How Maddie's creche attendance was "arranged"

Thanks Tony, that sort of makes it a bit clearer.
Pre-planned - I had never thought about that before.

OMG!

littlepixie wrote:Thanks Tony, that sort of makes it a bit clearer.
Pre-planned - I had never thought about that before.

OMG!

I've always thought this was pre-planned.

Seems way too far fetched to me,why the heck would they want to do away with her and why go through such a ridiculous charade when far too much could go wrong (not least that the substitute Madeleine could give the game away at any moment)? Why not do it at home where they would be in familiar surroundings and where they at least speak the language,it could easily have been made to look like an accident.All this is just way to X-files and off the wall for me I'm afraid.

Am loving your siggy Rainbow, do you like mine?

"it could easily have been made to look like an accident."

All depends on what "IT" was.

Get 'em Gonçalo wrote:

littlepixie wrote:Thanks Tony, that sort of makes it a bit clearer.
Pre-planned - I had never thought about that before.

OMG!

I've always thought this was pre-planned.

I fall into that camp too, a very interesting thread thanks for all your work here Kikoraton and Stella


Adding to Tony's list - Kate's feeling, prior to the holiday, that something bad was going to happen that week. On arrival, didn't Kate confide to Fiona that she still had a bad feeling about the week ahead?

Get 'em Gonçalo wrote:

littlepixie wrote:Thanks Tony, that sort of makes it a bit clearer.
Pre-planned - I had never thought about that before.

OMG!

I've always thought this was pre-planned.

Me too, I even have a suggestion for a motive, do you have a motive in mind?

but what about all the pics of Madeleine the mccanns put out,why has,nt any one said "hold on thats not madeleine who was in the creche"

soulthief wrote:

Get 'em Gonçalo wrote:

littlepixie wrote:Thanks Tony, that sort of makes it a bit clearer.
Pre-planned - I had never thought about that before.

OMG!

I've always thought this was pre-planned.

Me too, I even have a suggestion for a motive, do you have a motive in mind?

I don't think Tony is convinced it was pre-planned, he was just summarising the suggestions on this thread.

The complexity of the theory discussed here would suggest that pre-planning was necessary but I am not convinced there was or could have been a substitute Maddie!!!

I don't think it was pre-planned although you could argue that a child who has the misfortune to be discussed by David Payne and Gerry (according to K.Gaspar) was always going to be at risk of something 'bad' happening.

You have to wonder if any other children will be 'abducted' in the future?

There was a story about a child in the McCann's extended family, being "abducted" a few years ago at an airport. I forget the details now, I think it was Moyra somebody at Bangkok airport but as I am relying on memory here, I could be wrong. I always suspected that that might have been a "trial run", as it were.

I have to go out, so I shan't have time until later to take a look at Tony's summary of my theory. I suppose it's a good thing for a sympathetic observer to have attempted a summary.
Yes, after arriving at my theory, that was the first moment when I seriously thought that this must have been pre-planned.
If it really did happen like this, then it required a high degree of cunning. But I'd invite those who say "nah, that's way too complicated" to go back to the top of page 45 and read my theory again - regarding the arrival of the two girls at creche, and the signing-in. It's not really that complicated. It's not as though they had a security guard at the signing-in point. It would all have been fairly chaotic and informal.

Shibboleth wrote:There was a story about a child in the McCann's extended family, being "abducted" a few years ago at an airport. I forget the details now, I think it was Moyra somebody at Bangkok airport but as I am relying on memory here, I could be wrong. I always suspected that that might have been a "trial run", as it were.

That rings bells with too Shibboleth, anyone else remember reading about this?

Autumn wrote:

Shibboleth wrote:There was a story about a child in the McCann's extended family, being "abducted" a few years ago at an airport. I forget the details now, I think it was Moyra somebody at Bangkok airport but as I am relying on memory here, I could be wrong. I always suspected that that might have been a "trial run", as it were.

That rings bells with too Shibboleth, anyone else remember reading about this?

I remember it to, although such a long time ago, and my memory is awful. I do remember googling for a whole day trying to come up with something about it and nothing came up at all, so I don't know if it was a WUM or if there was ever any truth in the story.

Autumn wrote:

Shibboleth wrote:There was a story about a child in the McCann's extended family, being "abducted" a few years ago at an airport. I forget the details now, I think it was Moyra somebody at Bangkok airport but as I am relying on memory here, I could be wrong. I always suspected that that might have been a "trial run", as it were.

