The purpose of
this site is for information and a record of Gerry McCann's Blog
Archives. As most people will appreciate GM deleted all past blogs
from the official website. Hopefully this Archive will be helpful to
anyone who is interested in Justice for Madeleine Beth McCann. Many
Thanks, Pamalam
Note: This site does not belong to the McCanns. It belongs to Pamalam. If
you wish to contact the McCanns directly, please use
the contact/email details
campaign@findmadeleine.com
Appointment: New functions in the Public Prosecution Service
Former
Director of the Judicial Police appointed Public Ministry Inspector
The former national director of
the Judicial Police (PJ) has been appointed inspector of the Public Ministry (MP) by the Superior Council. Thus, as part
of his new functions, the magistrate, who had abandoned his previous position in May, almost an year before
the term of office was due to end (April 2009), is now going to inspect the criminal police forces.
The decision was taken on
the 17th of September and made public last week in Diário da República. According to the regulation of the MP inspections,
"it belongs to the inspection of the Public Ministry to proceed to inspections, inquiries and diligences, as well as initiate
disciplinary processes to the services and magistrates of the Public Ministry and to the organisations of the criminal police."
When, in February, Alípio
Ribeiro admitted that there had been "haste" in constituting the parents of Madeleine McCann as arguidos for the
disappearance of their daughter, back in May 2007, in Praia da Luz, an adverse feeling grew amidst the PJ. Due to the intense
media focus of the case, the statements of the head of the PJ, the officer responsible for the investigation at
the time, were not welcomed.
And when, on the 5th of May, in an interview given to the Diário Económico, he defended
the concentration of all the police forces under one ministry rule, the Associação Sindical dos Funcionários de Investigação
Criminal (ASFIC) [the Criminal Investigation Officers' Union] demanded his resignation. Two days later Alípio Ribeiro submitted
his resignation as national director of the PJ, accepted by the Justice Minister [Alberto Costa], alleging he was tired of
the media exposure of his Job.
Thursday 02 October 2008
518
Clarence Mitchell a guest speaker for the Society of British Editors
Clarence Mitchell, spokesperson for Kate and
Gerry McCann, is one of the guests of honour for the next annual conference of the Society of British Editors, where the former
director of the Media Monitoring Unit is scheduled as a speaker.
Amongst
the other speakers, is Sly Bailey, boss of the Mirror Group, Carolyn McCall, Director General of Guardian Media, Paul Dacre,
editor of the Daily Mail, and Christopher Meyer, President of the Press Complaints Commission.
The Society of Editors is an organisation that brings together more than 400 members and that, according to its internet
site, defends values like the universal right to freedom of expression and the right of the public to be informed.
In the case of Madleine's disappearance, the McCanns' spokespersons and lawyers have maintained
regular contact with editors and directors of the major British newspapers. On September 12th 2007, after Kate and Gerry McCann
were officially constituted as arguidos, Justine McGuiness, their then spokesperson, and their lawyer Angus McBride, met with
several editors and directors to whom they explained that the fact that the Portuguese authorities had not found Madeleine's
body was the best proof of the couple's innocence.
The next conference of British editors will take place at the Marriot Royal Hotel in Bristol, from 9th to 11th November.
5.00 pm The big stories of the past year: the
McCanns, Prince Harry and the Credit Crunch. Did we get the balance right?
Later amended to:
4.45pm The big stories
of the past year
Chaired by: Kevin
Marsh, BBC College of Journalism
Robert Peston,
BBC Business Editor - the credit crunch
Clarence Mitchell,
the McCanns story
PJ Director reserved about the nomination of Alípio Ribeiro as Public Ministry Inspector Publico
02.10.2008 - 15h48Lusa
Thanks to 'debk' for translation
The PJ National Director, Almeida Rodrigues,
refused today to provide extensive comments about the nomination of the ex-director Alípio Ribeiro as the new inspector for
the Public Ministry. According to reports from yesterday's "Diário de Notícias", the nomination of Alípio Ribeiro was decided
on 17 September and published last week in the Diário de República. His new role as Public Ministry inspector will have, among
other responsibilities, that of inspecting the criminal police force, namely the PJ.
In statements to the Lusa News
Agency, while on an official visit to Madeira with the adjunct secretary of State and Justice, Almeida Rodrigues said: "This
was a decision by the Superior Council of the Public Ministry and it is to be respected."
"Besides, from what I know,
this is not the first time Alípio Ribeiro has been in this role," commented the head of PJ.
Almeida Rodrigues refused
to comment about any reactions to this nomination within the PJ, after Alípio Ribeiro, at the beginning of this year and before
abandoning his responsibilities as PJ Director, admitted to there having been "haste" in placing arguido status upon the parents
of Madeleine McCann, missing from the Algarve in May 2007.
Alípio Ribeiro is a career Public Ministry magistrate.
Friday 03 October 2008
519
*
Saturday 04 October 2008
520
Gonçalo Amaral, talking in Vigo, says: "It is still possible that justice can be done for Madeleine",see reports of event here
The book 'Maddie - The Truth of Lie' is the starting point for a documentary that begins filming in the
Algarve on the 20th. Goncalo Amaral, coordinator of the PJ in the process and author of the book, is not the
only character to appear in the TV production.
The documentary will be produced by Manuel Fonseca, of Valentine de
Carvalho, and most of the filming will take place in Portimão and in Praia da Luz, where Madeleine McCann disappeared from on
May 3, 2007. "First we will work and then make statements. The formal announcement will be at another time," said Manuel Fonseca
to CM, producer of films such as 'Koko' and 'The Private Life of Salazar'.
Goncalo Amaral coordinated the first five
months of the investigation, until he was removed from one of the most media focussed cases ever. The inquiry eventually
ended, this summer, at which time the former coordinator published his book, a pioneering work of police revelation
that has sold about 200 thousand copies in Portugal. It has been on sale since September in Spain and will soon be published
in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. "Everyone likes to see their work valued," said Goncalo Amaral, about the purpose of the documentary.
