Documented Evidence

In addition to various colloquialisms used to describe Mr Amaral's integrity, like bungling cop, monster, money grabbing - and the best of the lot today we have the poisonous liar!!!

I think Mr Amaral has more chance taking the UK government in the guise of IPSO to the European Court of Human Rights, than the McCanns with their feeble whinging.

Have the McCanns suffered long term damage, apart from their own making?  No!

Has Gonçalo Amaral suffered long term damage, as a result of the McCanns?
Yes!

The evidence is all documented.

On the 4th December 2007, Kate McCann wrote a letter of supplication to Paulo Rebelo, assistant national director of the Policia Judiciária who took over the case when Gonçalo Amaral was removed. This is a transcript of that letter..

Mr Paolo Rebelo
Policia Judiciaria
Portimao
Algarve
Portugal

4th December 2007

Dear Mr Rebelo,

I hope that you do not mind me writing to you and that you will read my letter. I am Madeleine McCann's mother.

I am not sure if you are a parent or not, but for my husband and myself, and the whole of our family, the last 7 months has been the most difficult, sad and unbearable time that any parent could possibly imagine. Madeleine is the most precious thing in our life.

As her mother, the pain and anxiety I feel for her is indescribable and the feeling of helplessness - overwhelming. The "accusations" and media smearing, although upsetting, are very much secondary.

I am appealing to you as a fellow human being, to work with us (if possible include us) and to remember that we are Madeleine's parents and have needs. With regard to this latter point, I would be grateful if were able to keep us informed to some degree as to how the investigation is going - what work is being done to help find our daughter etc. I'm sure you will agree that this request is not unreasonable and is in fact, humane. I am fairly familiar now with the workings of "judicial secrecy" but even if we could have a little bit of information in the broadest of terms it would help. Lack of communication and a void of information, particularly as the parent of a missing child, is torture. We will continue to work with the PJ (and we are keen to do so as soon as possible!) as we have done since that moment when I discovered that Madeleine had been taken.

This shouldn't be about "finger pointing blame" nor should it be about differences in culture. It should be about a beautiful, innocent little girl who is still missing. She is the victim in all of this. It would be good for Madeleine if we could all work together to help find her and the person(s) who took her.

I would be very grateful if you could give some thought and consideration to my letter and look forward to your reply. I can only ask.

Yours sincerely,

Kate McCann

"letter" is vomit inducing.  Feel sorry for the children they ignored night after night

Verdi wrote:.... since she has been working with the little girl, it has seemed to her that the parents were attentive to their daughter given that they asked what Madeleine had done in the creche and that they even accompanied Madeleine a few times in certain outside activities.


Catriona Baker witness statement - 6th May 2007

Hi Verdi,that statement speaks volumes,doesn't it,"accompanied Madeleine a few times in certain outside activities"!

This was their eldest Daughter on holiday for a whole week?

Not even just once but 'a few times', yet people still try to have us believe that everyone outside the immediate circle were all completely honest, with no reason to fabricate statements.

Doug D wrote:Not even just once but 'a few times', yet people still try to have us believe that everyone outside the immediate circle were all completely honest, with no reason to fabricate statements.

Exactly!  It's a downright falsehood stated as a fact.

The childcare worker, responsible for Madeleine when in attendance at the crèche, who kept a register as required by Mark Warner, detailing where the child's parent/guardian were during any one session.  The statement taken only a couple of days after Madeleine's alleged disappearance, when the memory is still fresh.

Pull the other one.

KM statement 4^th May 2007:
 
Apart from the Kids Club and the apartment, they only went once to the beach with Madeleine and the other children and only for a very short period of time, since the weather was changeable. They could only go to the beach between 1.30 and 3pm, the time when they went back to the club. At the beach, they only ate an ice cream then they went back to the apartment. Apart from that, on the Wednesday or Thursday, Madeleine and the other children went sailing at the beach five minutes on foot from the club, for an hour, organised by the resort itself. The supervision and planning were the responsibility of the club. The interviewee and her husband were not present.
 
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The great debacle about the crying incident, Pamela Fenn's claim that she lived in the apartment directly above apartment 5a, occupied by the McCann family between Saturday 28th April and Thursday 3rd May 2007.

Where exactly did Pamela Fenn Live - the second floor above apartment 5a (situated on the ground floor front elevation/first floor back elevation) or the third floor?  This minor point has significant importance as regards the crying episode and the witness testimonies as regards the 'plumb in mouth' person spoken of by Kate McCann on the night of 3rd May.

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Carole Tranmer's (Pamela Fenn's niece) witness statement - April 2008

DC1485'Speak to me about the apartment where your aunt lives.

CT'Sure (inaud'le)

DC1485'It is obviously called, given its location, the Ocean Club, right'

CT'It is in the Ocean Club, but she...

DC1485'How long has she been there, in that apartment'

CT'When my uncle died, they had a villa close to Lagos, but when he died of Alzheimer's, she sold it to buy the site in Luz. She bought it because it was surrounded by people and it was easy for her to come and go as she did not want a big site. She bought it in 2003'since 2003 and it is the second or third floor, I am never certain, but I believe that there is one more apartment

DC1485'ground floor... ground floor, first floor'

CT'No, she is the third, I believe that she is on the third floor.

DC1485'Third floor.

CT'There is only one on top, therefore, she is on the third floor, at the end apartment. Once there, you take the elevator or the stairs. There is no other entrance or exit. You go directly to her door. She lives at the end. There is no other access.
....................

So, according to the niece, Pamela Fenn had lived in the apartment since 2003.  However someone else claims to have stayed in the apartment directly above 5a in 2005 - two years after Pamela Fenn allegedly took up occupation..


The mediatisation of Madeleine McCann

23rd February 2014

It is nearly seven years since a little blonde-haired British girl named Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bedroom in a holiday resort in Portugal. Madeleine, if she is alive, would be ten years old now, having spent the majority of her decade on earth separated from her family, parents Gerry and Kate McCann, and twin siblings Sean and Amelia.

