Maddy, the plot thickens.

quote:

Maddie's parents seek charity's help

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have visited Richmond to find out more about the work of a charity that helps locate missing people. Kate and Gerry McCann, whose four-year-old daughter was kidnapped from Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3 last year, met representatives from East Sheen-based charity Missing People and Missing Children Europe.

Ross Miller, of Missing People, said the McCanns wanted to find out more about the charity's role within Missing Children Europe, the European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, and to hear about its work first hand. He said: "Kate and Gerry were very interested to learn more about our new research programme.

"This aims to fill gaps in the information currently available about the numbers of people going missing, why they go missing, their experiences while away and the impact on those left behind." On the same day, 302 days after Madeleine's abduction, Gerry wrote on his blog praising the work of the charity.

He said: "Missing People were responsible for displaying Madeleine's image on Marble Arch, along with two other missing children last summer. "It was heartening to hear today that one of those children was recovered as a direct result and the other has also been successfully returned to his family."

The Richmond Guardian also received reports that the couple visited the Depot restaurant, in Tideway Yard, Mortlake High Street, and were being filmed. However, staff at the restaurant remained tight-lipped about the couple's visit and refused to comment about the filming."

quote:

Posted by: chriss on 8:04pm Tue 4 Mar 08
i hope this is a joke ,they left 3 babies on there own with the result that madeleine vanished, i hope no charity gives them the time of day

Posted by: Jennifer, Oakham on 8:11pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Is it April Fools day already:? These child neglectors visiting a childrens charity. Interesting, seeing as their fund was not set up as charity, but as a company which in turn has duped countless people.

Posted by: Loz, England on 8:12pm Tue 4 Mar 08
There is no evidence that Madeleine was 'kidnapped'. Her parents are official suspects (arguidos) in her disappearance and are being investigated by the Portuguese Police. The Missing People charity would do well to distance themselves from Mr and Mrs McCann who admit to leaving three children under the age of four alone in an unlocked apartment while they wined and dined at a considerable distance. The so-called 'recovered' child is in fact still living with the man for whom she left home. Perhaps facts should be checked by journalists prior to publication.

Posted by: LB, Birmingham. on 8:23pm Tue 4 Mar 08
That's one 'charity' that I shall make a point of NOT donating to! Having meetings with 2 self-confessed negligent 'parents' who are also OFFICIAL police suspects in the disappearance of their own daughter! And why does the article say Maddie was 'kidnapped'?? That is NOT what the investigating police force think! Maddie has 'disappeared'. The police are trying to find out what happened to her - and are being hampered by the McCanns non-co-operation!

Posted by: Christine, London on 8:30pm Tue 4 Mar 08
If these two child neglecters have got time for publicity stunts, they've got time to answer the 40 questions the Policia Judiciaria asked and they refused to answer before hotfooting it back to the UK and hiring a team of expensive lawyers! A team that includes General Pinochet's extradition lawyer. Who can forget Pinochet (at death's door, according to his lawyer) being wheeled off the plane and leaping out of his wheelchair as soon as he was on safe ground?!

Posted by: Jennifer, Oakham on 8:40pm Tue 4 Mar 08
And another thing. Did they also visit reputica which is on the same street. Who specialise in reputations management? Interesting. Was this childrens charity thing just a smokescreen for the real agenda?

Posted by: PatM, Warwick on 9:13pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Oh my goodness whatever next! Will they get a medal next,quickest way to lose a kid,go on holiday and bugger off and leave the kids! They are a disgrace!

Posted by: Maureen L., Merseyside on 9:28pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Like LB in Birmingham and I am sure, many countless others, I shall never donate to Missing People or Missing Children Europe because of their involvement with these poor excuses for parents Gerry and Kate McCann.

Posted by: SuziC, Bristol on 9:33pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Why are you reporting this as a "kidnapping"? As I understand it, the Portuguese Police have classed this as a "disappearance" due to the total lack of evidence to suggest an "abduction" or "kidnapping". Ian Mason, please use the correct terminology to avoid such misrepresentations of a case. Many thanks.

Posted by: maureen, Leeds on 9:45pm Tue 4 Mar 08
When will the media stop reporting about this vile couple, charity work indeed? this couple are the most selfish, self centered, greedy celebrity seeking media hungry vile couple, they do not do any thing for others(more so even their daughter) this is all a cover up of their real reason why they was there, this charity had better drop this couple like a hot brick, as it will have a damaging effect , to be linked any way to this couple of child neglecters (or even worse) hopefully we will find out soon as AT LAST the PJ are coming to interview them as well as their equally selfish friends and finally we will get JUSTICE FOR MADDIE!!!

Posted by: Muzzy, Warwick on 9:52pm Tue 4 Mar 08
What is Gerry McCann talking about? One of the three children whose image was projected onto Marble Arch has been, "recovered."? Well, it's not Madeleine he's talking about and it's not the boy. So, it must be Sammy Osborn and Sammy has not been, "recovered." Discovered maybe, but not reunited with her family. So, in what way has she been, "recovered."? Recovered from what? Certainly not from the place she disappeared to and is still living.

Posted by: Muzzy, Warwick on 9:57pm Tue 4 Mar 08
And Gerry, you could always ask that young girl's family if they think she's been, "recovered."

Posted by: Eddie Springer-Spaniel, pdl on 10:53pm Tue 4 Mar 08
[bold]Why can't the press see through this pair of murdering fools[/bold]

Posted by: k r, wandsworth on 10:59pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Until the truth is known about these prime suspects in the disappearance of thier own daughter, missing children's charities ought to keep thier distance I would have thought. Bad move for your donations, I reckon!

Posted by: Minger Ginge, The Beautiful South on 10:59pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Glad to see people are aware of the McScams machinations;it's just the media that like`to pretend all's fine...

Posted by: t g r, PARIS on 11:00pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Apparently the police are in the UK this week to re interview the charming couple.

Posted by: Kirsteen, Glasgow on 11:00pm Tue 4 Mar 08
This couple deliberately chose to go out every night socialising with their frinds, leaving 3 toddlers alone where they could neither be seen or heard and then called this 'responsible parenting' Any childrens charity associating itself with them should be banned. And tat's before we even consider the fact that the police named them the prime suspects in their daughter's disappearance. This whole thing is unbelievable.

Posted by: Sid, Bristol on 11:04pm Tue 4 Mar 08
very unpleasant pair. and as for that bizarre adman in the pink shirt? Crist only knows how its all going to pan out.

Posted by: patti on 11:04pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Madeleine went missing because these parents left 3 kids under 4 alone, night after night in a strange environment. I hope they contacted you for parental classes, something badly needed by them, considering they still deny their responsibility in that. I truly hope they will not be permitted to obfuscate their despicable role, that maybe even worse than "just" neglectful -ie being actively involved- by getting involved in ANY organization that works for/with children. It would make a mockery of child well being activities.

Posted by: Elvis, The Moon on 11:23pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Hey i've just spotted Maddy coming out of a chip shop on the moon. Report that. Idiot press.

Posted by: Cas, UK on 11:47pm Tue 4 Mar 08
Any charity that deals with the McCanns will not be getting any of my money. Tell the police what you have done with your daughter, how can you call yourself Catholics, and not allow her a place to rest in peace. I hope you rot in hell for what you have done, you are both liars and fraudently trying to con the world. WELL KATE AND GERRY WE DONT BELIEVE YOU ANY MORE. GAME OVER TELL THE TRUTH. have a little respect for your little girl, and respect for the twins, put an end to this charade.

Posted by: Issy, Manchester on 5:40am today
Gerry is heartened to hear that one of the other children was recovered as a direct result of the marble arch publicity.What a load of codswallop,she was found 6 months later,hardly a direct result.Get your facts right Gerry!

Posted by: ratonthebeam, Aberdeen, Scotland on 12:31pm today
Ahem. Should this not read, "Kate and Gerry McCann, whose four-year-old daughter was [italic]allegedly[/italic] kidnapped from Praia da Luz..." We've all had enough of the brainwashing and spin, thanks.

Posted by: Dearest, the netherlands on 12:48pm today
One suggestion to the McCanns, answer in all honestly the questions from the police, and also your Tapas friends. Clear things up, please!

Posted by: sheeple, UK on 12:50pm today
This can't be a genuine charity can it? Now way would any genuine charity be associated with the suspects in a vanished child case.

quote:

Op woensdag 5 maart 2008 19:39 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Idd, snel quoten want er zijn er wel een paar best to the point, het is ook nog steed debiel dat zij als verdachten eeen child charity gaan bezoeken terwijl de ouders van andere vermiste kinderen het journaal niet eens halen.
[..] Whahahahahahahaha! Alle reacties zijn verdwenen....de mening van de lezer mag niet gelezen worden, maar het gaf goed aan hoe ook de Britten er over denken.

Ook al zou dat zo zijn, de McCanns zijn echt niet zo dom dat ze zelf daar naar binnen stappen of met de 'sniffers' gaan eten, daar hebben ze 'personeel' voor.
[..] Ik vind het te toevallig dat die sniffers én het restaurant in dezelfde straat zijn gehuisvest, mogelijk dat alleen Clarrie even bij die sniffers 'op de thee' is geweest....

Ik heb het idee dat dit soort dingen nooit echt zo naar voren waren gekomen als Maddy niet was verdwenen, wat ik wel naar vind om te zien is dat de nannies nu gedemoniseerd worden terwijl ze er niets maar dan ook niets mee te maken hadden, alles voor een rookgordijn blijkbaar. Inderdaad. Ik heb wel eerder misstanden gezien in crèches, ook in Nederland, maar dit heeft niets met de zaak Maddie te maken, zij en de twins zijn gewoon 's avonds alleen gelaten, punt uit.

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Op donderdag 6 maart 2008 10:55 schreef voyeur het volgende:
Ik heb eindelijk antwoord van Missing Children Europe over het vermeende ambassadeurschap van Kate. Laat niets te raden over lijkt me:

Dear Sir,

Apologies for the delay in coming back to you, due to the fact that I have been out of office last week.

Missing Children Europe has met informally with Kate and Gerry McCann, at the occasion of which the issues of concern for Missing Children Europe were discussed. The lunch refered to did however not take place.
Furthermore, the statement that Kate McCann would become an Ambassador for Missing Children Europe is also not true, and is as far as we are concerned purely a presupposition of certain newspapers.

I hope this clarifies the questions you had concerning this issue,

Best regards,<naam weggelaten, maar is de officiele woordvoerster>

Vinden ze op 3arguidos ook vast wel een leuk bericht. Suko?

quote:

Leicestershire Detective Superintendent Stuart Prior returned from discussions with counterparts in Portugal today.

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Detectives have focused on the witness accounts given by the group, the so-called "Tapas Nine", to try to establish a timeline of events on that evening. Mr Prior flew to Portugal to discuss mutual legal assistance - the process where evidence is gathered in one country to help an investigation in another.

A Leicestershire police spokeswoman said: "Since Madeleine's disappearance, we, together with other law enforcement agencies, have been working closely with the Portuguese authorities. "Mr Prior has attended a series of meetings with his Portuguese counterparts. He travelled to Portugal on Tuesday and returned this morning.

