Re: "Maddie cops to start digging at resort"

by Hicks 06.05.14 18:30

Dr What wrote:If they are looking for something that has been buried...and buried very well since it has not come to light in 7 years... then it strikes me that one person on their own would be too risky to undertake the task.It would be a lengthy process in order to do it properly.

A look-out and/or someone to share the effort of digging would surely be required.

Given the emotional states at play here, I would hazard a guess that at least 2 men would be needed, rather than a male and female.

IF the search is centred on PDL and beach area, I am struggling with why the dogs would have alerted to the car.A car would not have been required for that.It would, of course, be required for transportation farther afield.

I suppose until we know exactly where the dig is taking place, we are somewhat in the dark.

Don't forget about the two men seen arguing at about 11.30-ish on the night. They lowered their voices when seen. IIRC they were by a car. It was on the Crimewatch appeal.

v

by Newintown 06.05.14 18:31

notlongnow wrote:
nglfi wrote:Believing what I think most people on this forum believe about the guilt of certain parties, is it possible that either Kate or Gerry are a suicide risk with the impending possibility that the cadaver may be discovered? As much as I really really dislike them both I am not saying this with any relish, more concern for the twins. I wonder if a close eye is being kept on the family at this time. Narcissists don't tend to behave that way but there is always a possibility.
I would hope so.

The McCanns have a very wide family, some of whom are being helped with the "Find Madeleine Fund"** or "Help the wider family of Madeleine Fund". If they can take money from the "Fund" I am sure it's not too much to ask that they are well able to look after the twins, both financially and emotionally.

***Just to make things clear for any new members or people who are reading the forum for the first time, the "Find Madeleine Fund" is a limited company NOT A CHARITY and can be used by the McCanns and their wider family in any way they see fit.

by Searcher 06.05.14 18:31

And what about the further area outside of PDL (apologies, can't remember name of the area) but where visits were allegedly made that seemed to have no reason, and phone alerts were registered? A link would be good if at all possible, as it has been discussed here before.

by aiyoyo 06.05.14 18:32

PeterMac wrote:
TheTruthWillOut wrote:Quote from the BBC article:
In a letter, Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said he would be unable to "provide any information concerning the activity".

He asked editors to "think carefully" about information they publish.

What a strange thing to say so long before anything has actually started.
Unless he knows knows a lot more.

If something is found, then obviously at the news conference all journalists are reminded of their responsibilities and as soon as someone is in custody it all changes,
and after charge it becomes sub judice
But this is a very strange thing to say before anyone has lifted a pick or shovel.

Warning the newspapers not to pander to tean Mccann tripe/spin perhaps.

I notice the couple have not made their official announcement about the imminent digs, nor proclaimed how they're heartened by the progress and delighted with MET development and the imminent digs.

I bet the odious couple are peeing their pants. No wonder they were making the sofa rounds at different TV stations telling the Police to take as long as they like to investigate the smelly potbellied man and every historic crime about children.....

Digs around 5A and vicinity can only mean the focus is back on the couple.

Interesting times ahead..........

by **Nina** 06.05.14 18:33

nglfi wrote:Believing what I think most people on this forum believe about the guilt of certain parties, is it possible that either Kate or Gerry are a suicide risk with the impending possibility that the cadaver may be discovered? As much as I really really dislike them both I am not saying this with any relish, more concern for the twins. I wonder if a close eye is being kept on the family at this time. Narcissists don't tend to behave that way but there is always a possibility.

I agree with this poster. Kate has already spoken of pressing buttons and all being together. Perish the thought, but if anything of the sort should happen then the Social services will yet again get sent to hell, and deservedly so imo.

by bristow 06.05.14 18:42

The PJ do not want interference from the Met with the digging.

Very appropriate

by **Nina** 06.05.14 18:43

PeterMac wrote:For those who may think that a grave could be dug and filled between Gerry's Last Sighting and Kates' discovery

A grave is a lot bigger then you think.
The one in question would have to be 1m long, 30cm wide and 75 (3 spits) deep
That is more than 0.2 m3 of soil,
Over half a tonne assuming an SG of 2.5
The soil round the area is rocky making any digging extremely difficult.

