Saturday, March 10, 2012

Criminal Profiling Topic of the Day: Find the Body and Prove We Killed Her


No body, no case. While this is not always so, it is quite rare to see homicide or manslaughter charges levied against someone unless there is exceptionally strong evidence that a person has been killed and there is also substantial proof of how they were done in and who did it. As it stands today, we have no such level of proof in the case of missing Madeleine McCann; what we have is a child who hasn't shown up in five years, no evidence of abduction, alerts from cadaver dogs, and very concerning behavior and statements from the McCanns and their friends and family.

Let me reiterate; I find no proof of abduction nor proof that Maddie is alive. I believe the evidence more likely supports the theory that Maddie died in the vacation apartment and her body was removed from there. If the cadaver dogs are accurate in their alerts that a body was in the apartment on May 3rd, 2007 and was moved in the hire car that the McCanns rented weeks later, then the body was hidden locally and moved to another location at a later date. If we follow this theory, the following scenario is the one I believe most likely, having now spent time in Portugal and Praia da Luz.

Following physical and behavioral evidence, I would theorize that Maddie died in the apartment and lay behind the couch until she was discovered. With panic ensuing, the body would most likely have been moved by Gerry in a hurry to a location far enough away from the apartment to not immediately have suspicion fall upon the parents. This location would not be very secure, but because of the very limited time frame Gerry would have had to work with, Maddie would have been simply hidden in the weeds, or under an object or in an open isolated structure. Then, I believe with an hour or so to work with in the early hours of the morning, Gerry may have decided it would behoove him to find a better hiding location and this I believe is most likely to be in a gully on the side of the Rocha Negra, accessible from the beach and full of loose dirt, stones, and rocks that would allow for a quick burial (see previous blog; On Moving and Hiding Bodies).

Then, when Kate told the PJ that she had a dream about Maddie's body being on a slab of rock and the cadaver dogs were heading to Praia da Luz, Gerry might have decided it would be better to find a location away from the town where she would never be found. Some think the body was stored in a freezer at some point but I find this unlikely. If there is some evidence in the vehicle of a body having been on ice, I would be more likely to believe it was literally on ice in the boot. In other words, ice was placed in the boot in a bag or bags as a method of keeping the body cold during transport. Taking the body to an inside location, storing it in a large freezer, and then moving it yet again seems like an awful lot of extra moving of the body and, usually, a person works in the direction of having the body disappear and doesn't take the risk of bringing the body  closer to him and keeping it around for discovery. Bodies found in freezers or kept in freezers usually have that location as the first place of rest, not an intermediary one.

There is also speculation that Gerry and Kate might have had a contingent of helpers outside of the Tapas 7 which I also find hard to accept. The more people one brings in on a criminal undertaking, the more likely it is that someone will open their mouth, even accidentally. Gerry is smart enough to know this is an unacceptable danger (any of the Tapas 7 knowing anything is bad enough but this may have been unavoidable and they may have more at stake to keep them quiet than people uninvolved in the evening of May 3rd and previous days and nights). He is also controlling enough to want to take care of things as best he can by himself.

Before coming to Portugal, I entertained a number of possibilities: the Huelva baths in Spain where the McCanns went just as the cadaver dogs were arriving, removal back to the UK, and incineration. Each had its interesting possibilities but each also seemed a bit too difficult to accomplish (although by no means am I saying such actions would have been impossible) and it is a pretty good rule of thumb that people do what is easier to manage and simpler to pull off. Because of this, I came to two more probable conclusions, both involving Gerry driving the body to a location he felt was secluded and unlikely to be discovered. I was particularly interested in the activities of the McCann in the days before the Huelva trip when Gerry's phone pinged repeatedly in an area to the west of Praia da Luz along the road to Budens, (estre EN125). I also found it interesting that the day he was to leave for Huelva, he was not feeling well, having a bit of an upset stomach. This led me to theorize he could have used that day to move the body or to recover from moving it the day before. I decided when I got to Praia da Luz, I would take a trip down that road to the west and see whether there were any suitable places to lose a body forever.

The first place I looked for was the kind of location for a “proper burial” to occur, a place with some kind of religious significance like an isolated spot in view of a little chapel so that Kate and Gerry could feel they had done right by their daughter, a place they could find again and stop by to spend time with Maddie, to pray for her. Being that Portugal is a heavily Catholic country, I imagined there might be dozens of small chapels along the route much as one can find a plethora of little mandirs (temples) in India as one travels down just about any rural road.

Cemetery on Outskirts of Town
Interestingly, I found none to speak of. I found churches but they were all stuck right in the middle of town. I did find a couple of graveyards on the outskirts of town which had curious possibilities in that inside the walls of these small cemeteries, there were quite a few graves with just a mound of dirt over the body rather than a concrete structure; some folks obviously lacked the money to pay for these nice amenities and had to bury their loved ones in a very simple fashion. When they came into more money, they could then top the grave site with a proper tombstone. In theory, if one could access such a location, one could bury a small body in an already dug grave, put back the displaced dirt and no one would be the wiser that the grave contained an extra corpse. Not a bad concept, but these graveyards appeared to be locked and monitored, so one would have to scale the walls to get in. Possible? Yes, but not probable.