THE top criminologist in Portugal has slammed the investigation into the disappearance
of Madeleine McCann.
Jose Manuel Anes said the methods used by police were flawed and out-dated.
He added: "Errors were made, not just by the Judicial Police, but by a whole group
of people who took part in the investigations."
Mr Anes, former head of criminology at Portuguese police's science lab, attacked
the decision to make Maddie's parents Gerry and Kate "arguidos", or suspects.
He said it was based on flawed evidence.
Mr Anes, 64, added: "There's no knowing in what condition samples arrived at the
laboratory.
"You find or you don't find. You can’t invent! Also there's a fundamental principle
that it's better to have a criminal free than an innocent in chains. That's the slogan of our profession."
Mr Anes also defended British police, arguing their offer of help was no impediment
to Portuguese cops.
He said: "The English police even offered dogs. If they didn't want to find anything,
they wouldn't have lent dogs."
Mr Anes admitted the case has been an embarrassment to his country and that police
did not handle the pressure.
Maddie vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz days before her fourth birthday
in May 2007.
Her parents, of Rothley, Leics, were accused over the disappearance, but the case
was dropped.
*
The Sun article above is a re-write of an article that originally
appeared in the Daily Mail on 18 December 2007:
Madeleine: Forensics expert says inquiry is 'complete waste' because of police
blunders at apartment Daily Mail
By VANESSA ALLEN
Last updated at 09:49 18 December 2007
No suspect will
ever face trial in the Madeleine McCann investigation because of mistakes made in the few hours after her disappearance, a
forensics expert have said.
Defence lawyers would demolish scientific evidence in the case because of the wholesale
contamination of forensics samples, the former head of the Portuguese police laboratory claimed.
Jose Manuel Anes said the seven-month police inquiry amounted to a complete waste
of time and money.
"Huge amounts of money were spent but if, in the first hours, the due precautions
for the preservation of the crime scene were not taken, all this hard work goes down the drain," he said.
"We can spend rivers of money which will all go down the drain if the crime scene
is not properly isolated."
Portuguese police failed to seal off the McCann family's holiday apartment in Praia
da Luz immediately after the parents reported her abduction, meaning up to 50 people were free to tramp through the flat,
destroying potentially vital evidence.
Mr Anes's damning analysis of the investigation has inspired "alarm" in Kate and
Gerry McCann who still hope to learn what happened to their daughter on the night of May 3.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It is alarming to hear that Mr Anes has
this view.
"All we want, and have done throughout, is to ensure the operational police side
of this has been done in an effective and efficient manner as possible."
Microscopic traces of blood were missed for three months, until British sniffer dogs
detected them, and police failed to don protective forensics suits, meaning their fingerprints and bootmarks contaminated
the crime scene.
In an interview for the book The McCanns' Guilt, written by a Portuguese journalist,
Mr Anes said state-of-the-art tests were rendered useless if they were performed on contaminated samples.
The 62-year-old added: "As the technology for lab analysis becomes increasingly sensitive,
the need not to contaminate the crime scene also increases.
"Any evidence left behind by an investigator, whatever it may be, can irreparably
contaminate a sample gathered at the crime scene."
Mr Anes said detectives were too influenced by the McCanns' insistence their daughter
was abducted.
He also said Portuguese forces should learn lessons from the British police, who
train all officers to seal off crime scenes.
"I am utterly convinced that - unless some new, concrete evidence suddenly emerges
- I fear the case will never reach trial," he added.
*
This was the immediate reaction to the Daily Mail article in
Portugal:
Controversy: Brits say José Manuel Anes attacked PJ
Henrique Machado
19 December 2007 - 00h00
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
After contacting José Manuel Anes, the 'Daily Mail' yesterday published only two answers of
the four questions asked. "One of them was even distorted. I made a general assessment on criminal law without concretely
criticising the investigation of the Madeleine case. What the criminologist said, but that it was not published, was that
the McCanns have moral guilt, for abandoning the children - and that there is a powerful and influential family lobby that
conditions the information.
The newspaper also quotes the interview with the 63-year-old former specialist of the Laboratory
of Forensic Science, published in the book 'The Guilt of the McCanns', and that "has now been distorted in the British press."
The
criminologist confirms to CM that he said that "you can spend lots of money on tests, but when there is not a good preservation
of the site of the crime, there is nothing that can be done - it is a complete waste of time." He guarantees to have always kept
"the due distance in relation to the case in concrete." He just made "a general assessment on a criminal investigation."
Yesterday,
the statements made by José Manuel Anes were "distorted" as they could be read in the 'Daily Mail'. The expert would have
said that no suspect will face court in this case because of the mistakes made by the police in the hours after the crime.
Lawyers for the defence would destroy the scientific evidence presented. Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the couple, soon
made a public statement: "It is alarming to hear Mr Anes."
NO PROOFS
The
British press published yesterday that the Portuguese police will submit new traces collected in the apartment of the Ocean
Club where the McCanns spent holidays for analysis in the laboratory in Birmingham. According to the 'Daily Mail', they can
point to the death of Maddie. But a source connected to the process told the CM that it "makes no sense".
'THE GUILT OF THE MCCANNS'
The book that is causing controversy in England is from the
journalist Manuel Catarino, editor chief of the CM. It has a preface and an interview, respectively by the criminologists
Francisco Moita Flores and José Manuel Anes and has been the target of criticism by the spokesperson of the McCanns. The day
after it was launched, on December 6, Clarence Mitchell said that lawyers were considering a lawsuit.
This is José Manuel Anes in a Maddie debate from late 2007 where he talks about the many complications in the case, and
the fact that many complicated cases are not what they appear, that indices can be planted by criminals to confuse the investigation,
that errors are always made and that patience is critical.