That rings bells with too Shibboleth, anyone else remember reading about this?

I remember reading it too, but don't know if it was myth or not.

Morning Candyfloss
So many things from the early days have been whoosh-clunked. There was a story about Gerry's sister's boyfriend involved in a drug murder (think he was the victim) but strangely everything about the case has since been removed.

Autumn,

Never ceases to amaze me how much information about this case that was available early on has been whooshed, has this ever happened before. Who has the power to tell people to whoosh these articles, videos etc. and why do they comply with the requests if the material isn't libellous?

Didn't Gerry say he "wasn't there to enjoy himself" or similar - on the airport bus video when asked to "cheer-up Gerry" ?
I never understood how that video came out? e.g. WHO put it into public domain - and WHY?

listener wrote:Didn't Gerry say he "wasn't there to enjoy himself" or similar - on the airport bus video when asked to "cheer-up Gerry" ?
I never understood how that video came out? e.g. WHO put it into public domain - and WHY?

I believe clip was released officially at the time but it was edited to show the children on the bus. Then the extended version came along that featured grumpy Gerry!

I believe Gerry was on his way to Praria Da Luz to participate in a business meeting along with many of the other folk staying at the Ocean Club (e.g. Weinberger and some of the financiers). Perhaps a project with commercial and defence sensitivities, perhaps to discuss a patent or innovation in the field of medical diagnostics / defence. Pretty dull but important stuff.

When something happened to Madeleine (she may have initially been fatally injured?) perhaps the cover-up began (and I mean a cover-up of the event / meeting / conference as well as Madeleine).

I think there would have been enough to deal with without finding a child to fill Maddies shoes. What if the child became sick in the Creche - the staff would have contacted.... Gerry? I am not saying that the Creche records were not altered to demonstrate Maddie was present but I think the search for a substitute Maddie will prove fruitless.

Just my thoughts of course: people should think, think and think some more about this case!!!!

[/quote]Then the extended version came along that featured grumpy Gerry![/quote]

That's the bit I have always wondered about - WHO allowed that particular bit? PJ? Whoever took the video? UK police?
Why would that bit, which shows him in such poor light, not be edited out?
And you say that the bit showing him grumpy "came along later"! I cannot grasp why it was not edited.

"What if the child became sick in the Creche - the staff would have contacted.... Gerry?"
Yes, exactly. To all intents and purposes, whilst the creche children were all together, this substitute Madeleine was his and Kate's child. It was their telephone number that was given. And they are doctors!! It's really not such a difficult trick to pull off.

kikoraton wrote:
Yes, after arriving at my theory, that was the first moment when I seriously thought that this must have been pre-planned.
If it really did happen like this, then it required a high degree of cunning. But I'd invite those who say "nah, that's way too complicated" to go back to the top of page 45 and read my theory again - regarding the arrival of the two girls at creche, and the signing-in. It's not really that complicated. It's not as though they had a security guard at the signing-in point. It would all have been fairly chaotic and informal.

I agree. As deception goes, it would have been very easy to pull this one off. Other peoples children are often picked up and dropped off here, there and everywhere, on a normal school day. The hardest part was finding a suitable candidate to fill Madeleine's shoes. But if you think about it, there were well over a 100 names on the OC daily lists, if not more. Gerry's signatures proves that they knew of other people out there, which would increase the number of other children available.

For me the strongest clue yet that Madeleine had been replaced at some point, was with a comment made by the tapas receptionist.

"She remembers that on Sunday 29th April one of the elements of the group arrived with the child Madeleine McCann, she does not know his name and can only say that he was male and tall and thin and that he approached her to request a booking for the whole group, for the whole week and always at 20.30. When questioned, she confirms that the man was not the father of the girl but one of the members of the group whom was often seen in his company."

The girl that was used by Gerry to enter the creche, must have been the exact same child who was taken to book the tapas, which is why the receptionist said that this child was not with "the father".

There has to be a very good reason why everyone lied and said Rachel made that booking. Not just to protect this man, but to protect the identity of that child.

soulthief wrote:

Get 'em Gonçalo wrote:

littlepixie wrote:Thanks Tony, that sort of makes it a bit clearer.
Pre-planned - I had never thought about that before.

OMG!

I've always thought this was pre-planned.

Me too, I even have a suggestion for a motive, do you have a motive in mind?