So, I found no really good location within the ping area for Gerry to give Maddie a spiritual resting place. I did find an interesting spot, however, that I thought might have stood in nicely as it had a beautiful view which included the Rocha Negra in the distance.

And up at the top of a hill  overlooking the spot, there appeared to be a cross which would lend some special religious significance, like God looking down upon Madeleine in her final resting place. This location, the Forte de Almadena, is open to the public down a short road that one can access after dark. During the day, there appear to be times when no one is there.

There are the remains of a fort and, nearby, odd mounds of soft dirt that actually already look like a set of graves. Retired British police officer, PM, and I brought out the metal detector and spade and investigated a number of them.



 
The metal detector found nothing. Since it was possible Maddie could have been buried in the oft-discussed missing sports bag, I was wanting to see if the detector would find any metal, metal that might be on that bag. If Maddie's body were buried shallowly under the ground in a sports bag, metal rings attaching a strap or metal zippers (although zippers these days are almost all vinyl) could set off the metal detector. Unfortunately, it remained silent.


Then PM dug trenches across the mounds; we found nothing. Then we drove up to look at the cross we saw on the hill; it turned out to be a windsock. So much for the religious significance, although, if we thought it was a cross, so could Gerry.

Does that mean Maddie couldn’t be buried at the Fort? No, it is still possible. There is a bit of land around it that we did not have the time to totally explore. But, then, I found a better place.

Gerry seemed to be on that road west over a period of three days which to date has not been explained. Was he looking and looking for a spot to bury a body? Driving off the main road to see if there was a good place to move Maddie to? PM and I found an excellent place within hours of leaving Praia da Luz, so I see no reason why Gerry couldn’t have found it as well. However, there is no religious significance to this location; it would simply be a great place to hide a body and never have it discovered.

Would he choose this? Part of me fought against it, thinking these parents, especially Kate, would find comfort and some validation as good parents and Christians if they buried Maddie in a religious place of some kind. However, Gerry seems to be quite practical and rather cold and calculating and he simply may have decided, Kate’s feelings be damned, that making sure the body was never found was of paramount importance and they would have to live with it.

 Monte do Jose Mestre. This huge, desolate area covers many square metres and is filled with a considerable network of dirt roads. Looking down on the area from atop the highest hill is a row of windmills. Small trees and bushes are scattered throughout and the dirt is not impossible to dig in. Gerry had just returned from England and I wouldn’t be surprised, if he is involved in disposing of Maddie’s body, that he brought a small shovel back with him, one that could be tossed into the bushes when he finished digging the grave or thrown away in a dumpster on the way back to Praia da Luz. If the body is buried out there, it would be unlikely to ever be found unless a large contingent of searchers and dogs descended upon the area and then it would still be pretty lucky if they located a grave. I hope, however, this is done sometime in the future.  I would like to know if Maddie is there or not.

Views of Monte do Jose Mestre below.





Criminal Profiler Pat Brown

NOW on Amazon Kindle for $2.99! Only the Truth, my newest book,  a literary mystery. Enjoy!

57 comments:

Châtelaine said...

Dear Mrs. Brown,
I have sent you a PM on the maddiecasefiles.com and would appreciate if you could take a look.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat. Very interesting areas you have shown us in this piece.
You mention the need for Kate McCann of a buriel of Madeleine in consecrated ground. I have examined this and if there is consecrated earth, say from a Catholic buriel ground or the environs of a church, placed with the deceased or a bathing in holy water then the needs of their faith are fulfilled.

Anonymous said...

Another fascinating instalment. A fresh new look into a case that stalled. The series so far have definitely tidy-up my thoughts on the case. I hope SY and the PJ review teams read this. It might help them. Thank you Pat. You are a star.

Karen

Anonymous said...

..."inside the walls of these small cemeteries, there were quite a few graves with just a mound of dirt over the body rather than a concrete structure; some folks obviously lacked the money to pay for these nice amenities and had to bury their loved ones in a very simple fashion. When they came into more money, they could then top the grave site with a proper tombstone."

HI, Pat,
Well, of course in some cases that is the explanation, but, I am quite sure that those graves you saw covered by a mound of dirt were RECENT burials, and, after a burial one has to wait for a suitable amount of time, from one to three months for the dirt to collapse and stabilize, this lapse of time can be even longer if it is winter time, due to the rains. If one covers the grave with those heavy marble stones too soon there is the risk it will all collapse and break the stone.
Those recent burials have a small metal plaque that identifies the burial with a numeric code, and they stay like that for a while, for the amount of time needed to comission the marble or granite stones, which are engraved with the name of the deceased, the birth and death dates and messages of love from the family. Thius takes time. Also, in some portuguese places, Lisbon, for one, it is not allowed any longer to entirelly cover the grave with a stone slab, only surround the mound of dirt with a rectangular frame.
Keep up the good work, and thank you so much for all you do!

Roseanne

Anonymous said...

Sorry Pat, forgot to add to my previous comment that in Portugal graves are exhumed usually after 5 years, unless the grave is a privately owned perpetual grave. And, yes cemeteries are closely surveilled, they have an opening and closing time, and there is a night watch in place to prevent vandalism. Not a good place to hide a body that had to not be found at all costs.


