Re: How Maddie's creche attendance was "arranged"

by theolivebranch 28.02.11 10:30

Stella wrote:
kikoraton wrote:30 April
Complete silence from GM and KM

Which is also the same day, well the afternoon in particular, that something very odd happened in the creche. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Shame about my guess though, but never mind. Perhaps I had a premonition? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Good morning Stella, how are you?
Do you know this jigsaw puzzle is starting to look something like a picture don't you think? So the afternoon creche records were odd, the telephones were turned off. This is the time I need a piece of paper and a pencil [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] so I can see it in black and white. Going to have a little gander. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] for youxx

by theolivebranch 28.02.11 10:52

Ok got my little chart on paper all coloured in with felt tip Luddite that I am [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] and straight away ...if Madeleine was taken to the creche at 3.15 and out at 3.30 on the 30th, one assumes, know we shouldn't but there must have been a reason, now was that because she had a tantrum, or was ill, we don't know, if so one of the parents must have been contacted by mobile, again assume, to come and pick her up. But on the 30th both Kate and Gerry had mobile silence, [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Or did they just take her then change their minds and release her for the afternoon?

Also looking again at that group of children there was never more than 5 girls, on the 1st, and on the 3rd only 2 Madeleine and the O'Brien lassy. So only on the 1st were there 7 children and 2 of those boys. Not a massive group then even when full.

by Guest 28.02.11 11:17

theolivebranch wrote:Ok got my little chart on paper all coloured in with felt tip Luddite that I am [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] and straight away ...if Madeleine was taken to the creche at 3.15 and out at 3.30 on the 30th, one assumes, know we shouldn't but there must have been a reason, now was that because she had a tantrum, or was ill, we don't know, if so one of the parents must have been contacted by mobile, again assume, to come and pick her up. But on the 30th both Kate and Gerry had mobile silence, [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Or did they just take her then change their minds and release her for the afternoon?

Also looking again at that group of children there was never more than 5 girls, on the 1st, and on the 3rd only 2 Madeleine and the O'Brien lassy. So only on the 1st were there 7 children and 2 of those boys. Not a massive group then even when full.

Perhaps this was the substitutes first appearance and someone had a change of mind regarding their involvement, so she was taken out after only 15 minutes? Perhaps the other children's parents did not want to be involved either and whipped their children out of creche quick that afternoon, so as not to be associated with what was going on? Who knows?, but that day was indeed a strange one.

by theolivebranch 28.02.11 12:54

Stella wrote:
theolivebranch wrote:Ok got my little chart on paper all coloured in with felt tip Luddite that I am [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] and straight away ...if Madeleine was taken to the creche at 3.15 and out at 3.30 on the 30th, one assumes, know we shouldn't but there must have been a reason, now was that because she had a tantrum, or was ill, we don't know, if so one of the parents must have been contacted by mobile, again assume, to come and pick her up. But on the 30th both Kate and Gerry had mobile silence, [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Or did they just take her then change their minds and release her for the afternoon?

Also looking again at that group of children there was never more than 5 girls, on the 1st, and on the 3rd only 2 Madeleine and the O'Brien lassy. So only on the 1st were there 7 children and 2 of those boys. Not a massive group then even when full.

Perhaps this was the substitutes first appearance and someone had a change of mind regarding their involvement, so she was taken out after only 15 minutes? Perhaps the other children's parents did not want to be involved either and whipped their children out of creche quick that afternoon, so as not to be associated with what was going on? Who knows?, but that day was indeed a strange one.

Linked to the telephone silence it was a strange day indeed. Ermmmm can we match up with what Kate and Gerry said they were doing that day ?

by Guest 28.02.11 13:38

That's the problem. Gerry describes in detail what they did on the Sunday, then skips to Tuesday, like Tuesday comes immediately after Sunday. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by kikoraton 28.02.11 13:57

HiDeHo will know, for sure!

by theolivebranch 28.02.11 14:42

kikoraton wrote:HiDeHo will know, for sure!