What do you think the motive was soulthief?

Tony Bennett wrote:I've re-read this thread and have pondered about a few things.

Let us accept for a moment the 'kiko' hypothesis is correct: that Dr Gerald McCann took another Madeleine and Elizabeth Naylor to the creche and forged the signature of one or the other Robert Naylor.

One question then that has been barely touched on in the 45 pages so far is: What happened to the substitute Madeleine after the creche closed on the night of Thursday 3 May?

Because, for sure, that Madeleine could not have been at the creche on the morning of Friday 4 May.

Is it worth considering Antonio Cardoso'a ( the taxi driver's ) statement , though I'm not sure whether it is withheld ?

Exactly YNG, that would explain how and when the substitute Madeleine left.

Which will coincide with their flights back home and why the alarm was raised after that.

Most holiday-makers with MW had reserved a package with specified flights in and out. Without naming names, one family have the note on their booking which reads "no flights or transfers required". That's a bit unusual, for an MW holiday. And others which are "owner bookings" have no indication of flight numbers or method of travel. That leaves quite a lot of latitude for people wanting to travel independently.
But yes, of course, any substitute must have made herself scarce during the evening of 3 May.

Stella wrote:For me the strongest clue yet that Madeleine had been replaced at some point, was with a comment made by the tapas receptionist.

"She remembers that on Sunday 29th April one of the elements of the group arrived with the child Madeleine McCann, she does not know his name and can only say that he was male and tall and thin and that he approached her to request a booking for the whole group, for the whole week and always at 20.30. When questioned, she confirms that the man was not the father of the girl but one of the members of the group whom was often seen in his company."

The girl that was used by Gerry to enter the creche, must have been the exact same child who was taken to book the tapas, which is why the receptionist said that this child was not with "the father". There has to be a very good reason why everyone lied and said Rachel made that booking. Not just to protect this man, but to protect the identity of that child.

Yes, that's right, I think Rachael Oldfield/Mampilly said she made the booking.

There has been much speculation over the identity of 'the tall, thin, male' who was not the father of the girl but 'was often often seen in his company'.

Some have said this was Dr Matthew Oldfield - certainly quite tall.

Others have suggested it was 'Tapas 10'.

So far as I am aware this is the first time it's been suggested that this was Dr Gerald McCann with a substitute Madeleine McCann.

There is yet another possibility. That the tall, thin man was the substitute Madeleine's father - pretending that he was not the father.

Stella wrote:Exactly YNG, that would explain how and when the substitute Madeleine left.

Which will coincide with their flights back home and why the alarm was raised after that. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yes it does coincide nicely Stella, that's one of the details along with the descriptions of the people & child that makes this ' sighting ' a bit of a mystery. The idea of using a Taxi puzzles me a bit , but I suppose if it's necessary to get somewhere quickly and they were without other transport , what else is left ?

YNG wrote:

Stella wrote:Exactly YNG, that would explain how and when the substitute Madeleine left.

Which will coincide with their flights back home and why the alarm was raised after that. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yes it does coincide nicely Stella, that's one of the details along with the descriptions of the people & child that makes this ' sighting ' a bit of a mystery. The idea of using a Taxi puzzles me a bit , but I suppose if it's necessary to get somewhere quickly and they were without other transport , what else is left ?

Is this the taxi journey you mean? (I posted this a while back on a thread of its own)
All

I am posting this old article from Joanna Morais blog because it continues to intrigue me. There does not appear to be any official record of this sighting in the case files but it differs from all the obviously manufactured sightings because it occured before Madeleine was reported missing. Aspects of this story which leap out at me include the reaction of Clarence Mitchell (his comment about time-lines) and the description of Madeleine being similar to the Smith sighting (pink pyjamas / light, rose coloured pyjamas). Other articles about the taxi drivers sighting include descriptions of 'Madeleine' staring straight ahead and remaining motionless with the exception of the twitch in her chin.

This comment might be important:
“In two hours you can travel from Aldeia da Luz to Vila Real de Santo Antonio and return. Someone can be lying. They should establish if Kate did not go away during this period”, says António.

Is this all a "perfect nonsense" as stated by Clarence Mitchell or could it describe the events leading up to the Smith sighting at 10.00 PM on 3 May 2007? Would there have been time to attempt to resussitate Madeleine in the appartment before Gerry dashed off with the corpse and was spotted by the Smith Family?