- Thanks to 'debk' for this summary
Saturday 11 October 2008
527
Mail of Today Correio da Manhã (no online link,
appears in paper edition only)
11.10.08
Thanks to Joana
Morais for translation
The English Newspaper, The SUN,
published an interview yesterday with declarations attributed to José Manual Anes, regarding the Maddie Case, where he harshly
criticises the investigation. Contacted by CM Anes said that it is all lies, guaranteeing that he has not spoken
to the press for "more than one year" and he says he is going to sue the English Paper.
Sunday 12 October 2008
528
£50,000 monthly expenses bill for McCann's private eyesDaily Mail
By DANIEL BOFFEY
Last updated at 12:10 AM on 12th October 2008
The private investigators hired to find Madeleine McCann were embroiled in fresh controversy last night as it was revealed
they claimed nearly £50,000 in expenses for one month's work.
US-based firm Oakley International was taken on by the Find Madeleine Fund earlier this year on a £500,000 six-month
contract to monitor a telephone hotline, carry out detective work and review CCTV footage from around the world of possible
sightings of the missing girl.
The company was selected by double-glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy, who has pledged to support the McCanns financially until
the mystery of the disappearance of their daughter is solved.
Madeleine has not been seen since May last year, when she disappeared from the family's apartment in the Portuguese holiday
resort of Praia da Luz shortly before her fourth birthday.
However, Mr Kennedy became concerned by Oakley’s $74,155 expenses claim in the first month of the contract, and
the lack of receipts.
This newspaper revealed last month that the company's contract was terminated at the end of August after Mr Kennedy had
become concerned at its lack of results.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the Find Madeleine Fund, confirmed that Oakley International was not now working on
the case.
He said: 'The contract with Oakley was just one among many that have been entered into during the search for Madeleine.
While Oakley did some valuable work, particularly in the early stages, its contract, like many others, has now come to a close.
'The search for Madeleine is continuing, however, using other resources and the performance of other contractors is constantly
reviewed and monitored. Kate and Gerry and the backers will leave no stone unturned in the search for Madeleine.'
Former police officers are now being interviewed by Mr Kennedy to take over responsibility for the investigation into
Madeleine's disappearance.
Mr Kennedy, 47, estimated to be worth about £250million, made his money in double-glazing and home-improvement ventures
with companies including Everest windows.
He became involved with the McCanns after being moved by their plight during the period they were made formal suspects
– arguidos – in Madeleine's disappearance.
Portuguese prosecutors dropped the couple's arguido status in July.
Oakley International said: 'We carried out our instructions from the Fund professionally and responsibly in accordance
with our agreement.'
*
Reminder of the original Daily Mail story, which made the front page of the paper edition:
Madeleine fund in chaos as private eyes are axed after
draining £500,000 Daily Mail
By DANIEL BOFFEY and MILES GOSLETT
Last updated at 10:14 PM on 23rd August 2008
A
team of private investigators working behind the scenes to find Madeleine McCann has been axed after being paid £500,000 from
publicly donated funds.
The Find Madeleine Fund quietly engaged the services of a US-based company which was awarded the lucrative
six-month contract earlier this year.
The company, Oakley International, which boasts former British security service and FBI contacts, was
hired to monitor the Madeleine Hotline, carry out detective work and review CCTV footage of possible sightings of the missing
girl around the world.
A source revealed that the company had also spent resources in an attempt to infiltrate a paedophile ring
in Belgium.
However, the company's contract will now not be renewed. The Mail on Sunday has learned that double-glazing
tycoon Brian Kennedy, who has been underwriting the fund's search for Madeleine, has conducted a review of the agency's work
and has become unhappy with the progress it was making.
The deal was abruptly ended following a meeting last week after the fund brought in independent monitors
to assess how the money was spent.
The cost of employing the agency - run by a Briton, Kevin Halligen - has drained the Madeleine fund and
there is now less than £500,000 left.
The development is likely to dismay the thousands who gave to the appeal, and raise questions about how
the fund has been administered.
Mr Kennedy, who owns Sale Sharks rugby club, was said to be 'angry' because he believed Oakley's bills,
estimated to be more than £80,000 a month, were too much for the results they achieved.
A source said: 'There is a sense that they were meaning well but hadn't got as far as they should for
the money involved.
'Brian Kennedy thought their work was far too pricey and wanted to know where the money was being spent.
He wasn't satisfied with their answers and the contract was not renewed.
'Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate, have been kept informed all along and agree with the decision. A
lot of people were asking questions about where the money was being spent.'
Oakley International won the contract after an introduction by another company, Red Defence International
(RDI), based in Jermyn Street, Central London.
Listed as being involved with both companies was Mr Halligen, 47, a communications expert. He is given
as the 'contact name' for Oakley International Group, a company registered in Washington DC as the manufacturer of search
and navigation equipment.
The company says it has annual sales of £33,000 and only one employee, who appears to be Mr Halligen.
The address given for the company is 2550 M Street NW Washington, which is the downtown office of Patton
Boggs, one of the largest and most powerful law companies in America.
A source at the law firm said last night that the lawyer who represented Mr Halligen was unavailable for
comment.
RDI, formed in 2005, bills itself as 'an experienced provider of crisis prevention, management and expertise'.
It claims to have a presence in Washington DC and Virginia and representation in the Middle East, Africa and Central America.
However, its latest set of accounts is two months overdue and it faces being fined by HM Revenue &
Customs.
Among the main players working on the McCann contract were Mr Halligen and Henri Exton, 57, who headed
the Greater Manchester Police undercover unit until 1993. He then worked for the Government before moving into the private
sector.
One day after a crisis meeting last week with the Madeleine fund administrators, Mr Halligen resigned
as a director of RDI.
Mr Exton, of Bury, Lancashire, has the Queen’s Police Medal and an OBE. During the Seventies and
Eighties his work included uncovering organised crime rings and recruiting supergrasses.
He also infiltrated football gangs, at one stage becoming a leader of the Young Guvnors, who followed
Manchester City, and was forced to take part in organised incidents to preserve his cover.
