Madeleine McCann: Blonde Child Seen In Morocco
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
DAILY MAIL front page: “Could this be Maddie?”
Readers see a picture of a child being carried on a woman’s back - “The intriguing picture being probed by Interpol.”
Pages 10 and 11: “Could this really be Maddie?”
This is the picture of a girl “in the clutches of a group of Moroccans”. The picture was taken four weeks ago near Tangiers by Spaniard Clara Torres.
DAILY MIRROR front page: “MADDY IN MOROCCO?”
Readers see the same picture. The Full “astonishing story” is on pages 4 and 5.
Pages 4 and 5: “COULD IT BE?” Less the full story than another question.
“GERRY: I KNOW WE WILL BE CLEARED” – Gerry McCann says he and his wife “wanted to be eliminated from the enquiry as quickly as possible”. Some news.
THE SUN front page: “MOROCCO PHOTO SENSATION. IS THIS MADDIE?”
The picture is “sensational”. It has been described as “convincing”, but by whom is not said.
Pages 4 and 5: “GERRY & KATE: IT COULD BE HER – MADDIE PARENTS HOPE AT SIGHTING SENSATION.”
Clara Torres is talking on Spanish radio. She looks at the photo. Says she: “It sent shivers down my spine.”
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “NOW A ‘PHOTO’ OF MADELEINE IN MOROCCO.”
‘Photo’ is placed in quotes lest readers mistake the picture for a ‘SNAP’ or a ‘SHOT’.
Spanish Government official Jose Herrero Arcas says: “The National Police received a photograph by email taken by a young Spanish couple who believe it shows Madeleine McCann. The quality of the photograph is not very clear and it was taken from around 200 metres away. However, the National Police are taking the claim seriously enough to have sent it on to their colleagues at Interpol. I cannot give any more information than that.”
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE – AMAZING PHOTO IN MOROCCO.”
Pages 4 and 5: “MADDIE SEEN IN MOROCCO – Bombshell new photo is probed by Interpol.”
THE TIMES front page: “Police start investigation into ‘picture in Morocco of Madeleine McCann’.”
Page 5: “New photograph shows child like Madeleine on African woman’s back.”
A source close to the McCanns tells one and all: “The McCanns are not going to get their hopes up until the photograph has been sent for forensic examination.” And, dare it be said, a DNA test.
DAILY TELEGRAPH front page: “Is this Madeleine in Morocco?” The search for the missing child has taken a “dramatic turn”.
Page 9: “Gerry McCann is “confident” he and his wife will be cleared. A source tells us: “It is very unlikely that British police would question the McCanns on behalf of the Portuguese now.”
Robert Murat responds to claims by nanny Charlotte Pennington that on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance he was by the McCann family apartment: “I certainly was not there that night. At no point was I there.”
THE GUARDIAN & THE INDEPENDENT no Maddy news today.
Posted: 26th, September 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,153) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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October 31st, 2007 at 2:38 pm
[...] Alisher UsmanovAnorak - This girl looks like her hair has a natural kisscurl to it, if you look carefully you can see it. Madeleine doesn t have a kisscurl. I would doubt it s her, but then its good for me if it is her, as I DID say I think she will be found [...]
October 30th, 2007 at 8:43 am
[...] found a kidnapped blonde girl, but it’s not her” – A blonde girl in Morocco. She can speak English. She must have been kidnapped. [...]
October 29th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
[...] A blonde… in Morocco… [...]
October 29th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
[...] A blonde… in Morocco… [...]
October 24th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
[...] Alisher UsmanovAnorak - This girl looks like her hair has a natural kisscurl to it, if you look carefully you can see it. Madeleine doesn t have a kisscurl. I would doubt it s her, but then its good for me if it is her, as I DID say I think she will be found [...]
October 21st, 2007 at 3:26 am
[...] Anorak - I have seen nothing on the very likely case that the McCann(s) were taking sedatives after the abduction, which would As somebody mentioned last night ,you can contact the artist on the web site, what I did. The answer: I m working since Cont [...]