Good afternoon Kiko, hope all is well with you. Now this monday silence is in itself very strange. They seemed to have all the rest in such great detail so why skim over the monday? As you say HiDeHo will have it filed away with all the rest.

by Guest 28.02.11 15:03

I've just gone through all of Kate and Gerry's statements searching one word, Monday. This is what I found,

Kate:

The window in Kate's room was closed and she admits they used the blinds, because Gerry broke them and they were repaired on the Monday; the incident occurred on Sunday.

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Gerry:

He cannot say exactly, but he thinks that on Monday or Tuesday MADELEINE had slept for some time in his bedroom with KATE as she [K] had told him that one or both twins had cried making much noise.

Asked, he said that the dinner bookings were made since Monday, it was already the intention of the group to take their meals there.

That, between Monday and Wednesday, not knowing the precise date, when they left the residence by the main door, to place the children in the respective creches, MADELEINE left [went] running to the left to the extreme opposite of the residential blocks where they were lodged, playing with the twins.

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by **HiDeHo** 28.02.11 18:07

I have a Comparison Timetable for the week, including Monday, but it hasn't been updated since April.

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Here is the list of individual days/times.

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Timetables take a little getting used to. The details are listed across the top and the time is in the left hand column, but needs scrolling down as the table stretches with each additional statement.

For Monday....find the Monday column and as you scroll down, the time (by hour) is listed on the left.

I have created Timeline tables for all the T9 early statements, so easy to see their activities according to what they claimed in the first few days (and arguido statements).

I am working on the Rogatories with only a couple completed.

Just to add....

Monday.....Jez Wilkins claims to have seen the McCanns at the beach on Monday but not yet added to the timetable.

by Guest 01.03.11 10:57

Thanks HiDeHO for the link, I have lifted off the Monday bits, but I'm not sure why it says went to the beach? Did they change something?

The events of Monday 30th April

GM “in the following days they always took breakfast at home”

The apartment was cleaned that morning

KM “tennis class at 9.15-10.15”

JW “I got to know them on Monday, when I arrived at the tennis lesson” “I believe that Kate was with Gerry before the first lesson, but did not play”

Lunch: in their apartment then onto Fiona and Daves

2PM Kids club? beach

Kate took Madeleine back into Lobsters, then dropped off the twins and then had to go back to pull Madeleine out 15 mins later.

(Ella not signed out that afternoon)

The McCanns are believed to have visited Sagres -which is on the country's southwest tip and effectively the "Land's End" of mainland Europe -on Monday, April 30.

A shopkeeper in the town said she remembered them well.

She said: "On the road into the town, Kate was holding Madeleine's hand. On the other side of the road was Gerry with a baby buggy.

"I remember thinking it odd to see him with a baby buggy because I thought the little girl was too old to need one."

She said it was the same day as the stranger taking photographs, although other witnesses said that happened two days later.

TELEGRAPH
Detectives have discovered that the McCann family went to the town of Sagres, on the southern tip of the Algarve, on April 30.

Afternoon: K and J Supermarket

- 16.00 K run 25 min.
16:30 Tennis lessons

5PM High tea
18:30? night tennis women
Recreational area

7PM Monday or Tuesday MADELEINE had slept for some time in his bedroom with KATE as she [K] had told him that one or both twins had cried making much noise.

by Guest 01.03.11 11:18

Strange [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Why would the McCann's leave the twins in creche, but take Madeleine out of creche after only 15 minutes, then take a trip to Sagres?

A double empty buggy, plus one walking child ??

What's so special about Sagres?

by **Tony Bennett** 01.03.11 12:10

Stella wrote:Strange...Why would the McCann's leave the twins in creche, but take Madeleine out of creche after only 15 minutes, then take a trip to Sagres? A double empty buggy, plus one walking child ??

What's so special about Sagres?

There is this shopkeeper, quoted in a newspaper (The Telegraph). I've never seen a statement from this shopkeeper. I'm not sure there is any other source of information for the alleged visit to Sagres?