This would take a long time - measured in hours, and would also need a pick and a spade.

In addition you end up with the equivalent amount of soil to dispose of
and the recently dug earth is a different colour, and so on.
Easily visible to a PJ, a dog, a member of the public actually searching, a helicopter with a camera or anyone else. For weeks.
But who cares, the weather is good, and they wont actually be doing any digging themselves, just standing round with a beer and a sardine sandwich,
kindly brought in by pot-bellied smelly-man.

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Having terraine very similar to what you are descibing here PeterMac I can say it took hubby all one evening to dig a grave large enough to bury a beloved pet, and the dog only weighed about 20kgs.
I have been assuming that the location is quite public, but is it, was it, was it waste land with walls or fences around, any derelict buildings to help to cover activities? I am starting to think not a grave, rather a place to hide objects, this wouldn't have to be so deep, so easier to dig.

by Snifferdog 06.05.14 18:48

Dr What wrote:If they are looking for something that has been buried...and buried very well since it has not come to light in 7 years... then it strikes me that one person on their own would be too risky to undertake the task.It would be a lengthy process in order to do it properly.

A look-out and/or someone to share the effort of digging would surely be required.

Given the emotional states at play here, I would hazard a guess that at least 2 men would be needed, rather than a male and female.

IF the search is centred on PDL and beach area, I am struggling with why the dogs would have alerted to the car.A car would not have been required for that.It would, of course, be required for transportation farther afield.

I suppose until we know exactly where the dig is taking place, we are somewhat in the dark.

Could it be possible that the car alert was caused by contamination of items used in the mopping up operation? We know that apartment 5a was scrupulously cleaned. Perhaps these items used to clean up leaked their contents in the car, and were not actually fluids directly from Maddie's body. Imo and just purporting a theory.

by suzyjohnson 06.05.14 18:57

Dr What wrote:If they are looking for something that has been buried...and buried very well since it has not come to light in 7 years... then it strikes me that one person on their own would be too risky to undertake the task.It would be a lengthy process in order to do it properly.

A look-out and/or someone to share the effort of digging would surely be required.

Given the emotional states at play here, I would hazard a guess that at least 2 men would be needed, rather than a male and female ......

Yes, but I don't think that's what happened. If the McCanns are responsible for MM's disappearance then I think the initial intention was to temporarily prevent a post mortem (for example so that it might appear that someone else had caused a head injury or given her drugs) - later, when her body was not recovered (possibly just by chance) then they may have decided to arrange a proper burial and transported the body some distance from PdL.

Dr What ' ..... IF the search is centred on PDL and beach area, I am struggling with why the dogs would have alerted to the car.A car would not have been required for that.It would, of course, be required for transportation farther afield'

Yes, exactly.

by Ayniia 06.05.14 18:59

Snifferdog wrote:
Could it be possible that the car alert was caused by contamination of items used in the mopping up operation? We know that apartment 5a was scrupulously cleaned. Perhaps these items used to clean up leaked their contents in the car, and were not actually fluids directly from Maddie's body. Imo and just purporting a theory.

I don't think that's possible, 5A was cleaned way before the car being rented and there was hairs /traces of body fluids in the booth of the car plus the odor . GA seems to have no doubts that the body was in that booth.

by Guest 06.05.14 19:01

I'll wager there'll be no body found in PDL unless it's in the church vaults or graveyard sharing a tomb. Apart from the logistics as described by PeterMac there's the car - so smelly the boot had to be left permanently open, potentially caused by a body itself being in there, rather than items that had merely been removed from the corpse - cadaver scent and fluids found by the dogs within.

It is likely they may find evidence of a shallow grave in one or more places there, where the body may have been temporarily laid before the final resting place found. But I would imagine this would have been in a natural hole covered by rocks, or a space in an empty property, or use of facilities offered by an accomplice to the concealer. I would imagine that this is why we are being told the search will be for evidence, not necessarily a body. Would anyone know how long cadaver scent remains on objects open to the elements if the corpse is no longer present?