"He went to discuss how the request for mutual legal assistance is to be executed and to seek clarification over elements of the request." The process itself could involve Portuguese police writing questions to be put to the friends on their behalf by their British counterparts. Officers involved in the investigation in the Algarve could still fly to Britain to sit in on the interviews, which are likely to be held at a location in Leicestershire.

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A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We have already confirmed that we have received a mutual legal assistance request from the Portuguese authorities in connection with the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. "We are currently awaiting clarification from the Portuguese authorities over elements of the request. "Home Office officials continue to work closely with the police to assist the Portuguese authorities with this investigation." Daily Mail

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"A Europe-wide missing-child alert system would have "without doubt" saved Madeleine McCann, an expert on child abduction said." Lady Catherine Meyer, who founded a charity to tackle child abduction, called for a single Europe-wide telephone number that parents could ring the moment their child went missing. The system, similar to the Amber Alert in the United States, would flash the child’s details up on television and motorway signs.

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Heartbroken mum Kate McCann quietly sobs as she speaks for the first time of her guilt about leaving little daughter Madeleine alone the night she was snatched. "I feel desperately sorry to her that we weren't there," she says."Every hour now, I still ask myself, 'Why did I think that was safe?' But it did feel safe and so right. I do feel regret. I've gone through all my life and said I never want to have any regrets, but you can't not regret something like that." Uit The Sun 5/08/2007

quote:

McCann lawyers warn Express group Lawyers acting for Kate and Gerry McCann are considering taking legal action against Express Newspapers over what the couple claim to be a series of "wildly and grossly defamatory" articles about their missing daughter Madeleine.

The McCanns have made official complaints to Richard Desmond's newspaper group about its coverage in the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday through London law firm Carter Ruck, which specialises in high profile libel cases. They are thought to be particularly upset by the coverage in the Daily Express, which has splashed on a nearly daily basis on the Madeleine case with what they believe are increasingly lurid stories and headlines.

The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, confirmed that complaints had been made to the newspaper group. "Carter Ruck have been instructed to act on behalf of the McCanns to seek redress and discussions are ongoing, but beyond that it would be inappropriate to speculate on other courses of action," he said.

Adam Tudor, who is acting for the McCanns at Carter Ruck, added: "I and my firm have been instructed to bring complaints on their behalf and these complaints are ongoing." The McCanns' legal moves against Express Newspapers were reported by Private Eye this week, although Mitchell said the magazine's claim that the McCanns were seeking £4m in damages was "wildly speculative".

He added that any damages won would go back into the Find Madeleine fund, which currently stands at £544,000 - nearly half the £1.2m it started with. Mitchell said the McCanns were not targeting any one story in particular but were angry about a series of "wildly and grossly defamatory articles".

It is understood the McCanns are focussing on Express Newspapers as they believe its newspapers to be "amongst the worst offenders" and want a full apology and damages as well as costs. Under UK law, the McCanns and their lawyers have a year from the publication of an article to decide whether they wish to take legal action against its content.

It is thought that in the case of the coverage they are assessing, that year would be up some time in mid-May and a decision must be taken by then. Express Newspapers was contacted by MediaGuardian.co.uk but had not commented by the time of publication. The Guardian Zie ook Anorak voor meerdere artikelen hierover.

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Mari Luz found in Huelva
(Updated) The body found a few hours ago in the river is that of Mari Luz, the girl disappeared five years on January 13 last in the town of Huelva, confirmed the representative of the Spanish government subdelegation.

At the same time, Luis Molina, spokesman of the parents of the little Spanish, confirms "that there is 99% probability" that it is indeed the body of Mari Luz, despite the fact that parents' have not yet been allowed to proceed with its identification.

A source at the Spanish police confirmed that the body, wearing the same clothes that Mari Luz wearing on the day of his disappearance, was found in an advanced state of decomposition with a significant blow to the head, not be possible to determine in advance the conclusion of the autopsy, what would be the cause of death. The marine police has been alerted, around 18 hours, the crew of a merchant ship that had seen the corpse floating in the water.

After the death of Mari Luz, Pedro Rodriguez, the mayor of the Spanish city of Huelva, has decreed three days of official mourning, which will be performed from tomorrow. There will also tomorrow, a concentration of five minutes of silence at the gates of City Hall and the flags of all government buildings will be at half mast as a sign of mourning and respect for the family.

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Op zaterdag 8 maart 2008 00:02 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Hopelijk trekt haar vader weer van leer tegen deze aasgieren, dit is toch ongelofelijk, smerige lijkenpikkers.
Prayers and sympathie terwijl ze ik weet niet wat voor opsporingsmiddelen voor handen hadden, op de posters kon men niet eens op hetzelfde telefoonnummer bellen als voor Maddy, ziek, triest en heel heel laag.

quote:

Op zaterdag 8 maart 2008 00:26 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]
<knip<
Verschrikkelijk, nu kan iedereen hier weer overheen vallen en Clarrie heeft zijn zin weer, niemand denkt meer om de Tapas-bende en de rogatory letters.

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Dozens will be heard in England Dozens of people, among friends of McCann, tourists and former officials of the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, will be surveyed over the next few days in England.

According to information collected by PortugalDiário, the investigation was requested by the Portuguese authorities through letters rogatory and will be met by British police over the coming weeks.

Apart from interrogations, which should not include the couple McCann, it will still be complied with the search warrant, in order, inter alia, to the seizure of the diary of Kate McCann, the mother of the minor disappeared, May 3 last year, described the relationship with their children. The steps will be met by British authorities but count with the presence of Portuguese researchers.

"Testimonials divergent and collection of new information"

The eight friends of Kate and Gerry, who passed vacation in Praia da Luz, last May, and other British tourists who were, a pair of former officials of the venture will be reporting on steps aimed essentially determine possible different testimonies and gather new information.

Also according to information collected by PortugalDiário, the process simply no longer be covered by the secrecy of justice, after the full implementation of the investigation. It is recalled that at the beginning of the year, the prosecutor asked the investigating judge, and this granted, the extension of the secrecy of justice for a further three months. The prosecutor relied on the exceptional complexity of the case.

Abduction, murder and concealment of corpse

Under the law, after eight months on the formation of the first defendant in the case, the Portuguese-British Robert Murata (May 14), the prosecutor should file the case or inferred accusation. Do not having done until January 14, the prosecutor had to request the extension of the period for another three months.

This request of the prosecutor to prohibit the access of parties and the public to the proceeding may be postponed for a maximum period of three months, renewable once by [particularly in crimes against the life and liberty of the people], for a period objectively indispensable the conclusion of the investigation. It should be noted that throughout the process the thesis of abduction and murder and subsequent concealment of corpses have been addressed.

Besides Murat, also parents of Maddie, Kate and Gerry, consisted defendants in September, for suspected involvement in the disappearance of the minor. Madeleine McCann, four years old, disappeared May 3 to an apartment in a resort in Praia da Luz, while parents jantavam a restaurant, a few metres away. PortugalDiario

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Has the Express group done a deal with the McCanns? After pulling all the articles about the McCanns from their on-line Newspapers, we now know the McCanns and their Carter Ruck Lawyers were to sue the Express Newspapers for around £4m.

Clarence Mitchell said: "We are extremely unhappy with The Express Group's coverage. We always said it was the worst amongst all the tabloids."

Again I ask, it strikes me that the British press in general, like the Daily Mail, the Sun or the Mirror, have been publishing identical stories, many fed by Clarence Mitchell, sometimes copied from the Portuguese Press , so why are they going after the Express group in particular? Apparently, a deal was done, maybe some money was thrown in for no libel action and some exclusive McCann spin?

So, just like before when Mari Luz was reported to be missing, a connection was made to Madeleine's alleged kidnapping (a previously dismissed link by the Spanish Police). Today, the day that some respect should be given to the grieving family of Mari Luz Cortés, the Express reports about a dead girl, not even writing Mari Luz name, and a link to Madeleine."

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MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann and Shannon Matthews

DAILY RECORD: “Body In River Is Mari Luz”

Sad news. The picture of a girl. A girl not here.

THE body of a girl found in a river estuary in south-west Spain was identified last night as that of missing Mari Luz Cortes. Five-year-old Mari Luz vanished on January 13 after going to buy sweets from a stall only yards from her front door in Huelva.

The town is near the border with Portugal and less than two hours’ drive from where Madeleine McCann went missing.

Last night Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate sent a message of support to Mari Luz’s mother and father, Juan Jose Cortes, 34, a former professional footballer, and Irene Suarez.

Are the cases linked? Spain and Portugal. A body found. A child missing. Are the McCanns now nodding heads with whom the media consult and look to for an easy quote whenever a child goes missing; a child is killed; a child goes missing somewhere in the world?

THE SUN: “Mari Luz Cortes found in river”

The five-year-old’s parents feared she had been snatched like Madeleine McCann when she vanished on January 13. Last night Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry were “extremely saddened”.

Who cannot be made sad by such grim news? Who in their right mind?

Huelva is less than two hours’ drive from Praia da Luz where Maddie, four, disappeared on holiday in Portugal last May. The McCanns, both 39, of Rothley, Leics, said their “thoughts and prayers” were with parents Juan Jose, 34, and Irene, who had been sure Mari was being held alive.

The McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “They had developed a sense of unity with Mari Luz’s parents. Both families were going through similar agonies.”

Will the press now look for a new child to link Madeleine McCann to?

DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Spanish police find body of missing girl”

Her disappearance less than two hours drive from Praia da Luz in the Algarve had prompted police to investigate whether there was any link to the apparent abduction of Madeleine McCann.

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Op zaterdag 8 maart 2008 12:22 schreef milagro het volgende:
Dat bedoel ik idd, Suko, een artikel over Mari Luz, maar met Maddie, nee, sterker nog , Maddie's parents in de "heading" ....

dat je de McCanns, inclusief Maddie , in een laatste alinea noemt, begrijpelijk, maar om het zo te brengen, als ware het another blow voor de McCanns, is misselijkmakend.

die arme stakkers, alweer een mogelijk link getorpedeerd, alweer iets dat hen herinnert aan hun leed, verlies, en oh ja, Mari Luz is dood en oh ja , haar ouders rouwen

quote:

Autopsy to be carried out on Mari Luz Cortés today
The body of the missing five year old was found on Friday afternoon, still wearing the same clothes as on the day she disapperared, 50 days ago. An autopsy is to be carried out today, Saturday, on the body of Mari Luz Cortés, the five year old from Huelva who went missing from her home in the El Torrejón area of the city on 13th January during a short trip to the local sweets kiosk, and whose body was found on Friday afternoon, floating in water in the Torrearenilla marshland, in a river close to the Cepsa refinery installations, by a person on board a passing merchant boat. It was brought to shore by the Maritime Guardia Civil.

Civil Guard sources have confirmed that the body was badly composed and was wearing the same clothes as on the day she disappeared fifty days earlier.As soon as news of the find was released the parents of Mari Luz, Juan José and Irene, rushed to the scene, while other local people from the district where she lived also went en masse to the family home to support the family. There were scenes of great pain and emotion as the tragic find was confirmed. The grandparents challenged the Guardia Civil at the scene for, as they put it, not searching the marshlands from the first day, as they claimed the family had called for insistently. After the body was identified by the family and the judge, the body was taken to the Huelva crematorium.