Previously, the McCann fund had employed a Spanish detective agency called Metodo 3. However, the fund
lost confidence in them, especially after they announced they would find Madeleine by last Christmas.
She had disappeared from the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, nine days short of her
fourth birthday.
A spokesman for the McCanns said yesterday: 'Kate and Gerry, the fund and their backers have always sought
to employ the very best people and resources in the ongoing search for Madeleine.
'Kate and Gerry, via the fund and the backers, continue to employ many such resources and it is true that
Red Defence and Oakley were part of those resources.
'I simply will not comment on any personnel, financial or operational details whatsoever.'
No one could be reached for comment at Oakley International or Red Defence International.
Mr Kennedy, estimated to be worth about £250million, became involved after being moved by the plight of
the McCanns during the period they were made formal suspects – arguidos – in Madeleine's disappearance. Portuguese
prosecutors dropped the couple's arguido status last month.
The 47-year-old made his money in double-glazing and home improvement ventures with companies including
Everest windows. His Latium Group business empire has an annual turnover of about £400million.
*
The original Daily Mail article, as above, drew a prompt statement on the official FindMadeleine
site on 26 August 2008:
In the light of articles in some UK Sunday
newspapers this weekend, we feel it is appropriate to comment briefly on our relationship with the investigation company Oakley
International.
We appointed them several months ago to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. We continue
to work with them to this end. The working relationship is managed by Brian Kennedy, who also confirms the relationship with
Oakley International continues to be good and that it remains entirely focused on the search for Madeleine.
Monday 13 October 2008
529
*
Tuesday 14 October 2008
530
Gerry McCann publishes his first blog for two months - it goes unreported in the British media.
See here for blog
Wednesday 15 October 2008
531
News breaks that the 'Tapas Seven' are due to appear in the High Court tomorrow to receive £375,000 damages from the
Express Group for defamatory articles -
See here for more details
Thursday 16 October 2008
532
The 'Tapas Seven' receive £375,000 libel payout at the High Court from the Express Group and apologies are published
in the Daily Express and Daily Star -
See here for more details
Friday 17 October 2008
533
Maddie documentary to be filmed in the Algarve
Portugal News
18/10/2008 (appeared online 17/10/2008)
From
the 20th of this month filming will begin on a documentary about the disappearance of toddler Madeleine McCann, using information
from the book 'Maddie – The Truth of the Lie' by ex-PJ inspector Gonçalo Amaral, who will also appear in the programme.
Produced by Manuel Fonseca,
of Valentim de Carvalho productions, the majority of the filming will take place in Portimão as well as Praia da Luz, from
where Madeleine went missing last year on May 3rd.
Gonçalo Amaral coordinated the first five months of the
investigation into the toddler's disappearance from her hotel room in Praia da Luz's Ocean Club Resort, before being removed
from the case.
He released his book this summer, in an attempt to clarify
his role within and views concerning the case a pioneering piece of criminal literature that has so far sold over 200,000
copies.
Since September 'Maddie – a Verdade da Mentira'
(approximately translated as 'Maddie – The Truth of the Lie') has been on sale in Spain and will soon be published in
Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Meanwhile on Sunday Gerry McCann posted an update on
his blog for the first time in more than a month.
It read, "First of all I want to apologise for not updating
this blog for so long. I would like to assure everyone that this gap is not because there is little going on in the search
for Madeleine. On the contrary, Kate and I have been incredibly busy over the last couple of months since the PJ files were
made public. We and our family have always vowed to leave no stone unturned in the search for our daughter and knowing exactly
what has been done and, more importantly, what has not been done is vital in planning our future strategy".
It continued, "Getting the files translated accurately
is a time consuming and expensive process but essential to our search. There is a huge amount of information contained within
the files which we have not been party to until now and this needs to be assessed carefully. This is even more important since
the Portuguese investigation is officially closed.
"In some ways, although this task is monumental, it has
been good for us doing something active and positive which we believe may help find Madeleine. We are also using this period
to get advice to maximise our effectiveness and efficiency in our overall strategy going forward. Keeping Madeleine’s
image in the public eye will continue to be important and the distribution of posters is central to that aim.
"Many people have also asked us what is happening with
the Amber alert after the successful adoption of the written declaration by the European Parliament. It has been relatively
quiet due to the summer recess but hopefully the momentum gained, added to the desire of the European Commission for an Amber
Alert system, will affect change in the near future.
"Finally we would like to thank everyone for their continued,
support, prayers and letters. I promise to do another update in the near future."
Kate and Gerry McCann are reviewing
their strategy as no major breakthrough has emerged in the hunt for Madeleine.
Millionaire businessman Brian Kennedy, their financial
backer, is seeking a former high-ranking police detective to mastermind the private investigation.
He has interviewed several candidates and will see more
in the coming weeks. Whoever takes on the job faces the mammoth task of assessing information gathered by many private detectives
since Madeleine vanished 18 months ago.
The investigator will also have to read thousands of
pages of Portuguese police files released in August and painstakingly translated.
The family's spokesman Clarence
Mitchell said the investigation was continuing in many countries as the McCanns study the files line by line.
Heart specialist Mr McCann said in his blog report last
week: "Kate and I have been incredibly busy over the last couple of months since the files were made public.
"We and our family have always vowed to leave no stone
unturned in the search for our daughter and knowing exactly what has been done and, more importantly, what has not been done
is vital in planning our future strategy."
Sunday Express 19 October 2008
FBI Psychics turn up new Maddy suspect Sunday Express (appears in paper edition only)
EXCLUSIVE From Mike Parker in Los Angeles
Psychics have given police a picture of a man they say could have kidnapped Madeleine McCann. They have also given officers
an address where they say Madeleine was held by a kidnapper.
The two investigators work closely with the FBI in America. A US TV show arranged for them to spend a week in the Portuguese
resort of Praia da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared last year.
Madeleine's parents say they want a copy of the drawing for their own team of private detectives.