Roseanne

SteelMagnolia said...

Thank-you Pat,

A bit of background info for you here on the McCanns reaction to the cadaver dogs, they or rather their lawyer likened it to a case in the States oddly enough.

Also at this very moment there is the Suzanne Pilley murder trial in Scotland where cadaver dog BUSTER is very much in evidence. A case without a body or forensic back-up on Buster's findings.

http://steelmagnolia-steelmagnolia.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-03-08T12:25:00-08:00&max-results=7&start=21&by-date=false

Pat Brown said...

Hey Anonymous, good info about the burial time and methods. This definitely would account for some, but not all, as there were quite a few of these that one could tell had been there quite a while and too many for so many people to have dropped dead in the low population town in so short a time (unless cholera came through). I will admit, though, I know little about traditional burial. All of my relatives have been cremated, so we don't have any cemetery plots in the family! We are notoriously cheap about body removal and there are no funerals either. I do remember two memorial services, though.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat, Is there any evidence of Gerry having a spade or a pickaxe to dig a hole, remembering that he was very much in the public eye? I would like to suggest an alternative (now I know the area of the pings) which I would not have known was there if I had not walked past it. There is a watercourse running fairly parallel to, and south of the N125, which comes down to the sea west of Barrancao on the Google satellite map. From memory, where the minor coast roads north west of Barrancao are shaped like the curve of a letter 'P' the water course is pretty dry but there is marshland with tall reeds. This would seem to offer some advantages - the ground should be softer, the reeds provide cover, and the moist ground should aid decomposition - there's no Googole street view, but this picture gives an idea: -
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Anonymous said...

Thank you Pat, that was very interesting.

If the McCanns had themselves hidden the body then wouldn't it have been risky for them to have hidden it in a respectful place in case it was ever found by chance and be obvious a callous abductor would never have put her there.

Why would an abductor bother with a decent burial when he could dump the body somewhere and make a quick getaway?

Dr Amaral has stated the belief there was a fridge or freezer involved at some time because of forensic evidence they have, and certain others think there is a possibility of a death before the 3rd May, and cooling preservation until that date and staged abduction, though that is not Dr Amaral's stated opinion.

Wherever Madeleine is, and she can't simply have vanished off the face of the earth, it must be somewhere very inventive so as to be pretty certain she would never be found.

Maybe somewhere so obvious nobody would ever think of looking?

Anonymous said...

Whilst I cannot be privy to the psychology behind your blog, taking it as I read it I cannot believe that one man took it upon himself to dispose of Maddy alone. The timetable of events in Maddie’s coloring book, jointly drawn up by the Tapas group, the sanitizing of the apartment, and the calling in of friends such as Jon Corner are things that come to mind to suggest otherwise. But if the man who managed his career so as to get to New Zealand for love is as single-minded as you deduce, then the pressure’s on for him to come up with something as things are hotting up again now, and after the Tapas group must have hoped they had put it all behind them.

Anonymous said...

Apologies that the link on my March 11, 2012 10:38 AM comment doesn’t work. But if you place the Google street view man in the area links to pop-up photos will appear.
It occurs to me that many of the back-roads in this area are not hardtop, and the road dust gets simply everywhere in a vehicle. If the Renault hire car still exists any evidence is probably far too compromised by now, I guess, to be of any use, but if the samples taken for the investigation still exist they may contain dust, and (bearing in mind we are talking about May), pollen, both of which have been used in the past to determine forensically where a car has been. A very long shot, maybe, but it took one hair in a hire car to trap Jack Unterweger.

Anonymous said...

Pat,I know this is off the tracks but, did you find any deep holes on the Rocha Negra cliff side, maybe where a body could be placed temporarily, to be picked up by boat later maybe?
I for one am still interested in the area Dannie Krugel mapped out.
Also if a body was kept on ice for say six week would'nt it have deteriorated when moving it about.

Anonymous said...

to previous poster...
Amaral stated only that there was frozen residue found in the hirecar
this has always puzzled me but as Pat points out, the path of least resistance is normally the one that perps follow... ice cubes in the back of the car is plausible & much more straightforward than any of the other crazy fridge stories.

Pat -
Thanks for all your hard work & for connecting all the pieces together.
I can't believe that the couple in question won't be trying to have this blog removed

it certainly leaves no room for any doubt as to their involvement

Anne said...

10:56 Anonymous is right : a special place was risky, it could sign the crime. It should be obvious for any one, and not only pragmatic Gerry who believe in "ashes to ashes", that all the circus was possible if and only if the body was never found. Never ever. They didn't have much choice.

Anonymous said...

Many people have commented on the cadaver dog alerting to Kate McCanns clothes and not to Gerry McCanns. If your theory is correct then I don't see anyhing strange about that. IF Gerry McCann was responsible for the burial, his clothes would surely have been soiled and subsequently disposed of at the same time or soon after. A relatively easy task.

I read recently that the McCanns have claimed that it was they who requested the dogs. They did ask for the Portuguese tracker dogs which were brought in at the time of Madeleines disappearance but those dogs were trained to track live scent not cadaver scent which is completely different. If Madeleine was dead the McCanns would have known the tracker dogs would find nothing.