All own speculation and opinion, as ever.

by Nereid 06.05.14 19:04

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According to article this bit of waste ground is to be dug:

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Surrounded by apartments, and no one noticed anything? Hmmmm

by Mirage 06.05.14 19:04

I see Peter Bleksley, the ex-MET DC can't resist tweeting about himself. "I will be discussing the latest developments in the Madeleine McCann case" (on NewsTalkLive at 6.30pm.)

Another self-appointed expert. Doesn't seem to have had an illustrious career from what I can make out but thinks he's the man to get in on some action. Someone on twitter warned him not to spin for Mc or defame the PJ or they will call off the dig.

I am delighted the PJ have called time on the SY nonsense. They have been firmly put in their place it seems, and not before time.

by Newintown 06.05.14 19:11

Ayniia wrote:
Snifferdog wrote:
Could it be possible that the car alert was caused by contamination of items used in the mopping up operation? We know that apartment 5a was scrupulously cleaned. Perhaps these items used to clean up leaked their contents in the car, and were not actually fluids directly from Maddie's body. Imo and just purporting a theory.
I don't think that's possible, 5A was cleaned way before the car being rented and there was hairs /traces of body fluids in the booth of the car plus the odor . GA seems to have no doubts that the body was in that booth.

You seem to be questioning the work of the forensic team. I'm sure forensic experts would be well able to tell the difference between a frozen cadaver and cleaning fluids. There were signs that the body had been frozen and was thawing out, hence the ice falling out from the corner of the car onto the kerb (as mentioned in GA's papers).

by **sharonl** 06.05.14 19:13

Cadaver dogs are going to search for Maddie's body

6 May 2014 | Posted by Joana Morais

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Dogs are going to search for Maddie's body

Algarve: British Police also want to carry out excavations
Attorney General's Office authorizes searches to find the body of English child in Praia da Luz

by Tânia Laranjo

The Public Prosecution of Portimão authorized the British police to make searches in vacant lots next to the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, Algarve, where investigators now argue that Madeleine's body may have been buried.

The [English] team that continues to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann had already made other requests that were refused. They have requested now for searches to be carried out on vacant lots next to the apartment from where the girl disappeared on May 4, 2007 and for excavations to be authorized. For now only the searches are allowed.

The English promised to use special equipment such as probes to help find cadavers and dogs that detect the trail of death.

“The question is whether the claims are made based on specific suspicions or just because. The English have not substantiated their requests, which means that the judge has already refused some of them”, said a source close to the process to CM.

Another problem that was raised was that the said site was extensively inspected after the child's disappearance. In the first hours after Kate raised the alarm to Madeleine's absence the authorities believed the child had gone out on her own and was lost and that area was thoroughly investigated.

If the Attorney General's Office gives permission for the excavation works to proceed, those will have to be performed by the Judiciary Police. In the meantime the investigation that was reopened [in Portugal] remains under the jurisdiction of that police force [PJ], since the English police has no authority to make investigations on Portuguese soil.

Correio da Manhã knows that other requests for searches were rejected by the Attorney General's Office. The prosecutor who oversees the investigation argued that there would have to be well-founded suspicions for the authorities to be sent on the field.

in Correio da Manhã, May 6, 2014

by russiandoll 06.05.14 19:16

A long piece, apologies . It goes with the photo a few posts back, posted in full because it is an update from 7 minutes ago :

Revealed: Waste ground where British police hunting for Madeleine McCann will begin digging just yards from where she disappeared

Portuguese authorities have approved Scotland Yard's plans to excavate
Investigators will now begin by digging waste ground at Praia da Luz resort
The dig site is just a short walk from the Ocean Club apartment complex
Despite huge interest in case, Portuguese police are demanding secrecy
They have threatened to halt their search if media is given information

By [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Published: 11:31, 6 May 2014 | Updated: 18:46, 6 May 2014

