Re: "Maddie cops to start digging at resort"

by endgame 07.05.14 12:31

tiny wrote:
Cristobell wrote:
tiny wrote:taken from the letter.
We do not want to undermine our prospects of providing Mr and Mrs McCann with answers in this tragic case.

another bummer, I think I will stay on the whitewash side
The key word in that sentence Tiny was tragic. They are looking for the body of a small child, and in every case of this nature, the police treat the parents with respect, it is probably ingrained in them to do so from the time they were rookies.

He is basically begging for restraint from the media who are probably chomping at the bit to release those sensational headlines they have been sitting on for years. Excavation works in PDL will turn the spotlight on the McCanns, how can it not? Fortunately the population are not yet so dumbed down that 2+2=5. As some people have already pointed out, no matter what they might have done, the family are extremely vulnerable at this time and have 2 young children. I find myself agreeing with him, the time for recriminations is not now.

best he didn't mention the mccanns at all then.my thought are with the twins and NOT the mccanns

Seems to me that he is yet again reinforcing the tacky, tasteless and offensive narrative that TM, media and SY have been relentlessly pursuing for 7 years now - this is not about Madeleine. It's about the pain, the anger, the fury, the nightmare, the suffering of Kate and Gerry. Poor Madeleine doesn't even get a mention.

by Cristobell 07.05.14 12:31

whatliesbehindthesofa wrote:
Cristobell wrote:
She said she usually returns twice a year, but hadn't been since last April.

Hmm, wonder what's different ... could it be something to do with the Portuguese investigation by any chance? :)

Good point - probably!

I still think they are arguidos and that they have been since the Portuguese investigation re-opened. There was a well publicised service for missing children held in the small church in PDL that Kate loved so much, not only did the parents not return for it, they didn't even mention it in their anniversary interviews.

by tiny 07.05.14 12:32

Praia wrote:Hi all,

I was in Luz yesterday and all was normal and quiet, just another day in early May. Hard to believe the whole world seemed to be focused on this village. BUT the locals are at the end of their tether, Portugal is on her knees financially, desperate for more tourists, trying to be positive about Summer 2014 and ......... Bang!!!!

All the areas mentioned were extensively, repeatedly searched and searched and searched......

All the areas are surrounded by towering apt's.

The roadworks and wasteland were the first places thought of that night, if she had wandered out of 5A. I walked up and down past both areas at least once a week, usually more, that long, sweltering Summer, they are on the narrow, main street. No way is there anyway a body was "overlooked".

For those who keep referring to the Church, it's tiny, no vaults, nothing like an English Church. It was their safe place for discussions away from eavesdroppers.

The graveyard again is overlooked on all sides, people here use their balconies at all times of night, even in early May.

The only areas worth searching, IMO, are out further from the village. Not in the countryside, not in the village. Petermac, I believe we are on the same page.

AND breathe......

thank for that praia,its nice to know there is someone there keeping a look out thumbsup

by bobbin 07.05.14 12:38

Andrew77R wrote:
tiny wrote:taken from the letter.
We do not want to undermine our prospects of providing Mr and Mrs McCann with answers in this tragic case.

another bummer, I think I will stay on the whitewash side
Was just about to highlight the same sentence.

All this pussy footing around the poor Mccann's.

What a joke.

A genuine, determined Whitewash is as clear to see as the day. We have so many examples, Chilcott and Kelly, for a start. Everyone knows that information is sat upon and locked away when a cover up is not sufficiently robust to protect its own reputation or defend itself from public scrutiny. We may know it's all lies, but the law will be put in place to prevent access.

This McCs case doesn't seem to be following the normal 'whitewashing' procedure.

To me the statement seems to have the hallmarks of a very cleverly worded response.

"We do not want to undermine our prospects" (e.g. get the digging stopped) "of providing Mr and Mrs McCann with answers" (e.g. they've been dinging on all along that they want 'answers', but which we imagine would be the answers that would suit their demands and not the answers that we expect to find) "in this tragic case" (it certainly is, tragic, and given their demands, what can the McCs possibly complain about, if digging will provide the answers to this tragic case ?)