I've tended therefore to discount it from my analysis.

But if it really happened, especially given your analysis above Stella, it would clearly be a very significant event to examine and discuss in depth.

by Guest 01.03.11 12:46

That's what worries me Tony, we really have nothing concrete at this stage to go on with that trip.

Perhaps the shopkeeper's statement has been witheld for some reason? Who knows?

Will look to see if Goncalo speaks about it in his book.

by theolivebranch 01.03.11 12:51

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

Why would the McCann's leave the twins in creche, but take Madeleine out of creche after only 15 minutes, then take a trip to Sagres?

A double empty buggy, plus one walking child ??

What's so special about Sagres?

Have not got a clue Stella. Just taking key words here Creche, 15 minutes, Madeleine, Sagres, buggy, ?person taking photographs. Now what is/are the links for this out of the ordinary afternoon, and how did they get there?

Stella for you [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by Guest 01.03.11 12:55

So, not only do the McCann's skip over that Monday, so does Goncalo Amaral. What happened on that Monday???

Sunday April 29th

On the morning of Sunday April 29th, at around 8.40am, the McCann couple and their children again walk the 2 kilometres that separate them from the Millenium to have breakfast. Then, the children are entrusted to the play leaders - Madeleine to the day-care centre in the building that houses the main reception of the tourist complex, while Sean and Amelie stay at the playgroup, near the Tapas restaurant, that takes the youngest children. At around 12.30pm, the parents come and fetch them for lunch, play with them sometimes in the swimming pool or in the play area, then, at around 2.30pm, take them back to the play leaders, with whom they stay until 5.30pm. Sometimes the children have dinner with them.

From the first evening, the routine is established. Between 7.30 and 8.30, it's relaxation time for the parents. After having put the little ones to bed, they have a bath and drink some New Zealand wine as an aperitif. Then, they join the other adults of the group for dinner at the Tapas restaurant. The meal starts at around 8.30 and ends at around 11pm. Meanwhile, every half hour, the parents go in turn to the bedrooms to check that everything is OK.

Madeleine will not go back to the Millenium because breakfast from now on is taken in the apartment with the family, with items purchased at the Baptista supermarket, a few metres away. The rest of the day follows what is, from then on, its usual course: 9 o'clock, the children are dropped off at the playgroup and the parents go to play tennis or run on the beach.

MADELEINE CRIES IN HER PARENTS' ABSENCE

Tuesday May 1st

In the Algarve, May 1st is celebrated by organising family picnics; the first snails are tasted and, above all, maios are displayed - life-sized rag dolls stuffed with straw - on the sides of the roads, in windows or on the doorsteps of the houses. They represent scenes from daily life or from social satire. This popular, one hundred-year-old tradition is carried on and joyously enlivens these first days of spring.

by Guest 01.03.11 12:58

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

Why would the McCann's leave the twins in creche, but take Madeleine out of creche after only 15 minutes, then take a trip to Sagres?

A double empty buggy, plus one walking child ??

What's so special about Sagres?

Have not got a clue Stella. Just taking key words here Creche, 15 minutes, Madeleine, Sagres, buggy, ?person taking photographs. Now what is/are the links for this out of the ordinary afternoon, and how did they get there?

Stella for you [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Whatever you have given me above Olive, I thank you, but I still cannot see certain smilies.

by Guest 01.03.11 13:03

Kiko, are there any phone pings in Sagres for Gerry and Kate on that Monday afternoon?

If so, that must surely place them there and at what time? (well there phones, at least !!)

by theolivebranch 01.03.11 13:10

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

Why would the McCann's leave the twins in creche, but take Madeleine out of creche after only 15 minutes, then take a trip to Sagres?

A double empty buggy, plus one walking child ??

What's so special about Sagres?

Have not got a clue Stella. Just taking key words here Creche, 15 minutes, Madeleine, Sagres, buggy, ?person taking photographs. Now what is/are the links for this out of the ordinary afternoon, and how did they get there?