Is it possible that this event actually occured prior to 3 May 2007?

Who were the other people in the car with 'Kate' ?

And don't forget the Rog Interview Question to David Payne :

00:52:56 1485 "Did you see them [Kate and Gerry] in a car at all whilst you were in Portugal, prior to Madeleine disappearing?”
Reply "Err we all arrived you know at Praia Da Luz initially in the taxi err apart from that I can’t really recall.”
1485 "That’s it.”
Reply "I can’t recall err seeing you know err going anywhere in a car.”


TAXI-DRIVER IS SURE THAT HE TOOK MADDIE IN HIS CAR IN THE NIGHT OF THE GIRL DISAPPEARANCE
“I transported that girl”

The driver remembers that he transported them in the night of the disappearance, in the 3rd of May, from the square of taxis of Monte Gordo for the Hotel Apolo, in em Vila Real de Santo Antonio. The passengers went then to a jeep. António contacted the PJ, but, as he says, no one took notice of his story.

A taxi-driver of Vila Real de Santo Antonio, in the Algarve, guarantees to have transported Maddie, Kate McCann and three men – one of them similar to Murat – in the night of the disappearance of the English girl, in the 3rd of May of last year. António Castela Cardoso, 67 years, does not forget the hour or the details of the passengers. He regrets that after having communicated the Judiciary Police of Portimão, he never received a follow up call to explain his statement. Taxi-driver, with 17 years in that profession, António Castela has the habit of memorizing the face of his clients. That one particularly, “She was a girl with very pretty eyes and she called my attention because of the sign that she had in one eye and the twitch that she was doing with the chin”, he remembered. In the beginning of that night, António was in the square of taxis of Monte Gordo, four kilometres of Vila Real de Santo Antonio, was ready to stop the cab service. “It was 20h10 and I like seeing the television news”, he remembers.

Man was similar to Murat

The clients approached and asked him to transport them to the Hotel Apolo, in Vila Real de Santo Antonio. The driver did not refuse. On his side a man seated who was using “fine glasses”. “He was similar with the one that appears in the television like the third suspect”, says António, concerning Robert Murat – who is arguido in the case. In the seat behind, a woman “like Kate” sat down, between two men. The girl that the taxi-driver says to be Maddie sat down to the lap of one of them.
“She was wearing pink pyjamas. The mother had the hair tied and a yellow coat”, he remembers, with exactness. It was a silent journey. The passengers did not exchange one word; they did not show any emotions. On the arrival to the journey destiny, António pulled out the baby's chair of the luggage car. “It was the same as what the couple usually uses”, he affirms. The customers asked him, in English language, how much the cab journey was. “I said that there were 3, 25 euros and they gave me five and then I thanked them”, he says.

Top-of-the-line Jeep

The taxi-driver saw three men, the woman and the child move towards a metallic-blue, top-of-the-line Jeep “ I do not know if it would be a BMW, but I remember that the license plate was yellow and therefore was not a Portuguese one ”, he affirms. The vehicle was parked in the Hotel Apolo parking. António returned to his house with the image of the girl in the head. It reminded him of his son, now with 37 years. “My son was operated to his eyes because he had a similar eye defect. He also did that twitch with the chin. They even looked like brothers”, he observed.
The next day, António was watching the television news besides his son and his granddaughter, with the same age of Maddie. With astonishment he saw that the blond girl of light eyes had disappeared. “I immediately told my son: ' I transported that girl yesterday! ’ ”.
The son, a police officer of the GNR, advised the father to phone to the Judiciary Police of Portimão. “ He (the son) dialled the number and I said what I am telling you (to the journalist of 24 Horas newspaper)”, he remembers to 24horas.
The inspector who answered then asked him if in the hotel there was a system of video vigilance. The taxi-driver did not know.
Up to today, António waits the police contact to give declarations personally. “I defend the girl as I would defend my granddaughter”, he affirms.
Some days later, out of curiosity, António still asked for informations to some of his acquaintances, at the service of the Hotel Apolo. He was told that there was not any reservation for that evening. They also told him that the Hotel had not been contacted by the Judiciary Police. Even worse. The system of video vigilance was damaged two years ago and was not catching any image. “Also I do not know if they did enter in the hotel”, says the taxi-driver.

