The Blue Sports Bag

by Guest 07.06.14 6:41

Gerry told the PJ he didn't have one according to Amaral.

GA: In that place the body would always decay. The issue with the bag is the following, Gerald McCann said at one point in time that he did not have any sports bag. Mark Harrison, an English expert, who did the planning of the searches that were carried out with the CSI dogs, of the cadaver odour and blood, at the ends of July, early August, puts forward that serious hypothesis - that the body was taken inside a sports bag³, he speaks of a golf bag, of a sports bag – and indeed a sports bag existed. There are photographs taken inside the apartment [rented by the McCanns/5A] immediately after the disappearance, an hour later, and the sports bag is there, inside the closet and is of a darkish blue colour. Thus, those photographs exist, contrary to what anyone can say that they did not own a sports bag – the sports bag was there. A sports bag, even though there wasn't any brand like “Adidas” in the bag, but it was a bag of that kind. So, what happened to that bag, what took place next, other situations ensued relatively to another bag, something that it’s not worth mentioning now here, there are people who also talk about a bag...

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Why can't Kate and Gerry simply tell everyone what happened to the bag and that would be an end to the debate?

If you want to convince people that something is not right about all this, tell them about the bag and then about the dog.

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by tiny 07.06.14 7:53

Why can't Kate and Gerry simply tell everyone what happened to the bag and that would be an end to the debate?

If the mccanns did this then they would be truly f*****

by **PeterMac** 07.06.14 7:57

tiny wrote:Why can't Kate and Gerry simply tell everyone what happened to the bag and that would be an end to the debate?
If the mccanns did this then they would be truly f*****

Because, as with so may other issues, they and their spokesman have already committed themselves to No Bag.
To change their minds now would cause the sky to fall in on them.

by **tigger** 07.06.14 8:16

23/12press reports from McCannfiles.com:

It is revealed that police want to trace a blue tennis bag allegedly taken from Kate and Gerry McCann's apartment on the night Madeleine went missing. Detectives think the hold-all could have been used to carry Madeleine as she was taken away, or even to transport the three-year-old's body. It belonged to the girl's father but has not been seen since the night of May 3, according to a Sky News documentary due to be broadcast on Christmas Eve.
Expert Tony Rogers, who reviews unsolved cases for British police and worked on the Soham investigation, said: "If it's a bag of a size that could be used to take a child away from the flat, that would be of great interest to the investigating officer." But McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell flatly denied that Mr McCann had lost a bag during the family's holiday. He said: "As far as Kate and Gerry are concerned, there is no missing tennis bag. They came back from holiday with everything except of course, tragically, Madeleine."
Mr McCann told friends yesterday that he did not take any tennis equipment to Praia da Luz, and did not own a blue tennis bag. But Sky News stood by its story, which it said came from sources who had travelled to the resort after Madeleine's disappearance.
Portuguese newspaper Diaria de Noticas reports that the Policiaria Judiciaria have been searching for months for a blue tennis bag, with sufficient size to carry a small child, which belonged to Gerry McCann. The story, advanced by Sky News, adds that Gerry McCann assured PJ investigators at the time that the bag had been "stolen".
Unquote

Lost, stolen or never existed in the first place and please note the almost verbatim repeat by Payne in his rogatory interview ' a bag of a size...'

by Guest 07.06.14 8:18

Someone has to press it on them at every opportunity.

The weakest thing in their whole story.

If they can't even explain what happened to the bag then why should anyone believe them.

I wonder what SY think about this.

by Guest 07.06.14 8:22

Gerry McCann assured PJ investigators at the time that the bag had been "stolen".

This a "the dog ate my homework" excuse and noboby would believe it.

I'd like to hear it from Gerry directly.

by **tigger** 07.06.14 8:24

And here is the part from the Payne rog:

From the rogatory interview with David Payne re the missing tennis bag.

"What about a kit bag? Would they have a kit bag with them?”
Reply "Err he certainly didn’t have a great big tennis bag or a, you know, err I mean I used to be a squash, a semi-professional squash player and you know they certainly didn’t have anything that I would call a kit bag from days when I played…”
1485 "Yeah.”
Reply "You know, a lot of sport, err if they had a rucksack with some water in that would be, you know, about as big as it got, you know a small rucksack. But it certainly wasn’t a big tennis, you know, things that you could put a tennis racquet in.”
1485 "Yeah.”
Reply "There was nothing of that size that you could hide a, a tennis racquet in or anything like that, it would have been just purely, if they had anything…”
1485 "Yeah.”
Reply "It would have been something that had their water in.”
1485 "So as opposed to a bag it’d be something like a rucksack, if at all?”
Reply "If, if at all, yeah.” unquote

OK- all agreed then: point 6 on the agenda: when asked answer 'There was nothing of that size...etc'
Minutes of the Rothley meeting. November 2007. - purely fictional... winkwink

by tiny 07.06.14 8:25

BlueBag wrote:
Gerry McCann assured PJ investigators at the time that the bag had been "stolen".