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British police hunting for Madeleine McCann are to begin digging at the resort from which she disappeared - but the public can be told nothing about about the investigation as the
Portuguese authorities are demanding total secrecy.
Specialist search teams will start by scouring sites across Praia da Luz - including waste ground near the Ocean Club apartment complex from where she disappeared seven years ago, shortly before her fourth birthday.
But despite enormous public interest in the increased activity surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine, Portuguese police have threatened to halt their work if information is given to the media.
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Dig location: The waste ground is just a short from the Ocean Club apartment complex. It is also close to the tapas restaurant where Gerry and Kate McCann had dinner on the night their daughter disappeared

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Madeleine, who would be ten on 12 May, was three when she vanished from her holiday flat on 3 May 2007

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Search site: The waste ground in Praia da Luz, Portugal, where Scotland Yard officers will join local police officers in digging as part of the investigation

Detectives believe the searches, possibly to coincide with the first arrests of suspects, are the next logical step in the multi-million pound Operation Grange.

However the Metropolitan Police’s Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowler today revealed that his counterparts in Portugal have warned that if media briefings are given on the investigation, the local officers working on behalf of Scotland Yard will stop working 'until that problem dissipates'.

In an open-letter dated today, Assistant Commissioner Rowley said he had explained the Metropolitan Police's practice of making public as much information as possible, but respects the Portuguese position.
Forensic officers will use ground penetrating radar to uncover sites where earth has been disturbed within the last decade.
They will then move in with mechanical diggers and other earth moving equipment, as well as conducting finger-tip searches.
The digs are not thought to necessarily be in connection with a search for the youngster's body or remains.

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Resort: British police will dig three sites near the Ocean Club holiday apartments in the resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal, from where Madeleine McCann, then three, went missing in May 2007

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Detectives are also said to be preparing to dig up a site on a beach near the Ocean Club apartments

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Madeleine's parents Gerry, 45, and Kate McCann, 46, attended an open-air prayer service on Saturday

MET POLICE BLAMES PORTUGAL FOR LACK OF PUBLIC INFORMATION IN SEARCH FOR MADELEINE

Metropolitan Police’s Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowler has blamed the Portuguese authorities for the lack of information being made public by Operation Grange.
In an open letter dated today, the senior police officer said that despite pleas for the media to be briefed on ongoing developments in the search for Madeline McCann, Portugal’s Policia Judiciara have threatened to stop work if information is passed on.
Revealing the ongoing tension between British and Portuguese police, Assistant Commissioner Rowley said he had explained to his opposite number in the Policia Judiciara that it is the Met’s preferred practice to make public as much information and context as possible, providing it does not compromise the investigation.
He revealed that the reply from the Portuguese police was that they do not brief the media on an ongoing investigation, accompanied by a threat that if any information were to emerge, the work undertaken by Portugal on behalf of Scotland Yard would ‘cease until that problem dissipates’.
‘It is important you understand this and appreciate the position in which I find myself. We will not be able to provide any information concerning the activity because ultimately it could mean the work stops,’ Assistant Commissioner Rowley said.
‘We respect the Portuguese position as we would expect them to respect our position if we were carrying out work on their behalf in the UK,’ he added.
The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "As always, we simply will not comment on operational details of Operation Grange, that is a matter for the Met Police.
'Kate and Gerry are being kept fully informed throughout.'
Portuguese officials declined to comment on the reports, which emerged after the respected daily newspaper Jornal de Noticias claimed the country's Attorney General's office had given the green light to excavations.
Making its first official comments on the claims, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said: 'We received from the British authorities in August 2012, the first Rogatory Letter regarding this matter, which has been replaced by subsequent requests... These requests were received on July 2013, in January 2014 and in February 2014.'
'Under the law, all requests for international judicial cooperation, also known as Rogatory Letters, in the framework of investigations related to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, have been forwarded to the Prosecution Services in Portimao.'
'The content of the requests formulated by the British authorities is confidential, therefore the Attorney General's Office has no comments on this matter.'
Yesterday a source close the McCanns said it will be a ‘heart-breaking and hugely emotional time’ for the family.
‘Police have assured Kate and Gerry that it does not mean they are specifically searching for her body,’ he said.
‘They are doing searches as much as to rule scenarios out as much as rule them in. They will be concentrating on several different places at different phases.
‘Certain areas should have been searched properly way back by the Portuguese authorities but were not.’
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Portuguese police initially searched the resort, but the Met will look for anything they might have missed
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Map: British police are expected to excavate two sites near the Ocean Club and one near Praia Da Luz beach
The searches are not being conducted as the result of any new information, but senior officers are keen to rule out every possibility.
They have said privately that the searches are a difficult issue because they suggest Portuguese police should have acted before.
It is understood that the McCanns will not travel to Portugal but will be constantly kept abreast of any developments.
On Saturday the couple were joined by around 100 well-wishers, friends and relatives for a low-key open-air service in the centre of Rothley, Leicestershire, which saw candles being lit for all children around the world who have been taken away from their parents against their will.
During the service Mr McCann expressed his family's gratitude that the Metropolitan Police team investigating Madeleine's disappearance was moving on to a 'very active' phase in their investigation.
'They are chipping away and obviously there is new evidence so we are going to continue to hope that we will get a happy outcome,' he said.