October 20th, 2007 at 4:45 am
[...] Alisher UsmanovAnorak - I think you will find that the McCanns have not had any charges formally brought against them - either in Portugal or the UK. So to say they have been accused of murder is simply not true. Toni Says: September 26th, 2007 at 9:57 am http [...]
October 19th, 2007 at 9:45 am
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article ne McCann: Blonde Child Seen In Morocco | Anorak News, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
[...] Wags & Players (48) Anorak - at the moment it’s a myth put about by face recognition software salesmen. Michael Says: September 26th, 2007 at 9:18 am Mood of the McCann’s should we read much into it? There have been a lot of posts about the parent’s mood here, and that [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 8:07 am
[...] Anorak - This girl looks like her hair has a natural kisscurl to it, if you look carefully you can see it. Madeleine doesn t have a kisscurl. I would doubt it s her, but then its good for me if it is her, as I DID say I think she will be found Continue [...]
October 16th, 2007 at 9:41 am
[...] Madeleine McCann: Blonde Child Seen In MoroccoAnorak - is if the tourist trade declines and parents, many of whom work in hospitality, find it more difficult to pay their tuition Wrong answer: Recent Posts Al Qaeda Will Attack Manchester City At 8pm On 05 November 2007 Troubled Britney Spears Will [...]
October 16th, 2007 at 12:15 am
[...] Anorak - Clara Torres is talking on Spanish radio. She looks at the photo. Says she: “It agents continued to show properties even when the village was bursting with satellite continued at a normal pace in May, as people had already arranged property deals Recent News: [...]
October 15th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
[...] Anorak - Anorak was built by the Nick Garner, who specialises in UK Online PR He is an expert in online PR and SEO (search engine optimisation) and site development. This site is hosted in the US on Linux and uses wordpress 2.3 with about 20 plugins - although [...]
October 15th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
[...] Anorak - I’m just making the artistic interpretation and illustrating it, it’s a lot of emotion and art has to be fresh in this sense. It’s not me that is weird or dark, what’s happening is very dark and very weird, I’m just painting what’s in More Stampin Up Rubber Stamp News [...]
October 15th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Hi All,
The other site is back up. Come join again!
October 15th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
hello
why are my posts not getting through ?
October 15th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Hi everyone:
what’s up with this website now.. can’t post either?
October 15th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Madeleine McCann police to trawl reservoir
By Aislinn Simpson in Odiaxere
Last Updated: 7:02am BST 15/10/2007
A vast reservoir near to the town where Madeleine McCann went missing is set to be trawled as police relaunch an active search for her.
Full coverage of the Madeleine McCann investigation
The new inquiry head has now tripled the size of his team in a bid to crack the case and ordered fresh searches of a 10 mile area around the holiday town of Praia da Luz from where she disappeared five months ago.
A search is also expected of the dense woodland and isolated dwellings around the reservoir - known locally as Barragem da Bravura, literally the Reservoir of the Wilderness - which leading detective Paulo Rebelo believes was not combed carefully enough in the days following the four-year-old’s disappearance.
According to Portuguese newspaper the Correio Da Manha, the “meticulous” Rebelo has ordered his reinforced team to pay “special attention” to the area around the jagged reservoir, which has a 25 mile perimeter, and is 15 miles from Luz.
Sites to the south of the Ocean Club where the McCanns and their friends stayed, including Luz and Burgau beaches, are also to be “fine combed” by inspectors, who will particularly focus on spots where the British group used their mobile telephones.
These are the first significant searches for three months. Detectives have already revisited the family’s rented apartment and the tapas bar where they dined on May 3, the night Madeleine disappeared, and this weekend began a review of the case files, looking for loose ends.
A friend of Kate and Gerry McCann said: “Any widening of the search area is encouraging and we would welcome that. It does sound as though there is more vigour in that aspect of the inquiry which is good.”