FULL STORY: PAGES 4 & 5
Online edition headline:
Exclusive: FBI psychics turn up face of Maddy 'killer'Sunday Express
Paper edition, pages 4 & 5 (same report as online version):
FBI mediums and the face of Maddy 'killer'
From Mike Parker in Los Angeles
A DRAWING of a man two FBI psychics say snatched Madeleine McCann has been produced by an American TV programme.
Now investigators working for Kate and Gerry McCann say they want to see the so-called evidence revealed in the programme,
which was screened last week in the US.
The drawing is of a man aged between 36 and 42 with thick dark brown or black hair and stubble. It has now been handed
over to police in Portugal.
It was produced by two psychic criminal protilers who work closely with the FBI in America.
A spokesman for the McCanns said that although they were deeply sceptical of information from psychics, they want their
private investigators to examine the information which was broadcast.
"If they have given their files to the police in Portugal they should also pass them on to our investigators," said Clarence
Mitchell, the McCanns spokesman, who gave a brief interview to the programme makers.
The programme says the man has a pronounced accent and looks and sounds Middle Eastern, possibly Egyptian, and drives
a mid-sized dark silver car with a parking permit or some other identifying sticker inside the windscreen on the driver's
side.
He 'may have been wearing a blue, button-up shirt and working as a transient labourer close to the apartment in Praia
cia Luz on the Algarve where Madeleine was staying with her family before vanishing on May 3.
The report given to Portuguese police says the man is known as Steve or Stay and took the child to a summer rental apartment
in the nearby village of Lagos.
The team, clairvoyant Carla Baron, psychic John J Oliver and paranormal investigator Patrick Burns spent a week in Portugal,
starting their inqµiries at the Ocean club resort where the McCanns had been staying.
Ms Baron said she immediately picked up on the vision of "Steve" or "Stav" stalking the family and photographing Madeleine
at the beach before snatching her several days later.
Ms Baron said: "He snapped off a cell phone photo while looking like he was making a call.
"I also see him taking notes on a small notepad as he watched the comings and goings of the McCann family to see what
their routine was."
When he finally pounced at night, while Madeleine's parents were in a nearby restaurant, Ms Baron and Mr Oliver said
the little girl did not even wake up as he crept into the children's bedroom and picked her up.
Mr Oliver: "He took her to his car. There were people walking who saw him but he just looked as if he was a father carrying
a sleeping child and they didn't take any notice."
They say the abductor placed Madeleine in the front passenger seat of his dark silver car, which may have had even darker
or black trim.
Mr Oliver said he believes that the abductor may have stopped briefly at a deserted farmhouse east of the town before
driving to his eventual destination - a furnished room rented out during the summer in nearby Lagos.
Executives at Tru Tv, part of media tycoon Ted Turner's CNN network, which makes the Haunting Evidence programme, passed
the apartment address to police but withheld it from transmission.
The psychics say she was murdered there by being smothered by a pillow several days after her abduction because the man
feared he would be caught.
Ms Baron believes the man then bundled her into the boot of his car and drove to a remote area, close to a landfill and
manmade dam, where he buried her. This location has also been passed to police.
The FBI takes psychic evidence seriously and all three members of the Haunting Evidence team have been used in major
criminal investigations.
OPINION: PAGE 26
*
Page 26:
Sunday ExpressOpinion
Searching Maddy questions
DEVELOPMENTS in the search for Madeleine McCann, who vanished in Portugal last year, are to be welcomed. However, the
fact the latest information comes from a team of psychics and has just been screened on an American television programme does
give pause for thought. What must never be forgotten is that a little girl vanished that night and no trace has ever been
found. The search for Maddy must go on.
SUSPECT: The man psychics say killed Madeleine
Related historical reports:
Psychic investigators from hit US TV show head to Portugal to find Madeleine
Daily Mail
Last updated at 09:44 10 January 2008
Psychic investigators from a hit US show will attempt to solve the Madeleine McCann mystery, it was revealed today.
Three American clairvoyants from Haunting Evidence will travel to the Algarve in an attempt to find the missing four-year-old.
Producers from the show have been in the resort of Praia da Luz this week making plans for the documentary.
Producer Gregory Palmer told Portuguese daily 24 Horas: "The idea is to make a documentary, speak to witnesses and put
our investigators in the field."
Programme makers claim to have previously made a breakthrough in an unsolved murder case in the US.
The investigators are Carla Brown, a clairvoyant specialist in profiling, John J Oliver, a medium, and Patrick Burns,
a paranormal investigator and presenter of the show.
They have approached Gerry and Kate McCann through their spokesman Clarence Mitchell hoping for their co-operation, but
have not yet received a response, the newspaper reported.
The trio use their "powers" to visit the scenes of crimes and speak to people "from beyond the grave".
They hope to gain access to Madeleine's favourite toy Cuddle Cat in their attempt to locate the youngster. Mr Palmer
said: "It would be important for Carla and Oliver to be able to touch Cuddle Cat."
Critics of the show, which goes out in the US on Court TV, point out they have never solved a case.
But Mr Palmer said: "We investigated the case of Amanda, a young girl of 20 who disappeared one night during a storm.
'Haunting Evidence' will be travelling to Praia da Luz in the western Algarve to find the missing toddler.
"She was driving alone on the motorway in Arkansas. Her car was found with the keys in the ignition. Police could find
no clues."
Four days her body was found in an irrigation ditch.
"She had been carried out of the car and her killer drowned her," Mr Palmer said.
The show's three clairvoyants were put into action. They followed a series of clues and provided police with an e-fit
of a suspect.
The case was re-opened and police have identified the suspect, the producer said.
Last June Portuguese detectives admitted they were following up tips from psychics as part of their probe.
They amassed a pile of "leads" provided by mystics and investigated each one.
Detectives also followed up a letter received by Dutch newspaper which included a map showing the "probable finding place"
of Madeleine.
Searches in a deserted scrubland area nine miles from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing last May 3, proved fruitless.
Last October the McCanns were said to be consulting a TV mystic dubbed The Psychic Barber.
