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A detailed look at the events that unfolded during the early days of August when the specialist British sniffer
dogs, Eddie and Keela, arrived in Portugal.
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Specialist sniffer dogs, Eddie and Keela, arrive with their handler, Martin Grime. |
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In the evening, Portuguese and UK investigators begin their search of apartment 5A with Eddie and Keela.
Cadaver odour is indicated in the McCanns bedroom by the wardrobe, in the living room behind a sofa and a light scent
indicated outside in a flowerbed. A blood indication is made behind the sofa.
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Jon Corner arrives to film promotional material for the official 'Find Madeleine' site. Kate's parents also arrive. |
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Gerry McCann cancels trip to Huelva due to 'viral illness'.
Around 18:00pm, the Inspectors knock on the door of the McCanns villa. Jon Corner states in the Panorama documentary
that the McCanns were forewarned of this forensic visit and that there were clothes in the washing machine when the Inspectors
arrived.
Cadaver odour is indicated on two pieces of Kate's clothing (trousers and blouse), on a red T-shirt believed to belong
to Madeleine and on the soft toy known as 'Cuddle Cat'.
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The Huelva trip goes ahead, despite all public places being closed. |
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Casa Liliana, home of Robert Murat, is searched. Vegetation is cleared from the grounds and in the evening the sniffer
dogs are used.
Jon Corner returns home.
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The search of Murat's property continues. Nothing is found. |
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10 vehicles are collected and examined in a closed car park in Portimao.
Cadaver odour is indicated on the McCanns Renault Scenic hire car and also the key of the vehicle. Blood is indicated
on the key of the vehicle and the interior of the car's boot.
Gerry states in his blog that today he 'went to a large office store in Portimao to buy a new
printer and ink' - a journey that would have had to be undertaken by car. But how did he get there and back?
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Martin Grime returns home with Eddie and Keela. |
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Kate's parents return home. |
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A Portugese newspaper claims police had 'intercepted' emails and phone calls between Kate and Gerry McCann and their
friends, which provide 'decisive proof' that Madeleine was not abducted but died in the family's holiday apartment in Praia
da Luz.
The McCanns take the twins out of the Kids Club.
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Kate and Gerry do a further series of interviews for Portugese and
foreign TV. During the Portuguese interview, Gerry is asked if he gave the children Calpol
or something to make them sleep. He denies it.
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Police in Portugal acknowledge for the first time that, in light
of new evidence, Madeleine may be dead. Chief Inspector Sousa adds that Mr and Mrs McCann are not being considered as suspects
following newspaper speculation that they were under suspicion.
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Timeline, in detail (Gerry's blog for that day on coloured background)
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Specialist sniffer dogs arrive
The Enhanced Victim Recovery Dogs (EVRD), Eddie and Keela, arrive with their handler, Martin Grime.
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We had a routine meeting today with the Portuguese police. Kate and I are confident that every avenue is being explored
and the vital piece of information that leads to Madeleine is only a phone call away.
This is the last time we will
have met the Consul General in a professional capacity, as he retires tomorrow and will be returning to the UK.
Bill has provided us with consular support since day 1 and, naturally, he got to know us very well during the last 3 months.
He has said that Madeleines abduction is the most tragic circumstance he
has had to deal with. Without doubt Bill has given us excellent support and we wish him and his wife a very happy retirement.
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Note: According to translations of 'The Truth of the Lie', Mr Amaral dates the visit to Apartment
5A as 03 August but the PJ files state 31 July. It would seem logical that the dogs would start at the McCanns' first apartment, bearing
in mind that is where they believed Madeleine to have died.
Seach of Apartment 5A, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
- Evening of 3 August, Portuguese and UK investigators begin at Ocean Club, Apt 5A
- Martin leads in Eddie and
tells him to sit at the front door, so that he can remove the leash. Contrary to expectations of this wonder dog-detective,
Eddie ignored the command and ran immediately to the interior of the apt, where he ran "devilishly" from the living room to
the parent's bedroom. Grimes says worriedly that something has made Eddie nervous and he calls Eddie again so that he can
give orders to indicate where to start searching. An investigator is video taping. Some minutes later, Eddie focuses on the
floor of the couple's bedroom, next to the wardrobe and gives the alert for cadaver odor, in a strident bark
- Why
here, in the couple's room? More goosebumps to follow: Eddie gives another strident bark next to the living room wall, behind
the blue sofa, under the window.