Reports indicate that the body showed a blow to the head, and had been in the water for some time. A full autopsy is to be carried out on Saturday to establish the cause of death. In the case that she was assassinated, DNA remains of her aggressor will be searched for. However it is also thought that the currents could have taken the body of the girl to where it was found from the drainage waterways from close to where she lived, raising the possibility that it could have been a tragic accident.

Huelva city hall has declared three days of mourning. City Mayor, Pedro Rodríguez, said it was a very sad day and that the worst possible outcome had been seen in the case. The family spokesman, Luis Molina, said that the family were ‘bad and destroyed’ by the news, and he calle don the press and the locals to ‘respect their pain’, and give them peace at such a dreadful time. Bron

quote:

Op zaterdag 8 maart 2008 14:21 schreef voyeur het volgende:
Maar wanneer krijg ik nou eindelijk die Spaanse posters te zien dus dus al achterhaald zijn nu Mariluz gevonden is?

quote:

Who paid for the Valentine's Day poster campaign in Spain?
We are led to believe Madeleine's Fund paid for these controversial posters, that included images of Mari Luz Cortes and Yeremi Vargas, but did they? The supposedly independent website 'Helping To Find Madeleine', which has organised, cult-like, teams and members working throughout Europe, reports the following:

"Helping To Find Madeleine (HTFM) is pleased to announce that it has undertaken a further mailing project to raise awareness of the disappearnace of Madeleine McCann, Yeremi Vargas and Mari Luiz Cortez throughout Spain and the Islands of Ceuta and Mellilla.

An estimated 17,400 letters in Spanish accompanied by 2 A3 colour posters depicting the missing children have been mailed to Banks and Building Societies, Schools and Colleges, Restaurants and Fast Food outlets, Post Offices, Ports and Marinas, Churches and Other Places of Worship, Supermarkets and Shopping Centres, Railway and Bus Stations, Garden Centres, Camp Sites, Leisure Facilities, Tourist attractions, Vets, Tobacconists, Bakers, Butchers and Grocers.

Gathering of addresses has been carried out by members of HTFM who volunteered their own time to work on this project, with printing and mailing costs kept to an absolute minimum due to the ongoing support of Paceprint, Crossflight and Swiss Post.

HTFM and the Madeleine McCann Campaign thanks these businesses, the people of Spain and Ceuta and Mellilla as well as everyone involved in this project for their ongoing support and commitment in helping to find these missing children."

- If HTFM were behind the poster campaign, what happened to the money the Fund was supposed to have paid out? Or did the Fund pay the money direct to HTFM?

On the FAQ page of the HTFM website, they question is posed: 'Is HTFM part of the Find Madeleine campaign'.

The answer given is:

'No, HTFM is a separate body, governed by its own members. We work independently of the main Find Madeleine campaign, and not FOR them.' Perhaps Clarence Mitchell would like to issue a statement to clarify the issue, bearing in mind he now appears to have become the spokesperson for Madeleine's Fund.

quote:

They´re not the only ones to offer sympathy.

- Diddy, germany

They would try and hijack this piece of news wouldn't they?

- Alex, Dukinfield,UK

Oh for goodness sake, a little girl has been found dead and this story is all about the McCanns! This is so terribly wrong. Lets focus on the poor family of Mari, and Mari herself. We may never know what really happened to that poor little girl, or how she ended up where she did. Kate, Gerry and Clarence - take a back seat for once and let somebody else have the headlines.

- Jw, Hants

I don't think these two abduction cases are linked. If this were the case we should have found Madeleine by now.

- Anna, East Sussex

Must they get involved and stick their greedy beaks into everything? Let this family grieve, don't make it all about you.

- Hollie, Cardiff,Wales

Let this sad time be about Mari Luz and her family, and not about the McCanns. Show some respect.

- Elle, Leicestershire

I wish to send my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of this little angel. May she R.I.P.

- Susan, purley, surrey

This doesn't bode well for Madeleine McCann.

- Mistry, Warsash

What are you talking about? There is NO link between Mari Luz and Madeleine McCann.

- Ana, Sweden

My deepest condolences go out to the family.

- Alex, Australia

The McCanns never miss an opportunity to get their faces in the newspapers.

- Tony, Essex

Well the McCann's have tried hard enough to link the "abduction" of their daughter with the disappearance of Mari Luz. Hasn't worked though has it?

- Judith C, London

My thoughts and prayers got to the family of Mari - RIP little angel. A tragic outcome to a terrible case. And will the McCanns please allow the focus to be on this child and her family - its not about Madeleine, its about Mari. What a very beautiful child, so very sad.

- Anon, England

Indeed. If the McCanns wish to send their sympathy could it not be done privately. Why does the sad report about the finding of little Mari have to be mostly about the McCanns.

- Mary, Manchester

quote:

Op zaterdag 8 maart 2008 13:51 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]
Ik denk dat de ouders van en eventueel volgend slachtoffer zich wel meteen gaan distancieren van de McCanns, het is nu algemeen bekend hoe ze met 'lotgenoten' omspringen.
>jnip<

quote:

"The option that Mari Luz’s murderer or murderers could be from Huelva and, more probably, be individuals close to the Cortés family is being considered. The possibility that this death could be an act of revenge against the family has not yet been discarded. This is a potential option, given that various persons, whom the family had had problems with, had threatened them.

The Police hope that the autopsy will shed light on when and where her death occurred. The fact that the body was recognisable would tend not to lend weight to the option that Mari Luz spent fifty days in the water and allows for the supposition that the abductors did not kill her on 13th January."

quote:

The journalists of Express Newspapers, the British media group that holds four tabloids, are forbidden to write about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. The editorial decision was made after the parents of the child that has been missing for almost a year announced that they are preparing to sue the publications over articles that they consider "defamatory and rude".

The prohibition affects all the newspapers of the group - Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday - and left the reporters "furious".

They say that the McCanns feel "threatened because we do not only write what they want to see in print. We also cover the investigation by the Portuguese police", said a source within the group that was contacted by JN. "The only thing that we want now is that they are forced to respond before a court, under oath, about the disappearance of their daughter. Maybe then, the public will see the answers to some questions, namely what happened on the night of May 3", [the source] said.

Kate and Gerry McCann have decided to hire a reputable law firm in London, that is speacialised in defamation cases. They hope to receive 4 million pounds (over 5,5 million euros), an amount that the spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, assumes that will revert to the Find Madeleine fund. (vertaling the3arguidos)

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Op donderdag 13 maart 2008 12:32 schreef Hephaistos. het volgende:
Loopt dit topic nu nog steeds?


En dan ook nog in NWS! Schop het lekker naar BNW ofzo.

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Dear Kate and Gerry,

Firstly, hope you don't mind me calling you "Kate and Gerry". It seems a bit familiar; but Mr & Mrs McCann doesn't sound right at all; far too formal, and anyway, you're "Kate and Gerry", we all recognise you from your first names, like Phil and Fern, and Richard and Judy.

Anyway, Kate and Gerry, I understand that you're considerng legal action against a newspaper group, and the threat of this, is the reason why they removed all their articles about you. Really? Are you? Why would you feel the need to do this? Does it matter? If you're innocent, then why do this. A cynical person may be forgiven for thinking that it could be a deflection from the imminent police questioning.

Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know that I understand how you feel. As a mum of three, last year, I felt both outraged and offended when the tabloid newspapers all defended your actions, without question. I felt offended and affronted Kate & Gerry; that I was assumed, to be like you. Me and loads of other "normal" parents, were suddenly lumped together with you - in order to justify what you did. "It could have happened to anyone of us"...."there but for the Grace of God"...and "we all do it", screamed the headlines in your favour. But we don't Kate and Gerry, we simply don't. And, forgive me for saying so, but you contributed to this media attack on us "normal" parents, you said it was like dining in your own garden. Well, some garden you two must have, is all I can say.

So, now I feel its a little churlish of you, considering suing a media group, just because they printed comments you think are unfavourable. I'd have thought it would be like water off a ducks back - afterall, as you said Kate, "the worst has happened, nothing can hurt us anymore than that". But there you go. Perhaps you need the money.

See, if I was to explain, succinctly, to somebody who'd just returned from spending a year on another planet, what "the McCann thing" was about, I would say: "These two doctors, who the media call Kate and Gerry, (do give Kate & Gerry our love" gushed Philip Scofield to Clarence Mitchell), went on holiday to Portugal with a group of mates. They all left their kids, apparently repeatedly, in the evenings. Kate & Gerry's apartment was unlocked, situated on the ground floor, and near a road. One night their eldest daughter - not yet four - went missing. They said she'd been abducted, and set up a fund. The police made them Official Suspects in the ongoing investigation. They used some of the fund to pay their mortgage. Oh, and they have a Publicist, who used to work with the Government. Oh, and the McCanns know people on the fringes of the Government. And now whilst they are awaiting police requestioning, they are threatening to sue publications for printing stuff they don't like.

Looks a bit suss, doesn't it, Kate and Gerry? They way I've set it out. Just the bare facts.

But I'd like to point out that you're not celebrities. The only reason we know "Kate and Gerry" is through your neglect. So please, stop acting like celebrities, and forget about suing publications, and for once have a little pride, a little grace, and turn a blind eye to detrimental headlines.

After all, they're wrong, aren't they?

And one more thing, this isn't about you two. It never has been. Its about a little girl you let down. The two people in the world she trusted, let her down. Stop hiding behind lawyers and publicists and admit this simple fact.

Then you might, just might, like some of the headlines again.

Yours

A caring "normal" parent.

quote:

"The couple's multi-millionaire backer, double glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy, will continue to pay Metodo's 3 £8,000-a-month fee on a rolling month-to-month basis. The Find Madeleine Fund will pick up the Barcelona-based firm's expenses, which have been averaging around £50,000 a month. Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, confirmed today: "Our relationship with Metodo 3 is continuing. "They are being kept on on a monthly retainer. "Brian Kennedy will continue to pay their fee of £8,000. "The Find Madeleine Fund will continue to pay their operating costs which have averaged about £50,000 a month up until now but have started to fall and will probably continue to do so as the number of leads they need to follow up drops off. Daily Mail

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Why would Método 3 (the ‘we’ll-have-her-home-by-Christmas’ Private Investigators) be interested in the reservoir when their employers, Gerry and Kate McCann, have stated that they consider Mr Corriea a "fantasist" who is seeking publicity and his dive search is distracting from the hunt? Not to mention the McCann source who said "There's no evidence Madeleine is in that reservoir. They [the McCanns] believe she is alive and are concentrating on finding her." 99% possibility they will find Madeleine in the reservoir? That’s a high percentage. Is it possible that the dive team have found something more tangible than several lengths of cord, some plastic tape and a single white, cotton sock but is not going public with it just yet? Curious."