What happened that night in the Algarve fishing village of Praia de Luz remains a mystery. Was Madeleine abducted while she slept, by a person or persons unknown, as her parents claim? Or, as the former head of the Portuguese investigating team alleges, did she die in apartment 5A of the Ocean Club complex, her body disposed of in an attempt to cover up negligence or worse?

Ongoing investigations by police teams in the United Kingdom and Portugal have failed to answer those questions, or to find evidence sufficiently compelling as to justify prosecutions in either country.

The case continues to be a focus of public, police and political attention as the seventh anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance approaches, and the trial of that same former investigator accused of libel by the McCanns comes to its conclusion in Lisbon on Tuesday. Ex-inspector Goncalo Amaral’s book, The Truth Of The Lie, based on police work before the case was ‘archived’ due to lack of evidence, advances the theory of Madeleine’s death – accidental or intentional - and hypothesises a staged abduction by the parents.

For this he is being sued for over one million euros in damages by the McCanns, who allege that his book derailed the search for their daughter when it was published in 2009. The closing statements and judge’s verdict on the case are due this week in Lisbon.

My interest in this sad story is both personal and professional. In the northern summer of 2005 I took my holidays at the Ocean Club, staying in the apartment directly above 5A where the McCanns resided in May 2007. A friend of my parents owned the apartment, and my extended family rented it and two other units in the complex for two weeks in July that year: my parents in one, my sister and her family in another, myself, my wife and my brother in the apartment above 5a.

Two weeks is enough time to get to know the Ocean Club resort, and the surrounding village of Praia de Luz, quite well. I ate in the Tapas restaurant, drank in Kelly’s bar, went inside the beautiful church at the village centre; I walked on the beach, and the streets leading to it from the Ocean Club. So when the news of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance broke on May 4 2007 it resonated and captured my attention like no other crime story I can remember.

Millions of people all over the world were similarly captivated, but my sense of proximity to the events gave me a specially good reason to follow the case. The fact that Gerry McCann was Glaswegian like me was another point of connection.

From my professional perspective as a media sociologist, the disappearance of Madeleine McCann was an early example of the dramatic impact of the rise of the internet and 24-hour news channels on how human tragedies of this kind are reported and understood by the public.

The mediatisation of ‘Maddie’, as she became known to many, was unprecedented. It involved professional public relations practitioners, including former senior UK government specialists, in highly organized media management, or ‘crisis communication’, as one of the agencies involved characterised its services.

It engaged the British public in discussion like no previous case, not because the crime was unique (though it was rare – the most recent case of suspected abduction by a stranger of a British child while on holiday overseas had been that of Ben Needham in 1991), but because the emergence of social media – Twitter launched in 2007, Facebook in 2004 - provided a new and powerful platform for public sharing of information, opinion and argument about an ongoing criminal investigation.

From early in the investigation the McCanns proactively used the internet to issue appeals and information about Madeleine to a global online public, as did the police. Scotland yard’s Operation Grange, set up to investigate the crime in 2011, had its own hashtag and website.

The public used the internet to access, assess and discuss information about the case as it emerged, and to speculate on what had happened to the little girl. Their sources included a mass of official material produced by the police in both Portugal and the UK, digitized and made available online.

There were thousands of pages of transcripts of interviews and court testimony, detailed forensic reports, summaries of findings by investigating officers, court rulings such as that by the Portuguese Attorney General which formally ‘archived’ the Madeleine McCann investigation in 2009, all neatly categorized and searchable on sites such as [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

Never before in the history of the volatile relationship between crime, media and public had so many people had such easy access to so much primary official data relating to an unsolved, still active case.

By 2007 virtually all of the news media were online, operating around the clock with story updates, live feeds and real time coverage of events, commentary threads and links to research materials. The unfolding narrative of Madeleine McCann was covered as it was happening, which meant with glacial slowness, punctuated by bursts of police activity in the UK or Portugal. Seven years on, that remains the case.

There have been peaks and troughs in the level of media and public interest, corresponding to newsworthy developments such as the establishment of Operation Grange and the BBC Crimewatch ‘reconstruction’ of October 2013. The Lisbon libel trial of Goncalo Amaral has been such a catalyst, and its conclusion this week will drive the disappearance of Madeleine McCann back up the UK and Portuguese media and public agendas.

The tone and content of the coverage, and the public’s response to it on social media, will be determined in large part by the Portuguese judge’s verdict. If Amaral is found guilty, the McCanns account of what happened to their daughter will continue to set the news agenda. If it goes the other way, and Amaral is found not guilty of defaming the McCanns in his book, we can expect the world’s media to report his hypothesis and the supporting evidence more thoroughly than has been the case up until now.

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From the various photographs of the Ocean Club block, I'm inclined to think Pamela Fenn lived on the third floor - not the second floor directly above apartment 5a.  

This could cast serious doubt over Pamela Fenn's witness statement and the claimed crying incident.

What do you think?



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Images below clearly show G5 is the flat immediately above 5A. K5 the one above that.

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Ah well, bang goes another theory !  Back to the drawing board .

All these false reports, manipulated images and forum myths that have evolved over the years, I guess the truth will never be known.

NB:  The last image I uploaded wasn't intended to suggest the 'window of her room' was the apartment occupied by Pamela Fenn - as it's common knowledge that apartment 5a front entrance was on the ground floor, I didn't think it was necessary to point that out.

Apologies if I caused confusion.

Nice action Verdi!  Does no harm to have something revisited.  Can get the cogs turning in other areas too!

Since the attempted coup d'état back in late summer 2014, I'm very happy to say CMoMM has gone from strength to strength.  The troublemakers showed themselves for what they are, they failed miserably to destroy the one true purpose of the forum.  It was a pathetic pointless operation, bit like Grange really.

The destructive element was banished and now, for the most part, we are a solid force working towards justice for little Madeleine McCann.
Onward and upward

That by the way is documented evidence .

Kate McCann's arguido statement - 7th September 2007..

--- That being of British nationality she does not know Portuguese, in its oral and written form, therefore an interpreter is present selected by the defendant from the list provided by the Consulate,
....................