- Apt 5A begins to give up its mystery.
- On that night, before 10pm, the investigators
see Gerald McCann near the apartment, driving alone in the rented Renault with the face of one "who has few friends."
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If the cadaver (EVRD) dog alerts, then the blood (CSI) dog is brought in. They are trained to find ONLY human blood, even
in areas thoroughly cleaned with chemicals or bleaches. Sometimes they find blood vestiges so small that they can't be collected,
and the surrounding materials themselves have to be transported to the lab. This happened with Keela.
- Keela is brought
in and she marks blood in the same place as Eddie marked the cadaver smell... she stopped, immobile, with her nose pointed
at the precise location of the smell. The tiles on the floor.
- Outside, Eddie gives two more alerts of cadaver smell,
on the varanda of the couple's bedroom and also in a garden situation directly below it. Here, the bark is weaker, like a
"could be", with some doubt, like a human shrugging their shoulders.
- Going now to the other apts, the investigators
are nervous. Who knows what will come next? But to the amazement of all, after very careful exams of all the other apts, Eddie
exhibits complete disinterest. Martin decides to not use Keela, since Eddie found no cadaver smell.
- There are signs
of death in Apartment 5A. It's necessary to confirm that, prior to 3 May, no one had died there. The OC has no records of
anything like that, nor the fire department, nor the paramedics, nor the prior apt owners knew of any death in the apt.
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It is concluded, therefore, that the cadaver odor could only come from one person: Madeleine Beth McCann
Findings, as detailed in the PJ's 57-page report summary
1 - Apartment 5A, of the resort 'Ocean Club', place from where the child disappeared.
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cadaver odour dog:
*in the couple’s bedroom, in a corner, close to the wardrobe;
*in the living room, behind
the sofa, close to the lateral window of the apartment;
- blood dog:
* in the living room, behind the sofa,
close to the lateral window of the apartment (exactly as it was signalled by the cadaver odour dog);
2 – Area of the backyard, close to the apartment 5A:
- cadaver odour dog:
*
in a flowerbed, the lightness of the scent detected was commented by the dog handler.
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Relatively quiet day apart from phone calls and campaign related e-mails. We have Busy couple of days coming up so off
to bed relatively early (before midnight)!
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Jon Corner and Kate's parents arrive
McCann family friend, and film producer, John Corner arrives to film promotional material for
the official 'Find Madeleine' site. Although this never transpires, segments do appear on the Panorama programme aired
on 19 November 2007.
Kate's parents also arrive for a week's stay.
Kate is interviewed for the first time without Gerry. The interview was published on 05 August, in two different
versions, by The Independent and The People. Both versions can be found on the 'Kate's Interviews' page of this site.
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Another trip to the airport this morning to pick up our campaign
manager. Kate did a series of interviews for womens magazines and the Sunday newspapers which took
most of the afternoon. Kates parents, who we visit regularly at home, also
arrived and the twins were very happy to see them. They will be staying with us for a week.
We have had some new posters designed of Madeleine, in Portuguese
and Spanish, which I have been printing out to distribute locally. I also did some filming to camera which we might use on
the website and for future events.
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Search of McCanns villa - summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
- When preparing to go to the McCann's villa with the dogs, everyone knew this was the moment to either take up a technical
and legal instrument which could assign responsiblity, or fully remove from suspicion, Madeleine's parents in her disappearance.
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We knew, then, that we had failed when we decided to not wiretap and follow the friends and McCanns from the beginning of
the investigation.
- The Public Ministry (MP) created the proper search documents. At the same time, they asked for
authorisation to wiretap the villa and car at that time. The MP agreed, as it's been used in other cases. 24 anxious hours
later the sitting Judge, covering for someone on holiday, denied the MP's agreement. No time to re-request, the last chance
to know what the McCanns said away from the press microphones was gone, just as the couple prepared to leave the country.
- The search was planned in great detail.
- The villa is on Rua das Flores, 27, rented at the beginning of
the summer with money donated to the Find Madeleine Fund.
- At 6pm-ish, the inspectors knocked on the door. Kate
and Gerry were giving the twins a bath in the exterior pool. Surprisingly, they both reacted well to the search warrant and
in a forthright and open way gave unlimited access to the investigators.