The McCanns had no input whatsoever in the decision to bring in the British dogs Eddie & Keela but by saying 'we asked for the dogs' they are knowingly misleading people. A neat piece of PR.

I don't believe the McCanns ever anticipated the arrival of the cadaver & blood dogs from the UK or had any idea how incredibly efficient and reliable they are e.g. Cadaver dogs detected cadaver scent 30 years after the disappearance of Eugene Zapata's wife.

If Kate McCanns clothes had no staining or soiling she would have had no reason to dispose of them. I think, like the majority of the public, myself included, the McCanns were wholy unaware of the cadaver & blood dogs capabilities.

The Mccanns continually dismiss the dogs as unreliable which in itself is an odd reaction for parents whose child has suddenly vanished, especially as the dogs made umpteen positive alerts to items connected to them and only them. Another point is, if the dogs were so out of control that they went crazy alerting to blood and cadaver scent that didn't exist - at least a dozen times between them in this case - they would be swiftly retired. But not so, Eddie the cadaver dog went on to be used in Adran Prout case where he made one positive alert which, as the police confirmed, changed the course of the investigation. We now know that alert was 100% reliable.

Anonymous said...

referring to the 'pinging' on the N125, it strikes me that Budens has a sizeable supermarket by local standards, the only one for miles, also (frustratingly for someone who didn't bring their cards on holiday)a useful ATM.

As an aside,anyone who mistakenly thinks of Portugal as 'backward' should note that the traffic-light system on the N125 will automatically give you reds if you exceed the speed limit....

Anonymous said...

Thanks Pat, I read this yeaterday and wanted to give it a bit of thought, equally, I've not yet read the above comments.

Firstly thanks and you certainly have taken one big step.

I can go around in circles but never fit everything together.

I can look at the behaviours and try and crawl into the mind of many of the people connected to the case. But have to admit we are all different, but nine! plus JW.

I've many experiences in life the unfortunate discovery of a dead (3 days)body & searching for missing people.

But FACT is often stranger than fiction.

SteelMagnolia said...

I think the big difference between the American and British culture is this, people in England find it hard to believe that a parent can dispose of their dead child. However in the States it happens all too often.

http://shadplay.blogspot.com/

This link is to a graveyard of faked abductions, look in the sidebar and gaze into their little faces. Parents who have claimed abduction but later found to have lied, which makes what the McCanns have been accused of all too credible.

May 4th McCann returned to the apartment, which the PJ should never have let him do, he was seen leaving with a suitcase and buckets and spade,there is still one image somewhere I will see if I can find it if not TTW4 has it.

Anonymous said...

Kates aunt Norah believed the dogs, her explanation was that the McCanns were just unlucky to have hired the same car as the abductor!

She also said if there had been an accident the group of doctors would have covered it up.

After these little nuggets of her nieces Kate's capabilities Aunt Norah was gagged !

Anonymous said...

"the traffic-light system on the N125 will automatically give you reds if you exceed the speed limit...."

A sad necessity, I'm afraid...the N125 is one of the most dangerous roads in Portugal(if not the most dangerous of all)! It crosses the Algarve from west to east and passes through many small towns and villages, with pedestrians crossing it all the time.
My country has come a long way since the 1974 April revolution and its joining to the European Comunity in the 1986, we can hardly be described as a backward country, but sadly, many of our people behave like they live in the low of the lowest of 3rd world countries when it comes to their driving skills. It is every man for himself, dog-eat-dog situation, no civility at all! Hence the need for those speed limiting traffic lights...

I'm so glad and relieved that Pat has managed to travel the N125 and live to tell the tale, thank God!

Anonymous said...

If the McCanns were involved, after that first night of placing the body somewhere to be picked up later, there would have been a need to preserve the body until a more permanent hiding place could be found.

Putting a body 'on ice' would be basic procedure for doctors. Not hard to have gained access to, or hired an apartment, with a fridge/freezer until the time was ready to move it.

That is why access to those credit cards of the McCanns, which they said they didn't have, but it turned out not to be true, would have been important as they may have given a clue.

If the body had then been put in the hire car it would only take several hours before the cadaver smell would be overwhelming, and maybe that is how the bad smell in the car came about.

Anonymous said...

Sorry this might be a duplication

Hi Pat. Thank you for this very thought provoking post. I read it a few days ago and wanted it really to sink in, in such frank and logical terms you have mapped out possibilities that we never before available.

The case of this child rattles around in my head and some sort of conundrum, since no matter what line of thought or scenario you pass through you thoughts you can’t solve it.

Personally I don’t care a toss about Mr and Mrs McCann, what they do, how much money they have raised, the comings and goings of various backers and the Fund. My sole take on them until I know otherwise, is their neglect of three children over four nights, pure and simple. They & those that have some peculiar support that this is normal and acceptable parenting obviously live on another planet than me and my circle of family and friends.

As for Madeleine, this little soul has rested in peace in my mind to whichever god or heavenly spirit people care to believe in, but at rest she is.

The who, where and when

Who: is still up for grabs since no one really knows who. Was it the parents, the stranger abductor or dare anyone go there, someone known to her.