By going for a public announcement of a 'no continual reporting' system, and by putting the onus of this onto the Portuguese, who openly claim this as their pre-condition for co-operation, the press are required NOT to speculate, and this should render 'invalid' any of the usual trolleyed out "family friends", "a source close to the family", and the pre-paid "~~pink-ponce~~ spokes-outlet" who whilst running for MPship in Brighton, is courting local favour by scrutinising the beach for signs of stray dogs, coming up quite often with a sample of PeterMac's findings, which make him splutter "Oh Merda".

I'm quietly waiting....

by **Tony Bennett** 07.05.14 12:43

margaret wrote:
Tony Bennett wrote:
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.

But that doesn't make sense to me, because so far SY have ruled out Tannerman and bought the Smith sighting to the fore, mentioned Maddie may not have left the apartment alive and have requested digs in PDL.

They haven't appeared to have helped the McCanns!

margaret, let me deal with your point as follows please.

First of all, consider what the McCanns' agenda in all this might be.

Then consider which of the following actions of DCI Redwood and his team help or hinder that agenda:

1. Heavily publicising an age-progressed sketch of Madeleine aged 10

2. Endless statistics about their search for the abductor: actions, lines of enquiry, mobile 'phone records of people in Praia da Luz in May 2007, suspects, persons of interest, sex offenders, international rogatory letters of request...and much more

3. 'Ruling out Tannerman'? NO! - Ruling IN Tannerman - saying that Jane Tanner really really did see someone, i.e. crecheman

4. 'Bringing the Smithman sighting to the fore' - TRUE, but perpetuating the idea that a lone man was carrying a child around Praia da Luz some time after 9.10pm on 3 May and that he might be the abductor

5. Two e-fits, said to be of the same man but clearly different, not clear if they were drawn with the help of the 'Irish family' or not - public asked to look again at another potential abductor

6. 4 more e-fits of blond men - more potential abductors for the general public to think about

7. News of suspects and 'persons of interest': 'tractorman', 'smelly bin-man', '38 suspects to be elimnated blah blah - more spoon-feeding of the abduction theory to the masses

8. 'digs' or 'activities' or 'searches' or 'excavations' - press and public think: 'Oh no, the abductor murdered and buried Madeleine'

by whatliesbehindthesofa 07.05.14 12:47

Tony Bennett wrote:
3. 'Ruling out Tannerman'? NO! - Ruling IN Tannerman - saying that Jane Tanner really really did see someone, i.e. crecheman

I don't want to speak on behalf of margaret, but to me her words clearly meant 'Tannerman as abductor', and as an abductor he has certainly been ruled out.

by phil_burton 07.05.14 12:54

AndyB wrote:What we are now witnessing, I believe, is SY desperately trying to put the genie back in the bottle by creating an entirely false perception.

The above sentence stood out to me. Not just SY creating a false perception, but also creating a whole raft of new, false, so-called evidence.

It seems like the whole purpose of Operation Grange is to counteract the real PJ evidence with fabricated, scurrilous, irrelevant "evidence" coupled with a continual onslaught against the PJ and how useless they were.

This dig will probably be just another stage in creating new "evidence" that points suspicion away from the McCanns.

by Praia 07.05.14 12:58

Hi Tiny, thamks for that. For the record I believe the dogs should be brought to Boavista golf and the campsite.

by Guest 07.05.14 13:00

So, this Martin Brunt reporting that SY had been denied search warrants for the homes of the three burglars. Is he speculating that? Is there any other source for the content of denied requests? It seems codswallop, an English expression I've learned right here at the forum.

by Mirage 07.05.14 13:01

HelenMeg wrote:Just because Kate says she goes out there twice a year to walk the streets doesn't mean it is the truth.
Kate says and always has said what she wants us to believe.IMo.

I thought exactly the same HelenMeg.

The problem we face is one of credibility. At various stages we have been told outright lies, half truths and given misleading information by a huge mix of people. Leaving Team Mc aside for the moment,we are asked to climb a helluva credibility mountain vis-a-vis SY.

Here's a list:

New suspects announced then forgotten.
Arrests imminent announced then forgotten.
The Chief Constable needing to be 'reminded' what Operation Grange is investigating live on air
The Mcs announced in the clear from the start.
Rowley currently talking of providing answers for Mr and Mrs McCann
The PJ routinely demonised - from 2007 to the present day. Slowness/ILORs etc
Public comment heavily censored on newspaper boards
Media bias
Leveson accepting abduction
Cameron accepting abduction
Miliband accepting abduction
Long-standing misinformation from SY about co-operation with PJ
Plethora of confusing e-fits given out by AR to vast swathes of the population, here and in Europe
Reconstruction on CW erroneous, compounded by varied versions between UK's and other countries
PT denied broadcasting rights to CW, the very scene of the crime
No mention of the dogs' evidence at any point
No mention of well-known anomalies in the state of shutters/window.
Public censure from PJ on press leaks
Warning from PJ again on issue of excavation
Media giving the impression SY are in charge................