- Eddie started, going directly to the living
room where on top of a chair was cuddlecat, which now had a little green ribbon and rosary around its neck. Again, Eddie showed
his 7 years of experience dedicated to forensic crime scene work and, with a determined and affirmative bark, indicated that
CuddleCat had been in contact with a cadaver.
- Using cardboard boxes, all the clothes in the house were taken to a
specially prepared area to be placed on the ground for the dogs.
- At 23h20 all the clothes are spread out. Again,
Eddie marks a strong cadaver odor on Kate's clothes: slacks in black/white check and a sleeveless white blouse. He barks frenetically.
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Keela finds no blood vestiges.
Findings, as detailed in the PJ's 57-page report summary
6 – In the clothes and belongings of the Family MCCANN
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cadaver odour dog:
* in two pieces of clothing belonging to KATE HEALY
* in a piece of clothing of the minor MADELEINE
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in the plush toy, possibly belonging to MADELEINE (it was detected cadaver odour, when the soft toy was
inside the residence – at the date occupied by the family)
Jon Corner - Panorama documentary
CORNER: Well this is the bizarre thing Richard because the police said to Kate and Gerry: "Yeah, we're going to be coming
along, we want to do some forensics." And Kate and Gerry were massively optimistic about this. You've got to remember if your
daughter is missing and the police phone you and say: "We want to do some forensics, that's a straw that you hang onto. That's
a moment for optimism.
- Just earlier in the documentary, Corner had said this:
CORNER: They took most of their clothing, they were taking even the wet clothes out of the washing machine. I was aware
that the cuddlecat was boxed up and we were asked to leave the villa.
- So, the police phoned the McCanns to say they were coming over to do some forensics and the McCanns, it would
appear, immediately filled up the washing machine with clothes.
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Today was a bit of a write off for me as I was laid low with a probable viral illness which meant I could not stray too
far from the house! I did manage to get through some e-mails, telephone calls and some paperwork. Feeling a bit better tonight
so hopefully be back to normal tomorrow.
Kate did manage to put up some of the new Madeleine
posters in shops around Praia da Luz.. It is noticably
busier, now that we are in August, with lots of tourists many of whom are from Portugal. The figures from the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children show that one in six kids are recovered after being recognised
from a poster. Such statistics do encourage us that relatively simple measures may be effective in helping us find Madeleine.
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A '100% sure' Maddie sighting is reported
In Belgium, details emerge of a possible sighting of Madeleine. A child therapist says she is '100% sure' she saw Madeleine
at a restaurant in the town of Tongeren, not far from the Dutch border. A bottle is taken for DNA testing but turns out
to be that of a man. The sighting originally took place on 28 July 2007.
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It is exactly 3 months since Madeleine was abducted. Kate and I
had an early start as we drove to Huelva, 50Km over the border from Portugal in Southern Spain. We were meant to go yesterday but had to cancel because I was ill.
Unfortunately
it was a public holiday in Huelva and the large shopping centre
we planned to visit was closed. We did distribute posters in several garages, taxi ranks and the bus and train stations and
gave out some Madeleine wristbands. This was definitely a worthwhile exercise, as many people did not seemingly recognise
Madeleine but we did get a very warm response from the Spanish people we met. We would encourage everyone to continue taking
posters on holiday but please ask permission before putting them up in public places.
When we arrived back in Praia
da Luz we did a couple of media interviews to building up to August 11th, which will mark 100 days
if Madeleine is still missing. There will be a lot of media activity next week reviewing Madeleine's abduction, the investigation
and of course the campaign to help find her. It is an opportunity to highlight that we have not given up hope and are still
optimistic of being reunited with Madeleine.
Tonight we prayed for Madeleine at a vigil in the church. This has happened
every Friday since Madeleines abduction and was very well attended tonight, probably due to the
greater number of tourists in the resort.
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Search of Casa Liliana, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
- 4 and 5 August. Ground "aired" and opened. Over two days of thorough searching, no signs from Eddie at Murat's home.
Madeleine McCann: suspect's home searched Telegraph
By staff and agencies
Last Updated: 12:48AM BST 05 Aug 2007
Police in Portugal investigating the disappearance of Madeleine
McCann have begun another search at the home of the only official suspect in the case.