That, in 2007 at the time of Madeleine McCann's disappearance, was the correct procedure for securing an interpreter. The consulate provides a list of interpreters/translators from which the person concerned selects and pays for.

So why then was Robert Murat used by the PJ for interpreting specific witness interviews at the beginning of the investigation a matter of days before he himself was named as the prime suspect. Why didn't the local consulate follow prescribed protocol for assisting British citizens outside their homeland?

A rhetorical question of course.

A minor, or possibly major, discrepancy in need of clarification to ease my peace of mind.   A brief look at events to introduce the matter of the Portuguese v. British relationship at the end of the summer 2007..

Early September 2007, Gerry and Kate McCann were interviewed by the Portuguese police as arguidos, or suspects/persons of interest, in the disappearance of their three year old daughter Madeleine.  This followed four months of intensive investigation by the PJ leading them to believe that Gerry and Kate McCann were complicit in the fate of their daughter, leading also to doubt their friend's respective testimonies.

Following the police interviews in September 2007, the McCanns through diplomatic intervention I suspect, were authorised to leave Portugal and return to the UK within hours of the arguido interviews.  I can't comment on the legality of this extraordinary event as I'm not au-fait with Portuguese law nor the finer detail leading to their rapid departure.  Suffice to say the McCanns were allowed to leave Portugal without constraint.

The following month, October 2007 after Gonçalo Amaral had been removed from the case, the McCanns made an extraordinary request - that specific named persons be interviewed by the UK police seemingly to act as character witnesses.  The names comprised of friends and professionals who also could be called friends by default e.g. the family doctors, if nothing else from the same profession.

This is the list..

Group 1 (persons with whom the couple dined every night during the holidays)
David Payne
Fiona Payne
Diane Webster
Russell O'Brien
Jane Tanner
Rachael Oldfield
Matthew Oldfield

Group 2 (independent customers and employees of the Ocean Club who saw the behavior of Kate and Gerry on the day of the disappearance):
Dan Smith
Steve Carpenter
Carolyn Carpenter
Jeremy Wilkins
Catriona Baker

Group 3 (people who saw and/or spoke with Kate and Gerry at the time they noticed Madeleine's disappearance):
Patricia Cameron
Paul Seddon
Michelle Thompson
Emma Kinghts
Alan Pike

Group 4 (people who knew the daily routine of Kate and Gerry and their relationship with their children before coming to Portugal):
Janet Kennedy
Amanda Coxon
Karen McCalman
Patricia Cameron
Sharon Lewin
Hayley Plummer

Group 5 (persons closely involved in the routine of Kate and Gerry in Portugal after the disappearance of Madeleine and their emotional state)
Sandy Cameron
Michael Wright
Clarence Mitchell
Linda McQueen
Nicky Gill
Justine McGuiness

Group 6 (Professionals who can confirm that there was no abnormality in the way Kate and Gerry treated their children):
Dr. Phil Hussey
Dr Ian Schofield

I'm not sure this is customary procedure to follow in the case of a crime committed on foreign soil.  The exercise must have been costly and time consuming -  but for what?  What was the true purpose, what did it achieve?  I can understand the Portuguese authorities using the opportunity to raise further questions of particular persons that had previously left a shadow of doubt but what was the purpose of Leicester police conducting these lengthy rogatory interviews that led nowhere - at least not as far as assisting the official investigation.

The UK police didn't benefit, the Portuguese didn't benefit so who did benefit - the McCanns?

Bearing in mind Madeleine McCann disappeared whilst in Portugual, the Portuguese police being the primary investigative force, is it acceptable procedure to follow for the McCanns to request interview/re-interview of specific named persons in their defence within the UK?

"....so who did benefit - the McCanns?"

11- PROCESSO Vol 11 Page 2945 to 2956

In a letter direct to Gonçalo Amaral from DCCB dated 27 September 2007

The DCCB got wind of the possible arrival of certain Englishmen from an information gathering organisation (CRG) supposedly with an assignment to clean places and things associated with the family. Looking into this possibility, the following data was obtained:

- The 'flower' villa was occupied by the family from 2 July through 9 September 2007; the contract was effective from 1 July and the key was returned to the letting agent on 10 September by the wife of an Anglican 'pastor' who practised in Luz.
- That lady later confirmed the delivery of the key and that while in her possession no-one had asked for it nor had she seen anything abnormal at the villa.
- A female journalist from ITV (UK) wished to rent the villa to make some films; her request was declined, the Dutch property owner, present in the property on 11 September, had already permitted Dutch friends of his to live there, and had authorised new shrubs to be planted in the garden.
- It would seem that the new work was not done as the Portuguese gardener and the owner had some difficulty in communication, due to the language barrier.
- On 10 September the house cleaner performed her usual chores and placed two or three boxes of 'dossiers' in the garage, which boxes were later collected by the same lady who had returned the key. When the family were in residence the cleaner was always in the company of a friend or family member.
- The Scenic was rented on 27 May with an additional driver, Cameron, and, at the end of August, Wright was added to the contract. It was returned to the rental offices on 23 September by an unnamed person described as six-foot, short grey hair, 60-65 years, whose signature on the delivery note is illegible.
- The odometer on return was 14,443 km; it had been 3,114 at the start, so the vehicle had travelled 11,229km. [NOTE: Arithmetically, that should read 11,329km]
- At the Ocean Club, apartment 5A had been booked for the nights of 28 April through 4 May (vacating on 5th); the family stayed in apartment 4G from 4 May through 2 July (vacating on 3rd)
- Apartment 5A was subsequently let between 12 and 19 June (to friends of the owner); 28 June to 12 July (to three people with Irish names); 12 to 19 July (to an English couple) and 19 to 26 July (to a family with Southern Asian names).
- On 20 September, two men and a women, claiming to be from "Sky News", attempted to force open the external blinds of the front bedroom of apartment 5A and were asked to leave the area; on 25 September a three Spanish persons - again two men and a woman - were found with cameras on the patio balcony of apartment 5B. Having no identification, but being in possession of film equipment, they were believed to be journalists.
- Cleaning staff in Ocean Club were persistently accosted by journalists, often with offers of money, to provide access to apartment 5A. They were always refused but the personal particulars of the pests were not noted.
- With respect to possible sightings of the father at two buildings near/next to the Luz cemetery, various apartments were available in those buildings; it could not be ascertained which, if any, apartment may have been of interest.
- With respect to the property Vila D'Arte, at which the father had been reportedly seen at some time during July, and to which the family (adults and two children) had travelled in a Citroen C3 or Renault Clio, it had been the permanent residence of persons originating from Holland and/or UK for some 4 to 5 years; the (then-)present occupants hired it through an Internet site from 24 to 29 September.
- The local informal agent for that property had always understood that only friends or family of the owners were granted access to it.
- Back at 5A of the Ocean Club, on 26 September someone forced up the external blinds of the front bedroom to an oblique angle. There appeared to be no attempt to force open the window. The security guard stated between 21:00 and 21:05 he had done the 'rounds' of the block, then walked down to the supermarket and back again whereupon he found the damage which he called in immediately.
- He and a colleague from the same security detail had conversed shortly before 21:00 noting that neither had seen any strangers other than two Canadian television journalists, a man and a woman, who had been seen at a nearby bar.
- Given the limited damage and that there had been many people at that location [presumably during the previous days and all authorised] there was no attempt to retrieve fingerprints, but inquiries were made of TV crews and journalists in and around Luz and Lagos, without result.
Processos Vol XI Pages 2945 - 2952