(gaat al iets beter, pilletjes werken goed thx all)

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One of the detectives working for Method 3 would have paid witnesses who claimed to have seen Madeleine Morocco. The accusation was made by a source of security Moroccan, responsible for the examination of witnesses in the kingdom, and the working methods of Metodo 3 are criticised by the authorities.

The arrest, Antonio Jimenez, a private detectives serving McCann, accused of involvement in the theft of several hundred kilograms of cocaine and corrupting public officials, came deepened suspicions of the authorities on work of the agency. In the report for the hearing, a witness heard by the safety Moroccan admitted to having received several thousand euros from the Spanish detective who had asked him to keep the secret deal "to not affect the investigation."

Antonio Jimenez, former Chief Inspector of the Unit for Drugs and Organized Crime (Udyco) by the police in Barcelona, was the man confidence Francisco Marco, the director of M3, Morocco. He was the one who "found" several witnesses who claimed to have seen Madeleine in the north. The man even led to several British journalists to witness the encounter.

According to the same source, the payment of money could have been done without the knowledge of Gerry and Kate McCann, what pushing investigators to believe that the detective had acted with the intent to allow the agency Barcelona "score points" with public opinion and keep together for longer, the contract with the parents of Madeleine, their biggest customer right now.

"We were able to determine, with what the witness told us and the information we received from Spain, as Madeleine's parents have not asked the detective to do so," said the head of the Moroccan security, adding "it is not excluded that the detective agency can be solely responsible for such acts."

Already in November 2007, on the sidelines of the assembly 76éme-General of Interpol, in Marrakech, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Morocco, Chakib Benmoussa said "there was no reason to believe that the small Madeleine McCann can be in Morocco ", a view confirmed by the investigators on the ground.

Several votes associated with the Portuguese and British police have been raised on several occasions to criticize the work of Method 3. Such is the case with Mark Williams-Thomas, British and criminal expert in the area of protection of children, for whom the runway invoked by Metodo 3 of that Madeleine was allegedly abducted, commissioned by a pedophile network and transported to Morocco , "demonstrates a lack of knowledge of paedophiles and how they work."

Since the demise of Madeleine McCann, May 3, 2007, dozens of witnesses claimed to have seen the little British, but it was after the commitment of Metodo 3 that the testimonies in the media have become more regular, indicating whenever a track to Morocco without the detective agency can, to this day, make a shred of evidence.

Marco Francisco, the high-profile director of Metodo 3, had appeared with the promise that the girl would be found before the end of a six-month contract with Kate and Gerry McCann. Francisco claimed even know the identity of the perpetrators of the abduction and Madeleine would be from the parents for Christmas.

This is not the first time that members of M3 are involved. In the past, five members of the agency in Barcelona had already been arrested by police in a dark story ecoutes illegal and corruption, including Marco Francisco, his mother, Maria Fernandez Lado, his father, Marco Poyuelo Francisco, Francisco Fernandez brother Gabriel Lado, and an employee, Oscar Trujillo.

"All means are good"

Clarence Mitchell, questioned about the accusations made at Metodo 3, begins by affirming "that do not know," and that it "is unable to make a comment," but he quickly resumed his role Head Communication and relativizes stating that "all means are good" for investigations of private detectives: "It is possible that during the investigation they were able to pay for information," admitted the head communication service of McCann.

Method 3, Clarence Mitchell says, "keep the trust of those who pay their fees because they find that they can demonstrate their commitment to find Madeleine."

"The patrons are happy with their work on the ground ... the times they were able to track down the… alerts quickly, in some cases within three hours and they were simply faster, much faster or Interpol police services in the countries where they operate and thus patrons qu''ils think are doing a good job, "says Clarence adding" of course, they have yet to find Madeleine, but the police either. We know that M3 works well, they do not need to prove it, "concluded Clarence Mitchell.

quote:

"It seems the Mirror's report ( McCanns dive fury ) may not be without some spin. According to the Portugal Online Resident, Metodo 3 are involved and the McCanns apparent fury reported by the British press is false. Confusing to say the least."

The Portugal Online Resident reports:
ANYTHING FOUND as a result of the searches being carried out by divers at the Arade dam near Silves will be given to Método 3, the Spanish private investigating company hired by the McCann family to help find Madeleine. In response to a report printed in the British press, saying that Gerry and Kate McCann were not happy with this private operation, Marcos Aragão Correia told The Resident that “a contact was made with Metodo 3 to clarify that information and we can say it is false”. He also said that “the family is not sponsoring the diving because they believe Madeleine is alive, but we are receiving support from Metodo 3, which means they are aware of everything”

quote:

"The money allowed the lawyer to pay the diving team that had already been at the dam in January. Operations had been suspended after only four days, for lack of funding. In the email that he sends to companies, the lawyer presents himself as "the son of one of the major personalities of insular and national culture" and guarantees he has "sponsored the defense of several prominent cases", although he does not name a single example. He explains that on May 6 (three days after Madeleine disappeared) he received leads that the child had been abducted, raped and murdered, and her body had been thrown into a lake in the Algarve, which he himself concluded, "after thorough investigations" to be the Arade reservoir. JN knows that he contacted the police. "What he said was very vague and he never revealed his source, although we insisted on it several times. It was later discovered that his source was a medium, meaning it was not minimally credible", said a source that is connected to the investigation. During the seraches, ropes, a sock and a rock were found. Correia considers that they indicate the "presence of the body". He delivered them to the Spanish detective agency Método 3, which was hired by the McCann couple."

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Op zaterdag 15 maart 2008 00:06 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Zou dit ook als sighting gezien kunnen worden Suko?

<knip>

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Op zaterdag 15 maart 2008 10:54 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Tja het is nu eenmaal zo dat als er iets metkleine kinderen gebeurt het meestal met onachtzaamheid of opzet van mensen in haar/zijn omgeving te maken heeft, kinderen komen uit zichzelf nog niet echt ver dus is dat heel logisch.

Je wordt trouwens op je wenken bediend:
[..]

http://www.wakefieldexpre(...)f--kidnap.3877777.jp

Met als verschil dat deze mum wel in het app was en er ook daadwerkelijk iets aan heeft gedaan.
[..]

Idd, alleen gelaten of verdwenen onder de ogen van de ouders, dat is de overeenkomst, alle kinderen zijn als laatste gezien door ouders of naasten, heel logisch overigens, maar van dat pedo-ring verhaal blijft geen spaan heel zo.

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Op zaterdag 15 maart 2008 11:50 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

, ho, dat had ik niet gezien sorry, naja, in afwachting van de verhoren en tijdens het spreekverbod nu is het in elk geval discussiemeterial, ik vind de beschrijving van de blauwe auto en de vrouwen vrij summier, hopelijk heeft die moeder bij de politie een betere beschrijving gegeven.

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The author of "Estrela de Madeleine" (Star of Madeleine) says about his book that it is "a book that will bother, but I'm free to write what my conscience dictates", he tells 24 Horas. In the Star of Madeleine, Pereira Cristovão basis himself on conversations with work colleagues, the news, police intervention, and most particularly on the political pressure to which the investigation "was subjected".

"When you have the prime minister of one country talking about how he is going to talk about this with his counterpart about an ongoing crime investigation, there is influence"he states. And it is based on that influence and "British interference" that he places the two PJ investigators, Francisco Meirelles and João Gomes (ficticious names) on the field.

The book begins with the officers being informed of the disappearance of a child from a resort in Praia da Luz. "The information arrived late. There was already a British tv station, the embassy, the British police, and a PJ head that had knowledge of the disappearance and only after was the PJ investigating team informed". "Time was wasted and then the Police bowed before a theory that was built from the outside in. And the only ones that are going to be thwarted will be the police" he accuses.

Paulo Pereira Cristovão confesses this he is approaching this book differently and in a pro-Portuguese manner. "I want to show we may be (a) poor (country) but resourceful. And that British interference only hindered my colleagues work", he says. For that reason he dedicates his book to his former colleagues from Portimão, Faro, and the DGCB. The Star of Madeleine ends with an enigmatic sentence.

Whoever figures it out will have the key as to what the author thinks happened to Madeleine. No one has been able to so far. As of next Tuesday, Pereira Cristovão invites you to try. Bron

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Op zaterdag 15 maart 2008 12:22 schreef milagro het volgende:
dan moet je het boek kopen (of inzien in de boekwinkel ) en die laatste cryptische zin ontcijferen, de oplossing naar de auteur sturen en dan hoor je vanzelf of je het goed hebt

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Below are some excerpts taken from the site below which has translated from portugese press
in August 2007
In relation to questions being asked about where certain quotes and stories originated from

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53176 for further reading

Mrs Fenn - Daddy Daddy

By Felicia Cabrita, with Margarida Davim
Translation by summer

The version that the McCann couple and their group of friends have been giving about what happened on the night that Madeleine disappeared, is shaken by new testimonies that were collected by Sol.

The English started by saying they took turns every 15 minutes in order to, through the windows of the rooms where the children were sleeping, listen if anything abnormal was happening. This ‘vigilance’ system, which they assure was efficient throughout a week of holidays, is questioned by an English citizen who lives in the apartment above the one that was occupied by Kate and Gerry McCann.

Senn told Sol that, on the night before she disappeared, Maddie cried for quite some time, calling out ‘daddy, daddy!’.

The Tapas Table

Also the table waiters that were working in the resort’s restaurant – the Tapas, where the group of friends had dinner that night – didn’t notice much movement of checking on the children. One of them guaranteed to Sol that, since the beginning of dinner (which started between 8.30 and 9 p.m.), only two men got up, almost simultaneously.
One of them was Russell O’Brien, one of the doctors of the group, who was absent for most of the dinner and who returned to the table 5 minutes before Kate went to her apartment and noticed Maddie was missing. Russell then explained that his daughter was sick, and even “vomited so it was necessary to change her bed sheets”. One of the employees of the Ocean Club, who was heard by Sol this week, contradicts his version: “If that had happened, he would have to ask the housekeeping service for some clean sheets, which did not happen”.

The Cars and The DNA etc.
Inspectors in parking lot

PJ inspectors returned yesterday to the underground parking lot in Portimao where they had analysed automobiles the day before, in terms of the investigation.

Around 6.45 p.m., approximately six inspectors with forensic equipment suitcases went down into the parking lot. The policemen were followed by the coordinator of the Criminal Investigation Department from PJ in Portimao, Goncalo Amaral, and the national assistant director, who is responsible for the Faro Directory of PJ, Guilhermino Encarnacao. The directors were underground for a brief time, having left through the access ramp around 7.20 p.m., without comments.

In that parking lot, in the fourth and last subterranean level, ten cars were analysed, which belong to Robert Murat, to family and friends and also to the McCanns themselves. (…)

Three English Policemen

Three english police officers that volunteered to help PJ continue to do so.

It was revealed that the english police also helped in the first days searches, and even sent equipment that could track human heat, which was used in the searches.

Phone Records

phone calls made on may 3rd between 8 and 9pm in Praia da Luz are being thoroughly investigated. English experts are helping with this.RM's and SM's phones were tracked but aparently nothing important was discovered. SM was not in the area at the alleged time of the abduction

Pact of Silence
Madeleine’s parents and the friends with whom they spent their holidays in PDL are suspects in the inquiry. There are contradictory versions about the night of the kidnapping, and an assumed pact of silence in the group

One remembers the words that the mother, Kate Healy, is supposed to have said to a friend (and that the husband, Gerry McCann, did not know): “I had a bad premonition about my children, when I found out the Ocean Club had no baby listening service”.

