Bearing False Witness

I've moved your post ^^^ here from the  'EXCLUSIVE: Gerry McCann to open up about his mental health struggles in 'honest, personal and sometimes painful' Radio 4 interview' thread.

As can be seen up-page, Susan Moyes was interviewed on BBC radio where she had this to say..

SM: Sure. We went out for a meal about 7 o'clock, down in the town, we walked back about 9 o'clock, round past, errm... the... the church, round past the supermarket, back to the apartment, went out on the balcony about quarter past nine - everywhere was peaceful, everywhere was lovely - we then went to bed.

No indication as to who went out on the balcony, why and for how long.  In various press reports there were different versions of who, why and when.  There is no proof of any of this.  My only question is why Susan Moyes agreed to an interview with BBC RADIO - it served no purpose.  It was however only a matter of days before Pamela Fenn gave her only formal witness statement to the police.

Commencing November 2007, building momentum into December 2007 and gradually the impact diminishing through to January 2008 - it was certainly a very eventful period for Team McCann and it would appear a very important period of time for their long-term strategy, their campaign, their wider agenda.

I'd like to have been a fly on the wall of the Rothley Court Hotel meeting as this was clearly the hub of the imminent hivernal discontent.  Without knowing the detail, one thing appears to be true - Brian Kennedy, the double glazing tycoon, was the ring leader.  At least he was the one with the money to finance the team's escapades and I'd imagine, the influence.

The period of time was used constructively, to rally around willing participants (greasy palm variety) to provide false evidence of useful sightings to take the pressure off poor old Jane Tanner and her phantom abductor, so conveniently dismissed by the former DCI Andy Redwood during the Crimewatch 2013 Madeleine McCann Special.  What better than a variety of sightings, similar in appearance and location, to throw the scent off the Morpheus created by Ms Tanner and friends.

Events from the past, a combination of truth and fabrication, were used to advantage - not only to confuse an already umbrageous investigation but also to fool the public, the spectator into believing the unevidenced claim of stranger abduction.  Morpheus had multiple facets thanks to the greasy palmed curious witnesses who sprang forth to assist the floundering investigation - some might say to pervert the course of justice, nonetheless a very productive exercise still doing the rounds to this very day.

The blueprint..

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Mythman

Twas indeed the winter of discontent.

Door-to-door inquiries appeared to have been delayed and haphazard. If nobody was at home, too bad: as far as I could tell they didn’t get a second visit. Many of the witness statements looked extremely vague and brief, crying out for what seemed blindingly obvious and essential questions to be asked and answered. Those made by the Ocean Club staff in particular were very sketchy, even allowing for the fact that almost 130 employees were interviewed in the space of just a few days. We have discovered since that there were staff who were not interviewed at all.

Night after night, I read of depraved individuals, British paedophiles, Portuguese paedophiles, Spanish, Dutch and German paedophiles, and of the horrific crimes they’d committed. The police went to visit some of them, looked around their apartments and recorded merely, ‘No sign of the minor.’ Was that enough to eliminate these vile characters from the inquiry? If more had been done, there was certainly nothing in the files about it. No description, no photograph, no alibi, no DNA. Just ‘No sign of the minor.’

27 August
A late night. Depressing reading. So many child molesters! Dear God, please don’t let this have been what’s happened to Madeleine. Please, God.

madeleine by KATE MCCANN

[Book extract for research and study purposes only]
....................


No wonder Team McCann was masterminded to produce new witnesses and sightings after the McCanns speedy departure from Portugal in September 2007.  Brian Kennedy the financier - who called on him to sell his soul to the devil, Clarence Mitchell perhaps who purposely and willingly resigned from a lucrative position with the British government to work for Team McCann full-time? 

Dastardly deeds call for desperate measures.

After the initial mayhem, when witnesses were routinely interviewed by PJ officers, suddenly new information springs forth - alternative witness statements and previously unknown or embellished sightings are reported.  Not from official sources, like the Portuguese investigative team but by the alternative unofficial tour de force - Team McCann.

Makes you think doesn't it?

Charlotte Pennington stands out from all the other Ocean Club child care workers for a number of reasons.  To start, she was a late arrival, said to have been on the same flight from the UK as some of the McCann friends - she was not initially listed amongst the child care workers for the summer season, instead later after her arrival at the same time as the McCann group.  The reason for this has never been explained.

Following the alleged disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Charlotte Pennington was not backward in coming forward as regards media interviews and television appearances - indeed she featured quite prominently in the 'Dispatches' documentary on 18th October 2007 (that month again)..

Charlotte Pennington is shown in three separate clips talking about the events of 03 May 2007:
 
Transcription 1:
 
'They were a very social group and they seemed all to be really respectful, nice, loving parents. Madeleine, I found out to be quite bright... errm, quite shy... errm, very sweet, very beautiful girl.
 
On May the third, it was just Madeleine I was reading a story to. I later saw them around lunchtime. That's the last time I saw them together as a family.'
 
Transcription 2:
 
'I was working that night at something called 'Drop-in Creche'. We had one child left and... errm, the mother came in, picked up the child and just mentioned 'Hang on a minute, I've just seen a guy who's run past me, who seemed really distressed and I recognised him as being a guest at Mark Warner, but he was shouting out something like 'Maddie' or 'Abbey' or 'Gabby'.'
 
Transcription 3:
 
'I went straight to the apartment. I sort of walked in, did a quick scan around and been told 'No, no. She's not here, she's not here'.
 
Kate McCann was outside and she was very distressed. She was saying things like 'They've taken her' and 'She's gone' and, you know, 'Where is she? Where is she?'
 
She was crying and there were tears down her face and it was absolutely heartbreaking to see.'
....................

Ocean Club nanny Charlotte Pennington claimed to be a key witness in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Nigel Moore of the now defunct mccannfiles.com but kindly hosted by pamalam at gerrymccannsblog, published this excellent exposé of Charlotte Pennington..

Where was Charlotte Pennington?
 
Nigel Moore
Monday 30 June 2008
 
The question: 'Where was Charlotte Pennington when Madeleine was reported missing?' would appear to be one of the few questions surrounding the case that can boast a straightforward answer.
 
In a case that has become characterised by the frustratingly unsatisfactory quotes of unnamed friends and sources, Ms Pennington has afforded us the rare luxury of being able to listen to her own words from her own mouth - at least until the Dispatches documentary 'Searching for Madeleine' was removed from YouTube and Channel 4's own 4oD service.
 
On that documentary, Ms Pennington recounted the following story: "I was working that night at something called 'Drop-in Creche'. We had one child left and... errm, the mother came in, picked up the child and just mentioned 'Hang on a minute, I've just seen a guy who's run past me, who seemed really distressed and I recognised him as being a guest at Mark Warner, but he was shouting out something like 'Maddie' or 'Abbey' or 'Gabby'."
 
She then continues: "I went straight to the apartment. I sort of walked in, did a quick scan around and been told 'No, no. She's not here, she's not here'.
 
"Kate McCann was outside and she was very distressed. She was saying things like 'They've taken her' and 'She's gone' and, you know, 'Where is she? Where is she?'
 
"She was crying and there were tears down her face and it was absolutely heartbreaking to see."
 
So, in Ms Pennington's own words, her movements would appear to be crystal clear and unequicocal. End of story.
 
Yet, in Danny Collins recently released book 'Vanished' a completely different picture is painted. We are used to reading slight variations of stories connected to the case, to the point where double-vision is a regular occurence, but we are less used to somebodies movements being directly and confidently contradicted in print.
 
So what does Mr Collins say about Ms Pennington's movements and what is the significance of them, if true?
 
Mr Collins states that rather than being in the communal 'Drop-in creche', Ms Pennington was actually babysitting in a 'nearby apartment' and was brought to the McCanns' apartment by the sound of Kate McCanns' screams from the balcony of apartment 5A.
 