Clairvoyant Gordon Smith, a host on Living TV's Most Haunted show, was contacted by a member of the McCann family.
He claimed he might be able to tell if Madeleine was alive or dead.
At the time a source close to the McCanns admitted 150 leads provided by mystics had already been followed up by investigators.
They represent 15 per cent of 1,000 pieces of information offered to the couple by psychics and mediums across the world.
One "saw" Madeleine at a farm in Spain and detailed part of a car's number plate. A second "revealed" the flight number
of a plane carrying the four-year-old and pinpointed her seat.
None of the tips proved useful, but a McCann family source at the time said: "They will pursue any lead which gives them
even the slightest chance of getting their daughter back."
Carla Baron & John J Oliver The Latest Psychics To 'Find'
Madeleine McCannBad Psychics
By Jon Donnis
10 January 2008
Poor Madeleine McCann is still
missing, 8 months on, psychics are still coming out of the woodwork claiming they will find her.
Well the latest publicity
stunt is by the guys from Haunting Evidence, and specifically Carla Baron and John J Oliver, two of the shows so called psychics.
It
seems that these disturbed people will sink to any low to further their own careers, even at the expense of a innocent missing
child.
An article in www.dailymail.co.uk tells us that these two psychics are gonna do what no one else has been able to do in 8 months and that is to solve the Madeleine
McCann mystery.
My question is why they have waited 8 months, and why they have to contact newspapers and media outlets
to do so. Why is it that we live in a world of press releases and self promotion regardless of who it may effect.
Producers
of Haunting Evidence are already in Portugal at the Praia da Luz resort planning their sick TV stunt.
Haunting Evidence
Producer Gregory Palmer has told Portuguese daily 24 Horas: "The idea is to make a documentary, speak to witnesses and put
our investigators in the field."
When has Haunting Evidence ever been a documentary?
The show is pure fiction.
These so called experts have NEVER SOLVED A SINGLE CASE.
Hell their record is worse than the UK's own Psychic Private
Eyes, which is widely regarding as the worst show of its kind in the country.
According to the Daily the psychics have
contacted the spokesman of Gerry and Kate McCann, a Mr Clarence Mitchell, but have yet to receive a response.
If he
has any sense he will tell them to stay away.
Producer Greg Palmer has even said: "It would be important for Carla
and Oliver to be able to touch Cuddle Cat."
The cuddle cat being Madeleines favourite toy, I bet that would make great
television don't you think Greg, you will probably be expecting some tears from Carla as well, we all know how she practises
turning on the waterworks dont we.
Back in June 2007 Portuguese detectives revealed that for some strange reason they
had been following up on tips from psychics, back then it was claimed that over 150 leads from psychics had been followed
up, yet still no Madeleine, what does that tell you?
I will tell you what it says, it says that the Portugese police
are idiots, wasting their time following up on fruitless claims from the mentally disturbed, and the out and out publicity
hungry frauds of the world.
And what happened to Gordon Smith? Last October he was apparently going to help find Madeleine
too, and what came of that? NOTHING. He failed just like every other psychic.
The only way a psychic will ever find
Madeleine is if they were the one who took her.
Of course if Madeleine is ever found, every psychic under the sun will
come out and claim they predicted it. I ask WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
So I wonder how well the likes of Carla Baron will do?
Well if you look at her history of solving cases she will fail, like she has EVERY other time.
In fact Carla and her
lies were exposed long ago by the IIG West.
This is one of the most indepth examinations of a psychic
and their claims ever done, and is proof positive that Carla is NOT psychic.
My advice is simple, stop wasting time
listening to psychics, they have NEVER solved a single case EVER.
US TV psychics join hunt for Madeleine McCannTelegraph
By Nick Britten
Last Updated: 2:30AM GMT 11 Jan 2008
Psychic investigators from a
popular American television programme are flying out to Portugal in an attempt to solve the mystery of missing Madeleine McCann.
Three clairvoyants from the hit show Haunting Evidence will travel to Praia
da Luz in a bid to find the missing four-year-old.
The programme's makers claim to have previously made a breakthrough in an unsolved murder case in the
US.
However, a spokesman for Gerry and Kate McCann said they had decided not to take up an offer from the
show to co-operate with it.
Clarence Mitchell said: "We did receive an offer and chose on this occasion not to respond. We are
grateful for any assistance they bring to bear in the hunt for finding Madeleine."
So far the McCanns have received 1,500 offers from psychics hoping to find Madeleine.
Mr Mitchell said: "We thank them for their concern and any demonstrably checkable fact is passed on
to the police or the private detective agency."
However, the agency employed by the McCanns, Metodo 3, may not have its contract renewed next month
following a series of outspoken comments and unfulfilled promises by its boss Francisco Marco.
Costing £50,000 a month, they are nearing the end of their six month contract.
The Find Madeleine Fund, which is paying them from public donations but which is beginning to run short
of money, will announce next month whether the contract is being renewed.
Much will rest on the thoughts of Brian Kennedy, the double glazing magnate who is funding the McCann's
attempts to clear their name, who holds the contract with Metodo 3.
He is understood to have been annoyed by comments prior to Christmas from Mr Marco that they knew who
had kidnapped Madeleine and even promised to have her home for Christmas.
A source close to the McCanns said: "Operationally the Fund is happy that Metodo 3 is searching for
Madeleine but there are people who are none too impressed by Francisco shooting his mouth off."
At a meeting on Thursday, the Fund agreed to raise money for the fund, which currently sits at £600,000
but which faces running dry by late summer unless it receives a cash injection, by exploiting more media opportunities.
It has drafted in Jon Corner, a film producer and friend of the McCann's, to help Mr Mitchell look
at offers they have received, such as making a docudrama or writing a book.
A car belonging to Russian computer expert Sergei Malinka,
who has been questioned by police as part of the Madeleine McCann investigation, was destroyed in an explosion in the early
hours of March 20, with the word "Fala" ("talk" in Portuguese) written next to it.