I'm certain everyone could add more.

One accolade goes to Lord Justice Tugendhat - a lone voice not accepting abduction on the Mcs' say-so

In toto, this is why it is right we continue to question everything.

One of my concerns is that PT is not economically sound, but - notwithstanding occasional doubts in the back of my mind - they seem determined to hold on to supremacy.

I do not imagine for one moment that they are going to dig that adjacent waste-ground for all the reasons PM and others have stated. After seven years, and severe disruption to the tourist trade in PdL already, that would be lunacy at the start of a new holiday season.

I have felt for a while that some excavation has been undertaken already and that certain material evidence uncovered. The whole thing will hang on where certain people may want to nail their colours in the end. Politics is like that.

by tiny 07.05.14 13:01

Praia wrote:Hi Tiny, thamks for that. For the record I believe the dogs should be brought to Boavista golf and the campsite.

good place to start ,but unfortunately sy don't seem to be taking any notice of any of the info sent them by the general public(not that I have seen)

by bobbin 07.05.14 13:04

Tony Bennett wrote:
margaret wrote:
Tony Bennett wrote:
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.

But that doesn't make sense to me, because so far SY have ruled out Tannerman and bought the Smith sighting to the fore, mentioned Maddie may not have left the apartment alive and have requested digs in PDL.

They haven't appeared to have helped the McCanns!
margaret, let me deal with your point as follows please.

First of all, consider what the McCanns' agenda in all this might be.

Then consider which of the following actions of DCI Redwood and his team help or hinder that agenda:

1. Heavily publicising an age-progressed sketch of Madeleine aged 10

2. Endless statistics about their search for the abductor: actions, lines of enquiry, mobile 'phone records of people in Praia da Luz in May 2007, suspects, persons of interest, sex offenders, international rogatory letters of request...and much more

3. 'Ruling out Tannerman'? NO! - Ruling IN Tannerman - saying that Jane Tanner really really did see someone, i.e. crecheman

4. 'Bringing the Smithman sighting to the fore' - TRUE, but perpetuating the idea that a lone man was carrying a child around Praia da Luz some time after 9.10pm on 3 May and that he might be the abductor

5. Two e-fits, said to be of the same man but clearly different, not clear if they were drawn with the help of the 'Irish family' or not - public asked to look again at another potential abductor

6. 4 more e-fits of blond men - more potential abductors for the general public to think about

7. News of suspects and 'persons of interest': 'tractorman', 'smelly bin-man', '38 suspects to be elimnated blah blah - more spoon-feeding of the abduction theory to the masses

8. 'digs' or 'activities' or 'searches' or 'excavations' - press and public think: 'Oh no, the abductor murdered and buried Madeleine'

Would this be the abductor who left NO SIGN WHATSOEVER of having broken in and taken Maddie, leaving no forensic trace on window ledge, no footprints, no DNA, not even finger or glove print marks left on the patio blinds which he closed behind him, nor on the patio window/doors, again closed to, two child safety gates which were closed behind him, and of course not forgetting the marking of the two dogs, cadaver odour and the finding of blood reported as Madeleine's in the apartment, which must have been spilled in between Gerry's visit at 9.15 p.m. and Kate's visit at 10 p.m.

Those danged Police Files, produced for the public, according to Portuguese legal investigation procedures. A little bit more 'homework' from the McCanns might have made them a bit more careful about what they said and then later contradicted, same of course goes for all of the Tapas bunch who are also up to their necks in it.

by margaret 07.05.14 13:04

Tony Bennett wrote:
margaret, let me deal with your point as follows please.

First of all, consider what the McCanns' agenda in all this might be.

