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Kate and Gerry questioned by PJ and made official suspects in the disappearance
of their daughter. They immediately return to UK. New police chief, Paulo Rebelo, appointed and first interview since
being given 'arguido' status.
Gerry's complete blogs for September/October 2007 |
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September/October 2007 (Days 121-181) |
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Today was a very quiet family day
with just the four of us. Kate’s family left first thing this morning. We took Sean and Amelie
to a local zoo that they really enjoyed. I managed to get the blog written early so it is off to
bed for an early night.
In Rothley, our home village, there was a meeting this afternoon
with the four churches all contributing prayers for Madeleine. We would like to thank everyone who is praying for Madeleine
and all those who have sent us messages of support- you do help to maintain our strength and focus.
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Another relatively quiet family day.My mum and sister arrived this morning after we had been to church. This afternoon we took the kids
to a friend’s house with a pool. Kate and I went for a short run and then we all had a swim and a couple of treats brought
all the way from Glasgow!
Several people have been asking about
whether they should still be putting up posters of Madeleine since I have said the campaign will be having a lower media profile-
especially of Kate and I. The advice of the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children is
that high visibility of the missing child through posters, car stickers etc increases the chances
of finding that child. Kate and I therefore would encourage you to continue taking posters on holiday and ask permission to
have them displayed in supermarkets, post offices and shops.
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After dropping the twins off Kate and I popped into church for 10
minutes to pray for Madeleine. Spent most of the day going through mail, e-mails and I had a number of calls to make. It was
good to spend some time with my family and Sean and Amelie certainly enjoyed their auntie’s
dinner- sometimes it is hard to beat mince and ‘tatties’!
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Kate and I did our first interview for a French Publication today.
Any interviews we do now, of which we only accept a small percentage of bids, focus on the issues that we have faced since
Madeleine’s abduction. The French have recently adopted a child alert system with some early success stories. With increasing
travel and movement of workers in the European Union, it is also important we standardise the way serious crimes are tackled.
This evening we were invited to a friend’s house with the children for dinner. The twins had a good time with
the other kids in the paddling pool and especially enjoyed the banana splits with extra child friendly toppings!
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We were surprised to find increased media presence in Praia da Luz again today. We were followed down to church, then to the shops and back to our accommodation which
is very unusual, apart from the build up to the 100 days. All the excitement seems to be over the results of the recent forensic
tests that again have created a huge amount of speculation. There has been no official conformation that the report has been
received, or what the tests suggest if anything!
Kate and I went for a run along the coast at lunchtime. It was pretty
windy but still warm enough. Later in the afternoon we went to visit a friend of Kate’s who
is on holiday in a nearby village with her family. They brought lots of cards from well-wishers at home and we talked a lot
about the search for Madeleine. The twins had a great time splashing around in a little inflatable paddle pool, singing songs
and being doted on by the older kids.
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Everyone will know that Kate attended for interview as a witness
with the Portuguese police today. This is only the second time Kate has been interviewed and although it was a long day, going
on past midnight, this was shorter than my second interview which lasted 13 hours! The suggestion that Kate is involved in
Madeleines disappearance is ludicrous. Anyone who knows anything about
the 3rd May knows that Kate is completely innocent. We will fight this all the way and we will not stop looking for Madeleine.
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The last few days have
been incredibly busy and of course, unbelievably stressful and emotionally draining.
On
Friday Kate and I were made ‘arguido’- official suspects in Madeleines disappearance. We cannot comment on any details of the investigation,
interviews or any evidence that has been presented to us. We could never possibly have imagined being put in this unbearable
situation. No specific charges have been presented at this point and there has been no restriction on our movements imposed.
Despite the anguish and
extreme distress this has caused all of our family, long term no one will be able to doubt how intensely Kate and I have been
scrutinised. We have absolute confidence that, when all of the facts are presented together, we will be able to demonstrate
that we played absolutely no part in Madeleines abduction. Our primary concern has always been the
search for Madeleine and this aspect, that our daughter is still missing, must remain a priority
for the investigation.
On Saturday we asked
the Portuguese police if they had any objection to us coming back to the UK. We had assured them that we will
continue to cooperate fully with the investigation and of course will return as requested and for our own emotional reasons.
We decided to fly back on Sunday as we had originally planned and all of our family spent the rest of the evening helping
us to pack.
