Kate's notebooks - McCanns ignored contacts
The disappearance of Madeleine prompted dozens of contacts to the
authorities but the parents took none seriously
Kate and Gerry McCann were always suspicious about the
indications from strangers that guaranteed to know the whereabouts
of Madeleine. In the cases when money was demanded, Maddie's parents
seemed to know that the leads were false, just like Gonçalo Amaral
describes in the book.
In her notes, Kate always shows her disbelief concerning the
reliability of the information, while Gerry (the situation is
described in the former investigator's book) arose attention from
the inspectors when, in the middle of a negotiation with a possible
abductor, "he sucked on a lollipop in a relaxed manner, while
reading banalities on internet sites and discussing rugby and
football with one of the English policemen".
One of the cases happened on the 14th of June, long before the
three detentions over extortion attempts were made, when the Polícia
Judiciária received an email from an anonymous person who says he
knows where Madeleine is. "Why are there so many crazy and evil
people?", Kate writes in her notes that same day, in a comment about
the situation, which she classified as something that could only be
a "joke".
On the 28th of June, the process of the disappearance of Maddie
makes the first detentions in Spain, an Italian and a Portuguese,
due to attempted extortion. "It's all a bit weird", Kate comments.
Five days later, Madeleine's parents receive a new email from the
anonymous person who had established contact two weeks earlier. In
her notes, Kate reveals that she has no doubts that it can only be
someone looking for money and she congratulates herself over knowing
that the man is going to be arrested: "I've had news about the Dutch
extortionist – someone motivated by money. Anyway, he is going to be
arrested tomorrow!!"
The couple's behaviour when faced with possible leads concerning
their daughter's whereabouts, after a publicity campaign that went
around the world and was built by the parents themselves, arose the
investigators' attention, namely during one of the first days when
Kate, faced with the possibility of finding her daughter, is upset
about the speed that is attained by the police car.
Note's of Kate McCann
"We received a message from British police to go to the embassy.
The Spanish police had received a call from a guy, Walter, who had
information, but wanted to talk with us." -- June 6
"An anonymous person sent an email saying they knew who had
Madeleine. Why are there so many crazy and evil people?" -- June 14
"The Dutch extortionist established contact via e-mail again
today. Someone motivated by money." -- July 3
Process available on Monday
The complete process concerning the disappearance of Madeleine
McCann will be made available to anyone who manifests a legitimate
interest, from Monday onwards. That group includes the parties
(arguidos, witnesses and lawyers) and also journalists, due to the
fact that this is a process of manifest public interest. Yesterday,
the court invited everyone who had already made a requirement for
the process to deliver a CD to the secretary's office, so the
digitalised process can be copied onto it.
From September onwards, the process will be available to the
general public, and the investigation will be subject to the most
rigorous scrutiny. Still, the judge's decision ends up being
surprising, due to the fact that this case involves a minor, and
there would always be legal artifices that would allow for the
investigation to be 'barricaded'.
Lawyers want priority access to the documents
Carlos Pinto Abreu and Rogerio Alves, the lawyers that represent
the McCann family in Portugal, have requested the Portimao court for
priority in the access to the process. The lawyers have ensured that
the access for the general public was postponed, so they can access
the original process and not a digital format. |