Then consider which of the following actions of DCI Redwood and his team help or hinder that agenda:

1. Heavily publicising an age-progressed sketch of Madeleine aged 10

2. Endless statistics about their search for the abductor: actions, lines of enquiry, mobile 'phone records of people in Praia da Luz in May 2007, suspects, persons of interest, sex offenders, international rogatory letters of request...and much more

3. 'Ruling out Tannerman'? NO! - Ruling IN Tannerman - saying that Jane Tanner really really did see someone, i.e. crecheman

4. 'Bringing the Smithman sighting to the fore' - TRUE, but perpetuating the idea that a lone man was carrying a child around Praia da Luz some time after 9.10pm on 3 May and that he might be the abductor

5. Two e-fits, said to be of the same man but clearly different, not clear if they were drawn with the help of the 'Irish family' or not - public asked to look again at another potential abductor

6. 4 more e-fits of blond men - more potential abductors for the general public to think about

7. News of suspects and 'persons of interest': 'tractorman', 'smelly bin-man', '38 suspects to be elimnated blah blah - more spoon-feeding of the abduction theory to the masses

8. 'digs' or 'activities' or 'searches' or 'excavations' - press and public think: 'Oh no, the abductor murdered and buried Madeleine'

Thanks for replying. We just see things differently....

1. The age progression pic could have been knocked up in half an hour and used to keep the Mccanns onside.

2. Some of that is going to get certain people very twitchy.

3. They said they found this man thus ruling him out. I don't believe this man came forward remembering it was him AND still had his daughters pyjamas, more to the point how does he remember that those were the ones she was wearing that night - 6 years previously? I think it was done to put pressure on K and G. Tanners been given the all clear, Payne wasn't mentioned either, a message that it's K and G themselves that are the targets.

4-5 if anyone then researched that they would have discovered exactly WHO Mr.Smith says he recognised.

6-7 if K&G are the sole targets there needs to be a water tight case, l can understand that these many 'suspects' need ruling out once and for all.

8. No, l don't see that. There's not much support for the Mccanns, you can't suddenly take all what you know and decide you must be wrong just because the PJ are planning digs. An opportunist abductor would never hide a body so well that it had not been found in 7 years with everyone searching in PDL., I think it implies the opposite (if found) that someone hid it so well they were desperate to get away with their crime.[/quote]

by Issy 07.05.14 13:05

stillsloppingout wrote:
Dutchgirl wrote:Martin on Sky again - Portuguese are not happy and have threatened to stop the work if the reporting is continued. A big blow for SY as PJ DENIED request to search homes and interview 3burglars.
As i stated yesterday SY will not be able to help themselves . I bet by this time tomorrow the PJ have told SY to F*** off.

It confirms though that SY as TB states ,are still trying to shape public perception . [ especially todays leak referring to searching the three homes , giving the impression of a potential link between these persons and the dig ,thus affording the McCann's breathing space and no suspicion falling on them. ]

If any use comes from these excavations, there will be no body, but little things ie clothing etc, a body would have been disposed of later bar all the clutter [ toothbrush, pillow, clothing ] IMO she is NOT at sea ,living on the coast anyone who has the misfortune to go over the sea wall , usually ends up a week or so later washed up . Unless Gerry knew for sure local tide times , i doubt he would go down that route .. unless she's in a blue sports bag , two miles out weighed down with rocks .!!!.

Of course she'd be weighted down, no one would just drop a body into the sea without making sure it was weighted enough not to rise. Ask the Mafia! I'm sure a boat could have been found, if that was necessary. Yes there's always a chance even a weighted body could be found, but it's a lot less chancy than burying a body in a busy seaside town that you know is soon going to be combed by police and sniffer dogs. As others have said, digging a grave in hard or rocky ground isn't something you'll do in 10 minutes with a garden spade. The church that I attended as a child had a graveyard set on the side of a rocky hill. Sometimes the only way to get a grave dug was to use explosives (talk about sending someone off with a bang!).

by beijos 07.05.14 13:05

Praia wrote:
The graveyard again is overlooked on all sides, people here use their balconies at all times of night, even in early May.

That's not true...Waste ground at the rear (the rubble easily allows you to jump the wall), new apartments on the left (which were probably not there in 2007). Across the street from the main gate, and down a slope, are an block about 5-6 stories high (PJ files have unconfirmed reports of Gerry being spotted there), and on the right, heading back into town are walled villas on the opposite side of the street.

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by Praia 07.05.14 13:08

Gerry WAS over at the campsite, he was seen, locals could not find any reason for him to be "visiting", eg friends / relatives.