On Sunday we left for the airport at 7am with huge media attention. Camera crews followed us all the way
to the airport, and the whole experience, like much of the last four months was incredibly surreal. The flight itself went
quickly with Sean and Amelie constantly active and excited about returning to Leicestershire. We
always hoped that we would not have to return without Madeleine and could never have imagined the possibility that we would
do so as suspects in our own daughters disappearance. The pain and turmoil we have experienced in
this last week is totally beyond description. Kate and I are totally 100% confident in each others innocence and our family
and friends have rallied round unflinchingly to support us. We would like to thank everyone else for the support we have received
since we came home.
We have had very mixed emotions since coming back to our own home. It is very comforting to have
such familiar surroundings and our own belongings and the twins have settled straight back in as if they have never been away.
We have had numerous visitors with friends and those in official capacities. We have appointed solicitors to advise us and
assist our Portuguese lawyer in preparing our defence against any possible charges. The sooner this is done the sooner we
can concentrate fully on trying to find Madeleine, which is the most important thing through this unending nightmare.
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Statement by the Board of Madeleine’s Fund:
Leaving No Stone Unturned Limited
12 September 2007 |
The Fund would like to thank everyone
for their kindness, support and generosity.
Madeleine’s Fund was set up to:
- Find Madeleine;
- Support the Family; and
- Bring the abductor or abductors to justice
and subject to that to help other missing children.
With the sudden dramatic and unexpected turn of events at the
weekend the directors had to consider whether legal defence costs could be paid for by the Fund.
The Board has taken advice from Bates Wells & Braithwaite
London LLP and Christopher McCall QC. The Board has been advised that payment of Gerry and Kate’s legal defence
costs would be legally permissible subject to conditions about repayment in the event of a guilty conviction.
The directors of the Fund discussed this today. The two
family directors, Brian Kennedy and John McCann withdrew from the meeting when the decision was made. Esther Mcvey chaired
the meeting.
The Fund directors realise that there is not only a legal answer
and recognise the spirit which underlies the generous donations to Madeleine’s Fund, which it
is the directors’
responsibility to steer.
For this reason the Fund directors have decided not to pay for
Gerry and Kate’s legal defence costs. We stress that Gerry and Kate have not asked for these costs to be paid.
However, people have already called in offering their financial support. Any such fund to pay legal defence costs would
have to be separately set up and administered.
At the heart of this campaign and Fund is a little girl confused,
lonely and in need of her parents. This Fund’s money will be focused on finding that little girl and leaving no
stone unturned.
12 September 2007 | |
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Statement
from the Find Madeleine Fund
15 September 2007
Director John McCann, said:
"On behalf of the extended McCann family and the Madeleine Fund, I would
like to say how grateful we are for people's generosity and support.
The main objective of the Madeleine Fund is to leave no stone unturned in
the search for Madeleine.
To that end I would like to announce that the Fund will finance a broad
range of initiatives in advertising to remind everyone that Madeleine is still missing. These adverts will focus
on Spain, Portugal and other parts of Europe and will consist of billboards and other media. This financing of advertisements
will complement previous efforts by the Fund and many motivated individuals – family, friends and people touched by
our cause.
I hope that the general public will continue to support us in this.
It is so important that we remember: "don't you forget about me"-
our lovely wee Madeleine."
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Sorry for not updating the blog for such a long time but obviously we
have been incredibly busy during this last tumultuous week. The entries will probably be every few days or if there is a major
development in the future.
Thank you for all the cards, letters, flowers, gifts and messages of support. It means so much
to us to know that so many people have not been deceived by rumour, innuendo and wild speculation. Most importantly the search
for Madeleine carries on and our family have not given up hope of finding her.
Live in Rothley is still a long way
off normal with the large media presence but it is beginning to settle down somewhat. We all managed to go to mass today and
it was comforting to pray for Madeleine with friends and family in our local church.
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It is just over 2 weeks since we returned home from Portugal. The
major news in that time is that we have not been charged with any offences regarding Madeleine’s disappearance. It is
encouraging that the prosecutor has stated that all lines of enquiry remain open and we have not given up hope of finding
Madeleine alive. It is good to see at least some attention re-focussing on finding Madeleine. Sean and Amelie have settled
back in at home very well but they do miss their older sister and we talk about her every day. For Kate and I it has
been incredibly difficult to come home without Madeleine but particularly in such circumstances. Our family and friends have
rallied round again as they have throughout this entire nightmare and they have also helped keep on top of the huge amount
of mail from well wishers. At times our kitchen has looked like a sorting office! We would like to thank everyone for their
support. It helps us keep sight of the fact that the great majority of people in this world are good.