Mathew Oldfield, one of the elements of the group, is back in England. He reacts with surprise upon the contact of Sol, but he does not avoid the conversation: “We drank. We were on holidays. So what?”.

And thus the days followed one upon another, at the Ocean Club. The holiday week is almost over and the group’s spirit does not change. Nobody had noticed until then, how the children were kept at a distance
One of the military assures: “This is an extremely silent area, where there are practically no passing cars. That shutter was very difficult to lift from the outside, and would have made a lot of noise. It would have been a lot easier to use the door, but there were no signs of a break-in”.

This was just one of the reasons why the group became suspicious in the eyes of the investigators. Russell O’Brien, Jane Tanner’s husband, is already back in England, but he knows he could be summoned back to Portugal for a deposition anytime. Over the phone with Sol, he tries to keep his british phlegm: “It is normal that we are suspects, and the DNA test is a consequence thereof. We were the closest people involved”.

One of the employees that was on duty that evening does not remember a lot of movement: “I only remember a tall, grey-haired man getting up once from the table”. It was Russell, who, two days earlier, also had attended dinner.

And Russell, when the questions start to surround him, loses his sympathy: “I have nothing further to tell you. I am not going to dishonor the compromise I assumed with Kate and Gerry. They want to control all infornation that is disclosed”.

Gerry and Kate’s friends, who are interrogated tightly by the PJ over almost a month, refuse to clarify this contradiction, when asked by Sol. “We have a pact. This is our matter only. It is nobody else’s business”, says David Payne, another element with the group.

Minutes after we tried to contact Kate, Gerry, in a fury, calls the Sol journalist: “What do you think you are doing? Do you think you’re better than the portuguese police? I’m going to forward your contact to PJ and you will have to explain yourselves”.

The director of the Policia Judiciaria in Faro, Guilhermino da Encarnacao, confirmed with Sol that “we do not discard the possibility to have the family and friends as suspects”.

Does this mean that the T7 gave their DNA???

quote:

Gerry did return home to collect photographs (old report) 20 May 2007
Alone, the father of Madeleine McCann began the saddest journey of his life Daily Mail - Online link has been removed

Seventeen days after his four-year-old daughter disappeared, Gerry McCann flew back to an empty house that is still fresh with her memory.

Madeleine parents

[Photograph appeared here] with accompanying text:

Taunt: Kate McCann with an armful of Madeleine's toys, and husband Gerry walk from church past a shop window poster that apparently blames them for the disappearance of their child

Her room is as she left it when the family set off on their holiday to
Portugal last month. Her toys are still there on the bed, her clothes in the wardrobe.

But with remarkable fortitude, the 38-year-old consultant embarked on a heart-rending mission in his ceaseless campaign to find his little girl.

He will trawl through four years of family albums and videos to select new pictures of her for his 'Find Madeleine' website. Then he will prepare to return to the Algarve to continue the search.

Madeleine 'sightings'

The visit was the first time Mr McCann has been apart from his wife Kate and their two-year-old twins since Madeleine vanished from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3.

He volunteered to make the journey alone to spare Mrs McCann the ordeal.

Last week the 38-year-old GP said she "couldn't even consider" leaving Portugal while Madeleine was missing.

The prospect of returning without her daughter to the home where they shared so much happiness would have been "too painful to contemplate", according to a relative.

Madeleine's parents will search the whole world for her

Madeleine's aunt, Philomena McCann revealed: "They're both finding it so incredibly difficult. They can't grieve but they can't be normal. They're just focused on finding Madeleine, because that's all that matters.

"Gerry wants to go through all the photographs and pick some to put on the website. The more images there are, the more she will be in people's minds."

Mr McCann who has been spearheading the Find Madeleine Internet and publicity campaign from an apartment in Praia da Luz, will meet lawyers and UK organisers during his brief stay in Rothley, Leicestershire, where he and Kate live.

The family's website www.findMadeleine.com has received 100million 'hits'.

Madeleine McCann: Missing since May 3

A spokesman for the couple in Portugal said Mr McCann was returning to Britain "to do positive things".

"He's very focused," the spokesman added. "He is going out there for very practical reasons and he's going to get back here as quickly as he can."

The trip will also give him the chance to deal with the routine domestic matters that have been neglected during their extended stay abroad and allow the two doctors to make arrangements for staying away for the foreseeable future.

For the last 17 days they have been trying to keep some sort of routine in their life, on the advice of trauma counsellors and for the sake of their other children, Sean and Amelie.

When they are not working from their campaign 'nerve centre', or praying in church for their daughter's safety, the couple are steeling themselves to create little pockets of comparative normality.

At the weekend Mr McCann played tennis and the couple sat on the beach with the twins. Mrs McCann is trying to clear her mind by exercising and jogging against the clock.

And the couple have again sought solace at Mass in the tiny church in Praia da Luz - their third Sunday service since Madeleine disappeared.

During their walk they passed a poster apparently blaming them for the disappearance. Stuck in a shop window, it consists of four pictures of their child arranged around the words: "Mummy help me".

Workers in the car hire shop - Auto Rent III - refused to take it down.

Saleswoman Maria Rocio said: "Whose fault is it that the girl has gone missing? It's the family's. They should never have left the children on their own."

***********************************************************************

Why is this report, which does not appear on any online search engines, so significant to the investigation? Because it clearly states that Gerry went home to collect photographs and videos of Madeleine.

But why is that so significant?

Other reports, related to this trip, vaguely stated that Gerry made the flying visit home to attend to "personal matters" and to meet organisers of Madeleine's Fund. If the trip was as described in this report and confirmed by Philomena McCann, to innocently collect some more photographs of Madeleine, then why the veil of secrecy?

Gerry released his first blog that day and there was no mention then, or afterwards, that he had been home to collect more photographs of Madeleine. Surely, that would have been information he would have been only too happy to pass on - the release of new photographs is always of great interest to people. (Gerry's Blog vanaf 20 mei)

Perhaps he kept it quiet to avoid association.

For just 3 days after arriving back in Praia da Luz, from this trip back to the UK to collect photographs and videos, the 'last photograph' of Madeleine suddenly appeared - 21 days after Madeleine had been reported missing. (May 24, 2007 The last family picture of Madeleine McCann The Times)

We know that Alex Woolfall sat with the McCanns on May 5th and went through the images on their digital camera to find good pictures of Madeleine for publication.

The Times reported: 'The McCanns had photographs of Madeleine on their digital camera, which Mr Woolfall began transferring to a laptop computer. "I said to Kate, 'Let’s try to identify pictures where her face is visible'. Downloading the images was a very difficult process for them. It was upsetting.

"They were trying to do two things at once: one, emotionally deal with what was actually, really happening to them; two, operate in some sort of logical way to help get her back." Mr Woolfall transmitted the photographs to the Press Association in London, from where they were distributed to the media. The portfolio included the now famous image of Madeleine wearing a hat on a tennis court.'

It is surely extraordinary that the 'last photograph' of Madeleine, showing her full face, should not have been chosen for release at that time. Even if the photograph had been grainy and indistinct, it's significance to the investigation, as the last 'living' picture of Madeleine, cannot be overstated.

That is, unless it wasn't there.

Just 4 days after the 'last photograph' was released, mobile phone video footage was produced allegedly showing Madeleine and the family setting off on their holiday - one showing them all on the shuttle bus and the other showing Madeleine stumbling on the steps as she boards the plane.
(Mobile phone footage of Madeleine boarding the plane)
(Mobile phone footage of bus trip)

So, given the significant time these images had suddenly appeared, could it really be possible that these were actually 'old' images, collected by Gerry on his trip home and subsequently falsely presented as being of the current holiday? If they were, then it would have a massive impact on the investigation because it would destroy the photographic evidence that Madeleine was still alive at 2:29pm on May 3rd.

With that 'evidence' gone, there are no independent witnesses to Madeleine being alive on May 3rd - beyond the apparent statement of Charlotte Pennington, who has already changed her story once before. (pagina gewijd aan Pennington)

Miss Pennington, speaking originally to dispel the story that there was a missing 6 or 7 hours leading up to Madeleine's disappearance, said: "I was helping give the children high tea. The twins were there and Madeleine and both parents. "It was supposed to finish at 5.30pm but because they were a big group and really social, it didn't finish until about 6pm. There was nothing out of the ordinary at all."

Yet, speaking on the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary 'Searching For Madeleine', the following month, she said:

"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." It should also be remembered that Charlotte Pennington was not Madeleine's nanny. That was Catriona Baker, who has refused to comment on the investigation, saying: 'I don't want to go through it again.'

We know Bridget O'Donnell, Jeremy Wilkins partner, was at the tennis courts that day. She writes: 'Earlier that day there had been tennis lessons for the children, with some of the parents watching proudly as their girls ran across the court chasing tennis balls. They took photos. Madeleine must have been there, but I couldn't distinguish her from the others. They all looked the same - all blonde, all pink and pretty.' So, she cannot confirm that Madeleine was there.
(My months with Madeleine The Guardian)

That only leaves one person to positively confirm that Madeleine was alive that day - the McCanns friend, David Payne. It is claimed that Mr Payne was asked by Gerry McCann to pop by and look in on Kate at the apartment, whilst Gerry was on the tennis courts. (genoemd o.a. in de BBC-docu)

David Payne has said nothing publicly to confirm or deny this. In fact, he has said virtually nothing throughout the investigation but has been quoted by Portuguese newspaper, Sol, as saying: "We have a pact. This is our matter only. It is nobody else's business."

But is there is a fatal flaw in this line of thought? The 'last photograph' clearly shows Gerry, Amelie and Madeleine sat around the kiddie's pool in the Ocean Club. How could Gerry have collected that photograph from home if this was the first time they had holidayed at the resort?

But was it their first time? The Sunday Times doesn't seem to think so. They printed on 13 May 2007 that: 'The McCanns are believed to have stayed once before in Praia da Luz and had returned because they considered it a safe resort.'

In the MSNBC documentary, Richard Gaisford said, when talking of Praia da Luz: "It's a very warm welcoming friendly place. And it was a place the McCanns knew well. They'd been to the resort before." (MSNBC Missing Madeleine en op 3arguidoforum)

So, is the 'last photograph' not a forgery, as has been widely speculated, but a simple fraud?

Did Gerry go home to collect photographs/videos from a previous trip in order to deceive the Policia Judiciaria into believing the photographs were from the current trip. More importantly, that Madeleine was alive and well at that particular time on that particular day?

Only the McCanns and their close family can answer that question.

But, if it should be the case, then it would appear to imply that no photographic evidence exists of Madeleine that day - despite Bridget O'Donnell stating that the children were all running around the tennis courts being photographed by their parents. The need to deceive suggests there is something to cover up. The obvious conclusion being that Madeleine was not there to be photographed.

That is a very disturbing thought.