"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling requested that booksellers
display Madeleine's picture next to her latest novel.
Since her disappearance, there have been numerous Madeleine
"sightings" across the world, including ones in Belgium, Portugal, Malta, France, Amsterdam and Morocco. Investigators have
discounted most of these.
As Kate McCann became increasingly desperate for ideas
to find her daughter, British authorities gave her a police manual which provided step-by-step instructions on solving crimes.
The McCanns and the group of friends with whom they dined
while Madeleine was kidnapped have been dubbed "The Tapas Nine" by British tabloids.
Madeleine McCann, 3, disappeared from the resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, where her parents were vacationing on May
3, 2007. This missing-person poster, stuck to a board at a bus stop near the resort, reads, "Disappeared yesterday, if you
see her contact the police."
KATE McCann had a haunting premonition
about the holiday on which daughter Madeleine went missing.
She told a close pal before the trip had been booked:
"I don't know why, I've just got an uneasy feeling about it."
Fiona Payne, 36, revealed Kate's worries to Portuguese
police.
Kate and husband Gerry, both 40, were at first undecided
about whether to make the trip, she said.
Fiona was one of the Tapas Seven who dined with the McCanns
on the night of three-year-old Madeleine's disappearance at the Mark Warner Ocean Club resort in Praia Da Luz.
She told an officer: "This always haunts me. Kate ...
what she said ... she was unsure.
"Gerry was quite keen but Kate said, 'I don't know why,
I've just got an uneasy feeling about it.'
"And I don't know why she said that. I don't think even
she knows."
The details emerged during interviews given by the Tapas
Seven — David, Fiona, her mum Dianne Webster, 64, Dr Russell O'Brien and his partner Jane Tanner, both 37, Dr Matthew
Oldfield, 39, and his wife Rachael, 37.
They spoke to cops in April at Enderby, Leics.
The documents, which have been seen by The Sun, total
more than 1,000 pages.
Asked how Kate appeared after Madeleine's disappearance
Fiona, an anaesthetist, said: "Awful. I've never seen such horrible raw emotion in my life and I've seen a lot of it in my
job.
"She was bereft. She didn't know what to do, she was
panicking, extremely frightened for Madeleine and was wondering where she was or what was happening to her.
"And the helplessness of not being able to do anything,
what should she be doing, what could they do.
"She was angry, really angry, punching walls, kicking
walls.
"The next day she was covered in bruises. She was angry
at herself.
"She kept saying, 'I've let her down. We've let her down,
Gerry. We should have been here'. And she prayed a lot."
Husband David said: "Gerry broke down ... just a broken
man.
"He would fling a cupboard open and have a look in a
vain, desperate hope she might have been there.
"Then he flung himself on the floor and was just kicking
the floor and was just, 'She's gone, she's gone'."
David's mother-in-law Dianne said: "Gerry was distraught.
I've never heard a man make the noises Gerry made."
KATE McCann and three friends
discussed child-snatchers hours before daughter Madeleine disappeared, it has emerged.
Dr Russell O'Brien, one of the so-called Tapas Seven,
told police of the "haunting" conversation had while on holiday in Portugal last year.
He said it came up after another father said he felt
awkward photographing his own child.
Dr O'Brien, 37, was with his partner Jane Tanner, 37,
Rachel Oldfield, 37, and Kate, 40.
He said: "We then had a conversation about the ludicrous
pressure on parents that they can't take photos of their children.
Stranger
"The other aspect of the conversation, which is doubly
haunting, was that we said, 'You're far more likely to get clobbered by your uncle or your neighbour than some random stranger'.
"Since this happened ten or 11 hours before Madeleine
was abducted, it seemed a very uncomfortable coincidence."
The doctor, of Exeter, Devon, made his comments in April
as he was quizzed by British cops at the request of the Portuguese authorities.
The interviews are in documents seen by The Sun.
Maddie was snatched in Praia da Luz on May 3 last year,
days before her fourth birthday.
Detectives don't want to cooperate with Maddie's parents
21 October 2008
Thanks to 'astro' for translation
The McCanns want to hire a new detective to search
for Maddie. But they are not being helped much in Portugal
The Portuguese detectives are
little interested in helping the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Millionaire Brian Kennedy,
one of the main financial sponsors of the international fund that was created to locate Maddie, announced that he is looking
for a detective to head the investigations. But he is running low on luck.
Detective Mário Costa says
he is not available to enter "that movie". Former PJ inspector Pereira Cristóvão states that he doesn't work on missing persons'
cases. And only lawyer Marcos Aragão Correia, who lead an operation at the Arade Dam to look for the little girl's body in
March, is available to help.
"If a daughter of mine disappeared I wouldn't stop looking for her either", Aragão Correia tells 24horas,
revealing that the searches that he participated in were "concerted" with Método 3, the Spanish detective agency that was
hired by the McCanns.
If Kate and Gerry came knocking on Mário Costa's door, the answer would be a resounding "no".
"If the PJ, with all their people and means involved, didn't get anywhere, how is a private detective going to solve the case?
Only if he's the king of sorcerers", the detective says.
The former Polícia Judiciária inspector Pereira Cristóvão, who considers that
the archiving of the process by the Public Ministry was "extemporaneous", doesn't oppose the McCann couple's hiring: "It's
a sign that there is still money to spend". Nevertheless, in his case, he says that he is not available for any help. "I only
work with firms", he guarantees.
Mário Costa was approached
Detective
Mário Costa was approached by intermediaries for the McCanns, in order to help out the investigation. "I was asked through
an illustrious lawyer, to find out if I was available to cooperate", Mário Costa confirms. "If I had taken the case, I might
have half a million euros in my bank account but I would be discredited due to accepting a case that I could not solve", the
detective explains.
Barra da Costa tries to reopen case
Criminologist Barra da Costa sent the Attorney General's office a document last Friday, which may lead
to the reopening of the Maddie process if it is taken into account.