Kate and I have
been very busy with our legal advisers as we want to be eliminated from the inquiry as soon as possible and start concentrating
wholeheartedly again on the search for our daughter. We are very confident this will happen when all the facts are presented
together. We are very grateful and thankful to have several businessmen who have pledged financial support to cover legal
costs and we were delighted Clarence Mitchell agreed to help us as an official spokesman. It is scary and daunting to imagine
how we could have managed to deal with these latter ‘developments’ without such offers of support and commitment.
Clarence will try and minimise the impact of the huge media interest in Madeleine’s disappearance on us, as we try and
return slowly towards as normal a life as is possible. Although we will NEVER give up on Madeleine, we have to find the right
balance for Sean and Amelie so they too do not suffer unnecessarily.
In the meantime we will continue to cooperate
fully with the Portuguese authorities. I will update the blog periodically especially if there is any major development.
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It has been another busy week for Kate and I. Sean and Amelie
have settled back into nursery, almost as if they have never been away. They are also enjoying playing in their garden especially
on the big slide and their latest escapade is collecting conkers! When they are not in the garden, they are desperate to watch
‘Wallace and Gromit’ or build dens in their bedroom- another new activity introduced by a very special friend
of theirs!
The amount of supportive mail we have been receiving has been overwhelming and shows no sign of abating.
Just as when we were in Portugal, someone reads every single letter or card and your kind words really do help us. Thank you!
We have once again been lucky enough to have had friends and family here helping us. Paul Seddon, the priest who married us
and baptised Madeleine, also came down for a day this week too. The media presence in Rothley has reduced to a few photographers
now and it has been good to get out and about a little bit in the village. We have had tremendous input from the local police
who have kept a quiet presence at the end of the road, allowing us to have some privacy around the house. The support and
kind words we have received from the local villagers has also helped to make our return that bit easier.
When we hear
of potential sightings of Madeleine, Kate and I try not to get too excited otherwise we would be on a continuous emotional
roller coaster, more than that which we are experiencing already. Despite the disappointment, it is encouraging that people
are still being vigilant and have not stopped looking for Madeleine. This is so incredibly important to us both. The official
advice from the authorities if you think you have seen Madeleine, or another missing child, is to call the local police force
immediately and supply any information which might be critical such as a car registration or address.
We are planning
a quiet family weekend, catching up with friends and some family who will be coming to visit. We continue to hope and pray
that our lovely little girl will be back with us soon.
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Yesterday marked 150 days since Madeleine was taken. For our family
it was just another painful day without our beautiful daughter. The questions we ask are pretty much the same as those we
asked in the first few days. Who took her, why did they take her and where is she? Without wanting to be boringly repetitive
we believe that someone out there knows something that could answer these questions.
I am still amazed at the irresponsible
reporting going on in the press with unsubstantiated reports from unreliable sources being repeated in the UK and Portuguese
press unquestioningly. It is simply untrue that the twins think that Madeleine has gone on a ‘little trip’. They
clearly miss their big sister and have asked on numerous occasions where is Madeleine?’. Kate I and have told them that
we don’t know where she is but lots of people are looking for her and we hope that we will find her. They are not traumatised
by her continued absence, simply being too young to comprehend the situation but we are well aware that their insight will
change as they continue to develop rapidly.
At the weekend we again had lots of visitors with kids, which was great
for Sean and Amelie. After attending mass yesterday morning we had a family lunch and then spent a couple of hours in the
garden playing. There are still a few photographers hanging around at the end of our street taking daily pictures of Kate
and I. We are managing to get out and about in the village and we have lots of support from the local community. On Saturday
we decided to go for a run but drove nearby and parked the car but we were ‘snapped’ at the end, when I was certainly
looking wearier than Kate!
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It has been a quieter week for Kate and I. We did go
into the Leicester Mercury on Wednesday to pick up a cheque for Madeleine’s Fund from donations for green and yellow
wristbands. We did our first interview since returning from Portugal to say a huge thank you to everyone, especially here
in Leicestershire, for supporting us during these last few dark weeks and months. Click here to read the interview. We have talked a little of life returning to ‘normal’ in Rothley.
Several photographers are still in the village but otherwise it has been very quiet.
Kate and I will be going through
the judicial process in Portugal to try and clear our name as quickly as possible. Obviously it is encouraging that the prosecutor
has stated that all lines of enquiry are open. It is likely that we will be ‘arguidos’ for some time since this
status remains until charges are brought or up to 8 months if no charges are made. The investigation will have a new coordinator
appointed to replace chief inspector Amaral. We are happy to continue cooperating with the Portuguese authorities and in fact
as arguidos, we can request that certain investigations are carried out.