Since then, António Castela has been accompanying the news on Maddie. When the telephone rings, he still thinks that it will be someone who investigates the case that want to speak with him. When he knew that a certain period of time was still to be explained in the investigation, António Castela immediately thought that this might be the explanation. “In two hours you can travel from Aldeia da Luz to Vila Real de Santo Antonio and return. Someone can be lying. They should establish if Kate did not go away during this period”, says António.

The taxi-driver has been telling this history in public establishments and to clients whom he transports. Only this week a journalist of the “Jornal do Algarve” contacted him to publish what the driver affirms to have seen. “Now they do not leave me alone. Tomorrow [today] there is a team coming from England on purpose to interview me”, he says.
Madeleine McCann disappeared mysteriously from the Ocean Club, in Aldeia da Luz, in the 3rd of May. 300 days already have passed since. The parents are still arguidos in the process, but up to now nobody managed to know what it went on that night.

From Correio da Manhã: A source connected with the investigation guaranteed that the facts told by António Castela were "investigated" and the “lead was proven false”.

Madeleine has no Twitches

Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, reacted yesterday with amazement at the declarations of the taxi-driver. “The declarations of Mr. Castela are false. They are a perfect nonsense. He can only be mistaken when he says that at that time he transported Kate and Madeleine with three men”, he said, underlining the fact of being several independent witnesses who place Madeleine's parents in a completely different place. “How is that possible, if at 20h35 several witnesses say that Kate and Gerry were sitting down on a table of the Tapas restaurant”, he questioned. Clarence doubts of the intentions of the taxi-driver. “It astonishes me that only now, ten months later, he talks about this. These are declarations that only cause pain to Kate and Gerry", he said, advancing that that the McCann's daughter has no facial twitches.
“The only sign to report is the one she has in the eye.”

Cheshire Cat wrote:

YNG wrote:

Stella wrote:Exactly YNG, that would explain how and when the substitute Madeleine left.

Which will coincide with their flights back home and why the alarm was raised after that. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yes it does coincide nicely Stella, that's one of the details along with the descriptions of the people & child that makes this ' sighting ' a bit of a mystery. The idea of using a Taxi puzzles me a bit , but I suppose if it's necessary to get somewhere quickly and they were without other transport , what else is left ?

Is this the taxi journey you mean? (I posted this a while back on a thread of its own)
All

I am posting this old article from Joanna Morais blog because it continues to intrigue me. There does not appear to be any official record of this sighting in the case files but it differs from all the obviously manufactured sightings because it occured before Madeleine was reported missing. Aspects of this story which leap out at me include the reaction of Clarence Mitchell (his comment about time-lines) and the description of Madeleine being similar to the Smith sighting (pink pyjamas / light, rose coloured pyjamas). Other articles about the taxi drivers sighting include descriptions of 'Madeleine' staring straight ahead and remaining motionless with the exception of the twitch in her chin.

This comment might be important:
“In two hours you can travel from Aldeia da Luz to Vila Real de Santo Antonio and return. Someone can be lying. They should establish if Kate did not go away during this period”, says António.

Is this all a "perfect nonsense" as stated by Clarence Mitchell or could it describe the events leading up to the Smith sighting at 10.00 PM on 3 May 2007? Would there have been time to attempt to resussitate Madeleine in the appartment before Gerry dashed off with the corpse and was spotted by the Smith Family?

Is it possible that this event actually occured prior to 3 May 2007?

Who were the other people in the car with 'Kate' ?

And don't forget the Rog Interview Question to David Payne :

00:52:56 1485 "Did you see them [Kate and Gerry] in a car at all whilst you were in Portugal, prior to Madeleine disappearing?”
Reply "Err we all arrived you know at Praia Da Luz initially in the taxi err apart from that I can’t really recall.”
1485 "That’s it.”
Reply "I can’t recall err seeing you know err going anywhere in a car.”


TAXI-DRIVER IS SURE THAT HE TOOK MADDIE IN HIS CAR IN THE NIGHT OF THE GIRL DISAPPEARANCE
“I transported that girl”

The driver remembers that he transported them in the night of the disappearance, in the 3rd of May, from the square of taxis of Monte Gordo for the Hotel Apolo, in em Vila Real de Santo Antonio. The passengers went then to a jeep. António contacted the PJ, but, as he says, no one took notice of his story.