He claims that Ms Pennington was the first person at the scene and that she told police that Kate 'clutched at her' and 'sobbed in panic as she tried to answer the young childminder's questions'.
 
Whilst Ms Pennington does indeed describe the frenzied state of Kate McCann, she does not mention the undoubted importance and significance of being the first person to arrive at the scene.
 
However, if Ms Pennington's own account is true then it would have been impossible for her to have been the first person at the scene as the incident she describes clearly indicates that the alarm had been raised some time before she was made aware of it.
 
She does state in the Daily Mail article of 25 September 2007 that "I was in the apartment less than five minutes after they found that Madeleine had gone".
 
However, that would seem unlikely given the fact that after Kate had reportedly discovered Madeleine missing she would have had to inform the rest of the group by returning to the Tapas bar; allowed time for a further search of the apartment by Gerry and their friends; allowed time to consider what to do; allowed time for Gerry to decide to go out onto the streets and then do it; allowed time for the woman to hear him and later report what she had heard to Pennington and then time for Pennington to ascertain which apartment was involved, gather herself and then actually reach the apartment. It would seem unlikely that that whole process would have taken 'less than five minutes'.
 
In the same article, Ms Pennington further describes how: "We knew that one of the other nanny's charges was called Maddie. We told the head of department what had happened and she took us straight to the apartment.
 
"There were no children in the room. The twins had been taken out already, I think by one of the McCanns' friends."
 
Leaving aside discussion around the distrubing suggestion that the twins were not in the apartment at that time (Where were they and why and how did they return by the time the GNR arrived?), Ms Pennington states that she attended the McCanns apartment with her head of department - yet again clearly suggesting that she wasn't the first person on the scene.
 
So, who to believe? Ms Pennington herself or the words of a Spanish-based veteran investigative journalist? Faced with such a choice the natural inclination would surely be to side with the individual who was actually there and witnessed it. Yet, the level of detail in Collins text suggests his knowledge extends beyond that of a blindfold, a stick and a piñata.
 
Mr Collins also has something very significant to say about the occupation of the apartments by the McCanns and the Tapas Seven.
 
Mr Collins states that the McCanns were in apartment 5A, as we all know, but that Jane Tanner and Russell O'Brien were next door in apartment 5B. This appears to directly contradict Clarence Mitchell's statement that Rachael Oldfield was next door on the evening that Madeleine is alleged to have been left crying, unattended.
 
What Mr Mitchell actually said was: "Equally, one of the friends, Rachael Oldfield, was in the apartment next door in a bedroom adjacent to the wall where Madeleine was in her bedroom and she heard no crying at all all night."
 
The natural assumption from Mr Mitchell's statement is that Rachael Oldfield was 'in the apartment next door' because that was her apartment. After all, what would she be doing in somebody elses bedroom, on her own, whilst all the other members of the holidaying party were out enjoying themselves? All night.
 
Of course, making assumptions is a dangerous thing to do. But it does seem peculiar that Mr Mitchell has specifically identified Rachael Oldfield - why not simply say that the Oldfield's were next door and heard nothing? If she heard nothing all night, then she must have been there all night. If so, where was her husband?
 
If Mrs Oldfield was alone, it would suggest she was alone for a reason. After all, we have been told, first hand by Kate, that they were operating a system. She said: "We all knew what we had to do, what we would do and.. you know, it worked as a system we had going and it just seemed totally right somehow".
 
Could it be that Mrs Oldfield was babysitting? That the 'system' involved one member of the group babysitting all the children? There is, it must be stated, no evidence to suggest this is the case but, at one point, there were curious reports of all the children sharing the McCanns' apartment on the night of 3rd May. But was this true or just another flight of fancy?
 
Mr Collins states that Mark Warner only rented out the ground floor apartments and that the holidaying group were all based on that floor, contradicting previous reports that the Payne's were located on the floor above. Collins says that the Payne's were 'further down the walkway' and that the Oldfield's were based the furthest away from the McCanns' apartment.
 
So what significance does this have to the whereabouts of Charlotte Pennington on that evening? Possibly, a great deal.
 
Mr Collins tells us that Ms Pennington was babysitting in a 'nearby apartment' when she heard the screams of Kate McCann. He tells us that Mark Warner only rented the ground floor apartments and so, therefore, we are compelled to ask: Was Ms Pennington babysitting for one of the Tapas group and, if so, which one?
 
If we are to believe reports, the Payne's were the only couple to own and use a working baby-monitoring device, so would therefore have had no need of a babysitter. The Oldfield's were the furthest away from the McCanns apartment and it would therefore seem very unlikely that Ms Pennington could have heard the screams of Kate, if she was babysitting inside the Oldfield's apartment.
 
So, that just leaves the apartment of Tanner and O'Brien, next door to the McCanns, where Kate's screams would have been easily heard.
 
Yet, if Collins is correct in the statements he has committed to print, then two questions immediately spring to mind: Why was Pennington employed as a babysitter, when the group had a communal checking 'system' that supposedly 'worked'? And if Pennington was babysitting the children of Tanner and O'Brien, then why was Russell O'Brien reportedly absent from the group until just before 10:00pm?
 
Of course, the possibility that there was another family occupying an apartment in the middle of the Tapas groups apartments must be considered. However, it is very curious that if there were such an apartment, and such a family, then why have they never been identified, mentioned or even remotely hinted at?
 
The fog that surrounds the mystery continues to show no signs of lifting.
...................

There can be no doubt that Charlotte Pennington is a fantasist but is that good enough reason to bear false witness - to pervert the course of justice, to capitalize in the name of a missing three year old child? 

I don't think so!

Charlotte Pennington is a chronicle in it's own right - a story line from a soap opera that only she can lay claim to in this miserable affair.  I hope she sleeps well at night.

Carole Tranmer witness statement - 22nd April 2008   [excerpt]

DC1485'Okay. And did you see anyone else; you know what day it was; the day you were there, on Thursday. Do you know if there were more tourists in that block of apartments'

CT' No, that is to say, there were more people in the pool zone. There were more people around. I believe that it may be possible some were swimming, or even playing tennis. I cannot remember.

DC1485'Was there anyone who called your attention' Think, think well about the location and where you were on this day.

CT' On that day'

DC1485'Besides the individual, obviously.

CT' Besides him...

DC1485'Yes.

CT' No one comes to mind. The one thing that I do remember is that some celebration was going on, but I don't know if it was the Sunday or the Thursday. There was some celebration, next to the pool. I do not know if it was the families, the guests of the complex, but there was something. The only thing I can say is that it could have been Sunday or Thursday. I cannot remember and for this reason I would like to leave out this detail.

DC1485'When you speak of a celebration' was it was a barbeque or a bunch of people in good moods'

CT' Well, it appeared to be a celebration, you know, with all the people in good moods and a lot of noise' not much noise but people were laughing and I do not know if this was on Sunday or Thursday.

DC1485'Yes.

CT' This detail I will not mention since I am not certain if it was Sunday or Thursday. Yes, and I don't want to confuse my recollection with this.

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




April 2008 - that month again!

I don't recall anyone else mentioning a commotion that seemed to be a celebration.  I wonder shy Carole Tranmer, Pamela Fenn's niece, elected to mention it.  If it was indeed on Thursday, it doesn't seem to tie-in with the alleged last photograph scenario and unsuing afternoons activities.

There could be any number of reasons why Gerry and Kate McCann would telephone family and friends back in the UK.  From my experience of this new age, folk can't function without that lump of plastic stuck to the ear - it's almost like an artificial life saving organ.  Even when out and about when there's so much to see, I hear passers by telling whoever's at the other end where they are at that particular moment .

The phone calls made immediately following Madeleine's alleged disappearance are of interest as they bear witness to the McCanns planned long term campaign strategy, the wider agenda.

Despite my customary negative view of the UK press, I believe there is some truth in the reportage of the blitz of phone calls made late Thursday 3rd and early Friday 4th May to family and friends.  If for no other reason but their consistency.  By way of example..