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After a few days of ridiculous newspaper coverage in the UK and
Portugal it was heartening to hear of the statement this evening from Mr Ripeiro, the National Director of the Judicial Police
in Portugal. He has again emphasised that all lines of the investigation, not only Madeleine’s death, are open and that
much of what has been written is pure speculation and in some cases misinformation. Scientific reports that we drugged our
children clearly fall in to the latter category.
In the coming days and weeks we hope that only factual material is reported,
allowing everyone to focus on finding Madeleine and who took her.
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Life in Rothley is definitely quietening down although daily photographs
of us leaving the house still seem ‘newsworthy’ which I find incredible. We are slowly trying to return to normal
and it is heartening meeting ordinary people who are very supportive and sympathetic. We have managed to catch up with quite
a few friends in the last week, which we have actually had to build up to because of the emotions involved in talking about
what has happened. We also had our first visitor from Praia da Luz who spent a few days with us. It was touching to hear about
our friends there, who continue to hold weekly vigils praying for Madeleine and her safe return.
The media frenzy
is gradually subsiding with just occasional unsubstantiated reports of ‘evidence’ appearing. It is very encouraging
that Mr Rebelo’s officers will be seemingly reviewing all the material in the inquiry, which will hopefully identify
areas for further investigation. Contrary to some other reports Kate and I do NOT accept that Madeleine is ‘probably’
dead. We know it is a possibility, however the fact there is no evidence Madeleine has been seriously harmed gives us ongoing
hope that she will be found alive.
Finally, thank you once again to evryone who has written to us or sent messages
of support. Calum has been away for a week on holiday and we will be updating the messages of support very soon. We would
love to reply to everyone personally but the huge numbers simply make it impossible.
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This last weekend we went to visit friends and Kate’s parents.
It is the first time we have been to Liverpool since we went to Portugal on holiday in April. Sean and Amelie had a great
time playing with other young children and it was good for Kate and I to catch up with very close friends. We attended the
‘children’s mass’ in the church where we were married and I met the local priest who also happens to come
from Glasgow.
We welcome the announcement from Mr Ribeiro, the National director of the Judicial Police in Portugal,
that our friends who were on holiday with us in Portugal are to be re-interviewed. We do not know how many other ‘witnesses’
will be interviewed but obviously we want to be eliminated from the inquiry as soon as possible. We constantly hope that one
of the other lines of investigation leads to Madeleine being found safe and well.
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It has been a busy few days for Kate and I. We did our first interview
since being made arguidos, for Spanish TV. This was very difficult for us but had one important purpose. We announced that
private investigators are looking for Madeleine and that there is a dedicated ANONYMOUS telephone line for anyone who has
information, which may help us to find Madeleine. The number is +34.902.300.213. We urge anyone who may have information to
please call this number.
The investigators are based in Spain because we believe Madeleine is most likely to be in
the Iberian Peninsula or North Africa. They have also released a sketch of an eyewitness who saw a man carrying a small child
away from near the apartment on the night Madeleine disappeared. We believe this child was Madeleine. The Portuguese police
have released the description of the man previously: he is 35-40 years old, approximately 5’8”-5’10”
(1.72-1.78m), Caucasian with southern European/Mediterranean appearance, slim build with dark hair. We hope that this picture
may jog someone’s memory who may have seen this man in the Praia da Luz area on the night or days before Madeleine was
abducted. Someone else may be aware of a man matching this description who has behaved suspiciously at any time since the
beginning of May.
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28 Oct 07
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The last couple of days have been hard for Kate and I. We have had
a lot of ‘family time’ and despite the pleasure of seeing Sean and Amelie having fun, Madeleine’s absence
was very much tangible. We were, however, bucked up somewhat after opening lots of mail, which was incredibly supportive and
uplifting. We would like to pass on our sincere thanks once more to everyone who is supporting us. My mum and sister have
also arrived for a few days and this is the first time we have seen each other for 5 weeks. My nephew and a close family friend
also came to visit last night.
Today we all attended mass in the local church. Next Saturday will mark six months
since Madeleine was abducted. We will be marking this milestone very quietly with an ecumenical prayer service for Madeleine
and other missing children in the local Anglican church.
Despite sadness and despair at our own situation, it is heart
wrenching to hear of tragedies affecting other families close to home this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
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29 Oct 07
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No entry
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30 Oct 07
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No entry
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31 Oct 07
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No entry
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