Boavista, I would have had Keela and Eddie there in 2007 but local politics came into play here IMO. We all know there is a major player in all this who is very high up in the pecking order of Boavista.

by Guest 07.05.14 13:11

Praia wrote: We all know there is a major player in all this who is very high up in the pecking order of Boavista.

Who is that.....??

by Tangled Web 07.05.14 13:11

Could it be that a whitewash is/was the intention but the media won't allow it to happen because they know the truth and want it exposing?? I know we get angry with the 'news' they print and some of it is planted to work in the McCann's favour but every story is helping to create doubt in the minds of the general public (because most of it sounds so ridiculous) and drawing more and more people in to comment online and then be referred to the various fora discussing the police files etc. As these numbers continue to grow, it's going to get more and more difficult for the powers that be to keep a lid on this. Maybe this is why the media are being threatened to keep quiet, because they are helping to turn the public against the McCann's in a very clever way.

Only IMHO.

by Praia 07.05.14 13:12

Hi Beijos, the villas overlooking the village have a good view as have some of the apts. Even the highest apts in centre of Luz, certain apts have limited views. I have seen with my own eyes. Yes things have changed but not that much. I have been here over a decade.

by beijos 07.05.14 13:15

Praia wrote:Hi Beijos, the villas overlooking the village have a good view as have some of the apts. Even the highest apts in centre of Luz, certain apts have limited views. I have seen with my own eyes. Yes things have changed but not that much. I have been here over a decade.

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by Cristobell 07.05.14 13:15

Tony Bennett wrote:
Cristobell wrote:
Tony Bennett wrote:
Cristobell wrote:I think digging up the resort of PDL is going a bit over the top for a whitewash, as indeed was the Review and the full blown investigation. Some might say the police are in fact doing the opposite of a whitewash. If you are going to concoct an elaborate lie, would you really invite the world's media along?
The world's media were invited during the early hours of Friday 4 May 2007 and have been courted and used for the past 7 years by the McCann Team.

As Jeremy Paxman once pointed out forcefully on Newsnight to a squirming Gerry McCann
LOL, you are of course right Tony, thats exactly what they did!

The finale though is rather different to the launch, the divas are no longer directing the show.
Indeed, bringing the media in to support your campaign to 'uphold the sword of truth', like Jonathan Aitken, is no guarantee of success:

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But then the McCanns' campaign for the truth is supported by some of the most powerful men and women in this country - and beyond - unlike Jonathan Aitken

It all depends on whether those powerful men and women still have any power Tony. We have had a change of government and many of those who assisted the McCanns in those early days have moved on. We have a climate of transparency, particularly where obvious former cover ups are being exposed. David Cameron has no loyalty to the cabinets of Tony Blair or Gordon Brown, why should he put his own neck on the line to protect them? As you said yourself, Theresa May gave no truck to the McCanns appeals for a Review, and to all intents and purposes, it looks as though she 'sat on' the report of Jim Gamble.

Some forced the Review, probably the pressure from Rebekka Brooks and the Sun to put the face of Theresa May on the front page every day until she agreed. For the newspaper industry the 'Madeleine' mystery is about selling papers, they are on the side that will pull in the most cash, and the headlines that will shift more copy. Stories with 'human' interest are bestsellers, particularly one that involves, a cherubic child, two clearly innocent parents, and a nasty foreign power picking on them. For a long, long time the McCanns had a very popular bandwagon to hop a ride on, and politicians and tabloids were quick to jump on board.

The human interest however, doesn't extend to the boardrooms, everybodys angle, even the most sainted, is 'how will this affect me'. Ergo, nobody really cares a jot about the parents or the missing child, they care about whats in it for them. RB probably dreamed about those digs and the sensational headlines in April 2011 as the McCanns prepared their book launch - I have a feeling the dynamic Ms Brooks could get pretty much anything she wanted from any man she targeted.

There were a number of people taking large chunks of the McCann 5* luxury pie, newspaper barons, excitable breakfast sofa queens, charities, politicians, and wannabe Dr. Evils who want to curb Freedom of Speech. Few, if any, are standing by the McCanns now in their worst hour, which would suggest no-one is fighting over the few crumbs that are left.

I am really struggling to see this case from your perspective Tony, and I am trying to, I have read most, if not all of your work over the years, I'm a huge fan, but I don't think this is the Review the McCanns wanted. They wanted the review to follow the lines of the CEOP report, which I doubt included excavating the land around the apartments in PDL.