Stella for you [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Whatever you have given me above Olive, I thank you, but I still cannot see certain smilies.

Haha, Stella it was a rose, but will give you a x and a x one on each cheek.

by theolivebranch 01.03.11 13:13

Made a complete bu$$er of that !!If they were in Sagres how was the run managed at 16 00 hours?

by **HiDeHo** 01.03.11 13:42

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May, 7th 2007
Jeremy Wilkins deposition
We were placed into the apartment within block G4, apartment JMO on letter O. There are about 15 to 20 apartments within each block. The McCann family was within the next block. On Monday 30th, April, 2007 I joined the tennis lessons provided by Mark Warner, the tour operator. There were five pairs. There were 3 females and a male, I found to be Jerry.

He was white of pale complexion, about 5’10’’ to 6’ 00’’ with a soft Glasgwian accent. He has dark hair which was short. He was of athletic build.

As part of the lesson we were paired off together. We engaged on general conversation, mainly about tennis, and football. I got the impression that he was good company, gregarious and chatty. The tennis lessons longed about an hour. We were signed for four (4) lessons in total. I can’t recall if I saw Jerry again that day.

LEICESTERSHIRE CONSTABULARY
OFFICER’S REPORT

Jeremy Wilkins
Date: 05/11/07
During the evening of Wednesday 31 October 2007, Jeremy and Bridget were visited at heir home address by DC 1756 and DC 4356 from the Leicestershire OP Task team:

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

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

Date: 8 April 2008
Jez Wilkins
Relative to my familiarity with Gerry and Kate;
I got to know them on Monday, 30th of April 2007 when I arrived at the tennis lesson. I had booked lessons and believed that Gerry had done the same. I believe that Kate was with Gerry before the first lesson but did not play.

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3-Cartas Rogatorias File 3 Pages 31 - 56

RESTRICTED
Statement number S87B
Printed version of recorded document

Surname: CARPENTER
First name. STEPHEN

Profession: Maintenance Technician
Date of Statement: 21/04/2008- Number of pages : 1

. So during the week, you played tennis with Gerry about three times'

SC: Ah ha.

DCF: On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, it says here that you got on well, that he communicated easily, he was fun, he talked to you about golf which was his favourite sport, that he wanted to improve his tennis during the week. On Sunday or Monday he twisted his ankle, but managed to keep on playing, and on Sunday morning he only played tennis with Kate, that you saw them both playing sport and they passed by you to the bar on the beach and this was Sunday or Monday at about mid day.

SC: Mmm, mmm.

DCF: And you saw both Gerry and Kate at the Tapas Bar on Sunday and afterwards on Thursday in the evening, apart from these occasions you just saw them in passing at the resort and you had no opportunity to get to know Kate'

SC: No.

by **Tony Bennett** 01.03.11 13:45

I am not sure how all this will reproduce, but please see the bits I've highlighted in red below:

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Madeleine McCann and her family visited the same remote village where a suspected paedophile was chased away for photographing young girls.

The McCanns' day trip to pretty Sagres, 16 miles along the coast from Praia da Luz, coincided with reports of a balding man and a blonde woman taking sneaky pictures of youngsters.

The sinister couple have become prime suspects in the hunt for missing Madeleine.

A holidaymaker grew suspicious of them after the man began secretly snapping youngsters on the beach. When challenged, he fled in a car with the woman.

Officers have now officially ended the ground search for missing Madeleine and are concentrating on evidence from witnesses.

The McCanns are believed to have visited Sagres - which is on the country's southwest tip and effectively the "Land's End" of mainland Europe - on Monday, April 30.

A shopkeeper in the town said she remembered them well.

She said: "On the road into the town, Kate was holding Madeleine's hand. On the other side of the road was Gerry with a baby buggy.

"I remember thinking it odd to see him with a baby buggy because I thought the little girl was too old to need one."

She said it was the same day as the stranger taking photographs, although other witnesses said that happened two days later.

Either way, it seems possible that Madeleine's abductor was watching the beach at Sagres for some time.

