Documented Evidence

Rental from 12.30 on 27th with Michael Wright as additional driver.

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Private audience with the Pope, which was mooted in the papers, never happened, but the meeting was at the weekly (always Wednesday) general audience on 30th, so the focus was certainly not on MW that day.

Doug D wrote:Rental from 12.30 on 27th with Michael Wright as additional driver.

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Private audience with the Pope, which was mooted in the papers, never happened, but the meeting was at the weekly (always Wednesday) general audience on 30th, so the focus was certainly not on MW that day.

I am keeping a very open mind at the moment, and going back over very old ground. What I will never accept - no matter what "evidence" they come up with - that the McCanns are innocent. If this latest "development" has any credibility,  the paedophile didn't act alone.  I think he's an accessory AFTER the fact.

The Truth of the Lie by Gonçalo Amaral: Chapter 16

THE HYPOTHESIS OF DEATH IS CONSIDERED.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE SPECIALISTS

After Krugel's unsuccessful visit, our English colleagues vaunt the work of their specialist dog team from the South Yorkshire Police Department of Criminal Investigation. Their dogs are specially trained to locate the most minute traces of blood and are capable of outstanding performance in the search for human remains and bodily fluids.

THE FORENSIC SPECIALISTS

It's July. The hypothesis of death, including by the parents, is being seriously considered. However, no lead has yet come to anything, and we find ourselves in a cul-de-sac. We have to re-centre the investigation around its point of departure, apartment 5A at the Ocean Club, in Vila da Luz. We officially request the help of the best experts in criminology and forensics but also the specialist dog team from the English police. A few days later, we welcome Mark Harrison, a specialist in murder, and the search for missing persons and victims of natural disasters. National advisor to the British police, he is well known for his exceptional professional experience. He has already participated in dozens of international criminal investigations.

His work consists of defining new strategies for research. He gets to work immediately, supported by the Portuguese PJ and the investigators from Leicester and Scotland Yard. On his arrival, we place at his disposal details of the case, as well as all our material and human resources. Harrison reads up on the statements and interviews from the principal witnesses - including, of course, those of the parents and friends -, all the analyses, simulations, hypotheses and cross-checking already carried out. He carries out a reconnaissance on the ground, by helicopter and then on foot. He paces the streets and the access roads to Vila da Luz and compares them to the diagrams created in the course of the investigation. Nothing is left to chance: measurement and timing of possible routes between buildings, apartments and restaurants; analyses, with the help of the best specialists, of weather, geological and maritime factors in relation to the investigation; consultation with the best forensic anthropologist in the country, who indicates for us what would be the actual state of the body in the hypothesis of death occurring on May 3rd; study of the region's natural carrion predators. All the research already conducted by hundreds of people - GNR, civil defence, firemen and other volunteers - is re-examined in detail and re-analysed.

After a week of intense work, Harrison presents the results of his study to my coordinating group. Even if we were expecting it, his conclusions confirm our worst fears. The most plausible scenario is the following: there is no doubt that Madeleine is dead, and her body is hidden somewhere in the area around Praia da Luz. He praises the quality of the work carried out by the Portuguese authorities in trying to find the little girl alive. According to him, the time has come to redirect the searches in order to find, this time, a body hidden in the surrounding area.

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David Payne's Rogatory Interview - April 2008

[The holiday arrangements and how it came about]

1485 "Okay. Tell me about your social circle.'

Reply "Okay, err you know, when we got married, we actually got married in Italy and the majority of friends of ours unfortunately, or fortunately, are in the medical profession, I think it's the way it works with the hours and err yeah the nature of the job and exams etcetera, like you tend to socialise quite a lot with medical people. Err obviously the, you know the group who went to Portugal, Russell, err who I knew through, he was in my year at medical school, err subsequently obviously I knew Jane through Russell. Err in terms of Kate and Gerry, we knew, Fiona had worked with Kate and that's how I got to know Kate and Gerry, err you know we have probably a, just a, not a tight band of friends but you know its generally the same people, so the people who went, you know a lot of people came our wedding in Italy, who we subsequently had perhaps been on holiday with but we still stay in touch with. Err and if we socialise with anyone then it tends to be the same, same groups of, same group of people, the majority of them medical, obviously apart from Jane and Rachael of course.'

1485 "Is everybody locally based''

Reply "Err I mean, err obviously Kate and Gerry being in Leicestershire, Russell and Jane were in the Leicestershire region as well up until last year when they moved err to Exeter. Err and then Matt and Rachael, they also you know were originally in Leicestershire and they've moved down err working in London. Err but, you know, other friends we have, you know we have friends dotted around the country err but you know those are the main.'

1485 "The main.'

Reply "Yeah.'

1485 "Okay. Moving on to Portugal, the holiday last year, the holiday started twenty eighth of April and was due to finish the fifth of May I believe. It's my understanding that you did, you were instrumental really in the arranging.'

Reply "Yes.'

1485 "The co-ordination of the holiday.'

Reply "That's correct.'

00:06:37 1485 "What I want you to do now is, don't assume I know anything, okay.'

Reply "Right.'

1485 "Just imagine that you haven't spoke to anybody in Portugal about this and tell me in the beginning how it all come to happen, in other words who first decided it was going to be Portugal, and then subsequently what happened up until the day that you went away.'
Reply "Okay. Err it's a long winded answer.'

1485 "Yeah.'

Reply "I mean when we first, err you know the first kind of concept of a group holiday if you like, was when you know we went to Italy for our wedding where we actually stayed, you know we had all of the guests staying there err for that weekend, and you know, I know they all say your wedding's the best, one of the best days in your life but it was just absolutely fantastic.

We had children staying there and it was just such a great occasion with, with everyone around and you know everyone came and said what a fantastic, you know, time that they'd had err so you know that was the kind of, if you like, the beginnings of that, that concept of you know a group holiday err we then subsequently err you know we did have holidays with other people, you know we went away with Kate and Gerry and other friends err to Majorca and again you know although it was very hard, you know we'd had difficulties with you know with our child just sleeping wise and you know it's hard work but still you appreciated the fact that there's a group of you there and we subsequently had been away with err Russell, Jane, and Matt and Rachael err on another group holiday err the year after that, and then so we'd always been looking you know to do the same things, it is much easier when you have a group of children you know they interact together and you know it's great for the parents and you're all at a similar stage in life with the way that they're growing up and you know so we were always looking to continue that yearly err holiday, and you know we knew that Kate and Gerry had met Russell and Jane and so you know, like with the wedding, so all the people had you know a reasonable relationship before err we'd gone away to Portugal.

So you know we were just looking to continue that err last year. Err we'd all, or certainly we'd been on a Mark Warner before, I think Matt and Rachael and Russell and Jane had been on a Mark Warner type holiday and you know so we were looking to go on that type of holiday where we had err all the amenities that Mark Warner had to offer so they've got you know the sporting facilities, they've got the creche facilities for the children and you know so that, that kind of holiday was what we were looking for.

Err I'm trying to remember when we first chatted about you know going on the holiday. I mean I can only remember really that we were trying to arrange it probably two or three months err prior to us actually booking the holiday and err but probably we'd been chatting it I'm sure before, it may well have been before Christmas. Err you know I'd looked on the internet at you know what the availability was in different err locations and Portugal was the only err Mark Warner holiday that would offer err you know a holiday at that time of the year.

