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Madeleine McCann:Tunnels Under Praia And A New Theory

by | 3rd, May 2009

oprah-mccanns1MADELEINE McCann: Hidden in tunnels, alive in America and a new theory…

Daily Express (front page): “MADDIE: DID SHE VANISH IN MAZE OF TUNNELS?”

Dunno? Did she?

“TUNNELS BENEATH RESORT MAY BE CLUE TO MYSTERY”

James Murray investigates a phone call:

Secret tunnels beneath the Portuguese seaside town where Madeleine McCann vanished two years ago today may hold the key to her disappearance.

The tunnels, dating back to Roman times, have never been thoroughly searched, despite repeated requests.

Documents in Portuguese police files, published today for the first time, suggest a vital line of inquiry was ignored and have led to fresh calls for a proper investigation into the tunnels…

What of the evidence?

A British woman wrote to UK detectives saying: “There are six to eight tunnels under Praia da Luz that the PJ [Portuguese police] have not searched. There is a tunnel under the church, there are tunnels under Estrela da Luz apartments. These have not been searched.”

“Repeated” is one woman in one letter?

The archaeologist involved with these tunnels was arrested as an abuser in the Casa Pia case but later released [this was a notorious child abuse scandal centring on orphanages in Lisbon].”

Read: Madeleine McCann: Francisco Moita Flores’ 3 Minutes, Gran’s Plate And The Paedo Doctor

“Does this not send alarm bells ringing? Something not right in Portugal. Why are the PJ not searching these tunnels and the church?”

Portugal is to blame? Any other clues?

The woman, who declined to be named, told the Sunday Express last night: ‘‘I raised these issues a while ago because I thought they were relevant and I know the British detectives passed the information on to the Portuguese detectives but I never discovered what happened.

“As a matter of urgency there must be a proper and thorough examination of all these tunnels . It is possible the abductor may have left clues .”

So an anonymous tip-off/ hunch should be followed up?

Remember the letter to a Dutch newspaper. And a map showing where her body can be found. It was credible. And what about her, she who saw Our Maddie in Morocco? And the “hoax“? And this hoax? And tabloid journalists pointing the finger at innocent men.

What other facts, James Murray?

Daily Express: “MCCANNS TO MARK THEIR DAY OF SORROW

James Murray.

Kate and Gerry McCann are expected to mark the second anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance today with special prayers at their local Catholic church, where the mood of hope that she is still alive flickers like the candles by the altar.

Sunday Mirror (front page): “Maddy: Top Brit Tec’s New Theory”

“STALKED FOR DAYS”

Oh?

Madeleine McCann was snatched by a lone kidnapper who had stalked the family for days, according to British detectives hired by her parents Kate and Gerry.

Fact!

The theory is based on information extracted from 30,000 Portuguese police files translated into English at a cost of £100,000.

The files have been painstakingly examined by two former British detectives – Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley – hired by the Find Madeleine Fund two years after she vanished.

Mr Edgar, a retired Detective Inspector with 30 years experience, believes the case can still be solved and is convinced that the crucial evidence remains in Praia Da Luz.

He says: “In my experience random just doesn’t happen. A passer-by just doesn’t go in, pick up a child and take it. These things are planned. So you don’t start an investigation in Morocco or Spain or even Lisbon. This happened in Praia da Luz – and that’s where the answer is.”

A statement of fact, or just a dig at Metodo 3, who knew they’d find Our Maddie in lawless Morocco. The sightings and more in Morocco.

Madeleine at a petrol station in Lagos; Madeleine on a gypsy cart on Portimao; Marie Ollie sees Madeleine in Marrakech; Isabel Gonzalez sees Madeleine in Zaio; two women see Madeleine in Cartagena, Spain. Madeleine in Belgium. Madeleine in Malta. Madeleine in Bosnia

And X marks the spot…

Sky News: “’Someone Local Knows Truth About Madeleine’”

Someone living in or around the Portuguese resort where Madeleine McCann vanished knows what happened to her, private detectives hired by her parents have claimed.

Detectives stick to the facts.