He added that while it would be a “tragedy” for the family if police searches eventually yield the little girl’s body, at least it would help lift the cloud of suspicion from them.
advertisement”If she is dead then she is dead but not by their hand,” he said.
Another friend dismissed a report this weekend about suspicious footprints in the McCanns’ apartment and the car they hired 25 days after Madeleine went missing as being like “something out of an Agatha Christie novel”.
“It doesn’t imply guilt in any shape or form,” she said. “There are a lot of perfectly good reasons why a footprint of that nature might be found.”
October 14th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Hi All
Has anyone been on Brian Ladds site recently? There are some very disturbing articles about paedophilia in Belgium.
October 14th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
[...] Anorak - I’m just making the artistic interpretation and illustrating it, it’s a lot of emotion and art has to be fresh in this sense. It’s not me that is weird or dark, what’s happening is very dark and very weird, I’m just painting what’s in More Stampin Up Rubber Stamp News [...]
October 14th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
A bloody footprint was found in Kate and Gerry McCann’s apartment, matching a print on their hire car, according to a forensic report shown to The Mail on Sunday.
The existence of the two marks, which has never been revealed until today, is apparently at the heart of renewed suspicion that the couple were involved in their daughter’s disappearance.
New tests carried out at the Forensic Science Service laboratory in Birmingham show there is a ‘moderate’ chance that the blood belonged to Madeleine. But the results are inconclusive.
Anguish: Kate and Gerry McCann
The inquiry into the four-year-old’s disappearance has been rife with conjecture and wild speculation over DNA material.
And, until now, confusion has surrounded what samples had been found and how important they might be.
Part of the report shown to this newspaper reveals that officers who examined the McCanns’ apartment in Praia da Luz on the Algarve after Madeleine went missing on May 3 discovered a ‘partial footwear mark’, believed to be from a size 5 or 6 shoe, just outside the bedroom.
It adds that it ‘appeared to have a blood imprint’ that was visible to the naked eye.
The FSS results conclude that the footprint matched the pattern of a mark found above the rear bumper of the McCanns’ Renault Scenic hire car – a print which Portuguese police apparently believe is consistent with someone lifting a body in or out of the boot.
Experts could find no definite traces of blood in that print.
The nanny who could help clear the McCanns’ name
Blood in the footprint at the apartment was tested for DNA. Results are rated on an eight-point scale: no scientific evidence, limited, moderate, moderately strong, strong, very strong, extremely strong and conclusive.
Scientists found there was only ‘moderate’ support, number 3 on the scale, to suggest it matched Madeleine’s DNA.
What they believe is significant about the footprint is that no traces of blood were found around it.
‘It is quite possible, therefore, that the blood had been picked up on the sole of the shoe from outside the apartment, from literally anywhere,’ said a source close to the investigation.
The source added that there was concern at the FSS that the Portuguese police have already attached too much weight to the results.
It has been reported, for instance, that DNA results justified the naming of the McCanns as official suspects, or arguidos.
‘The simple fact is that, as was the case before, the results are not conclusive,’ said the source.
‘In short, it cannot be said the blood belongs to Madeleine. If other strong evidence accompanied it – for example, that someone was seen emerging from the apartment with a hammer – then a lawyer might find it of some use. But on its own it is of little value.’
Further question marks were raised over the forensic evidence last night, as Portuguese police have still failed to take DNA samples from people who helped in the initial stages of the search for Madeleine.
These profiles would prove crucial in matching scene-of-crime evidence to those who were at the resort.
One resident who had not been asked to give a sample said: ‘I thought it was quite important for us to give DNA so that we could be ruled out if nothing else. There were lots of us helping look for the little girl that night and you would have thought our DNA would be all over the place.’
The FSS report says the footprint found in the apartment ‘was made when the foot was heading towards the bedroom’.