Letter from DCCB (Direccao Central de Combate ao Banditismo )

To: The Coordinator of the Criminal Investigation, Dr Amaral

Date 27 September 2007

Information

The undersigned, accompanied by Inspectors Ramos, Ricardo, Brigantim, and Dordonnat, in compliance with superior orders, and following information related to the possible arrival in Portugal of individuals of British nationality belonging to a private company linked to various activities, mainly the gathering of information, a company called Control Risks Group, who supposedly have the objective of cleaning spaces/objects related to the McCann family, the following inquiries were carried out in order to check the truthfulness of the facts referred to in continuation:

1. With help from the Winkworth Estate Agency in Lagos, it was established that the residence occupied by the McCann couple in Rua da Flores, lot 27 - Vivenda Vista do Mar, P da L was effectively occupied by them on 02-07-2007, whilst the contract shows that the hire period began on 1st July, according to the copy of the contract we were given.

- The McCanns' departure took place on 09-09-2007 and the keys to the house were returned the following day (10-09-2007) to the Winkworth office in Lagos by an English woman named Susan who was the wife of the Anglican vicar who celebrated mass in the P da L church.

- With the help of P**** C***** from the Winkworth agency it was established that after the McCanns left the villa the agency was contacted by a female individual called M***** C++++ from ITV, who claimed she wanted to rent the villa for a few days with the aim of making some films, her request was denied.

- In contact with the owner of the villa, Mr A***** M***** of Dutch nationality he said that at the moment the villa was being occupied by some friends of his, of Dutch nationality, surname S************, the husband named R********, the wife J*****, R being the director of the Museo de Arte Antiga.

- The owner of the villa said that he had been in the villa after the departure of the McCanns and that it seemed to him that there were new plants at the bottom of the garden, without being able to indicate exactly which plants, a fact that he commented on with the gardener F**** Do S*****.

- When the gardener was contacted that in spite of the fact that he does the maintenance of the garden, he had not detected anything abnormal in it, namely the existence of new plants, saying that he had some difficulty in maintaining a dialogue with the owner, because of the language barrier.

- From the cleaner who worked in the residence occupied by the McCanns, it was found out that on the previous Monday 10-09-2007, she carried out her normal cleaning routine without noticing anything abnormal, just remarking that two or three boxes with dossiers were in the garage and which were later collected by a friend of the McCanns, Susan.

- She says that whenever she went to the house occupied by the McCanns she always found them to be accompanied by friends or family.

- On the 11-09-2007, the Dutch owners of the residence were also present at the property.

- When they (PJ) contacted Susan, they found out that she was Susan Harboard (sic) and it was confirmed that she had returned the key to the estate agency after the McCann's departure.

- During the period that the key was in her possession, it was not requested by anyone, nor does she remember seeing anything abnormal at the residence.

2. As regards the Renault Grand Scenic, number plate 59-DA-27, it was hired by Gerry from Rent a car AA. Castanheira, with offices in Lagos, on 27-05-2007 and was delivered to the McCann couple at the apartment they were occupying in P da L, from which time it was noted in the contract that a friend of the McCanns, Alexander Cameron, was noted as an additional driver.

- At a later date, at the end of August, another additional driver was added to the contract, Michael Terrence Wright.

- The return of the car to the rental agency, was done at the agency's offices on 23-09-2007 by a Caucasian individual, who appeared there alone, speaking English, about 1.80 cm tall, with short grey hair, about 60-65 years old, who signed the delivery document for the return of the car, but whose signature is illegible.

- When the car was delivered to the McCanns it had 3.114 km on the clock and when it was returned it had 14.443 km on the clock, thus 11.227 km had been travelled during the period the car was in their possession.

3. In relation to the McCanns stay at the OC, the following was checked: Date of occupation of apartment 5 A 28-04-2007 and the departure date was registered on 05-05-2007, being certain that from 04 - 05 they did not stay in the apartment. They entered apartment 4G on 04-05-2007 and left on 03-07-2007.

- After the disappearance apartment 5 A was occupied by the following individuals: 12-06-2007 - 19-06-2007 by R and F. F****** (friends of the owners), from 28-06-2007 - 12-07-2007 by SR, W & CF, 12-07-2007 to 19-07-2007 by BSP and JFP, 19-07-2007 - 26-07-07 by MMS family.

4. It was stated by Silvia Batista that on 20-09-2007, during the morning, three reporters from Sky News, two men and a woman, were seen on the patio of apartment 5 A and that they had forced the external blind to the bedroom that Madeleine had disappeared from, probably with the intention of filming inside, and she told them to leave. But she said that yesterday 25-09-2007 a security guard was asked to come to the same apartment as there was a group of three journalists - two Spanish men and a woman, who had set up cameras on the patio next to Apartment 5 A which was occupied at the time. Their identification was not noted, but given the fact they had filming equipment, they were assumed to be reporters.