It was my younger brother Gerry distraught on the phone, breaking his heart... 'Madeleine is abducted, she's been abducted'. 'They kept going back to check the kids every half hour. The restaurant was only 40 yards away. He went back at 9 o’clock to check the children. They were all sound asleep, windows shut, shutters shut'.

Kate then went over to the two-bedroom ground-floor apartment and 'came out screaming'.  'The door was lying open, the window in the bedroom and the shutters had been jimmied open'. They think someone must have come in the window and gone out of the front door with Madeleine.

Trish Cameron

On the night of Thursday, May 3, 2007, Patricia received a telephone call from Gerry informing us of the disappearance of Madeleine. Gerry manifested all those emotions one expects from a father who has lost a child in the circumstances. He was distraught and spoke at the same time he cried. He seemed frustrated with the slowness of the searches in Portugal, with the fact that the borders had not been closed, and with the fact that sniffer dogs were not being used. Patricia and I contacted the British Embassy to try and help in this regard.

Sandy Cameron

I've got crying for help from my brother and I'm stuck couple of thousand miles away from him. I can't do anything concrete. And then eventually he just said, I don't know what to think. I think some paedophile or some other swine has taken Madeleine.

John McCann

So there we have it, within minutes/hours the abduction peadophile seed was sown, the McCanns at the same time telling their tale to the nearest and dearest to build a firewall to protect themselves from familial doubt - worse still, accusations.  I truly believe the family members quoted are innocent victims of the wider agenda - caught in the net never to break free, it fairness it put them in an untenable position but who cares, just as long as the drama is played out.

To this very day, or at least the last time she spoke in public, Kate McCann continues to mechanically speak of open windows and shutters with swooshing curtains.

Someone is telling porkies.  So early in the day, the nearest and dearest must have been only repeating what they were told.

Verdi:     Someone is telling porkies.  So early in the day, the nearest and dearest must have been only repeating what they were told.

It is fascinating that the Pros can only repeat their mantra that "The McCanns did not say this".
That is all they have.   It clearly Was said, and repeated almost verbatim.
But we will never know the exact words they BOTH used that night. 
We can only surmise, but rely on the quite extraordinary corroboration from the witnesses to draw our conclusions

Phillip Edmonds - Nephew (and co-director of Stemcor) of Margaret Hodge who just happened to be working alongside Lord Levy in his fund raising activities for Tony Blair when both Levy and Blair were being questioned in relation to the cash for honours scandal in 2006. 
Blair not only rapidly dispatched his own media manipulator to PDL to assist the suspects in this case, he was also involved in the PACT (now Action against Abduction) charity alongside Cherie Blair.

Edmonds claimed that he saw Madeleine playing his children and that he had taken photographs of them.  When requested, he was unable to produce the photographs, claiming that they had been sent to the PJ.  These pics appear no-where in the official files.  If this was genuine, Edmonds could have assisted the McCanns by producing those pics.  

We can assume that there were digital copies of these photographs but even if they were taken on a manual camera there would be negatives.

Charlotte Pennington speaks on the Dispatches documentary -18th October 2007
     
Charlotte Pennington is shown in three separate clips talking about the events of 03 May 2007:
 
Transcription 1:
 
‘They were a very social group and they seemed all to be really respectful, nice, loving parents. Madeleine, I found out to be quite bright… errm, quite shy… errm, very sweet, very beautiful girl.
 
On May the third, it was just Madeleine I was reading a story to. I later saw them around lunchtime. That’s the last time I saw them together as a family.’
 
Transcription 2:
 
‘I was working that night at something called ‘Drop-in Creche’. We had one child left and… errm, the mother came in, picked up the child and just mentioned ‘Hang on a minute, I’ve just seen a guy who’s run past me, who seemed really distressed and I recognised him as being a guest at Mark Warner, but he was shouting out something like ‘Maddie’ or ‘Abbey’ or ‘Gabby’.’
 
Transcription 3:
 
‘I went straight to the apartment. I sort of walked in, did a quick scan around and been told ‘No, no. She’s not here, she’s not here’.
 
Kate McCann was outside and she was very distressed. She was saying things like ‘They’ve taken her’ and ‘She’s gone’ and, you know, ‘Where is she? Where is she?’
 
She was crying and there were tears down her face and it was absolutely heartbreaking to see.’

'Recruit paedophile hunters' says ex-CEOP boss Jim Gamble

21 September 2017

Police forces should vet and recruit paedophile hunters, the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) has said.

Jim Gamble called for the creation of a "citizens' army" which would work with police to identify and gather evidence.

He told BBC Radio Ulster the volunteers must be carefully vetted and trained.

But he added police could not ignore the fact that last year, vigilante evidence was used in 44% of court cases where a suspect groomed a child.
'Digital detectives'

The figure was obtained by the BBC earlier this week, and relates to prosecutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The National Police Chiefs' Council warned vigilantes could "compromise" police investigations but admitted UK forces may have to work with paedophile hunters.

Mr Gamble, who is a former senior police officer from Northern Ireland, led CEOP from its formation in 2006 until his resignation in 2010.

He told the BBC's Talkback programme: "What I have been trying to encourage is that, police actually create the role of special constable in the online space and create digital detectives, so [paedophile hunters] could apply to the police."

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Jim Gamble called for the creation of a "citizens' army" to support police in tackling online abuse

He said the unpaid volunteers would not have the full powers of police officers, but said their skills should be harnessed to help officers protect children from abuse.

"What I'm saying is - capture the frustration that people feel; recruit public-spirited individuals, make sure they've got the right character.

"Then train them, equip them to carry out this job as digital detectives and we could create an army of over 1,000, if every force just recruited 25 volunteers."
'Risks'

Mr Gamble added that he recognised that "if you just let any Tom, Dick or Harry become involved, that you many have the wrong sort of people".

He said proper police vetting would "get rid of the risks".

Paedophile hunters frequently expose child abusers by posing as children online and arranging or agreeing to face-to-face meetings.

The abuser, who has been tricked into thinking they are meeting a child, is then confronted by the vigilantes and sometimes placed under citizen's arrest until police arrive.

Police have previously expressed concern that such confrontations can lead to violence and can interfere with criminal investigations.

Last month, a man from Northern Ireland took his own life after he was confronted at his home by a vigilante group calling itself Silent Justice.

The confrontation was streamed live on the internet, in a move that was strongly criticised by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

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A group calling itself Silent Justice has posted online videos of its confrontations

Mr Gamble acknowledged that some self-appointed paedophile hunters are "just not suited" to track down abusers, and said police vetting was essential.

"There is a model of policing across England and Wales called special constables and no matter where you are - whether it's in Birmingham or Brighton - at night time some of the police officers you will see in uniform are special constables.

"They have applied for that job, and here's the key - they've been vetted, so you know they've got the right character."

He added: "These are volunteers, these are publicly-minded, good citizens who want to make a difference."

The programme also spoke to a man called Scott, who is part of a two-man team behind the English vigilante group, Dark Justice.
'120 arrests'

Scott described how he often spends up to 17 hours a day online, posing as a child and talking to potential paedophiles.

He previously ran a media business, but now no longer works for a living and is financially supported by his family while carrying out his full-time vocation.

"We have mounted up some debt... it's not a free thing to do," Scott said, but added he felt obliged to continue because of the government's failure to protect children.

"To date, we have successfully helped with the arrest of 120 people," he claimed.

"So far, 54 of them have been convicted, the rest are on bail, pending court dates, and so on."

Scott said Dark Justice kept records of their online conversations with suspects, and then handed them to police to support prosecutions.

He added that his group did not live-stream its confrontations and did not expose paedophiles online until they had been convicted.
'Police arrogance'

"We can't rely on everyone being a Scott and being calm and considered when engaging with other people," Mr Gamble told the programme.

"We need to bring it within a regulated framework, capitalise on the opportunity for people volunteering and doing it for free, give them the right training, but make sure they are vetted and make sure the information goes as early as possible to the police."