Err so you know we were hoping that the weather would be fine and Portugal was a reasonable distance for taking children on the plane so we, you know, we settled on, on t hat holiday. Err over the weeks there was quite a lot of discussion about going away, you know, on the Mark Warner holiday err the, you know we, it got to the stage of booking it and then there had been some questioning about the err you know the fact that it wasn't the kind of (inaudible) same holiday as you know other Mark Warner's err you know and you know could they guarantee that we would all be together in err you know the apartments and I'd had quite a discussion with Mark Warner you know email wise just to make, try and make sure that we were guaranteed err together.

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crusader wrote:From Ricardo da Luz Olivira statement.

When asked, he says that he remembers that it was usual during dinner for one or two members of the group to leave the table for about 10 or 15 minutes and given the fact that on various occasions he saw walkie talkies on the table, he supposed that they went to check on their children who were in their respective rooms.


I think he too means child monitor.

Of course he was crusader.

The Ocean Club guests are hardly likely to have or be using walkie-talkies at the Tapas restaurant table are they

I think someone is taking the myth!

In the light of the most recent media reports, over the past month or so casting eternal damnation on the Portuguese police for failure of epic proportions, it's important to highlight the strenuous endeavours conducted by the PJ back in the summer of 2007, to 'search' for Madeleine McCann and solve the mystery of her disappearance.

Stick to basics and ignore the media hype designed to deceive and mislead. Failing that, call on Dave 'the rave' Edgar. He knows Madeleine is hidden in the lawless hills of the Algarve so who better to conduct a new 'search' and finally the McCanns themselves can actually physically join his 'search' for their daughter as they have failed to do so far. After all, they should know - they were there..

Processos Vol XIII

Pages 3491 - 3505

From the GNR

To: The Coordinator of the Criminal Investigation

Portimao 3rd December 2007


Subject: Despatch of Report on the Searches carried out in
P da L


In accordance with your request mentioned above, we are sending the report on the searches carried out in P da L under the coordination of the GNR, with regard to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

With compliments.


Group Commander

Antonio Dias de Matos

Major



REPORT


Subject: Searches carried out in relation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

I Situation.

1. On 3rd May at about 22.40 the Lagos GNR post was contacted by telephone and informed about the disappearance of an English girl, Madeleine McCann, aged 3, who was on holiday with her family at the OC, Block 5, apartment 5A, P da L, Lagos.


2. This situation immediately led to the deployment to P da L of members of the GNR emergency patrol, consisting of officers José Maria Batista Roque and Neslon Filipe Pacheco da Costa, who, at the moment the communication was received, were in the Odeaxere area and who immediately left for the OC, where they arrived at 23.00, with the aim of finding out about the situation.

3. The patrol found the situation to be somewhat strange as the way the child had disappeared was not clear as she had been sleeping inside the apartment with the twins, whilst her parents were out dining 50 metres away in the same resort, and therefore the officers contacted the GNR post commander at 23.17, to tell him that the parents were holding the hypothesis that the child had been abducted.

4. The commander of the Lagos post, Sargeant Antonio Henrique Conceicao Duarte immediately left for the site the girl had disappeared from, telling the officers to preserve the apartment, and arrived at 23.50 at the OC, where he was informed about the situation together with the patrol officers and where he saw that searches had already taken place, carried out by the girl's father and locals, but without any results.

5. On 4th May at 00.12 the Post Commander ordered that the GNR Post should contact the PJ in order to inform them of the events, considering that this could be a crime that was of their competence for investigation, also concluding that more means were needed at the scene to carry out searches to find the girl.

6. At 00.40, given the complexity of the situation that seemed to surround the disappearance, the GNR post commander requested reinforcements from two sniffer dog teams from the Portimao territorial group to help in the searches, considering the possibility that the girl could have left the apartment on foot and could be somewhere not very far from the OC resort.

7. At 01.00 after the group commander had been briefed about the situation, telephone contact was made with an official from the Queluz GNR school, with the aim of their releasing search and rescue dog teams, seeing as these are specially trained to find missing persons, which is not the case with the Portimao sniffer dogs, which are essentially patrol dogs.

II Development of Action

1. On 4th May, after having evaluated the situation surrounding the disappearance, the Lagos Post Commander ordered searches for the child to take place and contacted officers who were at home, forming a force of nine officers who searched during the night and early morning.

2. At 02.00 they arrived at P da L and began searching with the Portimao sniffer dog teams, the terrain searches were extended until the morning with the dogs and officers on the scene, as well as the night guard and local people who volunteered to help in the searches that took place throughout the night.

3. During this nocturnal period, the searches took place along the entire perimeter of the OC, in the urban area, plots of land and the nearest buildings, the officers searching all the place where there was a possibility the child might be, this area being extended later to include all of the beach zone.

4. At 08.00 three officers with 4 search and rescue dogs from Queluz arrived at the scene, these dogs immediately began to operate.

5. During the searches that began again on 4th May in the morning, 9 officers from the Lagos post were used as well as officers from the Rapid Intervention Force, who were sent to the beach to collaborate in the searches talking place there, and who were occupied in this task for the rest of the day.

6. At 11.00 the Commander of the Portimao Post went to the beach, having noted the concrete situation in which the disappearance had occurred, namely the fact that more than 12 hours had passed, without any positive sign from the searches that had taken place, felt it was urgent that the action commander should appear on the scene and he named the head of the Criminal Investigation Section, Major Sequiera as the Operation Commander, the latter arriving at the scene at about 15.00 on 4th May.

7. With the aim of organising more extended searches of the terrain, a meeting was organised at about 15.00 with all the civil protection competent entities, namely the President of the Lagos Municipal Chamber, the President of the Luz parish, the maritime authority and the district commander of search operations with the aim of their collaboration in the actions to be taken, the GNR being responsible for the coordination of the land searches and the Maritime authority would initiate specific searches within its area of competence.
8. It was understood that everything was prepared by these entities in the operation of searches that were designated for the area and great advantage would be gained from the knowledge of the terrain of the persons that would be used.

9. The CDOS was asked about the viability of using the SNBPC helicopter during the searches that would take place in the afternoon and it was defined that the helicopter would be used in the searches and would be in P da L at about 16.00.

10. Lines of action were established, from the organisation of the searches to be carried out and the definition of areas, according to their priority, using the different means considered adequate, by officers from the different security forces, by firemen and by civil protection officers.

11. At 16.00 searches using the helicopter were initiated, the helicopter was used for 90 minutes, covering the entire area from the coast line to the EN 125, between the limits of Atalaia and Ponta da Cama da Vaca, this being the limit of the area considered probable for the child to be found, according to the hypothesis that she had left the apartment where she was staying on foot.

12. During the helicopter search, the area previously referred to was covered, in phases, running from north to South, this method is quite efficient in open areas, where something that does not fit with the scenario being examined is easily identifiable, however in the areas being searched, given the quantity of buildings and garden areas present as well as the vegetation composed essentially of small and medium sized shrubs, the detection of a child is difficult, given her small size, whether she is immobile or has fallen in a position that does not reveal her physical contours or covered by vegetation.
13. Simultaneously the searches for the child continued, by means of the officers referred to previously, in all the areas surrounding the beach, and many local people were seen, who were looking for the child on their own initiative.

14. At 20.00 a new meeting was held with the entities involved, in the sense of making an evaluation of how the searches had been carried out up to that moment and given the absence of results, it was decided to continue them for the next days or until some result was achieved.

15. On the part of the GNR, as responsible organisation, not just for the searches on the ground, but also for the security of the perimeter surrounding the apartment the child disappeared from, it was agreed to maintain a force headed by an officer, considering that on the scene there was a concentrated number of national and foreign press teams and the site had also become a meeting point for people going through information about the case which needed to be gathered and passed on to the police.