This a "the dog ate my homework" excuse and noboby would believe it.

I'd like to hear it from Gerry directly.

You have more chance of flying to the moon.

perhaps this is question for Andy Redwood could ask Gerry.

by AndyB 07.06.14 8:26

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

Perhaps its just the quality of the photograph but the object in the wardrobe looks black to me and could just as easily be a small suitcase

by tiny 07.06.14 8:28

Looks a bit squashy to be a suitcase also that looks like a strap rather than a handle

by AndyB 07.06.14 8:33

tiny wrote:Looks a bit squashy to be a suitcase also that looks like a strap rather than a handle

But still looks black :-)

by Guest 07.06.14 8:35

tiny wrote: perhaps this is question for Andy Redwood could ask Gerry.

You would think so.

"So.. why did you first say you never had a sports bag and then later say it was stolen".

Was it when he was shown the photo?

That is their initials on the photo isn't it?

"KH" is one of them anyway.

by Guest 07.06.14 8:40

So on that pj photos, there are initials on the top right hand side under thepage number 2563, and the first initial looks like KH to me... So were they asked to initial photos taken of the scene that night...that would make sense, they have to initial the photos to act as verificiation that this is a true photo of the scene , along with initials of the officers present? Bluebag - just saw your st along the same lines of kate's initials..

If so, the kate has initialled the photo that has the large bag on the shelf.. But they are skilled at carefully wording their denials..

Eg. They say that there is No blue tennis bag, no tennis bag, not missing....
So maybe the bag wasn't used for tennis, maybe they think it's more of a black colour, maybe it's not missing because they know exactly where it is..

So until someone can sit them in a room, shove THIS photo under THEIR smug faces, point to the bag on the shelf and say "where is THIS bag, in this photo of you room" they'll always wriggle out of it..

You would think that in a review of the case, that would be the job of the investigators, but they seem more interested in chasing owners of socks found on a hill....

by **tigger** 07.06.14 8:40

@AndyB

Nothing personal but I'm pretty sure the PJ were aware of the bleeding obvious which is often posted (again not aimed at you personally) as some kind of new insight. Not just on this bag.

I would expect that on seeing the GNR were given a blanket for the dogs to give them the right scent at 02.00 and given a towel instead later that day, the PJ would wonder why.
In the same way they'd look at the photographs and note the absence of the bag which must have been removed during the night. So both the blanket and the bag are of interest.
I would also expect the GNR, who searched 5a and the PJ to have noticed the colour and size of this bag. The colour on the published photographs is not necessarily as good as on the originals.

In short, if the PJ were looking for a large blue tennis bag, I expect there was such an item. I'm not inclined to change it to a black suitcase on the minimal visual evidence we have.

by sami 07.06.14 8:42

tiny wrote:
BlueBag wrote:
Gerry McCann assured PJ investigators at the time that the bag had been "stolen".

This a "the dog ate my homework" excuse and noboby would believe it.

I'd like to hear it from Gerry directly.
You have more chance of flying to the moon.

perhaps this is question for Andy Redwood could ask Gerry.

Well Clarrie denied it, which is as good as coming from the horses mouth

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by unchained melody 07.06.14 9:10

sami wrote:
tiny wrote:
BlueBag wrote:
Gerry McCann assured PJ investigators at the time that the bag had been "stolen".

This a "the dog ate my homework" excuse and noboby would believe it.

I'd like to hear it from Gerry directly.
You have more chance of flying to the moon.

perhaps this is question for Andy Redwood could ask Gerry.

Well Clarrie denied it, which is as good as coming from the horses mouth

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Here's the Sky news doc referenced in the article in Sami's link:

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The bag is briefly mentioned at 8.00

by AndyB 07.06.14 9:15

tigger wrote:@AndyB

Nothing personal but I'm pretty sure the PJ were aware of the bleeding obvious which is often posted (again not aimed at you personally) as some kind of new insight. Not just on this bag.

I would expect that on seeing the GNR were given a blanket for the dogs to give them the right scent at 02.00 and given a towel instead later that day, the PJ would wonder why.
In the same way they'd look at the photographs and note the absence of the bag which must have been removed during the night. So both the blanket and the bag are of interest.
I would also expect the GNR, who searched 5a and the PJ to have noticed the colour and size of this bag. The colour on the published photographs is not necessarily as good as on the originals.