Mr Gamble quit CEOP in 2010 after a row with the then Home Secretary - the current Prime Minister Theresa May - over the assimilation of CEOP into the National Crime Agency.

He said he viewed it as a "dilution" of government resources aimed at protecting children from sex abusers, and still believes children are being failed.

"The lack of investment by government is putting the lives of children at risk - that's a fact," he told Talkback.

"If this was terrorism, they'd be throwing resources at it."

The former officer claimed there was "an arrogance within policing, especially at the most senior level" that tackling paedophilia was only "a job for police".
'Tsunami'

He said recruiting paedophile hunters should be seen as just "another form of community engagement".

Mr Gamble added that he believed only a tiny fraction of online child abuse was being detected as there were not enough police officers working undercover on the internet.

"There's a tsunami, and we are trying to fix it by standing there with our bucket on the beach and that is not working."

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From : Mark Pettigrew Paris Consular - UBS
Sent : 20th June 2007 16.41
To : Glyn Cartmell * RABAT -UBS
Cc : Gail Sidnell ; Jeffrey Thomas * Paris Consular - UBS ; Lee Theisinger ; Sharon Boyle
Subject : FW : Madeleine McCann

We received an E-mail on our Consular E-mail regarding Madeleine McCann.
The sender, Gabrielle Texier, claims friends of hers know where Madeleine is.


Page 1067 (Page 2 of 2)

Mark called her. She did not sound incoherent, but was upset. When she answered, the first thing she said was that our response had been very quick, as she had only just received an E-mail from Morocco confirming that her friends knew where Madeleine was. Mark asked her which friends and why she was in Morocco. She explained she works for an American Fruit-Juice Company and spends several months a year there.

She claims her friends saw Madeleine on the 19th of May, with a man who was holding her hand very tightly. Mark asked if they had been in contact with the Police or the British Embassy there. She said she had tried to send an E-mail to the McCann's, but to no avail. Her friends had then lost trace of Madeleine, but apparently have located her in a mansion in the Massira area. They called her late last night to inform her of this.

Mark asked who her friends are exactly. She said they work in an Estate Agents in the Menara area of Marrakesh (00212620xxxxx but did not seem to be working). Mark asked if she could forward the E-mail. She was having some problems with her computer therefore Mark offered to call her back.

Ten minutes later, he called her back. Mrs Texier gave us another contact number : Aziz : 00212624xxxxx. She said Aziz had been watching the house for the last few days and is convinced he has seen Madeleine there, but is scared to go to the POlice as the Director of the Estate Agency (who lives in Casablanca) had already tried to alert the Authorities, in vain. He is expecting a call from the Embassy.

Danielle DUCOS

mccannpjfiles.co.uk

From : [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Sent : 20th September 2007 17.04
To : [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Cc : [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Subject : FW : 1.UNCLASSIFIED-All Networks : OP TASK - Potential sightings of Madeleine McCann

The attached letter was handed to Coleraine Police on this date, reporting a potential sighting of Madeleine Mccann on the P&O Troon to Larne Ferry, 1005hrs on 7th May 2007.

Witness is Mrs Rita HUGHES, dob 16th January 1945, housewife of xx, POxxxxxx ROxx, Portstewart, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Tel 028708xxxxx.

Mrs HUGHES previously reported her potential sighting to CEOP Website but failed to receive any acknowledgement of her communication, therefore is now reporting the same sighting via her local Police. Mrs HUGHES appears of sound mind and has no criminal record.

I have confirmed that CCTV cameras operate on the Ferry, however is no longer available on the date in question as cameras record to harddrive which is overwritten on a continuous cycle of approximately 6 weeks.

David Glasgow
Sgt 14636 Coleraine PSNI
Tel : 08456008000 Ext 830098


Page 353 (Page 2 of 3)

Thank you for your co-operation.
Leicestershire Constabulary



Page 354 (Page 3 of 3)

Statement of Mrs Rita HUGHES.
Address : xx, POxxxxxx ROxx, Portstewart, N. Ireland. BTxx 7xx, Tel 0287083xxxxx.
Date : 17th September 2007

To : Leicester Police Authority

Sometime ago I sent a letter to the CEOP Website regarding the sighting of a child who resembled Madeleine Mccann, on the Troon/Larne Ferry on 7th May 2007 - the Ferry left Troon at approximately 10.05 a.m. on what was quite a busy Bank Holiday weekend.

I do not know whether or not they received my submission so I am now re-sending it.

I watched a child for several minutes at a distance of about 25 feet who facially resembled Madeleine McCann in some of her photos - the ones which show her with an angular shaped jaw-line. This child had dark eyelashes, a pale skin and the little puffs under her eyes which Madeleine has in some of her photos. Her hair was of similar length and style to that of Madeleine's - I earlier said it was shorter but at that stage I was thinking of the one taken in the football shirt and not the one of her taken on the day of her disappearance. It was not as shiny - but it wouldn't be if she hadn't had it washed in a few days - as in her photos and appeared to be dirty fair colour with a fringe falling to the right and the rest behind her ears falling to about shoulder length. She was wearing blue bib-fronted trousers and a little blue denim jacket.

I was aware of the news about a child being missing in Portugal but as I had been at a wedding over the weekend had little time to absorb the details of when exactly she disappeared and therefore was sort of in shock at seeing this child and somewhat incredulous that it could be her so I watched her thinking, "It couldn't possibly be her. She couldn't possibly be here in this space of time and why would she be in Troon of all places ?"
I also wondered if she was a bit small for Madeleine as it is difficult to tell her height from her photos but I'm still not sure whether she was or not.

I was seated on the deck where the "Poet's Bar" and the shop are, in the first booth in the seating area, separated by a partition from the stairs leading up from the shop. When I saw the child she was on her own on a little corridor that runs across from the "Ladies" and is backed by a wall and moving along it away from the top of the stairs laughing impishly back at someone in the stairs area. Then she stopped, seeing that the corridor went no further as it sort of doubled back on itself, and stood hesitantly for a moment looking back towards the stairs.

How many Madeleine McCann sightings?

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No doubt many of the alleged sightings across the globe emanated from good hearted people trying to help .... others who were just looking for their five minutes of fame .... and others?

It seems rather a coincidence that so many more detailed sightings were revealed in September 2007 - the same month that the McCanns returned to Blighty, having vowed and declared they would remain in Portugal until their 'abducted' daughter was found.  The same month (or thereabouts) that saw the naming of the McCanns wealthy benefactor, Brian Kennedy and the resignation of Clarence Mitchell from the government position of Media Monitoring director.

The precise date that the first private detective organisation, Metodo3, was hired is unknown but it is clear that they were very active on Portuguese soil (illegal) and across Europe, through to North Africa, with fistfulls of dollars to lure the greedy and gullible.

Clearly they were unaware of the possibility of public exposure some months/years later.

'HE WAS SO CREEPY' Madeleine McCann – Brit gran who saw ‘scruffy weirdo’ lurking near Maddie apartment is still convinced he was sex gang’s ‘lookout man’

Nottinghamshire grandmother Gail Cooper's sightings were deemed so credible she was quizzed by cops and an FBI-trained artist sketched an impression of the suspect that was released publicly
Exclusive

   By Corey Charlton and Tracey Kandohla

   21 Mar 2019, 11:38Updated: 21 Mar 2019, 14:36

A BRIT who saw a creepy man lurking around Madeleine McCann's room when the toddler vanished believes he was the "lookout" for a child snatching gang.

Grandmother Gail Cooper exclusively told The Sun Online that she fears Maddie is now dead, adding: "Whatever her fate, her parents need answers."

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Gail Cooper, now 61, remains haunted by the scruffy weirdo she saw lurking around kids at the time of Maddie's disappearanceCredit: Tracey Kandohla

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The sketches were created by an FBI-trained artist based on Mrs Cooper's sightings

Gail said: "It is possible she is alive after nearly 12 years but not probable."