16. Considering that the searches that had taken place with the help of the helicopter had not yielded any results, it was agreed to reinforce and extend the foot searches and reinforcement from the search and rescue dog team was requested, which arrived at P da L at 23.00 with 3 more sniffer teams for a total of six officers and eight specialised dogs.

17. During the nocturnal period, field searches were reduced, given the lack of visibility, searches were made by EPG officers with the search and rescue dogs which concentrated particularly on the urban area of P da L.

18. The commander of the Portimao Prosecutor Division, which provided the officers for the nocturnal period was asked for the search operation order, which took place, the officers of that search force being organised by attributing them an area, next to the coastline, surrounding P da L, based upon the knowledge these officers had of the area.

19. In the nocturnal period and for the duration of the search phase, officers from the Criminal Investigation Nucleus remained on the ground who made the first exploration of diverse information that emerged, which was then channelled to the PJ, these officers also covered the locations closest to P da L, working in a certain way as operation reserve command during that period.

20. During this phase, during the nocturnal period, sniffer teams from the Portimao Territorial Group that were directed essentially to carry out patrols and searches in the urban area of P da L.
21. Indications were given to the Commander of the Albufeira Traffic Division to send available patrol teams to the Lagos area with the aim of carrying out a reinforcement of circulation control from the A22 and EN125, with the aim of guaranteeing greater intensity of patrols and STOP actions on the access roads to the Algarve, under the responsibility of police officers from that unit.

22. On 5th May at 08.00 the second day of searching began and given the absence of results from the previous day, a first systemised search area was established, including the entire area south of the EN 125, Quatro Estradas/Atalaia and Almadena/Burgau being the limits, with an approximate area of 16 km2, which had already been covered on 4th May by the CDOS helicopter between 16.00 and 17.30 and by officers and members of other entities that collaborated in the searches.

23. This area, considered to be the close perimeter of the site of disappearance, was divided into 17 sectors, the search responsibility was given to the different teams that had been established for this purpose, during the morning and afternoon. The insistence upon searches in this close perimeter was justified by its being the most probable area where the girl would be found, still working on the basis of the theory that she could have the left the apartment where she was staying on foot.

24. Working from this perspective, the probability was that she would have walked south in the direction of Rua Francisco Gentil Martins, because of the fact that it was an area that she had passes several times on the way to the beach, because it was the zone with the best illumination and because the road sloped downwards. The probability of her having taken the route towards Rua Agostinho da Silva, either to the right or to the left, was considered to be relatively reduced, because of the fact that this area was darker and that the ground layout presents an ascending direction. In these theories, it was considered to be a remote probability that the girl would have walked north to the Rua 1 de Maio and the EN 537-1 that links P da L to the EN 125 (Espiche crossing), considering that she would have done this over 1.2 km and where there would have been a greater degree of certainty that she would have been seen by motorists travelling on the road in either direction, the latter never having been reported.

25. On 5th May, those directly involved in the operations that took place in P da L and the surrounding area were 6 officers from the EPG sniffer team (search and rescue team), all available officers from the Lagos territorial post (about 20 officers), reinforcements from the Portimao Territorial Division (10 officers), reinforcements from the Silves Territorial Division (10 officers), from Albufeira (10 officers), from the Portimao Command Group (15 officers - FIR and IC), from the Faro TG (4 officers), GIPS (6 officers), from the Portimao Prosecutors Division (5 officers) a number of Guarda officers who were maintained for the rest of the search days.

26. It is be to be noted that the Commander of the Lagos Territorial Post, given the seriousness of the situation, cancelled the leave of officers from the post for seven days following the girl's disappearance, considering that it was necessary to have officers with knowledge of the area, not only for the search teams but also for the security of the Operation Command and the apartment the girl had disappeared from.

27. Others who took part in the searches were officers from the Lagos Public Security Police, the Maritime Police within their area of responsibility (maritime public domain), officers from Municipal Civil Protection, volunteer firemen from Lagos and from the Portuguese Red Cross.
28. Six officers from the Algarve Canine Rescue team (ECRA) - a legally constituted association - joined in the searches by volunteering their help at the P da L Operations Post.

29. Each search team always had an officer responsible for contact with the Lagos GNR Territorial Post, this officer would be attributed the area that the team would search and would give a photocopy of the marked area to each of the officers showing the indications about the technical manner the searches should adopt, with the formation of search lines, there had to be a visual over view of the limits of each officer's area and they were told to observe all accessible sites, where it could be possible to hide a girl or a body and the residents should be asked whether they had any useful information.

30. At the end of each search period, the individuals responsible for each group, whether they were officers or civilians, would present themselves at the Command Post, with the purpose of reporting the way in which the searches had been carried out, whether the whole of the attributed area had been searched and if any pertinent information had been gathered.

31. An organised group of volunteers, mainly English residents from the area, were also integrated into the searches, who also had a Command Post contact member, this group was attributed sectors that had been previously searched by GNR officers.

32. At 11.00 a meeting took place in the Portimao DIC installations, attended by the Directors and coordinators from the PJ, the Group Commander and the officer whose signature appears below, in their capacity as responsible officers for the ground searches. The Guarda referred to the way the searches had been carried out, the feasibility of implementing STOP actions on the roads to Luz was discussed, the PJ not having any objection, considering that it could be useful to the investigation.

33. On this day, apart from the actions implemented by the Traffic Brigade on the furthest roads, STOP operations were carried out on the EN 125, in a discontinuous manner, to control the access routes to P da L and surrounding areas, with the aim of creating instability, given the possibility that the girl had been taken by someone within this perimeter and was aiming to take her from the area. With the help of patrols from the PTR, Aljezur and Odeceixe, STOP actions were also carried out on the EN 120, considering it to be a regional penetration road to the area of Costa Vicentina.

34. The Lagos Security Police also carried out a random control of vehicles, using the STOP actions especially at the EN 125 roundabout that gives access to the A22, these actions were continued over several days.

35. On 6th May at 08.00 the third day of searches began, continuing to make efforts in different sectors of the close perimeter, considering that this is an area with a high number of houses, that it was important to go through this area again, with the aim of contacting their owners, collecting information that could be useful in locating the missing girl. Effort was made that the teams did not repeat sectors they had searched previously, given that people have the tendency to search in the same way, thereby minimising situations of error in the execution of searches in the different sectors of this close perimeter.

36. On this day a second level of searching was begun, with them being extended to an intermediary perimeter, in a semi circle with the eastern limit in Lagos/ EN 120/ Bensafrim/ Barao de Sao Joao / Barao de Sao Miguel and Boca do Rio as the western limit, covering an are of almost 75 km2, divided in 17 sectors with a wider net than the area of the close perimeter, a mixture of searches was carried out in this area, using foot and motorised teams, especially the use of motorcycles, depending on the topography of the terrain. The need to extend the perimeter of the searches was due to the fact that no sign of the girl had been found during the previous two days in the areas that had been searched and from the third day the theory that the girl might have been taken by someone was considered and, in the face of this hypothesis, the search operation was given a new scenario, becoming the search for a girl 'alive or dead' (the second possibility being the most probable) who had been left somewhere by an abductor.

37. In the hypothesis that the girl had been taken by someone and taking into account the time that had passed before the Guarda was alerted, it would be possible that she had been transported to a distance quite far away, further than any of the search perimeters, however the lack of any information about what really could have happened, makes it necessary that the decision about how to direct the searches, should be based only on the typology of the crime eventually in question and on the profile of the aggressor of this kind of crime, who would normally leave the victim in a place not very far from where she had been taken and who would in most cases bury the child. Within the theory, searches were made using an all terrain vehicle of the area composed of the Mata Nacional do Barao de S. Joao.