Where: I don’t go for any other theory than she disappeared from the apartment. Whether dead or alive, I don’t know. But what I do know is cadaver dogs have thrown up results that have opened the speculation yet without the support of legally acceptable forensic tests. But one thing I’m pretty sure of in the convoluting conundrum again depending where you go with the scenarios doesn’t allow for a child to be easily sedated WHILST ASLEEP and still remain so for some considerable time

When: The neatly produced timeline. It starts at 8.30, basically with some outline of what happened after Madeleine was collected after high-tea from the kids club, about 5.30. Then it all ends promptly at 10pm approx when the alarm was sounded by Mrs McCann. The 8.30 -10 written out on a child’s book cover, then typed & expanded and repeated verbatim in all the statements.

You can someone superimpose on the timeline when the first people arrived at the apartment from the MW staff, nannies assisting and the manager.

But the essential piece of the puzzle to support you findings is what happened exactly from 9.30 after Mr McCanns \chat with JW check and the arrival of the police. Who exactly was doing what. Were the men together, doubtful since they would cover more ground singly.

Let us just recall for a moment, JT is back at her apartment with a sick child unaware what has happened. Mrs McCann finds her daughter missing. NO ONE IS YET AWARE of JT ‘s alleged sighting. Everything is open and possible. The search is on, who went where for how long. Or putting it rather bluntly where was Mr McCann ? O’B must have returned and spoken to JT but in those moments before everyone knew what she had seen, what were they all doing ?

The two sightings is what really throws such a big spanner into the works, one sighting was sufficient but the time lapse of 40 minutes, makes it impossible to believe this is one of the same abduction.

Another constant doubt I have about everything to do with this case is SILENCE and in particular that of JW ’s involvement. Surely if anyone ought to provide a FULL timeline and map of his about hour ever decreasing circle, pushing a baby off to sleep walk, JW should. He was there, he was the eyes and ears of events that unfolded. Yet, strangely enough he doesn’t see anything, doesn’t hear anything, doesn’t know how long he was walking for, or basically in what direction. He confirms his chat with Mr McCann but they can’t agree what side of the road and for how long, and seems quite prepared not to commit really, one way or the other to JT passing them. As a KEY independent witness to the night’s tragic events he seems able to have a strange anonymity.

puddleduck

Anonymous said...

Interesting Puddleduck, and as JW had no idea of the correct time, Gerry McCann could pick any time he liked (within reason), and there is a good chance JW would have gone along with it.

As for Jane Tanner, there is no independent witness to say she even did a check at the time of about 9.10pm when she supposedly saw Gerry McCann talking to JW, plus her supposed sighting of the 'abductor', though she did return to the apartment after Matthew Oldfield returned to the Tapas after 9.30pm and said her child was sick, and her husband had stayed behind and was washing sheets, and could she relieve him so he could return to the Tapas and have his dinner.

The people who worked at the Tapas confirm there was a meal waiting to be served, which they did when a man, presumably her husband, returned after 9.30pm.

There is no independent witness to say that Gerry McCann was at the table at the time of the Smith sighting, and as Pat has said it is only a matter of minutes from the area of the apartment and Tapas to the place of that sighting, a person could be there and back in next to no time.

Of course, there may be other information, and witness statements being held back, as only a part of the File has been released.

Thanks to Pat and her team for the work they put in and the information and updates given.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous March 13 2.56pm

The following from the tapas 7 statements interests me -

According to Jane's interview -
'almost I think as soon after Dave and Fi arrived Gerry went to do his check'

According to Gerry's interview, '....... at 9.05 pm, the deponent entered the club, using his key, the door being locked'

According to Jane, the interviwer asked what time Jane went to do her check, Reply “I’d say it was around ten past nine’ish”.

So if Jane went to check just 5 mins or so after Gerry, I can't understand why Kate and Jane would be discussing how long Gerry had been - (Jane's interview again) -
'.... and he was longer than a bit, because I can remember Kate sort of saying ‘Oh bet he’s put the footy on,’ so he was gone a bit longer than normal'

Also from Gerry's interview -
It is stressed that when one of the members of the group, JANE, went to her apartment to see her children, at around 9.10/9.15 pm ...... she saw a person carrying a child in pyjamas.

When the tapas group made initial notes on timings however, on the stickerbook, they put Jane's check (and sighting) at quite a bit later - 9.20-9.25pm which would make more sense in respect of Kate and Jane's conversation that Gerry had been gone some time.

MaryK said...

I have always thought the McCanns put the body in the freezer in the vacation rental right after they decided a coverup was necessary, i.e. within 30 minutes of the discovery of the body. First Maddie was discovered dead behind the sofa, grief and panic struck, next a coverup was decided upon, her body was moved to the bedroom wardrobe (I think that was a second hit by the dogs). It was thought to put the body in the sports bag and then into the freezer, just in case the freezer door was opened. I would think the freeze was empty except for ice trays or an icemaker? I'd love to know what the vacation rental refrigerator looks like as I have never seen pics of it. Anyway, this would preserve the body and certainly cut down on smell once the body was moved. And would eliminate worry about someone or animal finding the body in its temporary hiding place. It seems to me that would have to be a concern, an animal finding the body and dragging it out into the open. Just my thoughts. Thank you for the pictures, Pat. It certainly helps to visualize the area.