The retired care home manager's sightings of the suspect were deemed so credible she was quizzed by police and an FBI-trained artist was brought in to sketch him.

She drawn into the media frenzy and was quizzed by cops after revealing she had spotted a "disturbing and dirty" man lurking near the Portuguese apartment days before Maddie vanished.

Gail recalled how during a family holiday to the pretty Algarve resort of Praia da Luz to celebrate her 50th birthday in April 2007 she saw "a strange long-haired, grubby, thin man” she is convinced was scouring the beach resort for a suitable child to snatch.

Maddie disappeared from her bed on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her parents and family friends at a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, had left her sleeping with her siblings while they had dinner at the hotel's restaurant - only realising at about 10pm that she was gone.

'HE WAS THE LOOKOUT MAN'

Speaking exclusively to The Sun Online, Gail said: "I don’t know if he was the kidnapper but I think he was involved in her disappearance. I think he was the lookout man.

"He was so creepy and I first saw him on the beach watching my friend’s little grandchild."

Gail 61, spoke out again to mark the controversial new Maddie Netflix documentary which parents Kate and Gerry refused to take part in amidst fears it could "hamper" the search for their daughter.

The tourist - who still visits her favourite destination Portugal three times a year with machine operator hubby John, 58 - was invited by the American global streaming giant to participate in the eight part series but chose not to.

Mum-of-three Gail from Newark, Nottinghamshire, said: "This programme has bought all the memories flooding back. I hope it has some positivity in the search for Maddie.”

She is convinced Maddie was snatched either on order for a wealthy family desperate for a child or by a sinister paedophile ring.

"I think the kiddie was taken on order by someone wanting a blonde blue eyed child and if that is the case then there is a good chance she is wanted and loved and being looked and is hopefully still alive.

"But if she was taken by a sex gang I doubt there’s any real chance she’s alive today, it’s possible but sadly not probable. Her poor parents need answers whatever her fate."

Gail’s sighting of a potential abductor led to an FBI-trained artist drawing a sketch of the suspect which was released in January 2008.

Her description was similar to one given by Jane Tanner, a holiday pal of Maddie’s parents who saw a man carrying a barefooted child in pyjamas on the night Maddie vanished.

HAUNTED BY 'SCRUFFY WEIRDO'

Today - nearly 12 years after the youngster was snatched in the world's biggest ever missing child mystery - Gail remembers the “scruffy weirdo” whose face still haunts her.

She had been staying in a private villa in Luz in April 2007 and clocked him before the McCann’s arrived for their ill-fated holiday at a nearby Mark Warner complex.

She first spotted him on the beach, getting drenched in a sudden downpour of rain.

On another occasion he knocked on her villa door saying he was collecting money for an orphanage in the neighbouring village of Espiche.

Gail recalled: "He was very pushy and intimidating. He said the parents of some British kids had been killed in a traffic accident.

"But I didn’t believe his story, he didn't seen genuine and I didn’t give him any money.

"He kept staring at me, imploring me. He spoke in English but it wasn’t really with a Portuguese accent.

"He was olive skinned and shabby, I thought he may have been Moroccan."

She added: "He was a horrible-looking, really creepy, unkempt and dirty. There was just nothing in his eyes or soul, nothing."

Gail saw the same man again watching children going to the beach from the holiday club which Maddie joined just days later.

After returning home and hearing of Madeleine’s abduction a week later, Gail contacted police and gave a statement to the Leicestershire force which was liaising with Portuguese officers.

'I'D DO ANYTHING TO HELP'

In January 2008 she was contacted by the McCanns’ private investigators and agreed to sit for 10 hours with an artist to create the first full facial image of the suspect.

She explained: "I was happy to do anything I could to help. I couldn’t get the image of the man out of my head and I was racking my brains trying to remember everything he said and every detail about him.

"I am left with a strong sense of frustration because this is still unresolved."

Scotland Yard detectives, who took over the high profile search in May 2011, have interviewed her several times as part of their painstaking inquiries, which have so far unearthed no new clues as to Maddie’s whereabouts.

Gail, who is in the process of viewing the Netflix documentary, declined to take part despite request from producers who visited her at home two years ago during early inquiries.
TROLLED BY CONSPIRACY NUTS

She said: "At the time I wasn’t in the best of health and following my co-operation with the police and media I received a lot of online abuse."

She claims she was trolled by web haters who thought she was "giving a potential alibi" to Maddie’s parents who were briefly suspected of being involved in their daughter’s disappearance.

She said: "It was very offensive and upsetting and I didn’t want any repeat so I said no to Netflix although I helped them with background inquiries and gave them photos of our holiday."

Heart doctor Gerry, 50, and former GP Kate, 51, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have been bombarded with criticism over the years, with people accusing them of being involved in their daughter’s accidental death.

Gail said: "It would be amazing if the parents could be reunited with their daughter if she is alive.

"But she was three going on four when she went missing and would she even remember her previous life?"

The McCann's cling onto a glimmer of hope that Maddie is still alive and waiting to be found. She would now be aged 15, nearly 16.

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The Daily Tablet [circa. May 2007 - June 2019]

'I saw Maddie' Retired pilot breaks his 10-year silence about one of first sightings

A RETIREE who reported one of the first sightings of missing Madeleine McCann has broken his 10-year silence about what he witnessed.

By Michael Havis / Published 27th April 2017

The McCann family have always believed that their daughter remained near to Praia Da Luz, Portugal, where they last saw her.

Now, nearly 10 years after she vanished, ex-pilot Andre van Wyk has described a strange encounter just 14 miles away.

Mr Wyk, then 66, told Daily Star Online how he saw a suspicious couple trying to hide the face of a little blonde girl.

He said: "I was on the road from Portimao to Lagos when I passed a horse drawn carriage with a couple on it.

"They were possibly middle aged and were dressed like the gypsies normally dress. What caught my attention was the woman.

"She was cradling what appeared like a young girl with blonde hair. Because the Maddie case was the topic of the day, I turned and followed them.

"When they turned onto the old bridge leading to Parchal, the woman had covered the child's head with a cloth of some sort.”

The retiree, who is now 76, said the little girl was then led into a gypsy camp on the Parchal side of the bridge.

After the sighting in June 2007, Mr Wyk, who then lived in St Neots, Cambs, reported it to the authorities.

And though he cannot be sure that the child was Maddie, he maintains that the scenario was strange.

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WITNESS: Mr Wyk, centre, now lives in Thailand with his family

"It was just strange that there was this blonde child with the gypsies," Mr Wyk continued.

"At that time any clue, how insignificant it might appeared at the time, was reported to the police.

"I reported it to the police and they took my statement. Whether they investigated or not, I cannot tell.

"However, two days after my sighting of the blonde child, I passed the gypsy site again and they had moved on."

Brit tourist Jean Godwin would later claim to have seen Maddie with gypsies in Carvoeiro, a town five miles from Parchal.

Mr Wyk’s testimony comes just days after another witness who said they saw Madeleine McCann in Morocco opened up.

The woman, who asked not to be named, recalled seeing the missing child ask "can we go see mummy now?"

Madeleine McCann vanished from her family’s holiday apartment on May 3, 2007, as her parents dined with friends nearby.

Since her disappearance, people across the world have claimed to have seen her, with large clusters of sightings in Morocco and Portugal.

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If this alleged witness reported the sighting to the police, then he's not breaking his silence is he.

Verdi wrote:'HE WAS SO CREEPY' Madeleine McCann – Brit gran who saw ‘scruffy weirdo’ lurking near Maddie apartment is still convinced he was sex gang’s ‘lookout man’

Nottinghamshire grandmother Gail Cooper's sightings were deemed so credible she was quizzed by cops and an FBI-trained artist sketched an impression of the suspect that was released publicly
Exclusive

   By Corey Charlton and Tracey Kandohla

   21 Mar 2019, 11:38Updated: 21 Mar 2019, 14:36

A BRIT who saw a creepy man lurking around Madeleine McCann's room when the toddler vanished believes he was the "lookout" for a child snatching gang.