‘The impression was made up of small circles and square blocks. It is not possible to ascertain whether the shoe print was from an adult or a child but it is estimated that it was a shoe size 5 or possibly 6. It was of a right shoe.
‘The shoe print found at the rear of the Renault hire car below the boot area and above part of the rear bumper was a left-sided shoe and the impression has similar pattern component, pattern size and degree of wear to the outer toe region of the sole to match the right shoe, and again has circles and square blocks. A swab for blood from this mark has been examined but it proved inconclusive.’
This is the first time that forensic evidence relating to the case has been presented in such detail.
Sources have told this newspaper that the sample taken from the apartment was not of good quality. Other partial prints were underneath it and it had been walked over countless times.
Tests were carried out to determine whether anyone had tried to clean it up, and, crucially, the results showed that no ‘concerted’ effort had been made.
‘If someone had tried to wipe it away, using bleach, for instance, this would have shown up clearly in the results,’ said the source.
There is also concern over the Portuguese police’s interpretation of the print on the Renault Scenic.
‘They seem to think it is consistent with someone putting their foot on the boot to lever a body in or out. But there could be 101 reasons why someone would put their foot on the car in this way,’ the source said.
A pair of Madeleine’s ankle socks – ‘heavily stained on the sole and the heel’ – were also examined at the Birmingham laboratory.
It could not be determined whether the stains contained blood and were deemed to hold ‘limited scientific’ evidence.
Nail clippings found in the hire car were found to contain fragments of paint but otherwise to be ‘of no significance’.
The McCanns have always vehemently denied any involvement in their daughter’s disappearance and will view the new report as confirmation of their fears that the Portuguese police are overplaying the importance of forensic evidence.
The couple have consistently said any material found in Portugal can be wholly and innocently explained. They have hired their own forensic experts to refute Portuguese police claims that the new DNA tests link them to Madeleine’s disappearance.
But the Policia Judiciaria have not contacted the McCanns since they returned to their Leicestershire home more than a month ago.
A friend said: ‘They have not heard a word. It’s a shambles considering they have been made the focus of the investigation and stand accused of playing a part in their daughter’s death. They don’t have a clue what’s going on.’
Last night, Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, said: ‘We simply cannot comment on unsubstantiated reports that touch on any evidence at the centre of this inquiry.’
Meanwhile, detectives are focusing on evidence from former Mark Warner nanny Charlotte Pennington, 20, that she saw a man dropping a ‘bundle’ from a dinghy into the Atlantic just off Praia da Luz at 11.30pm on the night Madeleine disappeared.
A police source described the sighting as ‘credible’, but questions hang over it.
Miss Pennington said the man’s jacket had a yellow reflective hood, and for her to have seen him in the dark, the boat would have had to be close to shore.
October 14th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Portuguese police are becoming increasingly convinced that Madeleine McCann’s body was dumped at sea.
Detectives are believed to be keen to re-interview a British nanny who claims she saw a mystery boatman kicking at something in the middle of the night two days after Madeleine McCann disappeared.
Former Mark Warner nanny Charlotte Pennington said she spotted the man in a small dinghy just off the Praia da Luz seafront. She claims he was kicking at an object stored in the boat’s hull.
When she moved closer to investigate, the man - whose name she has given to Portuguese and British police - stooped out of sight then hurriedly rowed away.
Nanny Charlotte Pennington says she saw a man in a boat kicking something shortly after Madeleine disappeared
Portuguese police are taking the sightings seriously and Miss Pennington, 20, and are looking to interview her once again.
She was working in the Ocean Club’s creche on May 3, the night Madeleine disappeared. She is the only person to have given a full, public description of the events of that evening.
She told police how she heard Kate McCann scream: “They’ve taken her” on the night of May 3, when Madeleine vanished, and that she saw the first official suspect Robert Murat standing outside the Ocean Club that night.
Miss Pennington said the man was wearing a reflective yellow jacket with a hood but she could not make out his face.
One police source today described the sighting as ‘credible’.