- With regard to journalists, it was reported by cleaners working in the block containing apartment 5 A that they are often bothered by journalists trying to get access to the apartment, which has always been denied them, the journalists often tried to persuade them or offer money in exchange for access.

5. With regard to the possible sighting of arguido Gerry McCann next to a pink coloured block of apartments at a site opposite the Luz cemetery, we can inform you that this an establishment called 'St James Portuguesa Lda', lots 1 and 2 being situated in the positions mentioned, from the outside the spaces corresponding to Lot 1 can be seen of a total of apartment designated as follows: 101-104, 111-114, 121-124, 105-109, 115-119, 125-129.

- In Lot 2 there are some apartments with T3 typology.

- The buildings in question have 3 pavements, whose access to the different areas is visible from the outside, as they consist of an open perimeter and there are several commercial establishments at ground level.

- In view of the number of buildings and given the scarce information provided it does not seem to us to be viable, immediately, to take measures to prove or disprove the elements provided.

6. As concerns the information provided by F***** J**** with regard to a sighting of the McCanns at a residence called Vila d'Arte, in the Melody Urbanisation in Espiche, during the month of July, it was possible to determine which residence this was and that the building is the permanent residence of some citizens from NL or the UK for the past 4 or 5 years.

- As regards the sighting itself which occurred at 20.30 - 20.45 on dates that it was not possible to determine more than that this was in July of the current year and that the couple and their two youngest children were transported in small car, that the witness thought to be a dark coloured Citroen C3 or Renault Clio.

- Upon contacting the current inhabitants of the residence it was established that they were Dutch citizens who had made their reservation during the days 24-09-2007 and 29-09-2007 via the portucasa.nl website and who were from Amsterdam.

- The contract was signed through an intermediary from Winkworth who said that the McCanns never had any relationship with the residence in question because it was always let to friends or family members of the Dutch owners.

- The action of the intermediary was informal, there was no register of contracts with the occupants.

- The property is normally rented out, the owners do not live there on a permanent basis.

7. Reference is made that with some of the OC employees an attempt is made to obtain information about any strange movements surrounding the apartment initially occupied by the McCann family and we were told that apart from the journalists, they did not notice anything unusual. However, they would like to clarify that given the endless insistence on the part of these journalists, the employees did not really pay attention to details, neither did they register their identification of physical characteristics, limiting themselves to refusing access to the building and not answering any questions about the events that occurred there.

- Yesterday at 21.16 the Portimao DIC received a phone call from a security officer who worked for the OC to say that a few minutes ago somebody had forced up the shutters of the window of the bedroom Madeleine had disappeared from. The undersigned, together with two of his colleagues went to the scene, where they saw the shutter was hanging obliquely in front of the window and noted that it had been effectively forced open from the outside. However, there were no signs of anyone trying to breach the window.

- These facts were reported by the security guard.

- The guard said that the incident happened between 21.00 and 21.05, when he was making his 21.00 round of the block containing Apartment 5 A and then walked down the die of 5 A, down the road to the Baptista supermarket and then returned up the same road, returning to the surroundings of Apartment 5 A and saw that in that short space of time, someone who he cannot identify as he saw nobody around, had approached the window and forced the shutters. At about 21.06 he alerted reception and the GNR.

- Immediately before he had been talking to a colleague, opposite 5 A and 5 B and neither of them had seen anyone strange, but a few moments earlier they had seen two journalists - a man and a woman - near the bar, with logos from a Canadian media channel stuck on their camera.

- Given the scenario, as well as the way the shutter had been raised as well as the limiting factors that other people had already been at the site and there was no guarantee of its preservation, the procedure to examine for fingerprints was not activated by the Portimao DIC.

- Some trips were made to Lagos in order to attempt to identify journalists and TV stations, as well as any other persons suspected, but this activity had negative results. Signed.

Alexander James Cameron witness statement - 15th April 2008

During these first two months we provided help to Kate and Gerry, and only returned to the U.K. on two occasions in order to take care of some personal business. In the beginning of July of 2007, we left the Ocean Club and moved to a villa with Kate, Gerry and the twins in the Montinhos zone, around 1.5 km from the OC. We never noticed anything strange in the site were we stayed. On the 27th of May of 2007,

Gerry was handed a rental vehicle in the Mark Warner tourist complex; a Renault Scenic with plate number 59-DA-27.

I met with the representative of the car rental agency at Gerry's request, and as such, my name was also on the rental contract so that I could also drive the vehicle; to drive the children and to go shopping.

These were things that Gerry was too occupied to carry out himself. I was the habitual drive of the vehicle and used it daily. I drove to many places, including the airport, local supermarkets, and drove the children to the zoo and the beaches in the area. I also travelled as a passenger on many occasions, when Kate, Gerry or other people were visiting, or driving the vehicle. People who were present in the vehicle were Kate, Gerry, Sean, Amelie, Mike Wright, Janet (Kate's aunt), Kate's mother and father, and her friend Amanda. Basically, the vehicle served as a transport for friend and family who cam to offer their help to Kate and Gerry and also to effect daily routines. The same vehicle was also used to move us from the Ocean Club to the villa, transporting all the luggage and personal objects from one location to the other. During these trips, the children seats would be removed to create space.

Kennedy commissioned private detectives to conduct an investigation parallel to the one run by the Portuguese police. But his choice showed how dangerous it is when powerful and wealthy businessmen try to play detective. In September 2007, he hired Metodo 3, an agency based in Barcelona, on a six-month contract and paid it an estimated £50,000 a month. Metodo 3 was hired because of Spain’s ‘language and cultural connection’ with Portugal. ‘If we’d had big-booted Brits or, heaven forbid, Americans, we would have had doors slammed in our faces’ said Clarence Mitchell, spokesperson for the McCann’s at the time. ‘And it’s quite likely that we could have been charged with hindering the investigation as technically it’s illegal in Portugal to undertake a secondary investigation.