38. On this day, 6th May, the same number of Guarda officers was deployed as on the previous day and was reinforced by 16 officers from the Evora Territorial Brigade who replaced officers from the Faro Territorial Post, the latter being used in STOP operations on the main access roads to Lagos. The remaining entities and search groups used the day before were maintained with the exception of the Red Cross which only participated on 5th May.

39. During the nocturnal period, as on the previous nights, about 18 officers were deployed, guaranteeing the functioning of the Control Post, security and the preservation of the site the child had disappeared from, the control of surrounding areas and the closest localities was continued, searching for suspicious movements, whether by people or vehicles, mainly using officers from the Criminal Investigation Nucleus.

40. On 7th May at 08.00 the fourth day of searching began, at that time there was no sign or positive result and so sectors of the perimeter continued to be searched, new examinations of the close perimeter were carried out by new teams and searches of the intermediate perimeter were continued, the means used being similar to those of the previous days.

41. On this day the perimeter of the searches was extended to Lagos in the north and to Vila do Bispo in the east, for an are of about 250 km2, these searches being carried out almost entirely with the use of vehicles, given the topography of the terrain and the vegetation, this was called the distant perimeter, with an average radius of 15 km from P da L, being divided in 14 search areas.

42. The same activity carried out on the previous nights took place, namely the deployment of officers from the criminal investigation nucleus, controlling any eventual suspicious movements in the areas surrounding P da L.

43. On the 8th May at 08.00 the fifth day of searching began, maintaining the theories of the previous days, in other words the lack of existence of any information to direct the searches to any specific area and searches were continued within the three perimeters with the same number of officers.

44. On this day the search operation was joined by forest fire fighting officers from the Terras do Infante Association, using three all terrain vehicles, who carried out searches using their own means in forest and rough terrain areas of the distant perimeter, using their exhaustive knowledge of these areas gleaned from their daily activities of preventing forest fires.

45. Given the number of days that had passed since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann it was considered appropriate to request help from the Lagos Voluntary Firemen who took part in the operations, and on this day carried out searches as the Bravura dam, situated to the north of Odeaxere, using their aquatic equipment, considering that a body that has fallen or been thrown into water tends to surface after 72 hours, this team searched all the branches of the dam using an outboard motor and found nothing suspicious.

46. Officers from the Lagos Aeroclub offered their help in flying over the search areas with the aim of collaborating in the ongoing operations, their offer was accepted by the Operations Commander and they were instructed to fly over the Intermediate perimeter, they used 4 ultra light planes, flying at low height and in a line formation, but found no information to report.

47. On 9th May at 08.00 the sixth day of searching began, continuing with the search sequences of the previous days using teams of officers from the different entities that had participated in the operation, searching in the three perimeters that had been defined, at this stage all the sectors had been covered at least once by different teams, using all terrain vehicles in the distant perimeter, motorcycles in the intermediate perimeter and foot and horse teams in the close and intermediate perimeters, as well as air searches, without any sign of the girl being found.

48. Given the status of the searches, the officer undersigned, as Operation Commander proposed to the Portimao Territorial Group Commander that the searches of the area should be concluded, considering that the efforts made until then, with an elevated number of human resources used had allowed for the searching of a vast area, especially due to actions of the search and rescue sniffer teams, which with a great physical and spirited skill, with the help of technical capacity, consolidated by years of accumulated experience in multiple scenarios, searched vast areas without detecting any sign leading to the girl's location.

49. On10th May at 08.00 the seventh day of searching began, different actions took place in the sequence of the previous days' searches, without yielding any positive results and at the end of the afternoon the searches were concluded and the participation of the entities that had carried out activities under the coordination of the Guarda was dispensed with, from that date onwards the Guarda only guaranteed the security and the preservation of the area surrounding the apartment the girl had disappeared from.

50. The search and rescue sniffer teams continued to carry out searches - as can be seen from the report in Annex B - until 18th May when they returned to the Queluz post.
 III Conclusion

1. In parallel to the investigations carried out by the PJ and in strict collaboration with this entity, the GNR coordinated all the searches carried out in the areas surrounding the resort the girl disappeared from, gradually increasing the search perimeters, extending them to a radius of 15 km from P da L from 4th to 10th May.


2. Searches carried out in the Maritime Public Domain were the responsibility of the Maritime Authorities, who carried them out within the scope of their knowledge, technical experience and using their own means.


3. Given the operational scenario and taking into account the deployment of officers and the areas searched, at the end of the seventh day of operations it was decided that all possibility of finding the girl by means of searches of the area had been exhausted, no sign or information relevant to the investigation having been found.


4. Taking into account that during the searches carried out, care was taken to minimise the hypothesis of error, with the division of the area into sectors and searches undertaken by different teams, it is considered that if there is any possibility that the girl should be found in areas searched, her eventual location would lead to action from the ongoing criminal investigation.
Annexes

Annex A. Map showing Deployment of Officers and Teams.

Annex B. Report on the Sniffer Dog Search and Rescue Team

Annex C. Military letter with search area limits.


Portimao, 30th November 2007

Operation Commander

Luis Manuel Goncalves Sequeira

Major

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GNR Report

Subject: Report of Searches Related to the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann


Annex B. Report on the Sniffer Dog Search and Rescue Team


1. Methods used

The sniffer dog search and rescue team of the GNR was sent to Vila da Luz in the attempt of locating Madeleine McCann, aged four, of British nationality, who disappeared on the night of 3rd May, from apartment 5 A, Block 5 of the OC resort, the team was composed as follows:


Sargeant Silva - Dog: Timmy
Officer Cortez - Dog: Sacha
Officer Sousa - Dog: Kolly/Cookie
Officer Rosa - Dog: Oscar
Officer Martins - Dog: Fusco
Officer Fernandes - Dog: Rex/ Zarus


II Description

After arriving at the scene, the first three members of the team, the officers gathered some information from the girl's parents about the places they tended to frequent with the children during their stay in P da L up until now, the parents replied that the only areas that their daughter would frequent since their arrival, was Praia da Luz beach, always accompanied by babysitters and resort pool area, where there was also a playground.

After this, at about 08.00 the three search and rescue sniffer dog teams (Silva with Timmy, Cortez with Sacha and Sousa with Kolly and Cookie) who had arrived at the site, began searching, leaving the resort in the direction of the beach.

During the entire morning, searches were made of the beach and rocks, from Rocha Negra to the area of Ponta da Gaviota (an approximate area of 2 km). During the morning searches were also made of the areas surrounding Praia da Luz, with a radius of about 300 metres, as well as some abandoned houses, wells and plots of land inside P da L.

After an evaluation of the situation in the field, it was decided to request two more search and rescue sniffer dogs from the GNR Queluz station, given the extent of the terrain to be searched, whilst the hypothesis that the girl could have left the apartment on foot was not discarded.

During the afternoon of 4th May, more searches were carried out around Vila da Luz and were extended to a radius of approximately 600 metres, including the surroundings of the EN125 in the stretch closed to P da L.

At about 23.00 the extra teams that had been requested for reinforcement arrived (Officer Rosa with Oscar and Officer Martins with Fusco, both from the search and rescue unit and Officer Fernandes with Rex and Zarus from the tracking team).

After the officers had been updated about facts relating to the disappearance, they tried to reconstruct the route the girl might have taken with the two tracker dogs. For this purpose the dogs were given a blanket to sniff, provided by the parents, which had been used by Madeleine.

