come clean.  I believe the same is true in Madeleine's case.

The MET has allowed itself to look foolish.It is no surpeise then that  they will be judgd as being foolish.
There must surely be experienced and dedicated officers who know this.This case has screamed out from the very beginning that the parents and friends should be eliminated from involvement first of all before looking at other possible lines of inquiry.The PJ Report clearly implicates the parents and yet our MET team have disregarded those conclusions.

They appear to be less than honest in their 'investigation'.Public trust in the integrity of the Police is essential.They appear foolish and stupid.I don't think they are.They are being told to look foolish and stupid by being told not to do their job properly.

I've heard politicians say that the Police will do this and that 'without fear or favour' and will go 'where the evidence takes them'.If that were the case, then the parents and friends woud have ben eliminated from the investigation first.

Meawhile our finest allow themselves to look foolish and stupid and untrustworthy.

Phoebe wrote:S.Y. will never change its tune now. They have painted themselves into a corner by not investigating thoroughly at the start. I believe this only adds another reason to continue the cover-up. In the case of Mary Boyle (Donegal '77) missing for 40 years this March, the man regarded as the prime suspect by the investigating officers at the time, has never been re interviewed, despite requests raised in parliament and in the European parliament! The investigation was scuppered at the time, allegedly by political interference. The Gardai bowed this pressure and now it is too embarrassing to come clean.  I believe the same is true in Madeleine's case.

Whilst I agree that it's a cover up - this isn't the usual MO for a top-level cover up. Usually they will pay lip service to an investigation, but then things will quieten down. What you don't normally see if an investigation on going for years and years, having the effect of artificially keeping the story in the headlines. If it's a cover up, then they'd want the story to go away, not remain.

I do wonder, however, if those behind the cover-up know that eventually the truth will out, especially if it is true that the PJ still have documents/evidence to release. If those behind it do believe that the truth will out one day, then OG could be their protection - it would mean that the Met could turn round and say "we spent 5 years investigating and followed every lead, but the PJ withheld information and we weren't able to find that crucial link bla bla"....it would make it look like it wasn't a cover up all along.

To me, this seems like a game of brinkmanship - those behind this know that it'll come out one day, so they need to get their stories straight, and make it look like - to the public at least - that it wasn't a cover up.

phil_burton wrote:

Phoebe wrote:S.Y. will never change its tune now. They have painted themselves into a corner by not investigating thoroughly at the start. I believe this only adds another reason to continue the cover-up. In the case of Mary Boyle (Donegal '77) missing for 40 years this March, the man regarded as the prime suspect by the investigating officers at the time, has never been re interviewed, despite requests raised in parliament and in the European parliament! The investigation was scuppered at the time, allegedly by political interference. The Gardai bowed this pressure and now it is too embarrassing to come clean.  I believe the same is true in Madeleine's case.

Whilst I agree that it's a cover up - this isn't the usual MO for a top-level cover up. Usually they will pay lip service to an investigation, but then things will quieten down. What you don't normally see if an investigation on going for years and years, having the effect of artificially keeping the story in the headlines. If it's a cover up, then they'd want the story to go away, not remain.

I do wonder, however, if those behind the cover-up know that eventually the truth will out, especially if it is true that the PJ still have documents/evidence to release. If those behind it do believe that the truth will out one day, then OG could be their protection - it would mean that the Met could turn round and say "we spent 5 years investigating and followed every lead, but the PJ withheld information and we weren't able to find that crucial link bla bla"....it would make it look like it wasn't a cover up all along.

To me, this seems like a game of brinkmanship - those behind this know that it'll come out one day, so they need to get their stories straight, and make it look like - to the public at least - that it wasn't a cover up.

This case could not be "put to bed" as Dr. Amaral published his book and the McCann's legal challenges over this have continued right up to March of this year. They are desperate to be able to say they have been declared non-suspects. If he had not written "the truth of the lie" I suspect this case would have faded into obscurity years ago. I believe the only real remit of Grange has been to make the parents appear to have played no part in their daughter's disappearance.

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I think it is like the usual cover ups. They usually have inquiries that go on for years and have lots of twists and turns that seem like they are going somewhere and then don't.

  This has the effect of making it so tedious and boring in the eyes of the public that they start demanding an end to it as a 'waste of time'.  It even helps with this tactic if people handling the inquiry or investigation seem incompetent. Then public anger is directed towards the investigation and not the issue being covered up. 

It's the old problem, reaction, solution  tactic.

I see Mark Rowley stated they may never get answers in this case, what a surprise!

The interview was far more revealing than I expected and fair play to the interviewer who did pose some direct questions instead of feeding Rowley the usual guff.

It's there now in black & white - they did not go back to square 1. They looked at the evidence and decided not to pursue any line of enquiry other than the abduction. It's completely ridiculous, they could and should have looked for new evidence that the McCanns & Tapas 7 may have been involved but they chose not to do so.

beejay wrote:The interview was far more revealing than I expected and fair play to the interviewer who did pose some direct questions instead of feeding Rowley the usual guff.

It's there now in black & white - they did not go back to square 1. They looked at the evidence and decided not to pursue any line of enquiry other than the abduction. It's completely ridiculous, they could and should have looked for new evidence that the McCanns & Tapas 7 may have been involved but they chose not to do so.

Yes it's now there in black and white, just what a farce Operation Grange is!

MrsC wrote:

jeanmonroe wrote:*SNIPPED*

He (Rowley) said: ‘The parents’ involvement: that was dealt with at the time by the original investigation by the Portuguese.

Yes, and we all know just what the original investigation thought!

So, these PJ findings are a given then? We should be so lucky!