Grandmother Gail Cooper exclusively told The Sun Online that she fears Maddie is now dead, adding: "Whatever her fate, her parents need answers."

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Gail Cooper, now 61, remains haunted by the scruffy weirdo she saw lurking around kids at the time of Maddie's disappearanceCredit: Tracey Kandohla

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The sketches were created by an FBI-trained artist based on Mrs Cooper's sightings

Gail said: "It is possible she is alive after nearly 12 years but not probable."

The retired care home manager's sightings of the suspect were deemed so credible she was quizzed by police and an FBI-trained artist was brought in to sketch him.

She drawn into the media frenzy and was quizzed by cops after revealing she had spotted a "disturbing and dirty" man lurking near the Portuguese apartment days before Maddie vanished.

Gail recalled how during a family holiday to the pretty Algarve resort of Praia da Luz to celebrate her 50th birthday in April 2007 she saw "a strange long-haired, grubby, thin man” she is convinced was scouring the beach resort for a suitable child to snatch.

Maddie disappeared from her bed on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her parents and family friends at a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, had left her sleeping with her siblings while they had dinner at the hotel's restaurant - only realising at about 10pm that she was gone.

'HE WAS THE LOOKOUT MAN'

Speaking exclusively to The Sun Online, Gail said: "I don’t know if he was the kidnapper but I think he was involved in her disappearance. I think he was the lookout man.

"He was so creepy and I first saw him on the beach watching my friend’s little grandchild."

Gail 61, spoke out again to mark the controversial new Maddie Netflix documentary which parents Kate and Gerry refused to take part in amidst fears it could "hamper" the search for their daughter.

The tourist - who still visits her favourite destination Portugal three times a year with machine operator hubby John, 58 - was invited by the American global streaming giant to participate in the eight part series but chose not to.

Mum-of-three Gail from Newark, Nottinghamshire, said: "This programme has bought all the memories flooding back. I hope it has some positivity in the search for Maddie.”

She is convinced Maddie was snatched either on order for a wealthy family desperate for a child or by a sinister paedophile ring.

"I think the kiddie was taken on order by someone wanting a blonde blue eyed child and if that is the case then there is a good chance she is wanted and loved and being looked and is hopefully still alive.

"But if she was taken by a sex gang I doubt there’s any real chance she’s alive today, it’s possible but sadly not probable. Her poor parents need answers whatever her fate."

Gail’s sighting of a potential abductor led to an FBI-trained artist drawing a sketch of the suspect which was released in January 2008.

Her description was similar to one given by Jane Tanner, a holiday pal of Maddie’s parents who saw a man carrying a barefooted child in pyjamas on the night Maddie vanished.

HAUNTED BY 'SCRUFFY WEIRDO'

Today - nearly 12 years after the youngster was snatched in the world's biggest ever missing child mystery - Gail remembers the “scruffy weirdo” whose face still haunts her.

She had been staying in a private villa in Luz in April 2007 and clocked him before the McCann’s arrived for their ill-fated holiday at a nearby Mark Warner complex.

She first spotted him on the beach, getting drenched in a sudden downpour of rain.

On another occasion he knocked on her villa door saying he was collecting money for an orphanage in the neighbouring village of Espiche.

Gail recalled: "He was very pushy and intimidating. He said the parents of some British kids had been killed in a traffic accident.

"But I didn’t believe his story, he didn't seen genuine and I didn’t give him any money.

"He kept staring at me, imploring me. He spoke in English but it wasn’t really with a Portuguese accent.

"He was olive skinned and shabby, I thought he may have been Moroccan."

She added: "He was a horrible-looking, really creepy, unkempt and dirty. There was just nothing in his eyes or soul, nothing."

Gail saw the same man again watching children going to the beach from the holiday club which Maddie joined just days later.

After returning home and hearing of Madeleine’s abduction a week later, Gail contacted police and gave a statement to the Leicestershire force which was liaising with Portuguese officers.

'I'D DO ANYTHING TO HELP'

In January 2008 she was contacted by the McCanns’ private investigators and agreed to sit for 10 hours with an artist to create the first full facial image of the suspect.

She explained: "I was happy to do anything I could to help. I couldn’t get the image of the man out of my head and I was racking my brains trying to remember everything he said and every detail about him.

"I am left with a strong sense of frustration because this is still unresolved."

Scotland Yard detectives, who took over the high profile search in May 2011, have interviewed her several times as part of their painstaking inquiries, which have so far unearthed no new clues as to Maddie’s whereabouts.

Gail, who is in the process of viewing the Netflix documentary, declined to take part despite request from producers who visited her at home two years ago during early inquiries.
TROLLED BY CONSPIRACY NUTS

She said: "At the time I wasn’t in the best of health and following my co-operation with the police and media I received a lot of online abuse."

She claims she was trolled by web haters who thought she was "giving a potential alibi" to Maddie’s parents who were briefly suspected of being involved in their daughter’s disappearance.

She said: "It was very offensive and upsetting and I didn’t want any repeat so I said no to Netflix although I helped them with background inquiries and gave them photos of our holiday."

Heart doctor Gerry, 50, and former GP Kate, 51, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have been bombarded with criticism over the years, with people accusing them of being involved in their daughter’s accidental death.

Gail said: "It would be amazing if the parents could be reunited with their daughter if she is alive.

"But she was three going on four when she went missing and would she even remember her previous life?"

The McCann's cling onto a glimmer of hope that Maddie is still alive and waiting to be found. She would now be aged 15, nearly 16.

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The Daily Tablet [circa. May 2007 - June 2019]

kate with a 70's porn star moustache was the lookout then it seems

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....

British witnesses: 'We saw two blond men on balcony next to Madeleine apartment'

By FIONA BARTON, DAN NEWLING and VANESSA ALLEN

Last updated at 15:55 31 December 2007

Two British sisters gave a dramatic account of a pair of strangers watching the Ocean Club pool and tapas bar hours before Madeleine McCann vanished.

In an exclusive interview, Jayne Jensen and Annie Wiltshire told how they saw two blond men in their 30s, standing on the balcony of an empty apartment only a couple of doors away from the McCanns' flat in Praia da Luz.

And they provided further evidence that Robert Murat, the first official suspect in the case, lied about his whereabouts on the night Madeleine disappeared.

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Mrs Jensen, a 54-year-old businesswoman, says she saw Mr Murat outside the McCann apartment half an hour after the alarm was raised.

The expatriate estate agent claims he was at home with his elderly mother all night, but it has emerged that a British barrister on holiday with his wife and children has corroborated Mrs Jensen's account.

Although the two sisters contacted Portuguese police within hours of Madeleine's disappearance, their evidence was ignored for six months.

The women met police three times within 24 hours, tried to find out who the strangers were themselves and made several follow-up phone calls to the authorities.

But it was not until six weeks ago that a formal statement was finally taken.

The two women, both divorcees from Maidstone, Kent, spent 11 hours with British police officers providing details of their evidence and later met private detectives from Metodo 3, the agency employed by the McCanns to find their daughter.

They intended to remain anonymous but when their names were leaked to a Portuguese newspaper and they found themselves wrongly accused of waiting eight months before coming forward, they decided to reveal the truth.

The sisters said they were immediately struck by the behaviour of the two men on the balcony.

The pair, tanned and in Bermuda shorts, were standing outside the patio doors of a groundfloor apartment, which had been unoccupied all week, and were looking out over the resort's family swimming pool and restaurant area.

Mrs Wiltshire, 58, a mother of two, said: "It was odd because I hadn't seen them before. In May the resort wasn't busy.

"There were only about 60 of us staying in the apartments and you got to recognise all the other people.

"One of the guys was walking down the steps and as I looked at him, he walked back up and started talking to the other one.