The agency had 35 investigators working on the case in Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. A hotline was set up for the public to report sightings and suspicions, and the search focussed on Morocco. But the investigation was dogged by over-confidence and braggadocio. ‘We know who took Madeleine and hope she will be home by Christmas,’ boasted Metodo 3’s flamboyant boss Francisco Marco. But no Madeleine materialised and their contract was not renewed.

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2307 to 2322 Report (dated 3 June) with images of forensic exams carried out in Apt 5A on 4 May 2007.

09_VOLUME_IXa_Page_2318

Finally, there also proceeded the detailed analysis of the door and of the windows of the target apartment there not being detected the existence of any clues/traces of break-in/forced entry on them.

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Witness Statement

Date: 2007/11/20 Time: 14H00 DIC Portimao

Joao Franciso Pascoa Luis Trigo Barreiras

Occupation: PJ Deputy Specialist

Place of work: Criminal Investigation Department Portimao

He is a specialist in the area of Criminology for the PJ and works in the Criminal Investigation department in Portimao.

His professional responsibilities are to carry out examinations at crime scenes, such as detecting finger prints, biological examinations as well as the identification, signalling and collection of other traces. He is also responsible for making photographic reports and sketches. On the date of the events - 3rd May 2007 he was on duty at the Portimao DIC.

At about 00.10 on the morning of the 4th, he had just finished filing a report about a fire, when he was informed that a child had disappeared in Praia da Luz.

He was brought into service together with an Inspector from the station. It was the inspector's duty to take notes of the services as well as all the information relating to them. The inspector who accompanied him on that date, Vitor Martins, informed him that the case in question was that of the disappearance of a small girl, of British nationality, who was staying at the OC with her parents.

The immediately left for the scene and arrived about 30 - 40 minutes later, at about 00.40/00.50.

When they arrived at the scene, which they immediately identified due to the presence of GNR officers, as well as quite a lot of people who were walking around the street searching for the child, they immediately went to the apartment in question, where they found several people, including some GNR officers, as well as the head of the Lagos GNR station.

He states that the people inside the apartment and close to it, entered and left the building and circulated in the whole apartment, completely freely, in other words, without there being any restriction or care in preserving the scene. .

He said that these people were the friends of the parents of the missing girl and a lady responsible for the resort called Silvia.

He was shown the room the child had disappeared from, having noticed that people also entered and left that room without any care in the sense of preserving traces. Inside this room there were two children, babies, sleeping in two cots placed in the middle of the room.

It was requested that the babies were moved, which was done accordingly, the witness having subsequently put his gloves on to begin the on-site inspection.

At that moment one of the GNR officers told the witness that they had already searched for the girl in the wardrobes and other places in the apartment without having taken any care as to leaving their own traces or for destroying or adulterating any traces that might be of interest to the investigation.

After the arrival of the witness and his colleague Vitor Martins the scene was isolated and the inspection began, namely the collection of statements and inspection of the scene, the respective reports that were subsequently attached to the process documents.

The witness carried out finger print testing on the inside of the bedroom window, where the girl had been sleeping, leaving other examinations for the following day given that on that occasion these tests could not be carried out in the best technical conditions. For this reason, the apartments and the surrounding area were sealed off, watched over by the GNR officers who remained on site.

As far as he knows, after the first examination, other members from the finger print detection service and also officers from the LPC Crime Scene arrived at the scene.

The witness states that, at a given moment, the father of the missing girl led him to understand that he had already contacted the Sky News TV station and informed them of the situation.

As much the father as the girl's mother looked quite worried with the situation and he can even confirm that the mother was very agitated and out of control, crying a lot and shouting in an uncontrolled manner, saying in English "They have taken her".

He remembers that he remained on the scene until about 04.00. There were many people in the street. He does not remember having seen Robert Murat there on that occasion.

When questioned, he says that it was a fresh night with some breeze. It was not a clear night, nor was it very dark. Referring to the light conditions around the apartment, he says they were very dark, and thinks that even on a bright night there would always be little light around the apartment because of the trees and lack of street lights.

Reads, ratifies and signs.

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Robert Murat - documented diligencies

Portimao Judicial Court

Conclusion 13th May 2007


From the process files (pages 995 – 998) results the founded suspicion that the suspect Robert Murat could be the author of the abduction being investigated.

A search of the residences used by the suspect was required, this diligence being essential for acquiring evidence.

As this diligence is essential for the acquisition of evidence and in ordering the search warrant as promoted by the magistrate of the Public Ministry as being covered by the provisions of Art 174 n° 2 of the CPP which determines the granting of these warrants as laid down in articles 174 n° 2 and 3, 177 n° 1 and 269 n° 1a) from the CPP:

I determine that search of the premises should be made, carried out by the PJ within the scope of the ongoing investigation, under suspicion of the practice of the crime of abduction at the residences of the suspect, Robert Murat.

- in Rua Ramalhete, Casa Liliana, Luz, Lagos, residence of the suspect and his mother Jennifer Murat, where they both live and the annexes:
- Rua Joaoa Moniz Nogueira, plot B3 in Lagos;
- Rua Adelina de Gloria Berger, plot 8 1 C in Lagos, residence of Michaela Walczuch.

I also order searches in the following sites:

- Rua Garret n°19 in Lagos.
- Rua Lima Leitao n°19, ground floor in Lagos.

As well as search warrants for the vehicles:


- VW Transporter, number plate 44-77-KD
- Peugeot 205 number plate RI-96-03
- Hiundai Getz number plate 60-AX-86

Proceed to issue the search warrants with the mention that, in the course of the authorised search the rules and limitations foreseen in articles n°176 and n°1 of 177 of the CPP should be observed.

Because it is useful for the purposes of the ongoing investigation, under the conditions of article 269 n°1c and 2, 187, 1 and 188 of the CPP, I determine the procedure of the interception and taping of telephone conversations or any other kind of communication made from or too the following numbers 91 918 84 41 (TMN number) 91 368 75 18, 91 746 23 08 and 91 988 19 59 (TMN number) during the period of 15 days.