Up to 10 police officers, including two British detectives, starting
searching the land surrounding the house of Robert Murat at about 7am today, his spokesman Tuck Price said.
They are clearing undergrowth and cutting down trees on the property
in Praia da Luz, just yards from where the little girl was snatched from her family's holiday apartment more than three months
ago.
The area is said to be thick with vegetation and the officers are
using rakes and hedge trimmers to clear the area.
Mr Murat is not at home, and the search is expected to last up to
four days.
The latest search in Portugal comes as police in Belgium investigate
a possible sighting of the four-year-old there.
A customer at a restaurant in the Flemish town of Tongeren, not
far from the Dutch border, said she was "100% sure" she had seen the youngster.
She said the girl was with a couple, a Dutch man and an English-speaking
woman, who were acting strangely and not like "normal parents".
A police spokeswoman said they were treating the report "seriously"
and are looking for DNA on a drinks bottle used by the girl.
They have also issued an identikit drawing of the man based on the
description given by the "trusted witness".
Today's search of Casa Liliana, the villa in which Mr Murat lives
with his mother, Jenny, is not the first time the property has come under scrutiny.
Mr Murat, 33, was thrown into the spotlight 11 days after the four-year-old
from Rothley, Leicestershire, was snatched from her bed in the Algarve village.
Then officers from Portugal's investigative Policia Judiciaria searched
the house extensively, which is just a short walk from the apartment where the McCanns were staying at the time of the abduction.
Several items were taken away for analysis while Mr Murat's girlfriend
Michaela Walczuch and her estranged Portuguese husband Luis Antonio were also interviewed as witnesses.
Mr Murat was named as an official suspect, but was never formally
arrested.
In July he was re-interviewed by police investigating the youngster's
disappearance.
Jon Corner returns home
(see Gerry's blog below)
McCanns unhappy with Daily Mirror 'spoiler' piece
The McCanns are understood to have expressed serious concern about the tactics of the press for the first time, after
the Daily Mirror publishes a 'spoiler' piece ahead of Kate's first interview - due to be published in full tomorrow.
The Daily Mirror article, heralded on its front page as 'My Dark Moments by Kate McCann', was actually based
on interviews with the McCanns' relatives - not Kate. However, a spokesman for the Daily Mirror said: ''We have received no
complaint from the McCanns or their representatives.''
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Another early start to the day as I dropped
the crew who did some filming for the website and other forthcoming events. Kate and I did a short interview reviewing the
last 3 months and the search for Madeleine. We spent the rest of the day with the kids and Kate's family. We were all glad
it clouded over in the afternoon to give us some respite from the intense heat.
The most recent searches by the police
have attracted a lot of renewed media interest with satellite trucks arriving back in Praia da Luz.
It is likely that some of the British Broadcasters will also come back out.
We werre all
very tired and we managed to get off to bed at 10.30pm, which is very early for us by recent standards.
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Search of Casa Liliana, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
- 4 and 5 August. Ground "aired" and opened. Over two days of thorough searching, no signs from Eddie at Murat's home.
Press reports
British detectives, with Portugese detectives, continue to search
the home and grounds of Casa Liliana, the home in which Robert Murat lives with his mother.
Two British police technicians, using specialist 'Pulsar' equipment, check the grounds of Casa Liliana to detect whether
any earth has been 'disturbed' in the last few months.
No new evidence is discovered.
Kate's first interview, without Gerry, is published.
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We attended church this morning as
usual. The local priest father Manuel is on holiday so the mass was all in Portuguese and although quicker than normal we
did not understand too much of the sermon.
I note there was a lot of coverage of Kates
interview in the Sunday newspapers today. I managed to read one of them and certainly seemd to sum
up very well how we are feeling and coping without Madeleine. The key message is that we are doing everything we can to help
find Madeleine.
After lunch we had a meeting with our campaign manager and Kates
family to run through a few things which will be happening this week. There was going to be a lot of media here leading up
to the 100 days although we still hope we will not get to that marker, even before this latest search by the Portuguese police.
Kate and I popped back down to the church later on tonight to say a few quiet prayers for Madeleine. The town is much
busier at night than when we first came here on holiday and ieven compared to a few weeks ago.
Computer
glitches now sorted out thanks to Calum at infohost.