Anne said...

"So if Jane went to check just 5 mins or so after Gerry, I can't understand why Kate and Jane would be discussing how long Gerry had been - (Jane's interview again) -
'.... and he was longer than a bit, because I can remember Kate sort of saying ‘Oh bet he’s put the footy on,’ so he was gone a bit longer than normal'"
Yes,this is absurd ! Told one year later (in the rogs), it shows late statements have a very relative value unless the interviewer tries to learn more, which the Leicester Constabulary didn't.

Anonymous said...

When a child goes missing and a parent is confronted with images of sniffer dogs that detected cadaver odor and blood at the crime scene the expected attitude is despair and hopeless face a possible death. It would be unnatural a denying process attitude by the parents ignoring this data as they do since ever or trying to discredit the police technicians and dogs.

The shock would be of an high impact due obvious reasons but despite the period of imminent mourning I believe it would be in parents best interest as well as friends and family to make themselves available whatever police request them to trace and recover the body and the criminal as soon as possible.

When a kid goes missing the last thing you want to know is if you look good or not. He/she is important not you.

Instead faced with the possible death of their child McCanns permanently refuse the possible death of their daughter, insisting there is no sign that any arm has happened to her (seems that abduction is not harm enough) and distanced themselves from the police beginning their holy war against all those who doubted the abduction theory: the police, an English lawyer and press, bloggers, tv pivots and remove a book from Amazon written by an author that has a lot of experience in a criminal field.

They left the country where the kid was once last seen and set up a Fund to search for their daughter. A search that became increasingly cold and impersonal as far as the visibility to be given to small Madeline began to be given to their parents. While the image of Maddie it tends to blur over time (a frozen image of 3 years) their parents MsCanns became known for several reasons: neglecters, as victims, by the hired lawyers in UK and Portugal, by public relations firms that manufacture news to keep them alive & kicking, by hiring retired detectives who barely know where Portugal is, by hiring dubious firms with not a clear idea of it's business nature like Method 3, by hiring image agencies as the Lift Portugal, by Levison Inquiry, by sending letters to the Prime Ministry and print it in the press, you name it... I wish we could see them in the field looking for their daughter but with such agenda who can blame them? They never rest... I wish we could see them demanding the reopening of the portuguese police files free of charge...but they never rest...

Do not know if it is me or the entire development of this case is ABSOLUTELY irregular at least, and in the limit is SCANDALOUS, entering into my eyes deep inside scratching all over with the wind on a day of a final judgement.

This takes me to the Pat thought of the day (relevant as ever) No Body, NO case. Still...

Anonymous said...

If they had put Jane's check at about 9.20 to 9.25pm on the sticker book, then why would her husband have gone off to do another check at about 9.30pm with Matthew Oldfield? She would hardly have time to get back before he then set off.

This really does look like they were attempting to make it appear they were doing regular checks, but clashed on that one, so had to put the JT check earlier at just after nine. This then had to coincide with Gerry McCann talking with Wilkins, but if he was said to be late back, what time did he really set off to do his check? It must have been much earlier than 9.05pm.

Sounds more like they were making it up as they went along. Also, JT had said she was a bit afraid doing the checks alone, so why didn't she go with Gerry if he only went five minutes before her?

Also, as JT is supposedly set to answer charges for 'calumny', which is a criminal offence, with regard to her saying it was Murat she saw that night with the child, then how can SY investigators not be wary of her alleged sighting of an 'abductor' at 9.10pm. If she is found guilty she would be a confirmed liar, and it is considered a very serious offence.

Gerry McCann supposedly said that 'confusion is best', and it is confusing, but it is working against them with the timing of the checks, because it sure does not make any sense, so much as it looks suspicious.

Anonymous said...

If their fridge was otherwise being used maybe that was why they were driving around with 'rotting meat' which is the explanation the McCanns gave for the dogs alerting to cadaver scent in the back of the car.

That, and the smell of dirty nappies they did not dispose of either, although that particular cadaver dog used, said to be the best in the world, only alerted to human remains, and not dead animals or soiled nappies

There were bins all over the place, yet they chose not to throw away disgustingly smelly rubbish, according to Gerry McCann that is, but then the McCanns always seem to have an answer for everything, even that the dogs are ridiculous and not credible.

The police trust and respect them though, despite Gerry McCann's best efforts to try and discredit them.

Anonymous said...

Dear Pat,

I Firmly beleive Madeleine was Cremated and her ashes carried around inside cuddle cat and brought back to the uk when the mc canns left Portugal after being made arguidos.
I have always thought the constant hugging and clutching of cuddle cat by Kate to be false.

The dogs alerted to cuddle cat and the chequered slacks Kate was very fond of wearing,how come these items were never kept as evidence by the pj for future reference?

In the photo of Gerry and Kate walking down the steps of their flight on their return to the UK ,not only is Kate seen wearing the slacks but also clutching cuddle cat whilst struggling to carry one of the twins at the same time.
In my opinion this photo shows the Mc Canns stepping off the plane, Gerry carring Sean and Kate carring Amelie and Madeleine's ashes inside cuddle cat?

claratee said...