The high-profile dig is the latest stage of the Met’s sweeping cold case review of one of the world’s most notorious cases.
A team of detectives have been undertaking a painstaking search through every document collected during the huge inquiry.
They have also made a series of appeals on the BBC’s Crimewatch which has led to new information coming to light.
Read more:

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by suzyjohnson 06.05.14 19:17

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

According to article this bit of waste ground is to be dug:

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Surrounded by apartments, and no one noticed anything? Hmmmm

.......... And which abductor / burglar would be likely to stop and bury anything here?

by stillsloppingout 06.05.14 19:24

Mirage wrote:I see Peter Bleksley, the ex-MET DC can't resist tweeting about himself. "I will be discussing the latest developments in the Madeleine McCann case" (on NewsTalkLive at 6.30pm.)

Another self-appointed expert. Doesn't seem to have had an illustrious career from what I can make out but thinks he's the man to get in on some action. Someone on twitter warned him not to spin for Mc or defame the PJ or they will call off the dig.

I am delighted the PJ have called time on the SY nonsense. They have been firmly put in their place it seems, and not before time.

Tweet him and explain that if possessions relating to ANY of the McCann's are found buried ,or proof of once being buried ,then clearly this cannot be the work of a kidnapper . and can he, with his years of experience see this .

Thus; the thesis of the PJ is correct .

As i have said, the PJ have called SY bluff, SY playing catch up, and the McCann's are desperately trying to dictate the story as if they are the instigators " we are working as a team.

" There will be a un official TV blitz this week , because that will go against the PJ's request of no reporting ,SY will not be able to help themselves .

BTW the dig is mostly on public highway so there will be pics, unless they erect screens .

by **PeterMac** 06.05.14 19:25

The text of the letter which finally persuaded the Portuguese Authorities has just been released - by a source close to Hysteria

Dear Mr Portuguese Policeman,
We have greatly enjoyed our 28 visits to your lovely sea-side resort, and would like to come back again, now the weather is improving, which it does after 4th May, as we all know.

Please may we come at the beginning of your Tourist season, and dig up your village to see if we can find anything.

We shall be very discreet, but if any children or their parents ask, then obviously as officers-of-the-law we shall have to tell the truth and say we are looking for the decomposing remains of a little girl who was snatched from her own bed by a predatory paedophile, and was then abused before being killed and buried.
We can then reassure them that no other crimes have happened in the last year or so, probably, since no parent bothers to report it, and that the man involved has probably gone away, as he has never been caught, even though we think he might be one of a group of about 28 different people who are still in the area.
I don't suppose many people will ask.

Looking forward to your full cooperation, as always. Can you book us the usual hotel with the balconies and the sea view.
You remember, the one with the jacuzzi and stress relieving massage.
I owe you a sardine !
Yours
Randy Deadwood

by OpenMind 06.05.14 19:27

Any chance of extending the search out towards Huelva??? winkwink

by **tigger** 06.05.14 19:30

PeterMac wrote:The text of the letter which finally persuaded the Portuguese Authorities has just been released - by a source close to Hysteria

Dear Mr Portuguese Policeman,
We have greatly enjoyed our 28 visits to your lovely sea-side resort, and would like to come back again, now the weather is improving, which it does after 4th May, as we all know.