Beginning to follow the track using Rex, from the door of apartment 5 A (the place where the girl had been sleeping) he would always head in the direction of Block 4, leaving block 5 the dog would turn to the left, pass by a metal access door to a path existing between the apartments blocks to the leisure area (restaurant, pool and playground). Immediately another attempt at reconstruction was made using the dog Zarus, who, in general terms, ended up following the same route as Rex and having the same behaviour.

It is important to state that this tracking work was carried out in an urban area and more than 24 hours after the girl's disappearance and numerous persons had passed along the path the dogs were tracking. It should also be stated that the path the dogs followed within the resort was practically totally surrounded by walls and the concentration of odours was stronger as they were protected from the wind. The searches finished at about 01.30

On 5th May at about 08.00 after a briefing, two teams consisting of 3 dogs each accompanied by officers from Portimao, again carried out searches in the whole of the Vila da Luz area, with an approximate radius of 2 kilometres, paying special attention to the rocky areas, abandoned houses, wells, drains, road verges etc..including plots of land within P da L.

During part of the afternoon, searches were carried out in the Turiscampo camping site situated next to Espiche on the EN125 and in the Orbitur camping site next to Vila da Luz. This search operation had the objective of checking all the bungalows whose occupants had left on the day of the disappearance or on the following day as well as the adjacent areas.

During the day the searches were extended using the method of searching in file, accompanied by officers from Portimao, from the P da L area following the rocks up to Ponta da Cama da Vaca, taking in all of the northern zone to the EN125 as well as the village of Almadena, the Vale Verde zone and Quatro Estradas, some of the areas had already been searched more than once.

At about 22.00 all the vehicles parked in Vila da Luz parking spaced were checked.

On 6th May at about 08.00 and after another briefing from the Operational Command Post, it was decided that on that day they would again search all the plots of land with thick undergrowth within P da L, but that this time the search sections were divided amongst the teams. For this purpose the same teams of three dogs together with officers from Portimao who had been selected to help using the method of searching in file, carried out searches in all abandoned buildings, wells, rocks, verges of the EN125 and land surrounding P da L, in some cases reaching distances of 2 km.

On 7th May the same searches were continued, being extended to to the entire northern part of Almadena to the site of Espojeiro and the verges of the EN125 until the Boi valley.

At about 19.. the undersigned officer, accompanied by the Commander, Officer Silva, took part in a meetings with the PJ Directorate, being asked by the PJ about the viability of giving the girl's clothes to the dogs for the dogs to sniff again, and if by means of the odour inhaled, they would be able to mark an identical odour in one of the resort apartments even though its door was closed.

With regard to this task, Officer Silva referred to the fact that the time that had passed would be a crucial condition for the dogs' work in obtaining results and that the entirety of the human odours existing in the apartments and access paths could make the dogs' searches very difficult. However, in spite of not being a normal situation for tracking, it could be attempted, whilst the operation should be carried out as quickly as possible and not directed towards one but to all the apartments in the resort, it being appropriate for the handler not to know which apartment was chosen, so as not the be conditioned.

In this concrete situation, the objective would be for the dogs to carry out a discontinuous search, in other words, to sniff the girl's clothes and immediately search near to the apartments, checking to see if there was any change in the behaviour of the dogs.

At about 23.00 accompanied by a PJ inspector, the searches were begun. After Rex was given the girl's clothing to sniff, he began to search on the ground floor of block 5 and when he passed the door of apartment 5 A (the place the girl had disappeared from) according to his handler, officer Fernandes, the dog altered its behaviour, sniffing with greater intensity than he had done before. Apartment 5J of the same block was also checked as the dog had been more agitated than before as if there were a very strong strange odour there. It was stated that this apartment had been unoccupied for some time. Afterwards, the same kind of search was carried out using the dog Zarus which in general terms showed the same behaviour in the same places as Rex had done.

It was only when all the searches of the apartments in blocks 4 and 5 were complete, that the behaviour described above was registered. It is certain that this kind of work does not correspond to the area that these dogs were trained in, but given that these types of dogs manage to discriminate a specific odour from others, although it could be a remote possibility that they related the odour of the missing girl with a possible location where she could have been.

On 8th May during the morning four teams returned to search all the areas around Vila, following some indications from local people who had frequently gone to the GNR Command post saying they had seen something suspicious related to the disappearance but no sign of her presence was ever found.

During the afternoon searches along the verges of the EN125 were continued from Boi valley to Figueira and the whole northern part of Budens.

On the following days the strategy adopted was to continue to extend the perimeter of the searches to the villages of Barao de S Miguel and Burgau, Barao de S Joao, Bensafrim and Salema. Searches were carried out in all of these locations, as well as adjacent land, vegetation, abandoned houses, wells and main roads.

On 10th May at about 20.10, upon the request of the PJ, searches were carried out in all of the apartments belonging to blocks 4 and 5 of the OC, two tracker dogs and two search and rescue dogs being used for this operation, adopting the same methods as those used on 7th May, just that this time the apartments were all open and searched one by one, being accompanied by a representative from the resort, who had the keys to all the apartments (apart from those not under her administration) and also with the objective of helping with the searches. The collaboration of all the guests occupying the apartments at that time was requested for this purpose and those apartments that were found to be empty were opened by the administrator.

All the apartments were searched by the dogs and when they arrived at apartment 5 J they began to sniff with intensity at the entrance door. During this behaviour it was noted by the PJ officers that there must be some unusual odour, but which with all certainty did not have anything to do with the odour being searched for, but there must have been something strange inside.

After entering the apartment, it was observed that the dour came from close to the fridge, which was open and contained some rotting meat and vegetables.

During the searches carried out in the apartments no sign of the girl was found by the dogs.

On 11th May in the morning, the team went to Odiaxere to visit a forest near the Boavista golf course. The whole forest was searched using the in file method, including some abandoned houses, wells and rail track.

After lunch the team was told that the searches were concluded but that their presence in P da L would continue to be necessary according to the requirements of the PJ for any other situations that might occur.

On 15th May three search and rescue dogs returned to Lisbon (Officer Cortes with Sacha, Officer Rosa with Oscar and Officer Martins with Fusco) considering that there was no longer any need for them.


The other dogs and their handlers remained on site until 18th May when at about 19.00 they returned to Cino/EPG as their presence was no longer require in P da L, although it was determined that if their use were required in the future, they would return.
Signed
30 November 2007
Operation Commander
Major Sequeira

Russell O'Brien's rogatory interview - 10th April 2008     [O'Brien's relationship with the McCanns]

I would say that our relationship with Kate and Gerry MC CANN is not as close as with the other two couples, I first met Gerry when he was speaking at a conference in Atlanta in 1999, and I recall that we both had interest in the same aspects of cardiology.  I recall that we exchanged emails with each other to discuss various aspects of our research.  Gerry moved to the Glenfield hospital and worked in the same department as I did but I was based at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, at that time Gerry was my equivalent at Glenfield and a voice at the end of the phone- I’d say this was in 2001-2002.
~~~
I’d say that we have known Kate and Gerry on a more personal level since 2002-2003 when both Kate and Jane were pregnant with Madeleine/Ella.  At the beginning of their pregnancies they had been given a similar due date, although Madeleine was born about a month before (page 2) Ella.  Our friendship increased through Fiona and Dave, we would often see Kate and Gerry at their house on occasions.
~~~
I recall that on one occasion Kate and Gerry visited us with Madeleine, I think that the girls must have been around 9months old as they were crawling.  Other than that I don’t recall them visiting us again, I know that we have been to their house for Madeleine’s 1st and 2nd birthdays but I would say that we hadn’t spent any considerable time at the MC CANN’S home.
~~~
In relation to Kate HEALY/MC CANN I have only really met her since Madeleine was born, or through our meeting with Dave and Fiona.
~~~
In relation to there being any group hierarchy I’d say that that wasn’t at all the case, Dave, Matt and I have all been close friends since Medical school and see each other as equals, I don’t know Gerry quite as well but there is no problem with him fitting into the group.  I am aware that Dave and Gerry know each other very well.