It would be interesting to know whether Alex Woolfall is one of the people the Policia Judiciaria intends talking to when they arrive in the UK to begin their questioning. If Mr Woolfall confirms the 'last photograph' was not on the digital camera he examined in Praia da Luz on 5th May, then, it would appear, the McCanns will have an awful lot of explaining to do.

quote:

Op maandag 17 maart 2008 11:19 schreef kahaarin het volgende:
En ja hoor, Sydney heeft ook een valse Maddy sighting:
[..]

[ afbeelding ]
False alarm ... the man, the girl and (inset) Maddie McCann. Picture: Stephen Cooper.

http://www.news.com.au/da(...)8885-5001021,00.html

quote:

An interesting article in the Correio da Manhã, informs us of some strange things happening around Luz recently. This time they target Robert Murat, the first to be named arguido in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

According to the Correio da Manhã, it seems that Robert Murat has been under surveillance in recent months. Robert Murat found, accidentally, two GPS devices fitted in two of his cars. Also, his company's website was hacked into. His e-mail has been diverted to another address and compromising messages were sent on his behalf.

Last week Murat's attorney received the most important evidence - a copy of one of these manipulated emails - and are considering the possibility of filing a complaint against unknown people. "There are also copies of emails sent to the server where his company - Romigen - is housed (in the USA) requesting de site's codes claiming they had been lost, according to a source close to Murat.

The codes were not provided but the page of Romigen was hacked into and has not been online. This computer "intrusion" was detected by Murat near Christmas. Sergey Malinka called Murat when he received a strange message supposedly from Murat, asking him to meet him for a confidential conversation. Murat had not sent the e-mail.

Before this revelation, Robert Murat made another discovery of an invasion on his privacy. One day, while repairing a problem with the water pump in his Volkswagen Transporter he went underneath his car and found a strange device fitted to its structure. He took the truck and the Skoda Fabia he had lent his partner Michaela Walczuch, which was also was parked outside, into Casa Liliana's grounds. At the bottom of the Skoda he found yet another identical device.

The PJ was called in and collected the two GPS tracking devices from the cars. According to the Correio da Manhã, inspectors assured they had nothing to do with the equipment. The tracking devices record data on the movement of cars and in the case of those found can be connected by USB to a computer, downloading the information on the cars movements. A simple search on the Internet allows you to find similar devices, the 'Professional Mini GPS Tracker - Vehicle Tracking or the Land AirSea Tracking Key (LAS), for 180 euros.

Yet another twist in a case that has many unexplained "phenomenons" happening.
Why were these devices fitted on Mr. Murat's cars? Is someone trying to make a "Follow the Arguido Reality Show?" Does he have a stalker interested in his every move? Or is someone out to frame Mr. Murat?Bron

quote:

Op maandag 17 maart 2008 12:13 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Middag Suko!

Metodo3 of de PJ, Murat is een suspect, Gerry zal heus wel tekst en uitleg hebben moeten geven, dat zijn dan weer van die dingen die de PJ voor zichzelf heeft gehouden, ik denk dat het dossier veel dikker is dan we vermoeden, als het niet waar was dan had Gerry het al wel gezegd denk ik.

quote:

"Nothing will be found" (Francisco Pagarete, Murat's lawyer)

Correio da Manhã – Have you consulted the Madeleine process?

Francisco Pagarete – I tried to, but the court of justice informed me that the process's time was extended and that the documents are under law secrecy.

Correio da Manhã – When did you have the latest formal contact with the PJ?

Francisco Pagarete - In August last year, when searches in the vehicles were made in the underground garage facing the PJ [building], in Portimão.

Correio da Manhã – Are you Michaela Walczuch's lawyer?

Francisco Pagarete – No. As far as I know she doesn't have one, never needed one. I'm just a friend of hers.

Correio da Manhã – Do you trust that the suspicions against Murat are going to be archived?

Francisco Pagarete – I believe that nothing will be found. Justice has its own time and we are continuing to wait that the documents will be archived.

Correio da Manhã – How is your client doing?

Francisco Pagarete – He's willing to be able to return to his normal life. To go back to work and to go out without worrying that there are always people at his door.

Correio da Manhã – Are you going to submit a complaint about the computer attack against Romigen?

Francisco Pagarete – That's possible. I'm still to receive some emails.

quote:

Op dinsdag 18 maart 2008 13:37 schreef kahaarin het volgende:
Goh, zou dit boek ook in GB uitgegeven gaan worden?
>knip>

quote:

Op zaterdag 15 maart 2008 12:10 schreef Suko het volgende:[/b]
>knip<
Wat er nou met die laatste zin wordt bedoelt? (ook Joana Morais schrijft er over)

quote:

"He only concedes to say that he does not believe that the child survived the 3rd of May 2007, the day she disappeared. And he drops standalone information throughout the book, which helps to compose the scenario. The fact that the McCanns' apartment was found in an "impeccable" state, with all pieces of furniture properly located against the walls. The fact that the PJ of Portimao, on the night of the disappearance, was called to take care of the case through a contact of the English ambassador with the national directory, thus indicating the existence of contacts of the British in the Algarve with London; the fact that the policemen did not find a single item of medicine in the McCanns' apartment, "not even an Aspirine"; the fact that the parents immediately jumped on the abduction theory, never looking at the possibility that the three-year-old child (that would become four in a few days) could have left the apartment on her own and could be lost in the surroundings. "Facts" that in some cases are certified and in others not - after all, Cristóvão recognizes that "the game is still on, although a bit weak".

En ook: "It is a conspiracy theory that is unveiled in this somewhat enigmatic book, which in its foreword promises revelations and contention simultaneously: "Due to legal issues, it cannot be me, the author, to tell you what the truth, the reality of the case is; nevertheless, I can assure you that you can find it here, within the lines of this book".

quote:

Four newspapers are to set to pay damages to the parents of Madeleine McCann, after settling a libel case, the BBC has learned. The Daily and Sunday Express, along with the Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday are to pay a "substantial" sum and print front-page apologies.

Kate and Gerry McCann's lawyers said that some of the newspapers' articles were "grossly defamatory". The couple say all the damages will be donated to the Find Madeleine fund.

The Daily Express is to carry a full front-page apology in Wednesday's paper, while the Star's apology will take over half its front-page. The papers are expected to apologise for suggesting Kate and Gerry McCann were involved in their daughter's disappearance.

The action relates to more than a hundred stories across the four titles, including 42 printed in the Daily Express. Under the terms of the settlement - at Kate and Gerry McCann's insistence - Express Newspapers' barrister will also read out an apology before a judge at the High Court on Wednesday.

The Express group has agreed to all the McCanns' requests. It is also paying all their costs. The McCanns have promised that the damages will be paid into the "fighting fund" set up to pay for efforts to find their missing daughter.

'Trust and credibility'

Media commentator Roy Greenslade said that for two national newspapers to carry front-page apologies at the same time was "unprecedented". "I think this is an amazing stand-down, u-turn, by the Express newspapers," he said.

"I think when people realise that more than 100 stories have been complained about as being grossly defamatory, it will annihilate the Express' readers sense of trust and credibility in their newspaper." Media lawyer Paul Gilbert from Finers Stephens Innocent said the courts encourage early settlement of defamation cases.

"Clearly the Express' lawyers felt this was a case they should settle without a high-profile trial - which it would be - and as a result have saved considerable costs," he said. "It certainly is a warning sign to newspapers in the future, if they're going to speculate, they've got to be very careful about what they speculate about."

Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, went missing, aged three, in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on 3 May last year.

quote:

"It recognised "that such a suggestion is absolutely untrue and that Kate and Gerry are completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance"

Under the headline Kate and Gerry McCann: Sorry, the Express said it had apologised because "we accept that a number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up", before acknowledging "there is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory".

"The McCanns hope their action will help draw a line under some of the more salacious coverage that has flourished in the absence of new developments." The Guardian

quote:

"This is the first time since I started my career, that I am ashamed to say for what newspaper I work," confessed to a journalist from the Daily Express contacted by SOS Madeleine. According to the same professional, "the UK power McCann seems to have no limits. They have escaped from social services despite the fact that they have left their children alone while they were partying, they created a machine communication as effective as that of the Premier… nothing surprises me."

"On Wednesday, under duress, the two newspapers Express Group s'excusent have "suggested that Kate and Gerry McCann may have caused the death of their daughter Madeleine."

Newspapers still publish that Kate and Gerry McCann is "completely innocent", but a source of the Group, in declarations to SOS Madeleine says "sincerely hoped that the couple is forced to respond in court for the disappearance of their daughter, so that they are obliged to explain what really happened the night of May 3."

Lawyers for Kate and Gerry had initiated contacts with a number of British media threaten prosecution, but the Express had become the main target, McCann seeking a settlement out of court, which would rise by the payment of compensation Financial close in the amount of five million euros.

The sums paid by the two newspapers were paid to the Fund Madeleine, who did more to get the same number of gifts that the disappearance of the small British had originally provoked.

The Fund Madeleine has been used so far to repay two monthly installments of the loan that McCann had contracted for the purchase of their homes, to pay for a poster campaign practically invisible in Spain and Portugal, as well as payments Monthly at the detective agency Metodo 3. De rest > Bron

quote:

Richard Desmond's Express Newspapers has paid £550,000 in damages to Gerry and Kate McCann after apologising for a string of articles in its titles alleging they were responsible for their daughter Madeleine's death. The Daily Express and the Daily Star, owned by Richard Desmond, both took the unprecedented step of publishing front page apologies to the McCanns today - and have paid a the sum into the Madeleine Fund.

Express Newspapers has also paid legal costs to the McCanns. A full apology by Express Newspapers and statement from Clarence Mitchell, the McCann's spokeman, was heard at 10am today in the high court in London. Mitchell confirmed the figure paid in damages outside court. >>> The Guardian

quote:

"The McCanns are understood to have asked for up to £4m. Express Newspapers offered in the region of £250,000 to cover the entire group." Earlier, PR guru Max Clifford told Sky News Online the payout "will send a warning bow across the whole of Fleet Street"."Max Clifford told Sky News Online the McCann's complaint "could have got any of the national newspapers". "A few editors will be sitting there thinking: 'But for the grace of God...'"
Sky News

quote:

In a statement the McCanns said they were pleased that the newspaper group had admitted the "utter falsity" of the numerous stories written about them." "They said they were wrong to suggest the couple, of Rothley, Leicestershire, were responsible for Madeleine's death." >>> BBC

quote:

Like (I imagine) many newspaper readers inexpert on the law of libel, I was not so much surprised that the Express has just been forced to apologise to and compensate Kate and Gerry McCann as I was surprised the British press so carelessly published defamatory attacks on them in the first place. Whatever questions may be raised (and I have raised some) about this couple's judgment in hiring professional PR, with all the massive and relentless publicity this has led to, the McCanns were in the end always going to emerge with at least their honour intact.

Not so their neighbour in Praia da Luz, poor Robert Murat, against whom (like the McCanns) there has never been a shred of evidence, but who has had to watch silently as his character was pulled apart by the British press. Gagged (as an arguido, like the McCanns) from making any public statement, and with no media spokesman (as the McCanns have) to organise responses on his behalf, Mr Murat has been silent witness to the very public destruction of his reputation.