A taxi-driver of Vila Real de Santo Antonio, in the Algarve, guarantees to have transported Maddie, Kate McCann and three men – one of them similar to Murat – in the night of the disappearance of the English girl, in the 3rd of May of last year. António Castela Cardoso, 67 years, does not forget the hour or the details of the passengers. He regrets that after having communicated the Judiciary Police of Portimão, he never received a follow up call to explain his statement. Taxi-driver, with 17 years in that profession, António Castela has the habit of memorizing the face of his clients. That one particularly, “She was a girl with very pretty eyes and she called my attention because of the sign that she had in one eye and the twitch that she was doing with the chin”, he remembered. In the beginning of that night, António was in the square of taxis of Monte Gordo, four kilometres of Vila Real de Santo Antonio, was ready to stop the cab service. “It was 20h10 and I like seeing the television news”, he remembers.

Man was similar to Murat

The clients approached and asked him to transport them to the Hotel Apolo, in Vila Real de Santo Antonio. The driver did not refuse. On his side a man seated who was using “fine glasses”. “He was similar with the one that appears in the television like the third suspect”, says António, concerning Robert Murat – who is arguido in the case. In the seat behind, a woman “like Kate” sat down, between two men. The girl that the taxi-driver says to be Maddie sat down to the lap of one of them.
“She was wearing pink pyjamas. The mother had the hair tied and a yellow coat”, he remembers, with exactness. It was a silent journey. The passengers did not exchange one word; they did not show any emotions. On the arrival to the journey destiny, António pulled out the baby's chair of the luggage car. “It was the same as what the couple usually uses”, he affirms. The customers asked him, in English language, how much the cab journey was. “I said that there were 3, 25 euros and they gave me five and then I thanked them”, he says.

Top-of-the-line Jeep

The taxi-driver saw three men, the woman and the child move towards a metallic-blue, top-of-the-line Jeep “ I do not know if it would be a BMW, but I remember that the license plate was yellow and therefore was not a Portuguese one ”, he affirms. The vehicle was parked in the Hotel Apolo parking. António returned to his house with the image of the girl in the head. It reminded him of his son, now with 37 years. “My son was operated to his eyes because he had a similar eye defect. He also did that twitch with the chin. They even looked like brothers”, he observed.
The next day, António was watching the television news besides his son and his granddaughter, with the same age of Maddie. With astonishment he saw that the blond girl of light eyes had disappeared. “I immediately told my son: ' I transported that girl yesterday! ’ ”.
The son, a police officer of the GNR, advised the father to phone to the Judiciary Police of Portimão. “ He (the son) dialled the number and I said what I am telling you (to the journalist of 24 Horas newspaper)”, he remembers to 24horas.
The inspector who answered then asked him if in the hotel there was a system of video vigilance. The taxi-driver did not know.
Up to today, António waits the police contact to give declarations personally. “I defend the girl as I would defend my granddaughter”, he affirms.
Some days later, out of curiosity, António still asked for informations to some of his acquaintances, at the service of the Hotel Apolo. He was told that there was not any reservation for that evening. They also told him that the Hotel had not been contacted by the Judiciary Police. Even worse. The system of video vigilance was damaged two years ago and was not catching any image. “Also I do not know if they did enter in the hotel”, says the taxi-driver.

Since then, António Castela has been accompanying the news on Maddie. When the telephone rings, he still thinks that it will be someone who investigates the case that want to speak with him. When he knew that a certain period of time was still to be explained in the investigation, António Castela immediately thought that this might be the explanation. “In two hours you can travel from Aldeia da Luz to Vila Real de Santo Antonio and return. Someone can be lying. They should establish if Kate did not go away during this period”, says António.

The taxi-driver has been telling this history in public establishments and to clients whom he transports. Only this week a journalist of the “Jornal do Algarve” contacted him to publish what the driver affirms to have seen. “Now they do not leave me alone. Tomorrow [today] there is a team coming from England on purpose to interview me”, he says.
Madeleine McCann disappeared mysteriously from the Ocean Club, in Aldeia da Luz, in the 3rd of May. 300 days already have passed since. The parents are still arguidos in the process, but up to now nobody managed to know what it went on that night.

From Correio da Manhã: A source connected with the investigation guaranteed that the facts told by António Castela were "investigated" and the “lead was proven false”.