Irish Independent: “Spotlight on local link to Madeleine abduction”

“There’s someone local, lives locally has the answer to this, and not, you know, much wider than 10, 15 kilometres away from Praia de Luz. This offence happened in Praia da Luz, it’s a very self-contained resort, and that’s where we’ve started and that’s where I think the answer is,” said retired detective inspector Dave Edgar, who leads the search team.

Daily Mail: “Kate and Gerry McCann hire British murder detective to help find Madeleine”

David Edgar replaces the private detective agencies hired by the couple to chase up sightings of the missing toddler.

The 52-year-old worked largely on murders in Cheshire until his retirement in November last year.

He is being assisted by ex-Detective Sergeant Arthur Cowley, 57, from Merseyside police, who was involved in solving the Jamie Bulger case.

Sunday People: “The moment Gerry walked into Kidnap flat… after 2 years”

Sarah Jellema is there:

This is the moment Gerry McCann stepped back into the last place he saw his daughter – to reconstruct the nightmare of the evening she was snatched.

Watching the parents:

Standing outside the bedroom where he had left three-year-old Madeleine asleep, he looked anguished as he relived the events of exactly two years ago.

Says Gerry McCann:

“We are a family and we are a happy family – but we are not a complete family.

“There is still a scar – a deep, deep scar – that is kind of knitted at the minute.

“But you still think the stitches of it might break or come loose.” Meanwhile, Maddie’s mum Kate, 41 – who did not return to the Portuguese holiday flat – said: “I think we are far from normality.

“We need to get out there – she is alive, she is out there, she is findable.

“She might look different, she could be speaking a different language, she might have her hair different, she might have different interests. But she’s still our daughter.”

Let’s investigate:

Mr Edgar – who worked with witnesses and the McCanns to make the reconstruction for Cutting Edge – says: “In my experience random just doesn’t happen.

“Someone – a passer-by – doesn’t go in and pick up a child and take it. These things are planned.

“So someone will have been in the vicinity of Apartment 5A.

“They may even have been watching the apartment for a week – or more.”

Maybe? Any facts?

GP Kate and brain specialist Gerry, of Rothley, Leicestershire, reported Madeleine missing at 10pm on the evening she vanished.

No longer a cardiac surgeon, Grrry has moved from hearts to minds…

Daily Star (front page): “Maddy: She’s out there, she’s findable”

The Times: “Seeking a different Madeleine”

Today, on the second anniversary of her disappearance, Madeleine McCann’s parents tell Emma Loach how a new image of their daughter fuels their hopes of seeing her again”

Says Emma in the McCanns And Me:

I became friends with Kate and Gerry McCann last year while filming an ITV documentary for the first anniversary of their daughter Madeleine’s disappearance. We have stayed in touch ever since — our children are of similar ages

Gerry describes how they have adjusted to this new world: “ ‘Healed’ is a bit difficult; ‘adapted’ is probably the right word. There’s still a scar, a deep, deep scar that’s kind of knitted at the minute but you still think it might break.”

Says Kate McCann:

“I mean, there’s no point in speculating, you know, because that’s daft. I’m not saying it’s not normal occasionally to speculate but that doesn’t help, you know. At the end of the day it’s speculation. It’s not fact. And it makes you upset.”

And:

Alongside the growing strength is the inevitable accompanying guilt that they manage to live a life, go to work and enjoy the twins when the dreadful situation has not changed: Madeleine is still missing. Nothing has changed since 10pm on Thursday, May 3, 2007. But the further away they get from the shock of finding Madeleine had gone, the more they find themselves able to function.

In some ways this disgusts them. In some ways they feel they should still be incapable of operating in this bizarre, horrifying new world where Madeleine has been taken from them. But this is not an option. They have to keep going for the sake of all their children. The twins deserve a happy childhood. And if they don’t keep looking for Madeleine, who will?

Speculation can hurt:

Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Washington, adds:

“It’s not inconceivable that she’s in a classroom somewhere, that she’s in somebody’s neighbourhood, living next door to some family, or someone may see her in a store or an airport.”

Madeleine McCann is missing – and the media speculation goes on…



Posted: 3rd, May 2009 | In: Key Posts, Madeleine McCann, Reviews Comments (31) | TrackBack | Permalink