I do not know that Robert Murat is innocent. I do not know that Kate and Gerry McCann are innocent. I do not know that the Angel Gabriel, or my Aunty Dolly, are innocent. I know only that we have no evidence for the guilt of any of these people. Due process and common decency forbid us from suggesting otherwise.

I devoted a Saturday column in The Times last summer to the plight of Mr Murat, suffering death by a thousand innuendos in British newspapers, and being spun into some kind of “one-eyed” “weirdo” “loner” and obvious suspect - when nobody who knew him, including even his now-separated wife, describes him unkindly.

Unlike the McCanns, who will be remembered as innocent, Mr Murat's possible fate could be that if and when those close to the case officially declare he was uninvolved, the media, bored by the story, will simply saunter away and stop writing about him, leaving on the battlefield, bayoneted by their reports, a man with his name forever associated in the public mind with something unspeakable - the world having forgotten that no evidence for this was ever produced.

You need deep pockets to risk hiring the top-flight libel lawyers. I dislike our laws of defamation: only theoretically open (like the Ritz, as someone once remarked) to all. But if any libel victim ever deserved a remedy in law it is Robert Murat. Should the system serve Gerry and Kate McCann but prove unable to help Mr Murat, then a serious injustice will have been done."

quote:

Op donderdag 20 maart 2008 13:28 schreef kahaarin het volgende:
Even een tegenberichtje uit Australie, verfrissend.
[..]

http://ionglobaltrends.bl(...)tralian-blogger.html

quote:

"As far as JN was able to establish, the PJ had prepared several questions that they wanted to ask from Kate and Gerry. But following a suggestion from the Public Ministery, the diligence was removed from the list of priorities. A source that is connected to the process explained that "the prosecutor understood that the diligence was useless and a waste of time, because the parents could refuse to answer the questions, according to the rights that the Portuguese law gives to arguidos".

That was precisely what the couple did when they were questioned by the PJ in Portimao, before they suddenly left for home, in Leicester, England, right after they were made arguidos. "The couple never cooperated with the Portuguese police, in spite of what they publicly announce, through their spokesman. There were no guarantees that they would do so now, but in a criminal investigation, there are no absolute certainties. It was necessary to take the risk", JN was told by one of the investigators, revolted "The date that has been advanced for the trip has yet to be confirmed. The PJ awaits confirmation from Stuart Prior, the top senior official at Leicester police." Bron

quote:

Op donderdag 20 maart 2008 10:52 schreef voyeur het volgende:
Kate and Gerry McCann in talks with ITV about missing children documentary
12/03/2008

The film will feature Kate and Gerry's experience and focus on how different countries react when children vanish.
>knip>
Verder zie ik nu nog steeds geen posters hangen in Spanje. Zoveel geld en tijd later en nog niets...

quote:

Op donderdag 20 maart 2008 20:50 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Ik denk dat er wel 2 kanten aan het verhaal zullen zitten, ik houd me ook niet zo bezig met de bloggers, ik vond een linkje op MSN-nieuws en heb het gepost, want dit vond ik wel een sterk stukje, ik heb niet de behoefte me te mengen in een ruzie tussen 2 mannen die nota bene op verschillende continenten wonen. Ze zoeken het maar uit met z'n 2-en.
[..] Nee hoor, is ook verder niet interessant alleen maar ter vermaak.
>knip<

Ik las het idd en wist niet goed wat te denken, ik heb het voor mezelf maar op een boze klant of een ruzie gegooid, ik denk niet dat dit ook maar iets met de zaak te maken heeft, waarom nu na 11 maanden de auto opblazen?
[..]Zou zomaar kunnen dat die gasten van Metodo 3 (of ze huren daarvoor iemand in) er iets mee van doen hebben, tenslotte verdenk ik en ik niet alleen dat ze ook Murat's site hebben gehackt, z'n auto gebuged en emails sturen onder zijn naam, het zou mij allemaal niet verbazen.

Het is imho heel simpel, geef duidelijkheid en werk mee, dan ben je van alle gedonder af als je idd niets te verbergen hebt.
Voor wat hoort wat, wil je dat men in Portugal je arguido status oplift dan zul je mee moeten werken en alle inconsistancies uit de weg moeten ruimen door pijnlijk eerlijk te zijn, ook over je gedrag mbt het alleen laten en over de checks.

quote:

Kate and Gerry McCann have been warned not to go back to Portugal for the anniversary of daughter Madeleine's disappearance. Lawyers have told the couple that to return on May 3 may be risky in view of the fact they are still official suspects over the missing four-year-old.

There are fears it might provoke demands for them to be quizzed by police again. Last night a friend of the couple admitted that their continuing "arguido" status had taken away the parents' "freedom of choice".

The friend said: "The lawyers are just being ultra-cautious. But there remains a possibility they may suddenly be called in. The anniversary would then become a circus which is the last thing they want. It is sad because Portugal is where Kate feels closest to Madeleine." There have been repeated calls in the Portuguese media from some police officers for the couple to be charged with child neglect for leaving her alone in their holiday apartment.

It is likely relatives will travel to Praia da Luz for the anniversary instead. Portuguese police plan to re-interview the McCanns holiday friends in Britain during April. Source: Mirror

quote:

Side Note: "Why would two suspects who fled Portugal, who state they have done nothing against the law by leaving their two two year old children in the care of a three year old girl and who are prime suspects in the disappearance of their daughter be advised by their lawyers not to return to Portugal? They surely have nothing to fear if they are not involved and have done nothing wrong? Perhaps the Daily Express who said the suspects are innocent of any involvement have special knowledge and a direct line to the PJ? Are the suspects hiding and hoping the UK will protect them from justice?"

quote:

Portuguese police have returned computers and other possessions they seized from Madeleine McCann "suspect" Robert Murat, he said yesterday. He described the move as a "very positive sign" – but is still waiting to be officially cleared of involvement in the young girl's disappearance.

Mr Murat, 34, lives just yards from the holiday apartment in the Portuguese seaside resort of Praia da Luz where Madeleine vanished on 3 May last year. Detectives took him in for questioning 11 days after the child went missing and made him the first arguido, or formal suspect, in the case. They also searched the villa he shares with his mother and seized a number of his possessions, including three computers, clothes and a pair of shoes.

Police returned these items to Mr Murat on Thursday, although they did not give any clues about the progress of their investigation. The Anglo-Portuguese ex-pat said: "It is a very positive sign – there's no doubt about that whatsoever. Why would they return something if it was in the middle of being investigated in any way, shape or form? "We are very happy to have the computers back, and I hope I will have my arguido status dropped very shortly."

Mr Murat said he was "considering his options" for taking legal action over allegedly libellous articles printed about him in the wake of the apologies to Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, published by four national newspapers in the Express group last week. He strenuously denies any involvement in the missing girl's disappearance, as do fellow arguidos Mr and Mrs McCann.

quote:

Portuguese police are set to fly to Britain on April 7 to interview members of the so-called Tapas Nine in a last bid to solve the Madeleine McCann mystery. Investigators are pinning their hopes on fresh interviews with the seven holiday friends who were eating tapas with Kate and Gerry McCann when their four-year-old daughter disappeared.

They are thought to be particularly keen to reinterview David Payne, Jane Tanner and her partner, Russell O'Brien. Prosecutors in Portugal have rejected police requests to call the McCanns in for a second round of questioning. But they have agreed to an application to quiz the McCanns' former spokeswoman Justine McGuiness and a psychologist who comforted GP Kate, 39, after Madeleine went missing.

A source close to the case said: "The Policia Judiciaria had prepared various questions it wanted Kate and Gerry to face but they were crossed off the list of priorities on the advice of public prosecutors. "They felt it was a waste of time because the McCanns would refuse to answer the questions, a right that Portuguese law grants official suspects." Portuguese police indicated recently they were ready to spend more than two months in Britain. They hope to wrap up the interrogations within a week but are packing for a much longer stay.

Dr Payne, 41, a cardiovascular researcher from Leicester, was the last person outside the McCann family to see Madeleine at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz on May 3. Gerry asked him to check on his wife and children while he was having a tennis lesson at about 6.30pm.

Dr O'Brien, 36, from Exeter, was away from the group for up to 45 minutes between 9.30pm and 10.15pm tending his own child who was being sick in his apartment. He told police he had changed her bed linen, but staff at the Ocean Club deny any change of sheets was requested. Attention has also focused on 36-year-old Miss Tanner's claim that she saw a man carrying a girl from the McCanns' apartment at about

9.15pm - when another witness says he was outside the flat at the same time but did not see her or the mystery man.

The trio have denied reports they intended changing their original police statements. The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell says the friends are keen to help police and want the reinterviews to take place as soon as possible. The McCanns - who are official suspects along with expat Robert Murat - deny any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance.

quote:

DAILY MIRROR: “Murat: It’s big relief”

Madeleine McCann suspect Robert Murat, 34, last night spoke of his joy that he looks likely to be officially cleared in days.

After having his computers returned, he said at his Praia da Luz home last night: “I’m so relieved.”

No mention of the Mirror’s super sleuth Lori Campbell who fingered “weird” Murat.

DAILY MAIL: “Murat could soon be cleared as Madeleine suspect after police return his possessions”

Even his computer - with the Sun’s “kid porn”.

His lawyer Francisco Pagarete said: “The police received an order from the public prosecutor to give everything back to Robert. All his items have been returned. We believe it is another step towards his clearance as a suspect. It’s a good sign.
“But we will have to wait and see. There is nothing official saying his status as an arguido is being revoked.”

Even if yesterday the Sunday People had “CLEARED” him.

No word from the The Mail’s Neil Sears, who told us: “There was something more to the friendly expat who called himself ‘Rob’ than met the eye.” Murat made Sears “feel slightly uncomfortable”.

DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Robert Murat close to being cleared over Madeleine McCann disappearance”

Robert Murat has moved a step closer to being cleared as a suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance after police returned possessions seized from him 10 months ago.

Says hi mother, Jenny Murat, 74: “Every single item that the police took has been returned to us. Of course we hope it means Robert’s arguido status will be lifted shortly. But we’ve had no official confirmation that that is the case and we’re not getting too excited.”

quote:

According to 24 Horas, the PJ would like to see all the crucial interviews of the Tapas group, by 14 April, date on which the extension for special complexity granted by Judge Frias ends. However, Mr. Magalhães e Menezes, the magistrate from the Prosecutor's Office that is in charge of this case may still request an additional 90 days to charge any of the arguidos.

This is reported precisely along with the information that Robert Murat and Sergei Malinka's computers were thoroughly examined by IT experts and that absolutely nothing related to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann was found - including on erased files. 24 Horas further states that no pornography or paedophilia was found on Robert Murat's computer. Thus, according to the same paper, Robert Murat is not expected to continue an arguido for much longer.

quote:

Reporting restrictions remain in force in the case, but the child’s father, Juan José Cortés, told the Huelva Infomación newspaper that the man is called Santiago, lives locally and has a criminal record for child and sexual abuse. He said that the family had suspected him from the very first moment in the case. ‘We know that it is him, we are sure, and this is no surprise to me’, said the father this morning. The paper reports that this man had been arrested in Granada just a few days after Mari Luz vanished and was released on a lack of any evidence. Typically Spanish News

quote:

Op woensdag 26 maart 2008 19:37 schreef Suko het volgende:
Lijkt hij trouwens op 'Bundleman?'
<knip>

quote:

Kate and Gerry McCann are taking part in an ITV documentary to mark a year since their daughter Madeleine went missing, it has been revealed.