The parents are to blame anyway you look at it. They left the children alone and defenceless. If they covered it up then they are doubly guilty. If an abductor took her then they should be basket cases. Look at them--smug, slippery and getting away with no prosecution for any of their actions. If they were poor, welfare parents they'd be in jail--for something!!! A little girl is no more--good work Mum and Dad. Sorry, but THEY are responsible for her non-existence, whatever the facts of the case. Own your mistakes Kate and Gerry and fess up. Gutless.

Anonymous said...

Check out the facebook page for Villa amalia. Ther is a girl p-ictured who looks like mm and her right eye looks strange.

Kit Kat said...

JT said she was a bit afraid to do the room checks alone? But it's perfectly acceptable to leave defenseless young babys alone for an extended period of time.

Anonymous said...

"Monte do Jose Mestre. This huge, desolate area covers many square metres and is filled with a considerable network of dirt roads"

Thank you for another in depth report of your findings in PdL. I am sure that even though you stated you tried to dismiss this area at first (Monte do Jose Mestre) I think you are right to go by your instincts. Although we cannot be sure about how,why,when and who was responsible for Madeleine disappearing - the simple fact that a place needed to be found would over-ride considerations of religion IMO. The area is one that would tick all the boxes for someone with a purpose in mind. Not forgetting that whoever it was would be in a state of tension and/or shock as a result of what had previously taken place and the uncontrollable haste to find somewhere would be overwhelming.

I think this area is very important and would be a good place to do a search especially with dogs.

Anonymous said...

Anon: March 14, 2012 8:36 PM

Anyone trying to convince me that they are willing to keep dirty nappies for so long and that of not one but two babies, have to have their heads read again. One baby's nappy left for a day is enought to make you faint.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat,

Interesting stuff thank you! But I would not rule out the possibility of the Mc's having access to those little cemetaries. Priests will have access and they did get keys to access the church in PDL remember - so getting access to these graves is a real possibility. The priests are a big key in unlocking this case and finding a body IMO.

Regards

Anonymous said...

Pat,

As today (24th March) is deadline day for the return of G.Amarals book - is there any news yet?

Thanks!

cathy from cheshire with a degree not a nutter said...

there is a saying in liverpool, and that is don't kid a kidder

cathy from cheshire said...

they are making it up as they go along

Anonymous said...

If they were involved then why keep themselves in public eye with law enforcement looking? That doesn't make sense as if the case was closed and they were guilty they could move on freely. I believe the them. Wonder why my first post to this affect made it on here?

Anonymous said...

@ march 25,11:24.
the mccanns are on a treadmill that they cant get off.simples

Anonymous said...

Why, if they truly believe Madeleine was abducted, are they still selling/ distributing things with a 2 or 3 year old Madeleine pictured on them?

Obviously, the age progressed picture is not going to be 100% but surely it's the better option now. Everyone and their dog knows what she looked like when she vanished.

Also, why do Gerry and Kate always say 'taken' rather than abducted or kidnapped?

SteelMagnolia said...

Ok guys this is serious lets get that fund investigated, we need lots of signatures so get signing.

http://steelmagnolia-steelmagnolia.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/mccann-petition-full-investigation-into.html

Anonymous said...

SteelMagnolia.....I have signed! :)

Anonymous said...

I like to look at it from both sides. Alot of their actions don't make sense, if Madeleine had an accident and they covered it, then i believe it would've happened before they went to dinner because it would've taken them awhile to come up with a plan and get their story straight. Though i don't get how they would remain calm at dinner without anyone noticing something was up. To me it doesn't make sense that something happened her during dinner and they hid the body, since neither of them went together to check their kids, unless one parent took it in their own hands to do a cover up, while the other did not know. If i had to say, then Gerry at 9pm when he did his check up, but even thinking about that, he would have to react very quickly in what he was going to do, where to hide her, and then return to dinner like nothing had happened.

I know there is no evidence to show someone came in that apartment, but i still believe it's possible someone did. The Mccanns left it fairly obvious that it would be easy to walk in and walk back out, probably with all 3 kids if they wanted. They were at dinner each night and if you had watched them for a few nights, you'd know how regularly they checked on their kids. If they came through the window and out the front door (which i believe can be opened from the inside) then i think that is very possible. There was no prints on the window apart from Kate's and the same with the shutters, but Gerry said he closed the shutters and then opened them again to see if they could be opened from the outside, so why wasn't his prints on them? If they didn't find his prints, then just maybe they didn't find prints for the person who took her.

Shelley said...

Just a theory....but I think Madeline was drugged so she would stay asleep (parents are doctors with access to drugs). That the child possibly died from this drug...

To just call authorities (not sure what the 911 equilvent in Portugul is) would bring charges being that the child would have drugs in her system.

So they had not choice but to dispose of the body.

It's too much to assume there just happened to be a dead body in that apartment and in the car they rented.

Where they took the body I just don't know.