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Examination of 10 vehicles, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
- 6 August, underground parking garage
- 10 vehicles examined which were used by Murat, Michaela, Malinka, Luís
António, McCanns and one by Russell O'Brien
- 10 metres between cars to avoid contamination of smells between them
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Martin tells Eddie to start on exteriors, with all doors/windows tightly closed: intense sniffing of wheels, underneath, door
jams, edges of boot. 1, 2, 3 cars. Nothing.
- 4th car. Eddie significantly alters his behaviour. Visibly more excited,
he doesn't immediately approach the car as he did with the others. He raises his head and, with his nose in the air, sniffs
incessantly around the car indicating that he is trying to find the source of that well-known odour and which he has been
finding for years, which he had detected in the area and knows he is now going to find. Martin's voice commands him back to
searching the car itself. Eddie provides yet another surprise in the case, barking strongly as he alerts to the existence
of cadaver odour in the car rented by the McCanns.
- Precisely, Eddie alerts to:
---- the lower part of the
driver's door
---- in the boot, where the dog was biting and barking, indicating the odour was coming from inside the car
The
car was taken apart by forensic experts and around dawn, Keela finds vestiges of blood where Eddie signalled: the key and
the luggage compartment
- As with the apartments, Eddie was uninterested in the other cars, not hesitating nor displaying
behaviour similiar to the other vehicles, making his actions quite clear and precise.
- Gonçalo Amaral says he had
already been removed from the team when he learned that one of the McCann's neighbours (at the second villa), a Portuguese
lawyer, says that in the nights leading up to the dog exams, the McCanns frequently left the luggage door open.
- One
of Gerry's brother-in-laws later affirmed they used the car to transport garbage and that, once, some blood from beef spilled
in the luggage area, thereby justifying the "strange" odour.
- One of Kate's aunts said that the car had unpleasant
smells that she assumed came from the baby's diapers.
These justifications don't stand up to the English dogs. These
dogs are exclusively trained to alert to human blood and cadaver odours. The hygiene habits of the users of this car do not
even appear credible for the civilized people making up this group, which make the statements of these two, in the very least,
bizarre.
Findings, as detailed in the PJ's 57-page report summary
7 – In the vehicle used by the MCCANN family
- cadaver odour
dog:
* signalled the key of the vehicle;
- blood dog:
* signalled the key of the vehicle;
* signalled
the interior of the vehicle's boot;
Gerry visits Portimao
Gerry states in his blog that on this day he 'went to a large office store in Portimao to buy
a new printer and ink' - a journey that would have had to be undertaken by car.
We might initially presume that Gerry delivered the Renault Scenic to the PJ in Portimao himself and then went
shopping for his 'printer and ink'. However, press reports state that the Renault Scenic was collected by a junior PJ officer
and then driven the 35 miles from Praia da Luz to Portimao. If that is so, and Gerry did visit Portimao today, how
did he get there and back?
Stewart Maclean In Praia Da Luz
29/10/2007
THE HUNT FOR MADELEINE .. and then they crash Murat van
Crucial DNA evidence from Kate and Gerry McCann's hire car may have been contaminated - because police drove it to the
forensic lab themselves.
Bungling detectives failed to properly secure vehicles seized during the six month probe into the disappearance of four-year-old
Madeleine in Portugal.
Instead of taking them on a low loader as they would be in Britain, junior officers drove the 35 miles from Praia da
Luz to the forensic analysis lab in Portimao.
And the detective driving suspect Robert Murat's van CRASHED it.
Experts said the astonishing blunder could jeopardise any DNA evidence allegedly found in the boot of the Renault Scenic
- which the McCanns hired 25 days after Madeleine vanished - and destroy the police theory that they they used it to move
her body.
Former Scotland Yard detective Hamish Brown said: "It defies all rules of investigation. It's positively wrong. Any human
who got into that vehicle would risk contaminating evidence, damaging fingerprints and possible cross-transference of fibres.
"It should have gone on to a low loader to preserve any evidence it might contain."
And ex-Surrey police child protection detective Mark Williams-Thomas said: "The fact that an officer was allowed to drive
the car to the lab himself obviously vastly increases the risk of contamination."
Kate and Gerry have always said the traces, being analysed at the Forensic Science Service lab in Birmingham, could have
been transferred innocently from Madeleine's clothes and toys when they used the car to move to a new villa.