Each respective operator should be requested to provide a detailed invoice in digital form, register of trace back and location of the mobile phones with the abovementioned numbers relating to the period from 25th April 2007 to the current date, as well as the interception of IMEIS where the numbers operate or are seen to operate.

This information should be sent directly to the PJ, guaranteeing confidentiality for the operator.

Resulting from the process files, given that in the inquiries already carried out there are indications that are consistent with the abovementioned suspect having been identified as the author of the abduction referred to in the process files.

This action is susceptible of including the practice of child trafficking.

The crime referred to is classed in article 1 n° 1 of Law n° 5/2002(a).


As it is obvious that the diligence in question has great interest for establishing the facts being investigated given their nature, authorisation is given to collect images and voice recordings by means of video relating to the movements of the suspect on national territory (n° 1 of article 6 of law 5/2002, 11th Jan).

I hereby authorise the collection of image and voice recordings by means of video relating to the suspect's movements for 30 days, whilst observing legal formalities.

The image and voice recordings should be submitted for judgement after ten days of collection and the requirements of art 188 n°1 of the CPP should be observed.

Portimao 13-05-2007(23.30)

Signed

Criminal Instruction Judge
....................

External diligence carried out on Casa Liliana 14th May 2007

Today at 07h20, I, Joao Carvalho, together with three teams ( * ) who searched 2Casa Liliana" in Rua da Ramalhete ... property of R.J.Q.E.Murat, report the following:
- Arriving at the location, the owner was contacted who locked away his dogs then conducted Support Team 1 onto the premises;
- Initially, the entire area, internal and external, was identified. The internal area comprises an entrance hall, two suites with room and WC, one bedroom with a conservatory, a large reception room, a sitting room with conservatory, a kitchen and a pantry with a small walled kitchen garden, a machine room, a WC and an adjoining suite with private WC (bedroom of R.Murat). The external area comprises a shed, by a greenhouse, a swimming pool, a machine room and a storehouse (the latter two situated below the pool);
- The searches began by Teams A1 and A2, inside and outside, being accompanied by J.A.Murat, mother of the owner;
- In the course of the search two rainwater cisterns were found next to the pool. They were partly emptied to facilitate a search by a diving team from the Fire Department of Luz-Lagos (Commandants Paulo Reis and Rui Rodrigues). The work results were negative.
- The GNR dog team commanded by First-Sergeant A.Silva used four dogs to search for a trace of Madeleine Beth McCann in the entire property (inside and outside). The work results were negative.
- In the location were three vehicles - VW Transporter; Peugeot 205; Hyundai Getz - all of which were searched.
- The entire property was inspected by colleagues from Local Crime Section and Police Science Laboratory, with respective photographic reports made, with special focus on R.Murat's room and the vehicles.

( * ) [Names of the team members are given here in the report].

Everything was done according to the authorisations. Various items were seized and listed.
The work was completed at 21h00.

This RDE (Relatorio de Diligencia Externa) is appended to the Inquiry by - Signed - Joao Carvalho, Inspector.

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Mark Harrison MBE National Search Adviser (snipped)..

This report considers solely the possibility that Madeleine McCann has been murdered and her body is concealed within the areas previously searched by Police in Zone 1 around Praia Da Luz. Other scenarios or possibilities may on request be considered and be subject of a further report. I also make comment on the recent claims made by a Mr Krugel as to the whereabouts of the missing child.

Initial Action
On Friday 20.07.2007 a request was made by the Portuguese Judicial Police to the NPIA for search advisory assistance. As a result of this the following terms of reference were produced.

Terms of reference to provide assistance to the Portuguese Judicial Police.

1. Assist the Judicial Police and GNR in assessing new or previous areas searched and give opinion on the best methods and assets to provide assurance as to the absence or presence of M McCann's concealed remains.

2. Act as a "critical friend" to the officer in charge of search planning and management and offer immediate and enduring peer review until case resolution or search suspension.

3. Assist in the development of framework models such as scenario based searching to aid homicide disposal searching.

4. Consider further opportunities or areas for search in order to locate M McCann as applicable to the latest intelligence and inform tion provided.

5. Where appropriate, provide independent and impartial advice on the enabling and disabling factors of specialist resources available either within Portugal or elsewhere in body detection.

6. To assist in decision support where requested by testing and challenging claims made by persons offering unorthodox search methods or devices to aid locating M McCann.

7. Where appropriate and requested, assist in advising on procedures to procure any non Portuguese specialist assets that are deemed to be relevant and useful.

Mr Krugel's Claims Regarding the Location of Madeleine McCann

A Mr Krugel, at the McCann's request, attended Praia Da Luz last week from South Africa alleging he could assist in locating Madeleine McCann. I have spoken with the Police officers that accompanied him and viewed the documentation Krugel has supplied to the PJ.

The limiting factor in coming to a view is that Krugel did not allow anyone to view the handheld device he had with him or observe him using it. He was unable to provide any validating scientific data or documents to support the claims he made or the device he alleged to have with him.
In short he would appear to claim he has uniquely developed a handheld device that can find a missing person alive or dead in any given terrain over any elapsed time period.

In debriefing the officers who accompanied Krugel it is possible to hypothesise what he may have been doing and using.

In consultation with a colleague Dr Wolfram Meier-Augenstein we feel he may have been attempting to give the impression he had developed and was using a "Remote Laser based gas sensing device". However his claims regarding the distance of detection, up to 20km and the use of a hair sample are highly unlikely and would be a great innovation in the scientific world. Further provenance of this technique could be sought from Prof. Miles Padgett who is a Professor of optics in physics at the University of Glasgow (m. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] tel +44 141 XXXXXXX)

One obvious challenge to the claims of the device capability is that if Krugel claims that by taking 3 separate location readings he is able to triangulate to an area then one would assume that as an area was identified further reading and triangulation inside that area could be conducted repeatedly until an "X marked the spot?
.
Of most concern is the poor quality of his report which merely shows a google earth image of an area to the east of Praia Da Luz and includes open scrub land, beach and sea. As Krugel was not prepared to allow the device to be viewed or provide any specification data of readings or equipment and the fact that no known device currently exists commercially or academically then I can only conclude that the information he has provided is likely to be of low value.