Holidaymaker Nuno Lourenco, who is from Sagres but now lives in Germany, was sitting at a cafe with his German wife and their two children when he noticed a man taking pictures of his four-year-old blonde daughter and other children.

He became so concerned at his behaviour that he took his own picture of the man - who was balding with long hair at the back - on his mobile phone.

The picture is believed to have inspired Portuguese detectives to produce their infamous "egg with hair" photofit of a suspect with a blank face and side-parted hair.

It was also reported that police have identified two people caught on CCTV at a local petrol station as being a couple renting a holiday apartment in the chocolate-box village of Burgau, four miles along the coast.

A blonde woman with shoulder-length hair and a man with middle-parted hair, both about 40, ate breakfast on their terrace of the Solimar Apartments, according to the Portuguese press.

However, the apartment block in question was deserted and neighbours said they knew nothing about it.

Other holidaymakers were also interviewed, with two men and a woman being taken away still in their swimsuits from the Mark Warner complex where Madeleine vanished on Thursday last week.

The reason for the urgency in not allowing them to get dressed was not clear, but they were not arrested and were being interviewed as witnesses rather than suspects.

Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The Sargeants Inn \\ Homepage : Post

The Mystery of Apartment C of the Hotel Sol e Mar in Burgau - Tanner and Murat DNA Matches

Author Blackwatch (of 24/01/2010 @ 22:00:26, in Amaral/McCanns, viewed 1529 times)

On 5th May 2007 at 19:30, two days after Madeleine McCann went missing from Apartment 5A of the Ocean Club, a team from the Sector's Local Crime Laboratory of Forensic Science at the request of the Criminal Investigation Department of Portimão Criminal Police searched apartment C of the Hotel Sol e Mar in Burgau] (see image above). The apartment consisted of a kitchen, a living room, one bathroom and one double room. According to Mark Harrison's report for the National Police Improvements Agency (attached to the British Home Office), the methods and searches undertaken by the authorities were 'extensive and professional' and commensurate with a search and rescue operation. As a result of these searches of apartment c several hair samples were collected on the kitchen floor of the apartment, and packed in paper envelope, according to the instructions issued by the Division of Biology. Hair fibres were also collected on the floor of the hallway in the apartment and the master bedroom. Detailed examinations of a couch and the kitchen were also made, the latter yielding a blood specimen (see image below)

However, it wasn't until Inspector Amaral had been removed from the investigation and Paolo Rebelo took over the case that forensics were on the fibres were undertaken by Police Scientific Lab from the INML.

In a request dated 31st October 2007 Rebelo writes:

"As it is necessary for the investigation of the abovementioned crime and being of a VERY URGENT nature, I request that the appropriate analyses be carried out as quickly as possible on the human blood samples collected by officers from the Local Crime Scene Unit (examination 200707356-CR IL of delivery guide 196/2007 ? CRL on 5th May 2007 in apartment c, 2? of aparthotel Sol e Mar in Burgau. These samples are in the Biology Area (200707143-B6). We require the determination of the DNA profile and a comparison with the DNA profile of Madeleine McCann and the DNA profiles sent to the Police Scientific Lab from the INML ... "

Whilst Inspector Amaral had made similar VERY URGENT requests on the blood samples found on the walls of Apartment 5A and from the wall of Quinta dos Figos in Praia da Luz he had made no such 'urgent requests' for those found in Burgau, even though a process demand had been made to the Director of the Scientific Police Laboratory by Chief Inspector Tavares Alemeida as early as May 15th 2007 (05-Processo Vol V page 1196/05_VOLUME_Va_Page_1196)

The results of the forensics tests performed on the hair fibres by the Forensics Services are perplexing to say the least. Results showed that the samples matched the haplotypes of Jane Tanner and Robert Murat (Processo n' 2007/000565/PT-B).