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Jane Tanner's rogatory interview - 8th April 2008     [Tanner's relationship with the McCanns]

Err so yeah so David, so we said we decided oh yeah we’ll go and it’ll be nice to see everybody, and we know Kate and Gerry, we’d sort of socialised with them but not as well probably as the other, as the other two couples.
~~~
No, we’ve been with Matt and Rachael and David and Fiona. And David and Fiona had been with Kate and Gerry but we hadn’t been
~~~
Kate and Gerry again we’d socialise with them, I didn’t know them as well as the others
~~~
Err, well as I say with Kate and Gerry we probably saw them two or three times a year but Dave and Fi we probably saw every week
~~~
Kate and Gerry I didn’t know them as well as I knew the rest of the group and I just would like yeah, the rest I’d see a lot whereas Kate and Gerry were more, we’d see them every now and again
~~~
Yeah they were nice, normal people, yeah you know, sort of, that’s the thing, I mean Gerry, the sort of person Gerry is, I could never see us being best buddies because he’s very, we’re very different. I think he’s very err he’s quite forthright and so I don’t think we’d ever be best friends but there’s no problem there or anything like that you know, I feel bad saying that because it makes it sound like there is a problem but there’s not but you know it’s not, whereas Kate I was really, I was getting to know Kate quite well but yeah I think Gerry is sort of like more of a man’s man maybe.
~~~
But you know I think out of the two I was probably, I know Kate better than I know Gerry.
~~~
“No I think he’s, we’re probably very different, I think he’s err yeah I’m trying to put it in to words because if I say he, he doesn’t intimidate me in any shape or form but you know what I mean I think he’s probably the person out of the whole group that I would feel least comfortable with, you know, just on, just chatting because we probably haven’t got as much in common
~~~
“Yeah and it’s just being honest yeah. I think out of everybody in the group Gerry’s probably the one that I know the least, least well

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.....................

I venture to suggest Russell O'Brien and Jane Tanner were anything but friends of the McCanns, rather chance acquaintances.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] your second paragraph above - wasn't it Matt on his check, not Russell?

Silentscope wrote:I suggest Russel wanted nothing to do with the whole scheme, and made an excuse to not participate, leaving Jane to her choice in this matter.

It explains perfectly to me why his daughter was suddenly sick and then he didn’t actually see Maddie missing from her bed. He didn’t want to lie. Ellie wasn’t sick. He was. Worried sick.

It explains why Jez never saw Jane as he was talking with Jerry. She never passed them at all, and turned left up the path. Then Someone came up with her LETHAL WEAPON style ‘Officer, Officer I saw the whole thing’ story..

It explains why she wanted to change her Statement when the news broke about the white bag found in a lay by near the airport. I think the Jeans and Fleece jacket belong to her. 

There we must agree to disagree.

But that is my theory. No one needs to agree with me.

Quite so Silentscope but it would be more beneficial if you use available evidence on which to build your theory, rather than random irrelevant posting across the board based on imagination alone.

This is, I'm sure you're aware, a serious forum with a serious mission.  No room for gamesters.

Pay heed!

BTW: It's Gerry with a 'G' - not Gerry with a 'J'.

LEICESTERSHIRE CONSTABULARY
OFFICER'S REPORT

Date: 05/11/07

During the evening of Wednesday 31 October 2007, Jeremy and Bridget were visited at their home address by DC 1756 and DC 4356 from the Leicestershire Op Task team. This visit was organized to attempt to gain background information in relation to the McCann's and members of their group whilst on holiday in the Prai Da Luz resort.

Contact was made as result of their previous interaction with the OP Task Team and their willingness to discuss their relationship with the group.

Both Jeremy and Bridget work within the television production industry producing documentary programmes. Bridget previously worked alongside the Police on the Crime Watch television programme and was aware of the importance for the need of collating background information.

Jeremy and Bridget have been married for several years and have two children, XXXX (F) 3 yrs and XXXX (M) 8 months. It may be of interest to note that these names are Hebrew names and spellings have been checked.
They chose that specific period to go to the Praia Da Luz resort because of the childcare facilities and the fact that it was the cheapest week of the season.

They flew to the resort on Saturday 28 April 2007. Whilst on the plane they came into conversation with Russell O'Brien and Mathew Oldfield due to their children being of the same age range and the fact that they were playing together on the plane.

They were also aware of the presence of their partners, Jane Tanner and Rachel Mamphilly.

Upon arrival in the resort they were allocated apartment O in block G4. This block being situated near the tennis courts and adjacent to the block in which the McCann's apartment was situated. It is on the junction of Rua 1 De Maio and Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva, with Rua Dr Francisco Gentil Martins running parallel.

Jeremy first met Gerry at a tennis coaching session held by staff associated with the Mark Warner resort on the first Monday of their holiday (30/05/07).
He found Gerry to be amicable and willing to chat. He paired with Gerry for part of the lesson and described him as "Good company if not a little gregarious".

He did not meet up with Gerry or any of the group again until Tues 1 May 07.
This was again during a tennis session and it was at this time he met some of the group and realized that the people he met on the Plane were indeed part of the group.

Jeremy explained that he used the creche facility provided by the resort. This was a child care facility which allowed parents to leave their children, aged between 3 - 5 yrs old, with trained staff at various times of the day. He recalled walking to the crèche with Gerry who had left Madeleine with the staff. This was about 1230 hrs on Tues 1 May. He then went on to explain that the children could be left with the staff during the evening and that most would be picked up before 10pm. It was not an unusual sight to see people walking through the site at night with a child in their arms asleep. The creche would also provide a blanket to cover the child if required. He had taken up this facility hence his knowledge of the procedure.

Jeremy and Bridget had visited the Tapas bar on several occasions during which they noticed the group had reserved a table for every night of their holiday. This appeared to be contrary to the set down procedure of not booking a table any further than three days ahead. The group appeared boisterous but good natured with Gerry being the central figure. His gregarious character making him appear to be the central figure in the group and almost holding court. However they did notice that David Payne was equally gregarious and almost playing along with, if not up to, Gerry.

Jeremy and Bridget became aware that although the McCanns had taken up the use of the creche facility during the day, they had not done so for the evening hours and had left the children in the apartment but were checking on them regularly and that other members of the group appeared to be doing the same.
They expressed surprise over this as the McCanns apartment was set in a location that appeared vulnerable. They were aware that the apartment was a corner building and with easy access from the road. The apartments were not very secure and entry could easily be gained.

They went on to explain the events of the 3 May 2007.

He went to play tennis at 1030hrs and noticed Gerry was there. He engaged in general conversation with him as well as a female member of Gerry's group, but he could not name her. After which they all went to the pool. Both Gerry and Kate were present this time and spent the majority of the time talking with the tennis coach. The coach appeared to be talking about her life in general and both Jeremy and Bridget noticed that Gerry and Kate were listening intently to her. Jeremy thought this to be courteous of them considering they did not know her.