FIRST INML REPORT 9 JULY 2007


NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF LEGAL MEDICINE
GENETIC AND BIOLOGICAL FORENSIC SERVICES
Processo no. 2007/000268/P-B
Processo no. 2007/000244/CR-B
Processo no. 2007/000226/LX-BC

EXPERT REPORT

IDENTIFICATION OF BIOLOGICAL TRACES AND COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH REFERENCE SAMPLES

INFORMATION

5-Mitochondrial DNA study

The following methodology was used in the Mitochondrial DNA study:

PCR Amplification:

PCR Amplification of the human mtDNA regions HVI and HVII, using specified primers and amplification conditions in accordance with Vigilant et al., 1989 [4] e Wilson et al., 1995 [5], Alvarez-lglesias et al., [6].

[4] Vigilant L, Pennington R. Harpending 11, Kocher TD, Wilson AC. 1989. "Mitochondrial DNA Sequences in Single Hairs from a Southern African Population". Proc Natl Acad Sci, USA, 1989, Vol. 86: 9350 - 9354.
[5] Wilson MR, DiZinno JA, Polanskey D, Replogle J. Budowle B. 1995. "Validation of Mitochondrial DNA Sequencing for Forensic Casework Analysis". Int J Legal Med. 1995,108: 68 - 74.
[6] Alvarez-Iglesias V, Jaime JC, Carracedo A, Salas A.2007. "Coding region mitochondrial DNA SNPs:Targeting East Asian and Native American haplogroups" Forensic Sci. Int. Genetics, 2007, 1 :44-55.

Sequenciation:
Direct sequenciation of the HVI e HVll segments by capilar electrophoresis in "ABI PRISM 3100 ou 3130 Genetic Analyser" (Applied Biosystems) automated sequenciator with fluorescent detection using the following kits:

- "BigDye(R) Terminator vl.1 Cycle Sequencing" (Applied Biosystems)
- "BigDye(R) Terminator v1.3 Cycle Sequencing" (Applied Biosystems)
- "dRhodamine Terminator Cycle Sequencing Ready Reaction" (Applied Biosystems)

The programme "SeqScape(R) Software Version 2.0" (Applied Biosystems) was used for comparison of the sequences obtained from the analysed samples with the CRS (Cambridge Reference Sequence).

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

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Those sardine munching, booze addled, banana republican yokels could knock those fish and chip beer swilling cock-knees into a cocked hat couldn't they?

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

Verbal Report by Martin Grime Relating to the Searches Carried out with the Dogs in the Ocean Club Apartments
　
Transcription/Translation
　
Apartment 5 A

Ok what was done was we deployed the victim recovery dog into the apartment and by experience and the training of the dog what I first noticed is that as soon as I came in that the dog was very excited and as a handler I can pick up his body language etc and it would appear to me that as soon as he has come into the house he's picked up a scent that he recognises and he has then gone through the apartment trying to source where that scent source has come from and as he has worked through the house the only two places where he picks up enough scent to give me the bark alert are in this bedroom, in this corner where he was barking.

What we have to be able to understand in a situation such as this is in a hot climate with the apartment being closed down, the scent will build up in a particular area. If there isn't a scent source in here, i.e. a physical article where the scent is emitting from, any scent residue will collect in a particular place due to the air movement of the flat, the apartment and what I would say in this case is that there is enough scent in that area there for him to give me a bark indication but the source may not be in that cupboard, the source may well be in this room somewhere else but the air is actually pushing into that corner. But strong indication and I would say its positive for things that he is trained to find, which will be part of a separate debrief.

Moving onto the other rooms once he's found what he thinks he's looking for in this room, and we go into the bathroom and come into this bedroom he loses his interest because he's actually found the source that he was looking for, until we come over here and I think you've got it on video that when he first came in he was quite interested in the sofa but he didn't have access to the back of the sofa and when he's gone behind the sofa what I saw was that approximately in the centre of the wall where the window is, just along the tile area between the tiles and the wall, he's been scenting there a lot stronger than he has anywhere else and the when he's gone out there the second time he has decided yes that's what I'm looking for and that's when he has given me the bark indication.

What we should understand with this dog is that he only barks when he finds something, he won't bark at any other times. He won't bark at other dogs, he won't bark at strangers, he won't bark when somebody knocks on the door or anything like that. The only times I've ever known him bark since I've got him as a small puppy a) for his dinner and that's just excitement and that's one of the training methods we use to teach to bark when we want him to and when he actually finds something, he won't bark at other dogs, he won't bark at strangers, he won't bark when somebody knocks on the door or something like that, so again I would say that's a positive indication.

The second dog that we've seen work today is the crime scene dog Keela. She will only indicate to me when she has found human blood, only human blood and it is only blood and there must be something there physically for her to be able to alert to me that's she has actually found something. At this point over here where the victim recovery dog has indicated, as you saw on the video, the crime scene dog had actually given me what we call a passive indication where she freezes in this spot here which would indicate to me that there is some human blood there. She will find blood that's historically very old and she will find anybody's blood, any human blood, which is important to make sure that everybody knows.

The fact that there is other scientific methods being used may stop you recovering any DNA but if you try we'll see what happens. But she is very, very good and when she indicates there is always blood there.

Apartment B

We've searched this apartment with the victim recovery dog and he has shown no interest in the flat for what he he trained to find at all so we finished.

Apartment 5 D

We've put the victim recovery dog through this apartment, the only interest has been in some food that he has found, other than that there is no interest in anything that he has been taught to tell me that he has found.

Apartment H5

We searched this apartment and the dog hasn't shown any interest in this particular apartment, apart from around the table, where there was a tennis ball which is how we reward the dog for finding things, as soon as we removed the tennis ball the interest was gone. And so it was a negative search.


Apartment 4 G

We searched the apartment using the victim recovery dog. No response. Negative search.


Outside perimeter of apartments

We've searched the outer perimeter, there is some interest here but it will take some further examination to see what's going on.