Miss Pennington said: “I’m pleased they are taking this seriously as it means they aren’t just looking at the McCanns as suspects.”
October 14th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
[...] Anorak - I think you will find that the McCanns have not had any charges formally brought against them - either in Portugal or the UK. So to say they have been accused of murder is simply not true. Toni Says: September 26th, 2007 at 9:57 am http Learn More About [...]
October 14th, 2007 at 10:30 am
[...] Wags & Players (48) Anorak - The position the child is in there would pull the adult back surely? Surely if you thought the child was Madeleine McCann you d have been over there like a shot, you d have alerted as many people nearby as possible and you d be sat on a cool 2 [...]
October 13th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
HI everyone:
Hi Anonymous. Nice to “see you” again. :)-
Mike,
Interesting posts…….. -
What do you all think of the possibility of that Casa Pia ? Have they checked there? I sure hope that Maddie is still alive…………. - Any news about the 80 folks found?
Still no news from the MODS AND ADMIn. about the other site.. really wonder what has happened ………
October 13th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Back to business as usual
By Brendan de Beer
Published: October 13 2007
The disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a four-year-old British girl, from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz earlier this year has turned the formerly sleepy resort town into one of the most famous (some argue notorious) places in Portugal.
Located in the western Algarve about 6km from Lagos, a former capital of the region, Praia da Luz was until the 1960s a small fishing village, comprising a handful of huts and cottages. Holidaymakers – mainly from Portugal and the UK – eventually discovered it and have over the past few decades influenced construction styles, culture and tradition, replacing the older dwellings with more modern, semi-detached townhouses facing south to sea and ensuring that Luz Bay is filled with paddleboats and sailboats rather than working vessels.
A handful of restaurants, specialising grilled fish, are scattered along the beachfront, while the centre is marked by the Nossa Senhora da Luz church, restored following a 1755 earthquake and one of few signs that the village is much older than the new buildings rising in and around it.
Still, in stark contrast to other parts of the Algarve, growth in Praia da Luz has been orderly and considered, with most new developments, such as Almaverde and Parque da Floresta, blending into the natural surroundings. At the former, only 10 per cent of the land has been used for building with the rest devoted to gardens, paths and parks, while the latter will be 91 per cent open space, with 167,000 trees planted over the past 15 years, wind turbines to provide power and on-site recycling points for plastic, glass and paper.
Even now, the registered population of full-time inhabitants in the town is only 3,000 – although that figure is boosted significantly by semi-permanent residents, including low-key British celebrities such as former Premier League footballers David Seaman of Arsenal and John Aldridge of Liverpool, snooker star Steve Davis and Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler.
Needless to say, the media frenzy surrounding the McCann case, which started in May and carried on through the summer, was an unwelcome change for the typically tranquil town, as well as Lagos and the nearby villages of Burgau and Espiche. But, according to local estate agents, the added crowds and negative publicity have not cast a shadow over the area’s residential property market.
“People who buy [in Praia da Luz] do so because they have been there many times before, know the area and love it,” says Nick Sadler, director of Sadlers Property, a Lagos-based estate agency associated with Knight Frank. “[It] has a beautiful, clean, safe beach, a child-friendly atmosphere and is less than an hour from the airport. The local Portuguese all speak English and are very welcoming. What happened in May does not affect that.”
His agents continued to show properties even when the village was bursting with satellite trucks and journalists and none found that potential buyers were put off by the commotion or heightened concerns about safety and security. “We had a few people postpone trips out at the time but their response was that they would continue looking when things calmed down,” he says.
Today, homes in and around Praia da Luz are selling with as much frequency as before the disappearance. Prices – which range from €200,000-€450,000 ($283,000-$637,000) for an apartment to €500,000-€2m for a villa depending on size and views – are still rising. And “we have agreed a sale there this month at the top end of the market so we are not worried”, Sadler says.