The reports in question were served by the Servicos de Genetica e Biologia Forense based in Lisbon at the request of Paulo Rebelo in a fax dated October 2007. When we talk about hair samples and hair haplotypes we are talking about mtDNA profiles and a system (called haplogroups) that illustrate how these profiles relate to common ancestry groups. One human cell contains two types of DNA - nuclear and mitochondrial. mtDNA is inherited from a mother to a child. Surprisingly, mtDNA analysis is more sensitive than nuclear DNA profiling. The samples found in the Solimar Apartments were identical haplotype matches to Tanner and Murat. This means that the samples were either from them or two people having the same maternal bloodline.

Little more than one week later, after suspicions had been raised by reporters and concerns had been aroused by officers fielding a slew of probing questions about the case, Robert Murat was made a formal suspect in the case. [NOTE by TB: The Sargents (I have other major queries about the work of The Sargents) leaves out of this analysis (a) the profiling by Control Risks Group and MI5 officers of Robert Murat as the likely abductor and (b) the positive identification of Murat as the abductor by Jane Tanner from a police van on Sunday 13 May 2007].

However, the results of the finds are not unproblematic. The forensic tests could only conclude that the fibres matching those of Tanner could indeed have come from any one of her maternal bloodline - including that of her 3 year old daughter who had accompanied her and her partner on the trip (or indeed more distant cousins or relatives). Much has been made of the physical resemblance of Tanner's daughter, Ella to Madeleine and the similarity in features and stature has led some internet sleuths to speculate that the actual target of the abductor may have been this child and not Madeleine (three of the Tapas children had been born within days of each other: Grace, Madeleine and Ella).

That Murat had spent a month in Exeter prior to returning to Portugal on May 1st appears to have only deepened speculation - Exeter being the home town of Tanner and O Brien. However no evidence has been unearthed that Murat knew either Tanner or O Brien prior to May 3rd and Police cleared Murat of any involvement in the case. [NOTE by TB: My lengthy article on Murat on the MF website suggests that he was very deeply involved, but, it appears, only after Madeleine had died].

Was Tanner's daughter Ella ever let out of parent's sight during the course of the holiday? Who knows. In her rogatory interviews Tanner admits to having visited Lagos some years before (where Murat has several business interests) but stresses she had never stayed in Lagos. Where she did stay isn't recorded.

What led to the forensic examination of the Apartment of the Hotel Sol e Mar in Burgau, has thus far remained a mystery, but one explanation seems more plausible than all the rest.

According to both Amaral's book and the released Police Files, shortly after news of Madeleine's disappearance broke a man came forwarded alleging that he had confronted a man taking pictures of his four year old daughter on a beach in Sagres. The man's name was Nuno Manuel Lourenzo de Jesus. Whether or not he bore any kinship to Gaynor de Jesus (friend of Robert Murat and translator for SKY News) is not recorded in any of the diligences the Police made.

Although he had been born in the nearby municipality of Aljezur to parents José de Jesus and Maria Inês Lourenço, he had lived some 14 years in Germany with his German wife, Birgit Erdmann and was visiting his mother in Sagres at the time of the alleged incident. Between 16H00 and 17H00, he cannot be more precise, he noticed a male individual holding a small silver-coloured camera who, in a disguised fashion, was taking pictures of his children. After several bungled attempts to photograph the man's face, he eventually took a shot of the car in which the man was driving. The statement he gave to Police was made on May 5th.

The car was eventually traced to a Polish couple. Anetta Malgorzata and Wojciech Krokowski. According to further diligences carried out by Interpol, it was learned that the couple arrived at Faro airport on April 28th 2007 on flight Al32744 from Berlin.

Confronted later with photographs of Malgorzata and Krokowski, Lourenco de Jesus identified the male as having been the man that day on the beach.

The very clear CCTV images (see image below) had been captured at The Beach Bar restaurant in Burgau and volunteered by the owner of the Restaurant, Ralph Eveleigh - Uncle of Robert Murat and brother of Robert's mother Jennifer.

The beach bar owner [i.e. Robert Murat's uncle - T.B.] was also able to give a detailed witness account of a conversation he had with the couple that confirmed they were from Poland.