In short, if the PJ were looking for a large blue tennis bag, I expect there was such an item. I'm not inclined to change it to a black suitcase on the minimal visual evidence we have.

Nothing taken personally. I agree that there was a blue tennis bag and the fact that it is now missing is probably highly significant, especially given that Gerry seems unsure whether he had one that was stolen or didn't have one in the first place. I made the observation because I'm not yet convinced that the photograph above is of the blue tennis bag. If, as you seem to be suggesting, the bag pictured was there one minute and then gone the next, and that following its disappearance the PJ started looking for a blue tennis bag, then yes, its likely that the bag in the picture is blue and it just looks black due to the quality of the photograph. So far though I haven't seen a photograph of the same wardrobe without the object in question. I'm not saying one doesn't exist, just that I haven't seen it

by Mirage 07.06.14 9:19

The public are entitled to know where this bag has gone. If the Mcs are not willing to supply an answer to a direct and reasonable question about documented evidence photographed at the scene of the crime, a letter rogatory should be sent to SY by the PJ before any more of Portugal is randomly dug up.

Cameron needs to get a grip of the situation because untold harm is being done to:

a) Diplomatic relations with Portugal
b) Police relationships between two EU member states
c) Public trust in the police.

AS WELL AS:
d) Further reputational damage to the Metropolitan Police
e) Damage to an EU member state's tourism industry
f) Damage to the international standing of the UK
g) Damage to the democratic tenets of the UK evidenced by political interference in a criminal investigation.

AS WELL AS The COLLAPSE OF WORLD-LEADING BROADCASTING/REPORTING ETHICS AS EVIDENCED BY:
h) The deliberate promotion of xenophobia by the press
i) The unprecedented bias of a hitherto free press in a criminal investigation.
j) The unprecedented bias by main stream media

Perhaps if we start looking at the big picture of what is really happening in this country by stealth, (notably secret courts and totalitarian style opinion shaping), some more people will start thinking about getting off their backsides and making their mark before they wake up in a world they no longer recognise. Sitting on your sofa admiring the freedom fighters in the D Day landings is one thing. Wantonly going to sleep on your own watch over democracy is something none of us will be lauded for in 70 years time. In fact, the rate we are going, all that will be airbrushed from history anyway - along with a lot else.

I, and many on this forum can see the writing on the wall. I am pretty sure that the average age of members will preclude most here from suffering the dystopia that is almost upon us. Redwood, according to reports, will be here and gone like a moth in the night. He will have played a part he will never acknowledge - not even to himself. We all have bit parts to play. Each and every bloody one of us, if we don't want to see a cloak of secrecy descend on another child's short sojourn in this God-forsaken hole we used to call England.

by sami 07.06.14 9:22

Mirage, great post. bravo

by Masterblaster 07.06.14 9:22

Has no-one noticed the almost Feudian slip by DP, who would say "hide" a tennis racquet in a bag, he caught himself just in time.

by Masterblaster 07.06.14 9:25

*Freudian

by Sonmi-451 07.06.14 9:26

@Mirage
Perfectly put!!!

by **tigger** 07.06.14 10:27

Masterblaster wrote:*Freudian

Yes, the discussion is in the earlier pages of Forensic Linguistics. Worth a read, somewhere between page 4 and ten I believe.

by frost 07.06.14 10:40

I think the blue bag actually went missing well after the night of the 3rd . I think it was probably disposed of when they got wind of the fact the police were going to bring the dogs in .

I do not think the bag was used to move Madeleine but that they perhaps someone had tried to put Madeleine in the bag and that she didn.t fit however once the searches and dogs were in the pipeline the penny dropped that this blue bag could be a vital piece of evidence and like so many other things was magically wooshed never to be seen again .

Had a police officer looked in the bag on the night of the 3rd it would not have aroused suspicion as there would have been nothing in it and he would not have been able to smell any cadaver odour himself .

the McCanns should be shown the picture of the bag in situ on the shelf and questioned as to what happened to the bag in the picture . Then there is no arguing or get out was it blue was it black was it a holdhall or a small suitcase , the picture is in front of them and the bag in question is the one they are looking at in the picture simples

by Dipsy 07.06.14 10:58

Hi, first post after lurking for a number of months. Apparently Gerry told friends he didn't take any tennis equipment with him, I thought he has multiple tennis lessons while he was there? Would be odd to do that and not take your own racket at least rather than rely on a manky spare one that MW might have lying around.