Madeleine has no Twitches

Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, reacted yesterday with amazement at the declarations of the taxi-driver. “The declarations of Mr. Castela are false. They are a perfect nonsense. He can only be mistaken when he says that at that time he transported Kate and Madeleine with three men”, he said, underlining the fact of being several independent witnesses who place Madeleine's parents in a completely different place. “How is that possible, if at 20h35 several witnesses say that Kate and Gerry were sitting down on a table of the Tapas restaurant”, he questioned. Clarence doubts of the intentions of the taxi-driver. “It astonishes me that only now, ten months later, he talks about this. These are declarations that only cause pain to Kate and Gerry", he said, advancing that that the McCann's daughter has no facial twitches.
“The only sign to report is the one she has in the eye.”

Thats the one CheshireCat , there's been a lot of denial about this report ... and of course anything Clarence Mitchel say's I take with a pinch of salt [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] .... and a child taken somewhere in pajamas that time of night is odd imo , as is the facial / jaw twitching , possible a sign of something ?

YNG wrote:

Cheshire Cat wrote:

YNG wrote:

Stella wrote:Exactly YNG, that would explain how and when the substitute Madeleine left.

Which will coincide with their flights back home and why the alarm was raised after that. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yes it does coincide nicely Stella, that's one of the details along with the descriptions of the people & child that makes this ' sighting ' a bit of a mystery. The idea of using a Taxi puzzles me a bit , but I suppose if it's necessary to get somewhere quickly and they were without other transport , what else is left ?

Is this the taxi journey you mean? (I posted this a while back on a thread of its own)
All

I am posting this old article from Joanna Morais blog because it continues to intrigue me. There does not appear to be any official record of this sighting in the case files but it differs from all the obviously manufactured sightings because it occured before Madeleine was reported missing. Aspects of this story which leap out at me include the reaction of Clarence Mitchell (his comment about time-lines) and the description of Madeleine being similar to the Smith sighting (pink pyjamas / light, rose coloured pyjamas). Other articles about the taxi drivers sighting include descriptions of 'Madeleine' staring straight ahead and remaining motionless with the exception of the twitch in her chin.

This comment might be important:
“In two hours you can travel from Aldeia da Luz to Vila Real de Santo Antonio and return. Someone can be lying. They should establish if Kate did not go away during this period”, says António.

Is this all a "perfect nonsense" as stated by Clarence Mitchell or could it describe the events leading up to the Smith sighting at 10.00 PM on 3 May 2007? Would there have been time to attempt to resussitate Madeleine in the appartment before Gerry dashed off with the corpse and was spotted by the Smith Family?

Is it possible that this event actually occured prior to 3 May 2007?

Who were the other people in the car with 'Kate' ?

And don't forget the Rog Interview Question to David Payne :

00:52:56 1485 "Did you see them [Kate and Gerry] in a car at all whilst you were in Portugal, prior to Madeleine disappearing?”
Reply "Err we all arrived you know at Praia Da Luz initially in the taxi err apart from that I can’t really recall.”
1485 "That’s it.”
Reply "I can’t recall err seeing you know err going anywhere in a car.”


TAXI-DRIVER IS SURE THAT HE TOOK MADDIE IN HIS CAR IN THE NIGHT OF THE GIRL DISAPPEARANCE
“I transported that girl”

The driver remembers that he transported them in the night of the disappearance, in the 3rd of May, from the square of taxis of Monte Gordo for the Hotel Apolo, in em Vila Real de Santo Antonio. The passengers went then to a jeep. António contacted the PJ, but, as he says, no one took notice of his story.

A taxi-driver of Vila Real de Santo Antonio, in the Algarve, guarantees to have transported Maddie, Kate McCann and three men – one of them similar to Murat – in the night of the disappearance of the English girl, in the 3rd of May of last year. António Castela Cardoso, 67 years, does not forget the hour or the details of the passengers. He regrets that after having communicated the Judiciary Police of Portimão, he never received a follow up call to explain his statement. Taxi-driver, with 17 years in that profession, António Castela has the habit of memorizing the face of his clients. That one particularly, “She was a girl with very pretty eyes and she called my attention because of the sign that she had in one eye and the twitch that she was doing with the chin”, he remembered. In the beginning of that night, António was in the square of taxis of Monte Gordo, four kilometres of Vila Real de Santo Antonio, was ready to stop the cab service. “It was 20h10 and I like seeing the television news”, he remembers.