The McCanns will appear in the show 12 months after the four-year-old disappeared on May 3 last year at a Portuguese resort. There have been no confirmed sightings of Maddy since and her parents hope their appearance on TV will boost publicity for the case.

Cameras have been following Kate and Gerry McCann all year for the one-hour programme, at their home in Leicestershire and as they pursue their campaign in the US and Brussels

During the documentary the McCanns talk about Madeleine and what happened the night she disappeared. They also speak about being made suspects by the Portuguese police and about deciding to come back to Britain without their daughter.

"ITV has commissioned Mentorn Media to make a documentary marking the first anniversary of Madeleine McCann's disappearance and focusing on the campaign to prevent others going through a similar ordeal," the broadcaster said. Madeleine's parents are said to be receiving no payment for their part in the programme, with ITV instead donating £10,000 to the Find Madeleine Fund.

Steve Anderson, executive producer for Mentorn Media, said: "Amid all of the controversy, what should be remembered is that a little girl is still missing and her family is trying its best to find her. "We have been with Kate and Gerry McCann as they have pushed for a better system across Europe to help stop child abduction.

"They are determined to do whatever they can to make sure that what happened to Madeleine doesn't happen to another child. Madeleine has not been seen since disappearing from her family's Algarve holiday apartment at the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz. Metro

quote:

A source of the Specialized Unit and Violent Crime (UDEV), responsible for the arrest, confirmed that the suspect claimed today that Mari Luz "fell" during the fight and died accidentally. From its precedent for abuse of minors, including her own daughter, the man had already been interrogated and searched his home but police had not found the slightest evidence of the passage of Mari Luz." Bron

quote:

Mr Mitchell added that the McCanns were not interested in appearing in a documentary detailing how they were coping with the disappearance of their daughter. He said: "They don't want to do anything about 'woe is us a year on'. That is what the tabloids would like us to do, but we are not following their agenda, we are following our own agenda.

quote:

This is interesting. These people were in Brussels on March 4th and 7th by the look of this

http://madeleinemccann.bl(...)adeleine-mccann.html

Catherine meyer was mentioned by Gerry in his blogs 29th Feb 08
http://www.mccannfiles.com/id57.html

http://www.telegraph.co.u(...)06/nmadeleine106.xml

They seem to know Catherine very well ...from the article.

quote:

Op donderdag 27 maart 2008 15:57 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

<knip>

quote:

I'll leave you with this small interview in today's Correio da Manhã with former PJ Chief-Inspector and Criminologist Moita Flores, and his opinion article.

“Mari Luz Case is Different from Maddie’s ", says Francisco Moita Flores

What similarities do you find between the cases Mari Luz?

Francisco Moita Flores – There are none to find. The development of this case in Spain simply confirmed the records of the criminal statistics.

How so?

All the known situations of children's kidnapping have resulted in their death. Generally, like in this case, in an accidental murder.

Do you believe that the difference regarding the Madeleine’s case is the non discovery of the body?

It’s hard to say this out loud but this type of crime has not so many peculiarities. Besides the lack of a body, it is necessary to tell the type of access to the child. If Mari Luz was kidnapped in the street, in a public place, in the case of Madeleine only someone with access to the apartment of the McCanns could carry out the kidnapping, which limits the suspects to just about eight or ten persons.

quote:

Day 329: 27/03/2008

Kate and I arrived back from Washington yesterday. We went primarily to visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to learn more about the implementation of their national AMBER alert system (child rescue alert). The whole experience was very positive. The staff at NCMEC is the most experienced in dealing with missing and abducted children anywhere in the world.

The AMBER alert system should be used in the most serious child abduction cases (usually by strangers, when the child is considered at risk of serious harm) to recover the child as quickly as possible. The alert is based on the realisation that galvanising the local community can play a huge role in finding missing children. Last year alone 68 children, and almost 400 in total since its’ implementation, were recovered safely as a direct result of the AMBER alert. In 16 cases the abductor released the child safely when hearing the AMBER alert. We strongly feel that Europe should have a similar integrated child rescue alert.

Our visit to Washington and meetings with other relevant European organisations will be shown on a documentary to be screened by ITV on the 30 April. The programme will focus on the campaign to introduce a European version of the AMBER alert. There will of course be massive media interest in Madeleine’s disappearance at this time, if she remains missing, and we hope that the programme is shown in most European countries and further afield.

During our Washington visit we were also very encouraged to hear that, in NCMEC’s experience, the younger the child at the time of abduction the less likely that child will be seriously harmed. Such information makes us believe even more fervently, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that Madeleine can be found safe and well. Bron

quote:

Ik heb eindelijk antwoord van Missing Children Europe over het vermeende ambassadeurschap van Kate. Laat niets te raden over lijkt me:

Dear Sir,

Apologies for the delay in coming back to you, due to the fact that I have been out of office last week.

Missing Children Europe has met informally with Kate and Gerry McCann, at the occasion of which the issues of concern for Missing Children Europe were discussed. The lunch refered to did however not take place.
Furthermore, the statement that Kate McCann would become an Ambassador for Missing Children Europe is also not true, and is as far as we are concerned purely a presupposition of certain newspapers.

I hope this clarifies the questions you had concerning this issue,

Best regards,<naam weggelaten, maar is de officiele woordvoerster>

quote:

Op zondag 30 maart 2008 13:19 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

http://www.anorak.co.uk/madeleine-mccann/182535.html

In dit rondje Anorak wordt het 1 en ander gesuggereerd, de 1 zegt dat ze niet ver hoord worden en de ander zegt dat het van de statements van de Tapas-7 af hangt, we zullen zien.
Ik kan me ook niet voorstellen dat alles af hangt van de Tapas-7, het zou imho ook dom zijn om alles maar in de pers te kwakken, hopelijk komt er binnenkort een duidelijk bericht naar buiten.
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Zeg het maar, wie heeft er gelijk?

Wat grappig dat het opstappen van de sponsors zo geheim is gehouden, ik zou echt wel eens willen zien wat de McCanns nu daadwerkelijk hebben uitgegeven aan het vinden van Maddy en aan propaganda voor henzelf, ik ben bang dat Maddy er bekaaid af komt.

quote:

Police to question McCann friends The friends who were on holiday with Madeleine McCann's parents when the girl went missing are to be reinterviewed by police in the UK.

The group of seven will be questioned next week by Leicestershire Police, with Portuguese detectives present. Four-year-old Madeleine disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in the Algarve last May. Her parents, who deny any wrongdoing, remain arguidos or formal suspects. They will not face questioning.

Small team

Madeleine disappeared days before her fourth birthday, during a family holiday in the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on 3 May last year. The seven friends dined with Kate and Gerry McCann on the night of Madeleine's disappearance.

One of the group, Jane Tanner, has already told the police she saw a man that evening carrying a child, close to the family's apartment. The BBC's Steve Kingston in Madrid said he understood that a small team of Portuguese detectives will arrive in Britain next Monday.

He added: "The Portuguese detectives will not conduct the interviews - but instead watch as officers from Leicestershire Police put a list of questions agreed in advance through the Home Office." The questioning of the McCanns' friends will begin on Tuesday and should be completed by the end of the week.

Police interviews are also planned with relatives and advisers who were with the McCanns during the early days of the investigation. Separately, lawyers for the couple have requested that two dozen other witnesses be interviewed, including staff from the Ocean Club complex and several British holidaymakers.

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Op maandag 31 maart 2008 12:17 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

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Ze hebben de schijn wel tegen idd.
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Vragen staat vrij, als de PJ dat niet wil laten ze Metodo3 daar op zetten doen ze ook eens iets voor hun geld. Ha ha, goed idee Kahaarin, die lui hebben alleen de McCanns een reden 'gegeven' dat Madeleine is ontvoerd, mensen hinderlijk lastig gevallen en 'valse' sithings publiek gemaakt, iets wat het imago van (zoal ze die hadden) de McCanns volkomen teniet heeft gedaan. Ook Clarence Mitchell heeft z'n werk goed gedaan, te goed, ook dat heeft veelal de meelevende/lezende toeschouwer van gedachten doen veranderen, in niet het voordeel van de McCanns.

In het Duitse bericht proef ik een beetje sarcasme:
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"Bijna een jaar na de mysterieuze verdwijning van de kleine Madeleine worden de vrienden van haar ouders opnieuw verhoord." Dat is idd een vet understatement....

Laat ze maar uitkijken, anders hebben ze zo een claim aan hun broek hangen. Mwoah, iets wat men mysterieus noemt kan geen kwaad, daar trapt geen rechter in....

http://www.baz.ch/news/in(...)CEF-707DD87126CD3D47

quote:

GLASGOW DAILY RECORD: “POLICE FLYING IN TO QUIZ TAPAS 7”
The Sangria 7. It’s the Tapas 9.

Detective Superintendent Stuart Prior, who heads the British arm of the probe, is likely to lead the interviews. Police chief Paulo Rebelo, the man in charge of the investigation, is also likely to make the high-profile trip to Britain.

Detectives want to clear up any “inconsistencies” in the group’s stories about what happened the night Madeleine went missing.

Says McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell:

“Kate and Gerry and their friends see this as an important chance to help the police. The friends are more than happy to co-operate as are Kate and Gerry although, in this case, the couple will not be interviewed. We hope that the police will realise there is no evidence to link Kate and Gerry with Madeleine’s disappearance in any way and that they will be rapidly eliminated from the inquiry.”

THE GUARDIAN: “Tapas Seven in new McCann interviews”

The group - three couples, Matthew and Rachael Oldfield, Fiona and David Payne, Russell O’Brien and Jane Tanner, plus Dianne Webster, Ms Payne’s mother - have vociferously defended the McCanns against suggestions that they might have been involved in their daughter’s disappearance.

MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS: “Driven to succeed”

Meeting Edward Smethurst. Getting to know the lawyers:

He is also a highly-respected lawyer who works as legal director at entrepreneur Brian Kennedy’s Latium Group. Mr Kennedy is the main backer of Kate and Gerry McCann in the fight to find their daughter Madeleine. As the family’s legal co-ordinator, Edward played a pivotal role in securing £550,000 in libel damages from Express Newspapers. He also directs the legal teams in the UK and runs a team of private investigators searching for Madeleine.

Edward says: “My role is to oversee the teams. I am not a libel lawyer and left that to the team from Carter-Ruck who secured a huge settlement as well as an unprecedented front page apology after the newspapers printed highly defamatory articles about Gerry and Kate McCann. I am also on the board of the Madeleine Fund - No Stone Unturned. It is an extremely high profile case and every effort is being made to find Madeleine.”