Amazingly, the name of the witness and the man who volunteered the CCTV images was not recorded in the files by Police. The officer appears not to have taken his name. Strangely, this is only occasion I've come across when a statement is recorded without the name of the witness being recorded also. And in the early stages at least, this was one of the most significant leads that they had. The names of other witnesses who had encountered the couple were duly recorded and formal statements made - but not this one. Make of this what you will.

Information collected by the German authorities from Air Berlin indicated that Wojciech and Krokowski had used the Berlin route because there were no direct cheap flights to or from Faro. Interpol also relayed the information that Anetta Malgorzata had convictions for drugs and drinks offences and for 'obtaining property by deception' - more commonly known as fraud.

Naturally, the Police were keen to know a little more about their activities in Burgau and during the course of their investigation they spoke to Jorge Alberto Bandarra Rocha, owner of the Burgau restaurant, Refugio. Rocha tells the police of an unusual Polish couple who had reserved a table for dinner at the restaurant. He alleges that they had been brought to the restaurant as a result of picking up business cards that had been left in rooms at the Sol e Mar apartments. He goes on to allege that the Poles talked and mingled with some German diners:

"Almost immediately, the women began to photograph the interior of the restaurant without asking for permission. This situation captured the attention of the witness because his clients, tend to be of a 'posher class' and are more discreet in their conduct. This couples clothing was of a vulgar fashion ..."

Whilst it's tempting to draw a parallel between this story and the story of the Polish couple visiting Eef Hoos's Starlight Pet Crematorium, some have rightly questioned whether the entire incident provided a means of redirecting attention away from the real activities going on at the Sol e Mar apartments onto some believable Polish scapegoats. The Hoos anecdote does not, afterall, appear in the actual files themselves and is likely to have been a story dreamt up by the press.

What's apparent though is that the search of the Sol e Mar apartments appears to have arisen in response to statements made by either Jorge Rocha of the Burgau restaurant at which the Polish couple dined or Lourenco de Jesus.

above - the two Polish actors filmed at the Beach Bar - owned by Murat's Uncle.

Rocha only makes his formal Police statement about all this on May 6th and the Police forensic team had completed their search of the Sol e Mar apartments a day earlier on May 5th (although we might be able to conclude that Rocha had made similar informal statements some 24 hours earlier).

It's also a mystery why Jorge Rocha says the couple dining at his restaurant arose as a result of business cards he left at the Sol e Mar apartments. According to other records in the file the Police record that the Polish couple are staying at the Solimar apartments in Burgau - owned by Peter and Margaret Owen from Cardiff. Had the Poles arranged to meet someone at the Sol e Mar apartments and picked up the card during one of their possible visits or are the Sol e Mar and Solimar apartments one and the same property?

Clearly, it occurs to me now that the Sol e Mar and Solimar apartments are one and the same building. One has only to compare and contrast the respective photos of the properties to see they are a perfect match (see facade image below).

Why the Police Files record them under such radically different spellings is not clear but may be explained by inadequate procedural efforts. However, a more deliberate attempt by someone within the department to confuse the issue cannot be ruled out.

The Solimar Apartments where the Polish couple stayed were designed and built by Jacinto and Murat, the property development company in Lagos once co-owned by Murat's father and now under the directorship of his old partner and architect, Joao Jacinto. Jacinto. Jacinto, however, claims not to have spoken to Robert in years. He had fallen out with his father some years before and the two had severed their partnership. The apartments are now managed by Actividades Turisticas do Burgau (ATM Holidays). It's director is Nuno Felisberto - their website designed and maintained by the Webgami - a design and property agency owned and staffed by Josa Barbosa in Burgau.