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Today was again very busy. Lots of e-mails and telephone calls to family and
friends who have been involved in the campaign to find Madeleine. I went to a large office store in Portimao
to buy a new printer and ink, both of which were badly needed after all the posters we produced this last week.
There has been lots of media attention on the latest police searches. We are pleased that the investigation remains so
active and we are cooperating fully with the Portuguese and British police, as we have done since day 1. We continue to hope
and pray daily for that vital breakthrough or sighting that will lets us be reunited as a family.
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Blood samples sent to FSS, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
- Upon detection, we begin the collection and remit of the evidence to a forensic lab
- 2 early questions: how
to collect and where to send. Someone from the Portuguese Police Lab came to do the collection. In a joint meeting between
British and Portuguese forensic experts, it was decided to not try to do tests locally. Instead tiles were very carefully
removed, monitoring all with photographs, and taken to FSS for Low Copy Number tests, the lab where they can identify DNA
from microscopic blood samples.
- To safeguard the samples, the technician who removed the tiles also hand-carried
them to the FSS.
- 7 August, taken to the FSS were:
---- tiles from behind the sofa and under the window
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blood from the car key
---- hairs found in the luggage area
---- blood from the lining from the right side of the luggage
area
- Gonçalo Amaral speaks of "blood" when other reports say "bodily fluids" because Keela only alerts to human blood.
UK lab to test blood found in Madeleine room Guardian
Sandra Laville, crime correspondent
Tuesday August 7 2007
Blood samples from the Portuguese apartment where Madeleine McCann was staying while on holiday with her family will
reach a British laboratory tomorrow for analysis.
The samples, which are understood to have been found in the apartment by a team of sniffer dogs operated by police from
Leicestershire, will be examined by scientists from the Forensic Science Service (FSS), based in Birmingham, the Guardian
understands.
The first task for scientists will be to try to get a DNA sample from the blood, reported to have been found on a wall
of the villa in Praia de la Luz where the McCann family was staying.
If the scientists are successful, the profile will be checked against the DNA of the missing four-year-old and against
the national DNA database, set up by the FSS.
Police from Leicestershire, where the McCann family live, are leading the UK contingent of officers in Portugal helping
detectives. Among the team is a detective sergeant from the Metropolitan police who speaks Portuguese and is working as a
translator. Also on the team is a British-based profiler who is helping to build a picture of the suspected abductor.
Leicestershire police refused to comment yesterday on whether it was their officers who discovered the blood smears.
But reports from Portugal suggested officers from the Leicestershire force used specialised equipment and their own sniffer
dogs to re-examine the two-bedroom apartment on the Mark Warner holiday complex.
Blood was reportedly found on a wall in the bedroom where Madeleine had been sleeping with her younger brother and sister
on May 3, the night she disappeared. A source was quoted as saying that one of the dogs stopped at the spot and barked to
indicate it had found something.
Reports in the Portuguese press today suggested police had suspected for some months that Madeleine died in the apartment
on May 3. The Diario de Noticias (DN) quoted a source close to the inquiry as saying that police had completely discounted
kidnap as a result.
The source said detectives from Britain and Portugal had been closely monitoring the movements of the parents, Gerry
and Kate, since Madeleine's disappearance.
Police sources told DN that they were concentrating "on the family circle and their friends", some of whom had been under
surveillance in the UK.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Portuguese police had been monitoring a second suspect in the investigation.
The new suspect, said DN, is a man of about 40, about 1.70-1.75m tall, with brownish hair and who could be African or
English. This man was seen with Robert Murat, the only named suspect in the case, and, before Madeleine's disappearance, in
the company of the McCann family.
Separately, the lawyer for Mr Murat said he would sue for wrongful arrest once his client was proved innocent.
Mr McCann said today he could not comment on any specific details of the police inquiry. He told Sky News: "We do know
some information that, one, we're not allowed to tell, and, two, we would never ever put anything into the public domain that
might put the investigation of Madeleine at risk."
Mr McCann, a cardiologist, said he and his wife "strongly believed" Madeleine was alive when she was taken from the apartment.
"We're not naive, but on numerous occasions the Portuguese police have assured us that they were looking for Madeleine alive
and not Madeleine having been murdered," he added.