At 1230hrs both Jeremy and Bridget went to pick up their children from the creche. They did not have any interaction with the group again that afternoon. They decided to spend the evening in the apartment. Their son was unable to sleep so about 2015hrs, Jeremy took him, in the pushchair for a walk. He walked around the main area of the resort and eventually ended up in the Tapas bar where he used the toilet facility. He was unable to state what time this was. His son was still awake so he walked in the area of the ocean club gardens and walked along the alleyways in that general area. He eventually made his way along Rua Dr Francisco toward the direction of Rua Dr Agostinho. At this time he was walking on the right side of the road passing the Tapas bar area to his left. He noticed the bad street lighting and although it was not completely dark there was enough light to see clearly. As he approached the corner of the McCanns apartment, he saw Gerry appear from the area of the gate. He crossed the road and engaged in general conversation with Gerry. At this time they were stood with Gerry's back to the building near to the gate and Jeremy facing him. Rua Dr Agostino was about 10-15 meters to his right and the pathway leading to the front of the apartment blocks about 5 meters to his left.

He was adamant that he did not see any one else in the area. When spoken to in reference to Jane Tanner walking by, he again stated that he saw no one. He also stated that he did not see or hear anyone to his right. He was aware of the recent picture in the papers re the person with a child wrapped in a blanket and in a males arms allegedly walking across the junction to his right but again stated that he did not see any one.

The conversation with Gerry lasted for about three minutes during which Gerry was chatty and in his normal self. Jeremy then made his way back to his apartment.

They went to bed about 2300hrs but were waken about 0100hrs by a knock at the door. On answering the door they spoke with the resort manager and a person they knew was a member of the group but they only knew him as Matthew. It was then they found out that Madeleine was missing.

They had no further contact with the family apart from seeing them in passing whilst at the resort.

Several weeks later, Jeremy received calls from Gerry in relation to gaining permission from him to use his name in a portfolio of evidence being compiled by an organization employed by the McCanns. They were very persistent and made several attempts to contact him both at work and at home. They had no objection to being included but were concerned as to the method being used.

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I know I'm not the only one to be intrigued by the joint effort of witnesses Jeremy Wilkins and his partner Bridget O'Donnell. He who gave a statement to the police way back in the day and she who wrote a very flowery article for The Guardian in December 2007 .... 'My Month With Madeleine'.

Misleading in itself.

There is quite a lot of niggling questions regarding this couple and circumstance surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Initially, it could have been just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as time progressed however, their connection seemed to take on a new role.

Perhaps they were compromised by a team of private investigators hired by the Find Madeleine Co Ltd. Considering their line of business, it seems likely they may have been known to a member, or members of, the Tapas group with connections in the BBC and media production.

Think Clarence Mitchell and Jon Corner.

Bridget O'Donnell, Wilkins' partner, once worked for BBC's Crimewatch -

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Although it's been mentioned on this forum many times, I just thought I would repost the statements.

cookiemuncher wrote:Bridget O'Donnell, Wilkins' partner, once worked for BBC's Crimewatch -

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Although it's been mentioned on this forum many times, I just thought I would repost the statements.

What I would like to know is why the Crimewatch reconstruction of the McCann's apartment made it out to look like a 5 star apartment with leather looking chairs on the patio outside and leather looking chairs indoors when in fact it was a basic, cheap rental apartment that many of us have stayed in throughout Europe or other countries.  They're cheaply decorated with cheap furniture, cheap curtains, cheap bedding because they're mostly trashed and the carpets are stained and the furniture is chipped and falling apart with abuse so why did Crimewatch make the McCanns' apartment look so "posh"? 

Did Wilkins' partner have something to do with the reconstruction I wonder, and how impartial was she?

Crimewatch also had the children's bedroom door opening from right to left instead of left to right ensuring  that Matt Oldfield couldn't have seen Madeleine either in or not in her bed ! 
The Paynes were also not included in anything , I wonder why ?

sandancer wrote:Crimewatch also had the children's bedroom door opening from right to left instead of left to right ensuring  that Matt Oldfield couldn't have seen Madeleine either in or not in her bed ! 
The Paynes were also not included in anything , I wonder why ?

Mmmmm . Nor were they interviewed by the PJ during the second round of interviews on 10th/11th May 2007 - Kate McCann was also exluded. So traumatized was she!

2-Processos Volume II Pages 331 - 333

Processos Volume II

Pages 331 - 333

Witness Statement

Vitor Manuel dos Santos

Date/Time: 2007/05/07 11H00

Occupation: Head of Accommodation

Place of Work: Ocean Club


He comes to the process as a witness. He has worked as Head of Accommodation at the resort for seven years, but has been employed there for the past 18 years.

His functions are the management of bookings and the control of contracts whether with private individuals or travel agencies. He is responsible for the management and supervision of the reception.

As concerns the facts being investigated, he says he received the McCann booking as normal and he points out that this reservation was made by Mark Warner, whose representative is John Hill.

He says that it is normal for each reservation to make specifications and that in this case in concrete a request was made that the four families should be accommodated close to each other and a ground floor apartment was requested enabling easy access for the families with small children.

He adds that this family booked from 28th April to 5th May on a half board basis, in other words, breakfast and dinner. For dinner the guests could choose between two options, the Tapas and the Millenium and although the meals are identical, the clients choose the restaurant according to its proximity to their accommodation.

In this case in concrete, the rational choice for dinner would be the Tapas restaurant as it is 100 metres distance from the apartment, whilst the Millenium is situated 600 metres away.

The witness states that from the restaurant it is possible to see the apartment including the window of the living room and the bedroom where the parents slept. The bedroom where the three children slept, situated at the opposite end of the apartment was completely outside of the field of sight of anyone in the Tapas restaurant.

Therefore the most viable solution would be to leave the children in the parents bedroom or in the living room where they could easily be checked from the place where the parents were dining.

When questioned about the availability of a baby sitting service from 19.30 to 23.30 he confirms that this service exists and that it is free.

When asked, the witness replies that he cannot understand why as the service was free, the McCanns did not use it.

When asked, he says that before the disappearance he did not have any contact with the family, they were 'just' clients like hundreds of others who stayed at the resort.

With regard to the date of the disappearance on 3rd May 2007, he remembers that at 22.00/22.15 he received a phone call from the reception, from receptionist Helder, who told him that John Hill was extremely agitated as a child had disappeared and that the GNR had been contacted but had not arrived yet. He added (the receptionist) that he had phoned the GNR post several times and that he had been told that they would arrive when they could but that they were investigating a theft in Odiaxere. The receptionist asked the witness whether he should contact the PSP, to which the witness replied no as this area belongs to the GNR.

Given the circumstances, the witness thought it best to go to the resort to find out more about the situation.

When he arrived at the scene about 10 to 15 minutes later, he immediately went to the reception where the GNR were present, taking a statement from the girl's father.

The witness then went to the apartment where there was an agglomeration of persons, however he managed to perceive that the apartment did not show any sign of disturbance not that anyone had attempted to break in.

He adds that he heard it said at the scene that the mother had not left the shutter open as she always closed the shutter when she left. When asked, he says that he did not notice anything strange in relation to the apartment or its surroundings.

The witness states that the resort did not have any kind of security or cameras.

He never saw anything suspicious or abnormal. He was asked to provide a copy of the rooming list, showing the information relating to the booking made by the family, which he immediately provided and which is annexed to the statement.

The witness says that he has nothing else useful to add.

No more is said. Reads, ratifies, signs.

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The Truth of the Lie - Dr Gonçalo Amaral

The Car Hired 5 Weeks After Madeleine’s Disappearance

10 December 2008

When the DNA evidence was first brought to light, John McCann appeared on Sky Television in an interview.