Graham Foster, a director at Luz Select Real Estate, is equally bullish. “Sales continued at a normal pace in May, as people had already arranged property deals. There was a dip in June but it did not last long and it is now business as usual.”
Some clients, most of whom are from the UK and northern Europe, did initially seek assurance that the McCann case was an isolated incident, says Foster, who was in May staying with his own young children at an apartment only yards from where Madeleine disappeared. “But most of our customers have been visiting Praia da Luz for many years” and none have decided to abandon their dream of buying a home in the village, he adds.
One other sign that families are still relocating to the town is the robust enrolment at the two international schools in the western Algarve. The Barlavento School, located just outside Praia da Luz, is filled to capacity and has a waiting list while the Vale Verde International School in Burgau, 5km from the McCanns’ holiday apartment, has accepted 32 new pupils this year. Judy Robinson, head teacher at Barlavento, says the only negative effect the case might have on her school is if the tourist trade declines and parents, many of whom work in hospitality, find it more difficult to pay their tuition fees.
Although the property market remains buoyant, developers have been advertising heavily and, where applicable, emphasising how protected they are from crime. “As we have a number of high-profile owners, Parque da Floresta has long had 24-hour security for the resort,” says Ewa Petterson, sales director at the community, which is just west of Praia da Luz. “While the western Algarve is generally a safe destination, our system provides additional peace of mind for residents, [and] we have not noticed any decline in interest from potential buyers, many of whom are families buying a second home in an unspoilt location, within beach and golf resorts, all with family-friendly facilities.”
Petty crime does happen but police say the theft of personal belongings from holiday apartments and cars is usually a result of negligent or care-free owners and renters leaving valuable items in view of passers-by and failing to lock them away.
Some locals think that the Madeleine saga might even help attract more buyers to Praia da Luz over the long term. “I think the images seen on television showed [the town] in a positive light,” says Luísa João, a member of the parish council. She lives and works in the heart of the village, often visiting her grandchildren in Lagos, and thinks it is one of the safest places in Portugal to have a home or holiday. “In one or two years, people will have forgotten about the case,” she says. “Already everything is back to normal.”
October 13th, 2007 at 9:20 am
New Madeleine McCann chief steps up hunt
By Aislinn Simpson in Portimao
13/10/2007
The search for missing Madeleine McCann has been stepped up after the new detective in charge doubled the number of investigators and launched a comprehensive review of the case files.
The five-month investigation into the four-year-old’s disappearance was flagging following the departure of senior officers and the lack of new leads.
However, the arrival of Portugal’s second most senior detective is said to have boosted the morale of investigating police and brought fresh hopes of a breakthrough. Paulo Rebelo, the new inquiry head, has brought with him four of his most trusted lieutenants - among them two homicide experts.
The development comes ahead of the expected release next week of forensic results which Portuguese police reportedly see as vital in deciding on their case against Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.
While friends of the McCanns said they are dismayed by the continuing focus on a search for the body of their daughter, who vanished from their rented apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, their official spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the couple were grateful for “fresh eyes” being put on the case.
“If they are experts in homicide then hopefully they can eliminate them (the McCanns) as suspects,” said Mr Mitchell.
The four officers, including a chief inspector and an inspector, were travelling to the Algarve to wade through the ten crates of case files and look for something previous officers may have missed.
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There has also been a renewed police presence in Praia da Luz, with officers spotted on the beach, in the apartment from where Madeleine disappeared and around the Ocean Club complex where the McCanns and their friends stayed.
Mark Williams-Thomas, a former Surrey Police child protection officer who worked on the Sarah Payne murder inquiry, said the new approach was “textbook”.
“For a long time now the investigation has lacked direction and impetus and Rebelo has brought that back,” he said. “You wonder why they didn’t bring him in earlier.”
There had been fears the investigating team could dwindle to just three, as leading officer Goncalo Amaral was sacked, his deputy asked to be taken off the case and inspectors put in for missed holidays.