Man was similar to Murat

The clients approached and asked him to transport them to the Hotel Apolo, in Vila Real de Santo Antonio. The driver did not refuse. On his side a man seated who was using “fine glasses”. “He was similar with the one that appears in the television like the third suspect”, says António, concerning Robert Murat – who is arguido in the case. In the seat behind, a woman “like Kate” sat down, between two men. The girl that the taxi-driver says to be Maddie sat down to the lap of one of them.
“She was wearing pink pyjamas. The mother had the hair tied and a yellow coat”, he remembers, with exactness. It was a silent journey. The passengers did not exchange one word; they did not show any emotions. On the arrival to the journey destiny, António pulled out the baby's chair of the luggage car. “It was the same as what the couple usually uses”, he affirms. The customers asked him, in English language, how much the cab journey was. “I said that there were 3, 25 euros and they gave me five and then I thanked them”, he says.

Top-of-the-line Jeep

The taxi-driver saw three men, the woman and the child move towards a metallic-blue, top-of-the-line Jeep “ I do not know if it would be a BMW, but I remember that the license plate was yellow and therefore was not a Portuguese one ”, he affirms. The vehicle was parked in the Hotel Apolo parking. António returned to his house with the image of the girl in the head. It reminded him of his son, now with 37 years. “My son was operated to his eyes because he had a similar eye defect. He also did that twitch with the chin. They even looked like brothers”, he observed.
The next day, António was watching the television news besides his son and his granddaughter, with the same age of Maddie. With astonishment he saw that the blond girl of light eyes had disappeared. “I immediately told my son: ' I transported that girl yesterday! ’ ”.
The son, a police officer of the GNR, advised the father to phone to the Judiciary Police of Portimão. “ He (the son) dialled the number and I said what I am telling you (to the journalist of 24 Horas newspaper)”, he remembers to 24horas.
The inspector who answered then asked him if in the hotel there was a system of video vigilance. The taxi-driver did not know.
Up to today, António waits the police contact to give declarations personally. “I defend the girl as I would defend my granddaughter”, he affirms.
Some days later, out of curiosity, António still asked for informations to some of his acquaintances, at the service of the Hotel Apolo. He was told that there was not any reservation for that evening. They also told him that the Hotel had not been contacted by the Judiciary Police. Even worse. The system of video vigilance was damaged two years ago and was not catching any image. “Also I do not know if they did enter in the hotel”, says the taxi-driver.

Since then, António Castela has been accompanying the news on Maddie. When the telephone rings, he still thinks that it will be someone who investigates the case that want to speak with him. When he knew that a certain period of time was still to be explained in the investigation, António Castela immediately thought that this might be the explanation. “In two hours you can travel from Aldeia da Luz to Vila Real de Santo Antonio and return. Someone can be lying. They should establish if Kate did not go away during this period”, says António.

The taxi-driver has been telling this history in public establishments and to clients whom he transports. Only this week a journalist of the “Jornal do Algarve” contacted him to publish what the driver affirms to have seen. “Now they do not leave me alone. Tomorrow [today] there is a team coming from England on purpose to interview me”, he says.
Madeleine McCann disappeared mysteriously from the Ocean Club, in Aldeia da Luz, in the 3rd of May. 300 days already have passed since. The parents are still arguidos in the process, but up to now nobody managed to know what it went on that night.

From Correio da Manhã: A source connected with the investigation guaranteed that the facts told by António Castela were "investigated" and the “lead was proven false”.

Madeleine has no Twitches

Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, reacted yesterday with amazement at the declarations of the taxi-driver. “The declarations of Mr. Castela are false. They are a perfect nonsense. He can only be mistaken when he says that at that time he transported Kate and Madeleine with three men”, he said, underlining the fact of being several independent witnesses who place Madeleine's parents in a completely different place. “How is that possible, if at 20h35 several witnesses say that Kate and Gerry were sitting down on a table of the Tapas restaurant”, he questioned. Clarence doubts of the intentions of the taxi-driver. “It astonishes me that only now, ten months later, he talks about this. These are declarations that only cause pain to Kate and Gerry", he said, advancing that that the McCann's daughter has no facial twitches.
“The only sign to report is the one she has in the eye.”

Thats the one CheshireCat , there's been a lot of denial about this report ... and of course anything Clarence Mitchel say's I take with a pinch of salt [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] .... and a child taken somewhere in pajamas that time of night is odd imo , as is the facial / jaw twitching , possible a sign of something ?

You are right about the denials!

I found the taxi driver on Facebook once but not sure if he speaks english!