Interestingly, and never challenged at the time, John went into elaborate detail about the car hired by brother Gerry and said;

“…but some of the, some of the stuff that’s being speculated on just isn’t plausible. Like information appearing about samples in a car which Gerry and Kate only got 5 weeks after Madeleine disappeared.  Are you trying to tell me that Madeleine was hidden for 5 weeks and then was suddenly reappeared in this hire car. It…does not make sense.”
John McCann

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John McCann, the uncle of missing girl Madeleine speaks to the media in Glasgow after her mother Kate was made a formal suspect by police in Portugal.

Listen to this blatant lie here: [audio_mccann-1.mp3]

Did John make an amazing Freudian Slip? Why did John mention “5 weeks” when he was talking in September 2007 – months after Madeleine had disappeared?

The facts are that the car had been hired on May 27 – 24 days after Madeleine was reported missing. 24 days is a significantly shorter time than 5 weeks.

So, what could be significant about something happening 5 weeks after Madeleine’s demise?

5 weeks after Madeleine disappeared was the weekend commencing Friday June 8, 2007. When we look closely at that weekend, there are several interesting things to note:

The McCann family flew in to the Algarve or were already there for that weekend. Susan and Brian Healy – Kate’s parents – were there. Trish and Sandy Cameron – Gerry’s sister and his brother in-law were there. Philomena flew in to Lisbon and Kate’s long time friend Anne-Marie Wright and her husband Michael had flown in to Faro.

Michael told the police that he and his wife flew in with the specific job of looking after Sean and Amelie while Kate and Gerry went to Morocco on Sunday June 10. Given the large number of close family relatives in town, Michael’s statement to the police is flawed.

On Saturday June 9, 2007, the entire family is supposed to have spent a day at the southwestern tip of Portugal – a town called Sagres.

On the Sunday afternoon, Kate, Gerry and Clarence Mitchell all went up to Lisbon to catch a small private plane laid on especially for them to go to Casablanca in Morocco. Their ultimate destination was Rabat, where a press conference with Sky’s Martin Brunt was held.

North Africa in June is a very hot place to be. Why then was Martin Brunt wearing a white suit, children were wearing t-shirts, but they chose to wear the worst attire possible – black suits more befitting a funeral?

Was Madeleine disposed of during the weekend of June 8? Did John McCann inadvertently let it slip that this was the weekend when Madeleine was finally laid to rest or disposed of?

Of course this is a possibility and, the fact that key family members were with them signifies to me that it was respectful and dignified and that Madeleine was not unceremoniously disposed of. They admitted to letting her down in life but I don't think they did in death.

CANINE SEARCHES AT FIVE APARTMENTS AT PRAIA DA LUZ.

All five apartments were searched using the EVRD. The only alert indications were at apartment 5a, the reported scene.

The EVRD alerted in the:
Rear bedroom of the apartment in the immediate right hand corner by
the door.

Living room, behind sofa.

Veranda outside parent's bedroom.

Garden area directly under veranda.

My observation of the dog's behaviour in this instance was that the dog's behaviour changed immediately upon opening the front door to the apartment. He will normally remain in the sit position until released and tasked to search.
On this occasion he broke the stay and entered the apartment with an above average interest. His behaviour was such that I believed him to be 'in scent' and I therefore allowed him to free search without direction to allow him to identify the source of his interest. He did so alerting in the rear bedroom.

I released him from this and tasked him to continue to search. He did so alerting in an area to the rear of the sofa in the lounge.

The dog's behaviour for these alerts led me to the following opinions:

The first alert was given with the dogs head in the air without a positive area being identified. This is the alert given by him when there is no tangible evidence to be located only the remaining scent.

The second alert was one where a definitive area was evident. The CSI dog was therefore deployed who gave specific alert indications to specific areas on the tiled floor area behind the sofa and on the curtain in the area that was in contact with the floor behind the sofa. This would indicate to the likely presence of human blood.

The forensic science support officers were then deployed to recover items for laboratory analysis.

There were no alert indications from the remaining properties. I did however see the dog search in the kitchen waste bins. These contained meat foodstuffs including pork and did not result in any false alert response.

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They informed further that in that search the animal specialised in detection of human blood indicated the possible presence thereof on one of the floor tiles in the living room and that the dog specialised in detection of human cadaver odour had detected the presence thereof in the couple's bedroom and in the back garden of the apartment.

Because of this it was also asked of the undersigned that they entered into contact with an English scientific advisor, named Jonathan Smith, who indicated which traces should be collected and the best way to proceed with their collection.

In that contact the undersigned were told that they should [OCR error: missing word taken to be "proceder": to proceed] proceed with the recovery of the floor tiles indicated by the dog specialised in the detection of human blood, with the recovery of hair in the corridor [pathway] that exists in the area of the back garden next to the window of the couple's bedroom, with the recovery of several pieces of the branches of the climbing plant in the garden (for later check of possible blood traces on them) and with the recovery of possible fibres on the garden wall next to the climbing plant.

He advised further that after the recovery of the tiles the animal specialised in detection of human blood should perform another search of the area from where the tiles had been recovered to verify [check for] the existence of possible human blood in the area from where the tiles had been lifted.

Subsequently it was asked of the undersigned that they watched the films of the searches performed by the dog specialised in detection of human blood so that they obtained an understanding of the area from where the tiles should be collected and how many tiles they should collect.


After seeing the images and in agreement with the officers of DIC of Portimao it was defined that the undersigned should proceed with the recovery of four tiles. It was also defined that this operation of recovery of the tiles would also be filmed.

When looking at the images referred to above it was observed that the floor tiles to be recovered were situated in an area of the living room next to a window where there was a sofa and that the tiles referred to were underneath that sofa.
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After the lifting of the tiles they were encased in 20 paper packages as follows [summarised]:
Items 1 to 4: Tile fragments
Item 5: Additional tile fragment
Items 6 to 12: Skirting board fragments
Item 13: Residues/small fragments from skirting board area
Item 14: Dust/small fragments from tile area
Items 16 to 19: Grouting/mortar from between tiles, and between tiles and wall
Item 20: Small tile fragments with cement/mortar

Subsequently, as previously determined, there proceeded the collection of various hairs from the ground of the pathway in the garden area next to the window of the couple's bedroom, they having been encased in a paper package referenced as trace evidence number 25.

After the above there proceeded the collection of several branches of the climbing plant in the garden they having been encased in a paper package referenced as trace evidence number 21 and of possible fibres on a wall of the apartment garden, next to the climbing plant, using six Crystal-Tabs appropriate for this they having been referenced as trace evidence number 26.
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Photos 17 through 19: Pictures of the garden area from which the above evidence was collected.
Conclusions:
On 1 August 2007 the following trace evidence was collected from [the apartment and garden] as better described in the report: [the list of collected items is repeated]

Further, oral swabs of the undersigned and Specialist Bruno A. were collected and referenced as trace evidence 22, 23 and 24.

As requested by officers of the DIC of Portimao:

- the packages numbered 1 to 24 were delivered to the FSS in Birmingham, UK under cover of delivery note 286/2007-CR/L, a copy of which is annexed, for later laboratory examination;

- the package numbered 25 was delivered to the LPC biology laboratory under cover of delivery note 304A/2007-CR/L, a copy of which is annexed, for preservation;

- the packages referenced as number 26 were delivered to the LPC biology laboratory under cover of delivery note 304B/2007-CR/L, a copy of which is annexed, for preservation.

Lisboa, 27 September 2007.
[Signed] Fernando V. and Lino H.

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