Please may we come at the beginning of your Tourist season, and dig up your village to see if we can find anything.

We shall be very discreet, but if any children or their parents ask, then obviously as officers-of-the-law we shall have to tell the truth and say we are looking for the decomposing remains of a little girl who was snatched from her own bed by a predatory paedophile, and was then abused before being killed and buried.
We can then reassure them that no other crimes have happened in the last year or so, probably, since no parent bothers to report it, and that the man involved has probably gone away, as he has never been caught, even though we think he might be one of a group of about 28 different people who are still in the area.
I don't suppose many people will ask.

Looking forward to your full cooperation, as always. Can you book us the usual hotel with the balconies and the sea view.
You remember, the one with the jacuzzi and stress relieving massage.
I owe you a sardine !
Yours
Randy Deadwood

I needed that...

by Newintown 06.05.14 19:30

As I said on an earlier page of this thread, could the PJ have already dug where they wanted to dig away from the prying eyes of holidaymakers, press and TV crews and this media circus is just to take the heat off them and what they may have already done or found.

After all, can you imagine hundreds of holidaymakers, tv crews, journalists descending on the PJ where ever they dig a hole if everyone knew when and where they were going to dig?

Wasn't it the PJ who said the McCanns were responsible for the media circus from 3rd May 2007, something the PJ didn't want?

by mouse 06.05.14 19:31

Why are DM and other papers reporting on this when they have apparently (according to Portugal) not received any info? Is this all just speculation? And is it okay to speculate ourselves on here - I mean, if the PJ say they will stop any plans to dig (if they really have any) if the media print or speculate on this - aren't we doing the same? For me, I'm quite happy to wait for facts from Portugal to surface, rather than the British side on this.

And do we really think the PJ will want to dig anywhere public bang at the start of Summer Season? I would doubt it......but of course I could be wrong....

by Snifferdog 06.05.14 19:32

Newintown wrote:
Ayniia wrote:
Snifferdog wrote:
Could it be possible that the car alert was caused by contamination of items used in the mopping up operation? We know that apartment 5a was scrupulously cleaned. Perhaps these items used to clean up leaked their contents in the car, and were not actually fluids directly from Maddie's body. Imo and just purporting a theory.
I don't think that's possible, 5A was cleaned way before the car being rented and there was hairs /traces of body fluids in the booth of the car plus the odor . GA seems to have no doubts that the body was in that booth.

You seem to be questioning the work of the forensic team. I'm sure forensic experts would be well able to tell the difference between a frozen cadaver and cleaning fluids. There were signs that the body had been frozen and was thawing out, hence the ice falling out from the corner of the car onto the kerb (as mentioned in GA's papers).

No. I am not questioning the forensic team. Merely "purporting a theory". If the clean up materials such as a towel was used to mop up a lot of body fluids for example, and water, it may well contain other items such as hair etc. These contaminated items could have also been frozen for later disposal in black rubbish bags. Cleaning fluids would only be used at the end.

by **PeterMac** 06.05.14 19:32

suzyjohnson wrote:
Nereid wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
According to article this bit of waste ground is to be dug:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Surrounded by apartments, and no one noticed anything? Hmmmm
.......... And which abductor / burglar would be likely to stop and bury anything here?

And they didn't.
The point at the top right, next to the 'W' of Waste ground is the Smith sighting.
I do not remember their report of a man digging !

That ground is hard and stony. It would need a JCB to break it. (And Yes, I have been there, with Pat !)

by HelenMeg 06.05.14 19:33

tigger wrote:
PeterMac wrote:The text of the letter which finally persuaded the Portuguese Authorities has just been released - by a source close to Hysteria

Dear Mr Portuguese Policeman,
We have greatly enjoyed our 28 visits to your lovely sea-side resort, and would like to come back again, now the weather is improving, which it does after 4th May, as we all know.