"They had a view of the whole Ocean Club and the McCanns' apartment. It just showed how easy it would be for anyone to use those balconies to watch the area. It has haunted me ever since."

That evening - May 3 - Madeleine disappeared from her bed as her parents, Gerry and Kate ate dinner with seven friends in the tapas bar.

The sisters, who helped search for the child that night, went to police the next day to report the sighting of the strangers and their concerns.

Mrs Wiltshire, who went on holiday with her sister to recover from a cancer operation, said: "The theory is that Madeleine could have been targeted. This story proves how easily it could have been done but the Portuguese police were not interested.

"It makes you wonder if there are more of us out there who have tried and not succeeded in reporting things they saw but have given up.

"They might not have been as persistent and tenacious as us but we were determined to get the information to the police somehow."

The two women had been in Praia da Luz for a week before the McCanns - Gerry, Kate, three-year-old Madeleine and two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie - arrived with a party of doctors for a short break.

Mrs Jensen and her sister were in the same daily tennis coaching group as Mr McCann. It was organised by Mark Warner, the tour operator which manages the Ocean Club complex.

"We never met Kate," Mrs Jensen said. "And we never socialised with Gerry. We just played tennis."

On the evening of May 3, the sisters ate in the same tapas restaurant as the McCann party.

Neither of them remembers the doctors being rowdy or drinking heavily that night, as other witnesses have suggested.

Mrs Jensen, a bar manager, said: "They were not noisy or dominating the restaurant. They were just a party of friends enjoying a meal."

The sisters finished their dinner and left to walk down into the village for a nightcap.

"We were on the way to the bar when we heard the hue and cry about a missing child," added Mrs Jensen.

"The Mark Warner staff were being called on their phones and everyone thought it was a child who had wandered out of her room, looking for her parents.

"Apparently it had happened before and there was a drill they carried out. I left Annie in the bar and came back up to the apartments to see if I could help. It was only then I realised the scale of the search.

"I went straight into the creche area and checked the play area and Wendy House but found nothing."

It was then that Mrs Jensen saw 34-year-old Mr Murat for the first time. She saw a man light a cigarette as he stood on the street corner opposite the McCanns' ground-floor apartment.

She said: "I had semi-given up smoking and was thinking I could do with a cigarette when this bloke just along the pavement from me lit up. I noticed him but didn't think anything more of it."

A middle-aged barrister, a nearneighbour of Mrs Jensen in the holiday complex, has told police that he spoke to her at the time and also saw Mr Murat.

The next day, said Mrs Jensen, Mr Murat introduced himself to her and her sister.

"It was hideous when we realised that the little girl had not been found. It really began to hit home that something horrible had happened.

"I thought maybe she had fallen down a manhole, or hit her head. I didn't think she had been taken at that point and we helped search bins and scrubland."

As they and the other holidaymakers combed the area, Mrs Jensen met another member of her tennis coaching group, TV producer Jez Wilkins.

"Jez told me it was Gerry's daughter we were looking for. I hadn't realised before that moment.

"Jez said that he knew Gerry had checked the children because he had met him coming back from the apartment."

As the hours passed without any sighting of Madeleine, Mrs Wiltshire became increasingly concerned about the strangers she had seen the day before.

She said: "I didn't know if it was significant or not but I needed to tell the police in case it helped.

"I got a member of Mark Warner's staff to get a policeman to come and see me and told two officers about the men I had seen.

"I told them they were blond and one had curly hair. One was stockier than the other and they had obviously just opened the gate and walked up to the balcony.

"I showed the policemen the balcony and as I was explaining the circumstances, Robert Murat appeared and started translating for me."

Mr Murat was acting as an unofficial interpreter for the police and Mrs Wiltshire assumed he was part of the police force.

Later that day, she and her sister bumped into him again and he asked them if they needed any more help with the police and whether they had remembered anything else.

Mrs Jensen said: "He said he was helping the police because he lived locally and he was very helpful."

That evening, the two sisters joined the barrister and his wife for a glass of wine on the balcony of their apartment.

They were discussing Madeleine's disappearance and the apparent failure of the police to set up a crime scene when Mr Murat walked past, saw them and joined them uninvited.

Mrs Jensen said: "He was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans and he said he needed to go home and change because it had been a long day, which was odd, because he had already changed out of the clothes he had been wearing earlier."

After Mr Murat left, the barrister told the sisters he found him "odd".

His wife was distraught about Madeleine's disappearance and the couple were desperate to leave the resort. Their names have not been revealed.

Mrs Jensen insists she is not conducting "a witch hunt" against Mr Murat.

"It was only after he was made an arguido (official suspect) that I realised any of this information could be important."

Other witnesses who have placed Mr Murat near the McCann apartment that night include Mark Warner nanny Charlotte Pennington, two tourists who contacted Metodo 3 independently and three of the McCanns' friends, Fiona Payne, Rachael Oldfield and Russell O'Brien.

But friends and family of Mr Murat insisted he was not there. His mother Jennifer, 71, said: "People who say he was outside Madeleine's apartment that night are telling lies.

"I challenge them to tell Portuguese police what they're telling the McCanns' investigators."

When Mrs Jensen got home, she made a number of calls to police and Crimestoppers. She gave them an outline of the sightings and was told someone would call her back but nobody did.

In September, the two women went back to Praia da Luz to try to make direct contact with the McCanns but as they arrived, Kate and Gerry were made official suspects and left to return to Britain.

The sisters admit they might have let things go at that point but the constant mention of Madeleine in the press kept nagging at them.

In desperation they finally e-mailed the McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell and told him what they knew.

Within days, they were contacted by Leicestershire police who apologised for the delay and sent an officer round to interview them.

"They were there for 11 hours, finishing at midnight and we finally got to sign a statement," added Mrs Jensen.

"All we wanted was to get the information to the right people. It is just ridiculous that no one would help us."

A spokesman for the McCanns said: "We remain extremely grateful to Annie and Jayne for making the efforts they have to get their information to us.

"They have been trying since day one and have only wanted to help Kate and Gerry find Madeleine.

"They are utterly credible witnesses and we are very grateful to them."

• Kate McCann hopes to return to Portugal once she has been cleared as a suspect in her daughter's disappearance, friends said yesterday.

Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry expect to be re-interviewed by police early in the New Year, and hope it will bring them a step closer to being eliminated as arguidos - official suspects.

The couple, both 39, would then be free to continue their campaign work and believe Portugal could still hold the key to finding Madeleine.

Once the lead story on every Portuguese television bulletin and newspaper, the case is now attracting less attention and an appeal by the McCanns would give the coverage fresh impetus.

But the couple cannot speak freely about the case while they remain arguidos as they are bound by the country's strict secrecy laws, which ban witnesses or suspects from talking about the case.

A friend said: "If they were to go to Portugal now it would seem like they were trying to put pressure on the police, and they don't want that.

"But if they were cleared as arguidos then it would change everything.

"They would be cleared in the eyes of the judicial system and technically in the eyes of the world, although they realise that there will always be some people who view them with suspicion."

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New Madeleine McCann sensation: Witness tells barrister he saw girl ALIVE just weeks ago

In a sensational development, he said he was stunned when the man confessed he had met the girl on a ­Mediterranean island

BySimon Wright
Dominic Herbert

00:00, 6 OCT 2013Updated16:28, 6 OCT 2013

A shaken barrister has told police how a man boasted to him that he had seen missing Madeleine McCann just weeks ago.

In a sensational development the witness said he was stunned when the man confessed he had met the girl on a ­Mediterranean island.

The conversation took place at a party and breaking down in tears, the lawyer, who we are not naming, said: “I can’t tell you exactly why I believe what I was being told. It was just a gut feeling.”

He said he had no option but to tell the police because of the level of detail the man gave when talking about his disturbing encounter.

The witness added: “I knew that by reporting it, it would ­compromise me in all sorts of ways. But it was something that I couldn’t ignore. If I hadn’t said anything I couldn’t have lived with myself.”