In his own investigation, the former PJ inspector
told 24horas that he found a witness that he considers to be fundamental but was not taken into account in the investigation.
"[The witness] denounces certain facts to the GNR, but that report doesn't even appear in the process that was now archived".
After
analysing the 60 volumes and thousands of pages under the magnifying glass, Barra da Costa failed to find one single mention
of this witness. Therefore he contacted her and, among other information, he sent the result to the prosecutor that is responsible
for the case.
As far as 24horas was able to establish with a judicial source, the document includes the statement
of a witness who says that father Pacheco – who gave the church keys to the McCann couple so they could pray –
was involved in crimes of a sexual nature against minors. The priest, who was contacted by 24horas, denies any such
accusation. "That's a scheme against the church. I have never been involved in any process that is related to such things.
I only met the McCanns after the disappearance", he defends himself.
Barra da Costa criticises the investigation and
considers that many doubts remain unclear. During the investigation he raised controversy when he stated that the McCann couple
practiced swinging (switching couples). He was criticised, but throughout the many pages of the process, which is now relieved
of judicial secrecy, there are questions made by PJ inspectors to the couple's friends that have the purpose to clarify that
issue.
"The disappearance of a child must be seen as homicide, because it's the most serious crime."
A BOOK by a Portuguese detective who investigated the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann will be adapted
for a television documentary, according to its producers.
Ex-detective Goncalo Amaral - who has sold 180,000 copies of Maddie - The Truth of the Lie - will
narrate the documentary, which began filming this week in Algarve, the region where the girl went missing in May 2007.
"This documentary, currently being filmed, is based on the book by the former judicial police inspector,'' Cristina Valente,
a manager in the Portuguese production company Valentim de Carvalho, said.
Portuguese private television channel TVI has acquired the rights to the film.
In his 214-page book, Mr Amaral repeats accusations of involvement by Maddie's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, in their
daughter's disappearance.
Mr Amaral, who was sacked from the investigation in October 2007 for criticising British police, reiterates his belief
that Maddie died in a "tragic accident'' in the apartment in which she was sleeping the night she disappeared.
Portuguese authorities closed their investigation in July and lifted the "suspect'' label from Maddie's parents due to
lack of evidence.
Madeleine McCann went missing on May 3, 2007, days before her fourth birthday, from a holiday flat in the Portuguese
resort of Praia da Luz as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant.
A former Portugese police chief who suspected Madeleine McCann's parents of murdering her is making a documentary about
the disappearance of the little girl.
Goncalo Amaral, who was removed from the case for his suspicion of Kate and Gerry McCann, was seen shooting part of the
documentary in the apartment where Maddie disappeared, The Sun reports.
The documentary, which is being produced for Portugese television, has outraged the McCanns.
"He seems determined to make as much [money] as he can out of Madeleine. He should be ashamed," spokesman Clarence Mitchell
was quoted by The Sun as saying.
"It’s beyond bad taste."
Amaral has also written a on the topic, The Truth of The Lie, which was released earlier this year.
The documentary is due to be screened in May 2009, the second anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance.
The little girl disappeared shortly before her fourth birthday while on a family holiday in the Algarve resort of Praia
da Luz last year, prompting a huge police investigation and blanket media coverage.
The McCanns believe she was abducted from their flat while they had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.
They hired private investigators to help find their daughter after police named them as suspects in September.
The investigation dominated newspaper front pages and TV bulletins for months, with many stories questioning the role
of the girl's parents in her disappearance.
Gonçalo Amaral will go to Granada, Spain, in November Ideal.es
23 October 2008
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
The next 14th of November, Gonçalo Amaral, the Portuguese Judiciary Police inspector who coordinated the investigation
of the globally famous 'Maddie Case' will be at the Aula de Cultura de IDEAL and the Confederación Granadina de Empresarios
to speak about his book titled 'Maddie, The Truth of The Lie', which was just published on the Spanish Market and that has
sold in Portugal more than 200 thousand copies.
The 'Maddie' case has given place to a huge scandal of political implications
in the British and Portuguese circles of power. The inspector Gonçalo Amaral de Sousa was removed from the investigation of
the disappearance of the girl Madeleine Beth McCann, an act without precedent in the history of the Portuguese Judicial Police.
He
retired in the last month of July, after 27 years of police work with the objective of "regaining the full freedom of
expression about the case that I have investigated, and to contribute, as possible, in the discovery of the truth of the facts
and for the delivery of justice."
Missing Maddie McCann's furious parents have vowed to sue a lawyer who suggests they are guilty of child neglect.
Anthony Bennett, 61, is urging the Government to bring in a "Madeleine's
Law" making it a criminal offence to leave children under 12 on their own.
His website attacks doctors Kate and Gerry McCann, both 41, over the disappearance
of Maddie, now five, from their holiday flat in Portugal last year.
McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Our lawyers are watching him.
They are constantly monitoring his claims, which we consider are libellous."
A legal source close to the McCanns, of Rothley, Leics, said: "They are
more than annoyed and deeply offended. They say enough is enough. All they are trying to do is get their daughter back."
A new book from journalists Hernâni Carvalho and Luis Maia, entitled, "Maddie: Neither Truth nor Consequence," returns
to the most significant moments in the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the little British girl the
authorities have decided to no longer look for.
The two journalists have already published a book about the first 129 days of the investigation.
Kate and Gerry are a complimentary pair, a typical product of the second half of the twentieth century. He, the child-man,
who needs to be directed by someone he trusts. She, the iron lady, who needs to control, because she fears being controlled
by other people. Curiously, this is the profile of many couples who need to resort to assisted conception. Also, curiously,
it is the profile of a couple who regularly indulge in perversions," the journalists write.
Hernâni Carvalho, one of the journalists, who has received the highest commendations for his work, has been to war zones
like Bosnia, Timor and Afghanistan. Nowadays, he presents brief news items on crime on one of the most popular Portuguese
television channels, TVI.