The fact that he and his wife had come under scrutiny from detectives was "difficult", Mr McCann said, but he insisted
they were "more than happy" to cooperate.
"We expect the same thoroughness and to be treated the same way as anyone else who has been in and around this. And we
wouldn't expect it any other way," he said. "The same high levels will be applied to us as would be applied to anybody else,
and that's only right and proper."
The results of DNA tests on a drinks bottle used by a young girl resembling Madeleine who was seen in Belgium could be
returned on Thursday. A customer at a restaurant in the Flemish town of Tongeren, not far from the Dutch border, said she
was "100% sure" that she had seen the missing youngster.
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Kate and I managed an early morning run today. It was pleasantly
cooler, with a refreshing breeze, which made a nice change. The media presence in Praia da Luz is
at its greatest since the first couple of weeks, as is the amount of speculation and rumour regarding the investigation.
This
morning we agreed to do a short, pooled interview that was made available to all broadcasters worldwide. We wanted to make
it clear, that as far as we know, there is still absolutely no evidence that Madeleine has been seriously harmed and Kate
and I have to believe she is still alive. The Portuguese police have assured us on numerous occasions that they are looking
for Madeleine and not a corpse. Of course all possibilities are being considered and the police
have to be certain before
eliminating any of the scenarios. It is absolutely right that we are subject to the same high standards of investigation as
anyone else. Kate and I have, and will continue to assist the police in every possible way.
We hope there is a breakthrough
in the investigation very soon. In the meantime the campaign to keep the public involved in the search for Madeleine continues.
We are always trying to think of ideas that will reach people who may not have heard of Madeleines
disappearance. I spent a couple of hours this afternoon working on forthcoming events but did manage to squeeze in a much-needed
haircut!
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08 August 2007
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Kate McCann interviewed by BBC Woman's Hour radio programme
By Richard Edwards in Praia da Luz
Last Updated: 1:28am BST 08/08/2007
Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are carrying out tests on blood traces found inside her apartment
bedroom, it has emerged.
The dramatic discovery was made by British detectives brought in to launch a review of evidence, and led to renewed criticism
of an "inept" Portuguese investigation.
The British team used specially-trained sniffer dogs and ultra-violet technology to scan for specks of blood inside the
holiday apartment in Praia da Luz where Madeleine disappeared 96 days ago.
Tests will now establish whether the traces are those of the four-year-old.
The review, led by Leicestershire police, also focused this weekend on the home of Robert Murat, and is expected to be
the final stage in clearing him of his status as the only formal suspect in the case.
Samples have been sent away for urgent DNA testing and detectives believe the discovery could "change the direction"
of the investigation.
A Portuguese police source said: "If the results are positive, this will open up a completely new line of inquiry".
The tiny traces of blood - invisible to the naked eye - were found at a low height on the wall in the bedroom of the
McCann holiday apartment at the Ocean Club.
Specially trained cocker spaniel sniffer dogs, which are able to detect blood up to seven years old, located an area
of the bedroom in which to search. The windows were blacked out using a tarpaulin and a specialist ultraviolet torch pinpointed
the specks of blood.
Police sources played down reports in a Portuguese newspaper that the blood had been identified as Madeleine's.
Previous forensic tests have taken a month to return from the national laboratory.
The potential breakthrough led to immediate criticism of Portuguese police for missing key forensic evidence, and failing
to bring in outside expertise earlier in the investigation.
The apartment was searched this weekend even through it had been "released" as a crime scene by Portuguese authorities
on June 11, cleaned and rented out to other families.
Former detectives are mystified as to why it has taken more than three months to make the discovery. Mark Williams-Thomas,
a former Surrey detective and now a leading child protection expert, said: "I am staggered that it has taken so long.
"The police should have sealed the apartment immediately, on day one and then conducted a thorough forensic examination-
this would have taken days and would have involved analysis for fluids and fibres and involved stripping the apartment bare.
"Even if this proves not to be significant, it should have been discovered in the first few days and eliminated. This
shows just how inept the Portuguese police were at carrying out the initial forensics tests.
"Just imagine the impact it will have on Gerry and Kate so many months on - to find that something so vital was missed
right at the beginning. "It is great that British police have finally carried out a review but you have to ask why has it
taken three months for it to happen?
"I called for a review within the first month, especially because of the relative lack of experience of the Portuguese
team working on this.