The McCanns, both 39-year-old doctors from Rothley in Leicestershire, are now hoping the new eight-strong team will shift its focus from the theory that they somehow killed Madeleine and hid her body.
They have been told to expect forensic test results on hair and bodily fluid samples back from the Forensic Science Service in Birmingham next week.
Local press have said that detectives expected the test results to provide answers to whether Madeleine had ever been given sedatives or whether her body was ever in the couple’s car, hired 25 days after her disappearance - both theories the McCanns strenuously deny.
Her parents have always insisted any DNA link to Madeleine could have been transferred either by items of her clothing or could belong to her siblings, two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.
Mr Mitchell said while the couple were confident nothing incriminating would be found, they were concerned the relevance of the results could be exaggerated in the Portuguese press.
He said: “In a normal world, the results would go back to police who would assess them and that would be it. In this twilight zone we are operating in, whatever comes back will be leaked and exaggerated and the McCanns are fearful about that.”
“They want developments like everyone else and if they are required to go back to assist with the inquiry then of course they will,” he added.
Due to the politically-sensitive nature of the case, the results will first be sent to the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs before being passed to the Policia Judiciaria, the Portuguese CID investigating Madeleine’s disappearance. There is no indication yet when they will be made public.
October 13th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Madeleine suspect appeals to police
Press Association
Saturday October 13, 2007 7:43 AM
Robert Murat, the first person to be declared an official suspect over Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, has broken his silence over his experience.
The British expat who lives with his mother Jenny Murat less than 100m from where the four-year-old went missing in the Portuguese village of Praia da Luz, has been under police restrictions for five months including a ban on giving interviews. But the property consultant spoke on camera to BBC News, with family members by his side, in a direct plea to the Portuguese Police to finally clear him of suspicion.
Mr Murat is shown speaking only briefly but it is the first time he has done so since being declared an “arguido” - or official suspect - and could theoretically lead to action from the police.
He said: “It’s five months, my savings have gone, Mum is doing what she can, it is just very, very difficult.”
Mr Murat’s mother ran a stall in the centre of the village appealing for information about Madeleine in the wake of her disappearance. His cousin Sally Eveleigh, who runs a local guesthouse, also spoke to the BBC urging police to finally remove his formal status.
“Five months down the line, he hasn’t heard from the police for three months, and there’s no evidence against him,” she said. “He hasn’t seen his daughter for over five months.
“He has no finances now, all his savings are gone and he needs to rebuild his life, I mean, his life is on hold.”
Mr Murat, whose father was Portuguese, was taken in for questioning by police 11 days after the four-year-old disappeared on May 3. Police searched the family home Casa Liliana and its garden using specialist sniffer dogs after suspicions were aroused over his interest in the case.
Mr Murat, 33, had earlier offered his services as a translator to police working on the case and became a familiar sight around the crime scene in the days after Madeleine’s disappearance.
After his first night of questioning at the local headquarters of the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) in the town of Portimao he was declared an arguido. Although he was taken in for further questioning later and new searches were carried out over the summer, he has never been formally arrested or charged. He denies any involvement.
October 13th, 2007 at 4:30 am
Hi Anonymous,
Yes that is great news and hopefully they will be off the streets for good is justice is truly served.
This forum sure is quiet. Wish we could get an answer about the other site.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Hi swissmiss, Jeannie, Jean, Mike and Rachel
Good news about the 80 paedophiles getting busted - hopefully if justice is done 80 more evil perverts will be off the streets.
Mod and Admin, what has happened to ‘Madeleine McCann Not in Malta or Morocco’ site? I have emailed you twice and you haven’t replied. Please would you let us know what’s going on, one way or another - Thanks.
October 12th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
[...] Wags & Players (48) Anorak - What i also dont get is the rest of the tappas9 silence apart from 7 oclock anyone for tappas/tennis payne and the mc canns spokesman. As for motive and time lapses etc I wondered if GM could be gay and OB and him were having a quickie that [...]