Please may we come at the beginning of your Tourist season, and dig up your village to see if we can find anything.

We shall be very discreet, but if any children or their parents ask, then obviously as officers-of-the-law we shall have to tell the truth and say we are looking for the decomposing remains of a little girl who was snatched from her own bed by a predatory paedophile, and was then abused before being killed and buried.
We can then reassure them that no other crimes have happened in the last year or so, probably, since no parent bothers to report it, and that the man involved has probably gone away, as he has never been caught, even though we think he might be one of a group of about 28 different people who are still in the area.
I don't suppose many people will ask.

Looking forward to your full cooperation, as always. Can you book us the usual hotel with the balconies and the sea view.
You remember, the one with the jacuzzi and stress relieving massage.
I owe you a sardine !
Yours
Randy Deadwood

I needed that...

Me too!!

by ultimaThule 06.05.14 19:36

"But despite enormous public interest in the increased activity surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine, Portuguese police have threatened to halt their work if information is given to the media"

From which we can deduce that the 'source close to the McCanns' and the 'family source' are going to be working overtime while the paid source puts his feet up. sarcastic

by **Tony Bennett** 06.05.14 19:44

Russiandoll wrote:

In an open letter dated today, Assistant Commissioner Rowley said he had explained the Metropolitan Police's practice of making public as much information as possible, but respects the Portuguese position.

Metropolitan Police’s Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley has blamed the Portuguese authorities for the lack of information being made public by Operation Grange.

REPLY: The Met are bringing out ever bigger guns.

A few months ago, it was Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt who was wheeled out to offer his verbally-challenged quote that "the tempo of the investigation is moving forward".

Now it's an Assistant Commissioner - Mark Rowley, one step down from Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe - who is coming out of the woodwork - mainly, it seems, to bash, yet again, the Portuguese Police, instead of publicly thanking them.

If it is true, as reported, that the Portuguese government (because they have to be involved) has sanctioned a dig by Scotland Yard - a force that has criticised them time and again, from a country whose media have criticised them time and time again as well - then we can be sure that something very very strange is going on.

I think I have said on many occasions that from Day One this Scotland Yard operation has been about shaping public perception, and never was a genuine enquiry into the facts.

This latest episode of the dig doesn't persuade me to alter my opinion one jot.

by ChippyM 06.05.14 19:46

Newintown wrote:As I said on an earlier page of this thread, could the PJ have already dug where they wanted to dig away from the prying eyes of holidaymakers, press and TV crews and this media circus is just to take the heat off them and what they may have already done or found.

After all, can you imagine hundreds of holidaymakers, tv crews, journalists descending on the PJ where ever they dig a hole if everyone knew when and where they were going to dig?

Wasn't it the PJ who said the McCanns were responsible for the media circus from 3rd May 2007, something the PJ didn't want?

A good theory because as you say, it's the tourist season and the worst time to do such a thing if you don't want prying eyes.

Another thing I have wondered about is that in 'The truth of the lie' (chapter 16 I think), Amaral describes how Eddie and Keela spent days at the Murats House and found nothing, they of course famously detected the scent of death inside 5a and on the McCann's clothes and in the car. yet they apparently went 'everywhere' around the local area and detected nothing.

If Eddie and Keela detected no scent of a body at that time this either means they are unlikely to find one now, or that the body may have been placed at one of these locations later. Maybe the tactic was to 'hide in plain sight' after the initial searches were done?

by View-from-Ireland 06.05.14 19:52

Two things strike me about that photo of the waste ground location.

1. It is located close to the tennis courts and would therefore be something anybody who played tennis there would be quite aware of.

2. The Tanner siting at 9.15/9.20pm placed bundleman/eggman or whatever else we want to call name walking in the complete opposite direction to both the waste ground and the Smith siting of 9.55/10pm.

Does anybody else find all this quite intriguing, especially now that it seems this area of ground near the Smith siting and in the opposite direction of the Tanner siting will apparently be dug at some point?