"It's astounding that it has taken this long to bring in specialist help. It makes a mockery of the Portuguese investigation."
British police dog handlers had offered expertise to Portuguese authorities in May. They were only invited to join a
"review of evidence" - which is now commonplace in high profile investigations in Britain - last week.
A two-day "final" search of Mr Murat’s villa - 150 yards away from where Madeleine disappeared - uncovered no new
evidence. As many as 10 officers had spent Saturday clearing thick vegetation.
They began digging today and two British police technicians used specialist "Pulsar" scanning equipment to detect whether
any earth had been "disturbed" in the past few months.
Mr Murat, 33, has been the only official "arguido", or suspect, since May 10, when he was detained by police. He was
questioned for a second time last month but detectives have never found any evidence to arrest him formally.
Members of the Murat family today drove four cars shared by Mr Murat with the family to a police headquarters for them
to be searched again by the sniffer dogs.
Mr Murat has welcomed the searches, which he believes will be the last step in proving his innocence.
His mother, Jennifer Murat, 71, insisted: "He is going to be cleared. He is innocent."
It has also emerged that police are also investigating possible links between Madeleine's case and a suspected child
abductor in Switzerland who committed suicide last week.
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Kates parents
left early this morning. We did a short interview on how our faith has helped us during the last 3 months since Madeleines abduction. Given the events of the last few days we need to draw even greater strength
from our faith and everyone who has supported us.
With the huge amount of media attention on us again it is very difficult
to do anything with the kids without them being filmed and it is unfair on them. There is a huge amount of speculation in
the media that Madeleine is dead, particularly with the obvious change in strategy of the investigation recently. At our meeting
with the Portuguese police today we reaffirmed that we have to believe Madeleine is alive until there is concrete evidence
to the contrary. It is this belief that has driven everything we have done in relation to publicising Madeleines disappearance over the last 3 months.
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Where did Eddie and Keela search?
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Apartment 5A: The McCanns (28 April - 03 May 2007) |
Cadaver odour/
Blood traces
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Ocean Club apartment: The McCanns (04 May - 01 July 2007)* |
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Vista Mar Villa: The McCanns (02 July - 09 September 2007) |
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Apartment 5B: Matthew and Rachael Oldfield |
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Apartment 5D: Russell O'Brien/Jane Tanner |
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Apartment 5H: David Payne/Fiona Payne/Dianne Webster |
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Praia da Luz: The beach area indicated by Danie Krugel, using an iron tool, created by Mark Harrison, that
punctures the soil to allow smells to exit.
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Praia da Luz: Buildings, abandoned/in construction, ruins, waterways, entrances to sewers, beach, vegetation around the
village, including the volcanic rock "Rocha Negra".
Notes:
* The second apartment is not specifically mentioned in the 57-page PJ Report Summary - only Apartment 5A and
the 'House of the MCCANNs at the date of the inspection' [the villa].
However, reference is made to 'page 993' of the report, where there is 'a report listing the apartments that
were subject to searches, with special attention on blocks 4 and 5'. The McCanns' second apartment, in block 4, would surely
have been one of those searched.
* Cadaver odour indicated on two items of Kate's clothing, one item of Madeleine's clothing
and 'Cuddle Cat' - all found in the villa
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Vehicle 1: Blue Opel Corsa*-
hire car (James Gorrod)
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Vehicle 2: Fiat Punto (Ralph Eveleigh – Murat's uncle) |
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Vehicle 3: Peugot 205 (Robert Murat) |
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Vehicle 4: Renault Scenic - hire car (The McCanns) |
Cadaver odour/
Blood traces
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Vehicle 5: Skoda Fabia (Michaela Walczuch) |
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Vehicle 6: Volkswagen Transporter (Jenny Murat) |
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Vehicle 7: Nissan Patrol (Luís António) |
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Vehicle 8: Volkswagen Passat (Luís António) |
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Vehicle 9: Audi A4 (Segei Malinka) |
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Vehicle 10: Renault Kangoo (Luís António)
Notes:
*The Opel Corsa was rented from SIXT rental car agency by James Gorrod, a friend of Russell O’Brien, between the
28th of April and the 6th of May, 2007.
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Eddie and Keela searches - What the PJ
case file says, 26 September 2008
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