He said he was convinced the confession was genuine, despite many other people coming forward with unconfirmed sightings and false leads since she disappeared in Portugal, aged three on May 3, 2007.

When asked exactly what it was about the description he was given that forced him to act, the lawyer said: “I have told the police ­everything that I was told about her.

“They know what that was and that is why they have acted. I was able to be a bit more specific than just the island but I haven’t been able to tell them exactly where the man said she was. I am now terrified that she has been moved elsewhere.”

he confession was made at a party in the North West of England in August and the lawyer gave a full statement to his local force, Greater Manchester Police, the following day.

Officers are taking the information seriously and are set to prepare a file for Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange team, leading the hunt.

According to a source, the informant is being treated as a credible witness because of his profession as a barrister and a pillar of the community.

He has been in contact with detectives within the last few days as they act on his crucial statement.

Last night a Greater Manchester Police spokesman said the force was unable to comment on the development.

Our revelation comes as parents Kate and Gerry revealed their hope their daughter would be found thanks to new evidence uncovered by a separate police probe.

The couple will appear live on BBC’s ­Crimewatch on October 14 to plead for ­information about their daughter’s ­abduction.

And detectives will release a new line of inquiry that they hope will lead to finally solving the six-year mystery of what happened in Praia da Luz when she vanished from the holiday villa the family – including her younger twin siblings – were staying in.

Kate and Gerry said they were spurred on by the chance a push for information could lead to catching her kidnapper.

In a ­statement they said: “We are greatly encouraged by new information coming to light with pieces of the jigsaw now fitting together.

“We are really hopeful that the ­forthcoming appeal on Crimewatch will bring further new evidence which will take us a step closer to finding Madeleine and to bringing those responsible for her abduction to justice.”

Scotland Yard yesterday revealed they had interviewed 442 people, including new witnesses, since Operation Grange began in May 2011.

Those questioned include carers, residents and workers who were at the resort at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the senior investigating officer, said: “We now believe we have the most complete picture to date of the events surrounding her disappearance. We are now making targeted and new appeals for help from the public.

“I truly believe there are people out there who hold the key to Madeleine’s disappearance and that, so far, they may be completely unaware of that fact.

“Through this latest round of publicity we hope to take the next step forward in this investigation. There is a huge public desire out there to help us.”

he police said they had generated 4,920 “actions” for the investigation team so far, with 2,123 having been completed.

Scotland Yard raised hope of a ­breakthrough last week after police made an “unprecedented attack” on the phone data of holiday makers in the Portuguese resort.

They also revealed that there were currently 41 “persons of interest” being looked at by detectives.

Next Monday’s Crimewatch will also be broadcast in Holland and Germany.

It will reveal a “new focus” for the investigation team as well as ­interviews with Kate and Gerry plus DCI Redwood.

Actors, including a three-year-old girl, were used to create a reconstruction of the shock moments when Madeleine ­disappeared.

It is not the first time Crimewatch has featured the ­disappearance of Madeleine after the show ran a brief appeal in 2007.

BBC Crimewatch editor Joe Mather said: “We’ve been working very closely with the Metropolitan Police on a new Madeleine McCann appeal for several months.

“We’re very hopeful that this major reconstruction along with the ­substantial new lines of enquiry will prompt viewers with vital information to get in touch with the officers in studio on the night of the programme.”

On Thursday it was revealed that the Met were trawling through a massive log of mobile phone traffic identified in Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

DCI Redwood said officers had so far been unable to attribute a “large number” of mobile numbers and admitted it was difficult to do so with phones bought six years ago on a pay-as-you-go basis.

The records also contain information on which phone numbers were dialled and when calls were made.

It is thought some phone numbers might appear on police intelligence systems or be linked to criminals.

The Crimewatch episode will be broadcast live on Monday October 14 at 9pm on BBC One with an update programme at 10:35pm.

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NOTE: It has been said that Jayne Jensen and Annie Wiltshire shared a glass or two with Neil Berry and Raj Balu, both whom were staying at the Ocean Club during the same period as the McCanns and their friends.

Jayne Jensen appears in the Netflix Madeleine McCann documentary, as does Neil Berry.

Netflix documentary full cast

Anthony Summers
Gonçalo Amaral
Robbyn Swan
Jim Gamble
Jon Clarke
Sandra Felgueiras
Ernie Allen
Robert Murat
Susan Hubbard
Haynes Hubbard
Kelvin Mackenzie
Paulo Pereira Cristovao
Brian Kennedy
Patrick Kennedy
Jayne Jensen
Neil Berry
Julian Peribañez
Rui Gustavo
Justine McGuinness
Patricia de Sousa Cipriano
Phil Hall
Martin Grime
Jane Tanner
....................

Spot how many are McCann supporters.

Many. In fact, they constitute the majority of pro-McCann folk who are interviewed in the Netflix production.

Jane Tanner only appears in old footage; she does not actually participate in the documentary.

Neither does Gonçalo Amaral - also old footage.

Verdi wrote:Neither does Gonçalo Amaral - also old footage.

No, Gonçalo Amaral is also interviewed in the documentary.

I stand corrected - it's a while since I watched the production.

It is my intention to watch again, I've recently re-subscribed to Netflix so will be having a closer look in due course.

If it's not too much trouble, can you please tell me which episode and a rough idea of the timing you refer to so I know what I'm looking for?

Verdi wrote:If it's not too much trouble, can you please tell me which episode and a rough idea of the timing you refer to so I know what I'm looking for?

If you're looking for segments featuring Mr. Amaral (discounting archived footage), he appears in every episode except the last one.

In the first episode, he appears around the 20-minute mark, if I'm not mistaken.

It's also been a while since I watched the documentary (last time I viewed it was last year).

Transcription 2:
 
'I was working that night at something called 'Drop-in Creche'. We had one child left and... errm, the mother came in, picked up the child and just mentioned 'Hang on a minute, I've just seen a guy who's run past me, who seemed really distressed and I recognised him as being a guest at Mark Warner, but he was shouting out something like 'Maddie' or 'Abbey' or 'Gabby'.'
 
Transcription 3:
 
'I went straight to the apartment. I sort of walked in, did a quick scan around and been told 'No, no. She's not here, she's not here'.


It's all in the name


I do not believe Charlotte Pennington was where she said she was at this time. She gives an account of a mother collecting her child and informing her that she had just seen a distressed guy calling out Maddie, Abbey, or Gabby. The McCann's did not refer to Madeleine as Maddie so unlikely that any of their friends would use this informal version either which in turn makes it even less likely that it would be called out aloud in the hope she would respond. Neither would the creche workers know her as Maddie, Abbey, or Gabby to be certain enough to immediately dash off to the relevant apartment, assuming a) CP knew which apartment the McCann's occupied and b) she was of course immediately free to do so at that precise moment in time thanks to the sudden and convenient 'on cue' relief of the 'only remaining' child's' mother. All very improbable to me. Maybe this qualifies for the Shaggy Dog story thread? 

The unforgettable Nigel Moore who spent so many hours documenting just about every aspect of Madeleine McCann's disappearance.  In particular the abysmal media coverage from day one.  I, for one, rue the day Nigel threw in the towel and ended his oh so valued website, the mccannfiles - my bible for many a year.

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Thanks for everything Nigel .

BTW .... super avatar pic miffy8 - what/where is it?

pauloalexandre wrote:

Verdi wrote:If it's not too much trouble, can you please tell me which episode and a rough idea of the timing you refer to so I know what I'm looking for?

If you're looking for segments featuring Mr. Amaral (discounting archived footage), he appears in every episode except the last one.

In the first episode, he appears around the 20-minute mark, if I'm not mistaken.

It's also been a while since I watched the documentary (last time I viewed it was last year).

Yes, I recall Snr Amaral being featured throughout the documentary but I don't recall any footage (interview) that indicates his willing participation.

Still, as I said, I will be watching the whole thing again in due course.