I agree with you that there is, and has been a conspiracy surrounding this case. However, the lengths to which Scotland Yard are now going is tightening the net on all the conspirators, it is not letting them off the hook. Digging in the immediate vicinity puts the spotlight on those with means, motive and access and takes it away from the abduction theory. The McCanns have always wanted to focus on other countries, they started their Moroccan and European tour less than a month after Madeleine disappeared. Their immediate concern on the night, was to alert the borders - they didn't even bother to leave their apartment to search the immediate vicinity, it was always 'look away from PDL', these current searches must be their worst nightmare. Now might be the first time in seven years for their spokesman to say something useful.

by Guest 07.05.14 13:17

Suggesting a whitewash or a bungling Scotland Yard, rows between the police forces and corruption, does, just as suggesting stupidity and corruption on the Portuguese side does, help defend the eventual suspects.

by ChippyM 07.05.14 13:18

Praia wrote:Hi Tiny, thamks for that. For the record I believe the dogs should be brought to Boavista golf and the campsite.

And while they're at it they could have a look at Rua da Flores, lot 27 - Vivenda Vista do Mar where the McCann's stayed and parked the Renault Scenic.

"The owner of the villa said that he had been in the villa after the departure of the McCanns and that it seemed to him that there were new plants at the bottom of the garden, without being able to indicate exactly which plants, a fact that he commented on with the gardener F**** Do S*****."

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by Praia 07.05.14 13:18

Hi Andrew, the keyman.

While I am on, I have seen on other sites references to the local priest's complete breakdown etc, as I said before it's a media myth. He spoke no English, there was no confession, as a Catholic even if you confess your sins you must make retribution for it, you do not get a glib say 3 prayers and off you go if it is such a serious sin. Off topic I know,sorry.

by Praia 07.05.14 13:25

Hi ChippyM, they were given plants as gifts, say I trying to be fair, I doubt they would be so careless as to bury something knowing the gardener came regularly.

by Guest 07.05.14 13:31

Praia wrote:Hi Andrew, the keyman.

While I am on, I have seen on other sites references to the local priest's complete breakdown etc, as I said before it's a media myth. He spoke no English, there was no confession, as a Catholic even if you confess your sins you must make retribution for it, you do not get a glib say 3 prayers and off you go if it is such a serious sin. Off topic I know,sorry.

Scratching my head here... ha!!!!

Are you referring the Keyman as in the 'LUZ KEY' and the numbers 5 3 2 1 which is mentioned in the excellent book - A Estrela de Madeleine....????

by Praia 07.05.14 13:34

Sorry, try the person who stored the Senic after they left.

by **Tony Bennett** 07.05.14 13:37

Cristobell wrote:
It all depends on whether those powerful men and women still have any power Tony.

Rupert Murdoch?

We have a climate of transparency

Que?

particularly where obvious former cover ups are being exposed.

Darren Morgan murder?
Lee Balkwell murder?
Operation Tiberius?
Senior Met Police protecting Dave Hunt for years?
Dunblane?
How many of these, and others, have been exposed?
How much of what Savile did and how he operated is still being covered up?

David Cameron has no loyalty to the cabinets of Tony Blair or Gordon Brown, why should he put his own neck on the line to protect them?

He already has given the McCanns 101% support

Theresa May gave no truck to the McCanns appeals for a Review, and to all intents and purposes, it looks as though she 'sat on' the report of Jim Gamble.

May was brushed aside by the combined weight of Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks on our Prime Minister

I am really struggling to see this case from your perspective Tony

I may be wrong

I don't think this is the Review the McCanns wanted. They wanted the review to follow the lines of the CEOP report, which I doubt included excavating the land around the apartments in PDL.

We may find out in due course

However, the lengths to which Scotland Yard are now going is tightening the net on all the conspirators, it is not letting them off the hook. Digging in the immediate vicinity puts the spotlight on those with means, motive and access and takes it away from the abduction theory.

Not at all. The media are all singing from the same hymn sheet: "Oh no, this means the abductor murdered Madeleine and hid her body".

The McCanns have always wanted to focus on other countries...Their immediate concern on the night, was to alert the borders

Er, no. I think it was to make sure that the world's press reported how a wicked abductor had stolen their daughter in between their checking regime of either every 15, 30 or 60 minutes, depending on which paper you read the next day