According to his website, Joao Jacinto and his son Joao Pedro, like James Gorrod, are also enthusiastic and experienced yachtsman, regularly entering their boat, O Pedrosa - moored in Lagos Marina - in the Lagos-Palos regatta. Matthew Oldfield and Russell O Brien tell of their own sailing activities on the afternoon of May 3rd in their rogatory interviews, in a series of sessions arranged and coordinated by the Ocean Club. For all those amrchair sleuths pouring over the details of a witness account of a man seen dragging a girl toward the Marina in Lagos the pursuit is inevitably pointless. Having an interest in sailing is shared by the vast majority of those visiting and those local to Lagos.

Had Robert ever been introduced to Jacinto's son, Joao Pedro? Not to the best of our knowledge, no. But we do know that Robert and Jacinto & Murat share a liberal interest in sex, Jacinto & Murat promoting the fact in the keywords of their website.

Nothing wrong with that though. Maybe the company were looking to persuade broadminded adults to book broadminded stays ['broadminded'?? - T.B.] at the apartments. Everyone needs a room to rent at sometime or other. Priests. Even prostitutes.

Whatever the case, given that the Sagres incident was itself only reported on May 5th (that's the day de Jesus gave his statement) it seems remarkable that the Police were able to respond within hours with a search warrant and a team to search the building (the search of the Sol e Mar apartments was conducted on the evening of May 5th).

Were the Poles a genuine lead or a plausible cover story for undertaking a search of the Sol e Mar Apartments or at the very least an attempt by parties either within or without the Police to implicate Tanner and Murat?

What may or may not be significant is that Jane Tanner did not take part in the confrontation organised by the Police[size=16 between Murat and the Tapas party. O Brien was there. Rachel Oldfield was there. Fiona Payne was there - but Tanner was absent. As was Matthew Oldfield and David Payne.[/size]

#000000]Will Burgau yield any further clues? Who knows. It's not the first time either the village or German Nationals are mentioned in the files. The Murat family used to have a home in the district, Murat's father had another business project in the district called [/size]Burgau Investimentos Turisticos Lda[/size] (with an unspecified Englishman) and a search of Murat's cousin, [/size]lor=red]Sally Eveleigh's Salsalito guest house[/size]#000000] was also undertaken by Police. And then we have another German man - 69 year old [/size] Karl Kleine Brocknoff disappearing and then being found dead in mysterious circumstances in June 2007 - not far from where any of this took place.

lor=red]Russell O Brien even admits to receiving a [/size]lor=red]text message from a friend in Germany[/size][size=16 just as they arrived at the Ocean Club on April 28th (the Polish couple flew from Berlin Airport to Faro on April 28th, arriving at the Solimar apartments on the same day) and there's even a record of Robert Murat making to trips to Germany with his Remax friend, Rui Cristino for the sale of a car. [/size]

Sagres photographer Nuno de Jesus and his German wife, Birgit Erdmann - born locally - but living in Germany at the time of the event. The list goes on ...

If it transpires that the empty property near the Almadena Windmill and Trig Point in Praia da Luz which was destroyed within weeks of Madeleine's disappearence (and mentioned in Mark Harrison's search report for the NPIA) had links to any of the property managers here, then the possibility of solving the mystery is likely to remain buried within its rubble (which was taken away incidentally).

But before leaping to any conclusions it might be worth remembering that there's plenty more herrings in the sea. Maybe former head of The Division Against Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Inspector Amaral could throw some light upon the case. Or something not so bright.

More reading:

Burgau Apartment DNA Explained: Hapless Guide to Haplotypes

other images of the Hotel Sol e Mar:

by **HiDeHo** 01.03.11 14:49

I haven't seen anything that confirms a trip to Sagres but I always find it important to retain the information for future possible explanations.

fatdog seems to give a lot of information in the CRECHE RECORDS thread from 3A, including the suggestion of the trip to Sagres.

I have started posting the complete thread (5,000 posts) in Madeleine Aimoo forum but unfortunately have not yet posted the 'Sagres' posts.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There is, however, a lot of interesting posts.

by Judge Mental 01.03.11 19:29

As somebody who rarely read beyond Santa's phone thread and a few other bits and bats on 3As, may I just express a ton of gratitude to HiDeHo for saving all this stuff roses