Anonymous said...

you can exclude an abductor and be awaRe that the exetended family knew Kate wasn't coping with MADEILINE AND THEY HAD INDEED SOUGHT LEGAL ADVICE on having her given to a guardian - Aunty Phil. Motive for cover up - lose the twins as well.
The fact that the mother grabs centre stage in dresing up as a dishevilled wee girl with a picture of mADELEINE is uncomfortable - it it a reverse Munchausen by Proxy.
Follow the fund and also the Met review - the latter may determine next steps in the frozn libel trial while Amaral seeks to turn the tables on this Freemaonry of public organisations.
Leveson,Common Purpose and the rest.
cONSIDER THE WEIRD nlp LANGUAGE THAT gERRY OFTEN USES THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT SHE IS DEAD - AND NO EVIDENCE WE KILLED HER.

aWAY,AWAY and prepare to be opened lack a tin of sardines!!!

Anonymous said...

Embedded confession 'we killed her' I think Amaral is being generous when he assumes as accident, he just can't conceive of the depravity of this couple. Given their behaviour since, their callous self-regard, their attempts to financially destroy anyone who stands in their way (of making more money) the great swindle of millions of pounds from the general public, I believe they are capable of anything.

But the question for me is what do they have on the British govt that they are untouchable? Police, press, courts. Unprecedented and very disturbing.

najamonline4u said...

Dear Mrs.Brown this post is very interesting and I saw some really nice designs of granite grave slabs. Thanks a lot for sharing this

Unknown said...

My mother in law has come to visit us for a couple of weeks. She was in hospital recently on the Isle of Wight, England. There was a very elderly womon in the next bed who claimed to have communications from deceased persons. She claimed that her mothrer and daughter both have this ability. One day the old woman seemed to be having a conversation with somebody. She asked what do you mean marshland, I've never heard of that place, where is it? Then she said Portugal? I've never been there. Then she said what is your name? Then she said Maddie! What is your proper name? Then she said Madeline. Then she asked what are you doing on the marshland? Then she said 'your buried there'. Then she asked 'how is it that your buried there'? Then she said 'ask my mother'.

My blood ran cold when my mother in law told me this today. This happened a few weeks ago before the news broke about the police carrying out a search on the scrubland. A nurse was present along with my mother in law.

I started to google marshland and Maddie McCann and I found this page.

When this story broke years ago I got a very strong feeling that the mother was involved. The immpression I got was that she gave her children sleeping pills and that tragically poor Maddie died as a result. Her body was put into a bag and was stored in the wardrobe until they buried her. I have intutions from time to time.

I am happy to introduce the relavant persons to my Mother in law who may be able to track down the elderly woman who shared her room in the hospital only a few weeks ago.
Enahoektap@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Dear Pat

I am sure I read somewhere on your blog, or maybe your Facebook, that new information is being looked at re Cadavar dogs; in as much as they may be able to detect the scent much sooner than 90 minutes. Can you point me to your post please and any further news on this aspect?

Thank you so much for all the hard work you do.

Anonymous said...

Dear Pat,

I don't think Madeleine is in Portugal anymore. Kate has on several occasions said she won't leave Portugal without Madeleine. And she didn't. I think Madeleine was transported to UK before their final leave in September. I guess it was done shortly before the cadaver dogs were brought in, i.e., in the late of July 2007.

It's a pity no one has tracked their movements in UK...

Angelica

Anonymous said...

I have read your article with keen interest. What I'm about to say is possibly a bit out there. However I was thinking. We are looking for two things here a location where Madeline would be buried and also it be in consecrated ground. Now according to some sources the priest says he was deceived and some searching was done of the graves near the church. So what if she was buried in a church also run by the same diocese. Now I have tried in a limited fashion to search for cemeteries run by the diocese but cannot locate them. I dont know if you have A) located these and B) looked into them. If you havent then it could be a good place to look. I'm going on holiday next year to Pria de luz so may take a trip and look round.

Anonymous said...

Did you ever consider if gm could have had a private jet fly the body somewhere, he does have friends in high places and might not have wanted to risked leaving maddie in Portugal,

Unknown said...

I don't think she was buried at all, that would take too much time with the risk of getting caught especially in daylight and hot weather. I think she is in the sea or surrounding waters near Huleva. Anyone can go on Google maps and look at that area, it would take forever to search all those waters and even more if it's nearer the sea. No one looks in those places because it would cost too much in resources and time. Google maps has street view which actually goes right to the end of the pier next to Odiel which is accessible by vehicle to the very end. That's my theory that she is located in water because it's quicker and easier to drop a bag into the sea than it is to bury someone and at the end of a pier or from a bridge in a place with such vast amounts of water in many different channels it would be so easy without being seen, the bag ain't gonna float with a body in it. It would be gone in seconds.

Calheta19 said...

You forgot to search the golfcourse near Budens and the Boavista golfcourse close to the Rocha Negra.
Gerry was a golfer and his friend Priest Seddon also.

The golfcourse is an excellent spot to conceal a body.

I myself buried a German Shepherd, my own dog, in a bunker in 1976. It has never been detected till now.
Around the bunker towards the borders or in a pond is also a excellent spot. Those spots never changing in time.

The PJ never searched the greens, bunkers and ponds behind the residence of the owners of the resort on the Rocha Negra. At the time they were demolishing an old building before building the residence. Look at the older google earth images from 2006/2007.

Calheta19 said...

This is my online review and final conclusion ( most likely) about the cause of Madeleine’s death.

https://shininginluz.wordpress.com/2020/01/25/madeleine-simple-minds/#comments