Two things I would like to ask.
1) Why and who put Goncalo Amaral in charge of the Madeleine McCann case when he was already heavily embroiled in controversy over the case of missing Joana Cipriano's mother Leona? They must have known he was an arguido himself, yet they allowed this. He should have been suspended while he was answering these charges.
2) When did they actually stop looking for Madeleine and on whose orders did they stop looking for her?
Friday, 22 February 2008
MADDIE COPS TOTALLY CLUELESS
I think it is about time that the truth was spoken about how clueless the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria actually are.
It appears that The Portuguese police have been branded "Keystone Cops" by British officers who are said to be shocked at their appalling blunders. Detectives from Leicestershire are said to be horrified that clues which could have led to the tot's abductors have probably been lost forever.
The British cops, drafted in to review the three-month investigation, were stunned by the "incompetence, inaccuracy and crass inefficiency" they found.
A source close to the team said the officers had been "tearing their hair out in frustration and disbelief" at basic errors which have hindered the search for four-year-old Maddie.
He told The People: "The Portuguese investigation has been a total shambles. Our guys were left shaking their heads at every turn asking: 'Why the hell did they do that...why didn't they do this?' "They are shocked, disappointed and p***** off by what they've found because basic procedures were not followed.
The McCanns' apartment was scrubbed out and occupied by new tenants only five weeks after Madeleine disappeared and the inquiry was supposedly still highly active. When our guys arrived after 13 weeks they had to go back to square one - except square one had been trampled over with size 11 boots."
The Portuguese investigators came under fire within hours of Maddie's disappearance in Praia da Luz on May 3 for failing to seal off the area, start house-to-house enquiries and alert border guards.
There was no lockdown
1 LOCAL police failed to "lock down" and seal off the Mark Warner Ocean Club resort immediately after Madeleine was reported missing at 10pm on May 3.
Her parents were certain that she had been snatched and told officers straight away.
But police, under "Inspector Clueless" Guilhermino Encarnacao, seemed convinced the tot had simply wandered off.
They did not set up roadblocks which just may have snared the abductors.
House to house
2 COPS' failure to accept they had an abduction on their hands meant they did not launch an immediate search of nearby holiday flats and villas or question locals.
House-to-house enquiries started two days later and most of the 500 properties were not visited until after any kidnapper had been given ample time to flee.
Borders
3 BORDER officials should have been told of Maddie's disappearance without delay. A kidnapper could have driven to the Spanish frontier from Praia da Luz in less than an hour. But police only alerted staff at the border 12 hours later.
Boat
4 COASTGUARDS and maritime police were not alerted for 14 hours. If cops thought Maddie had wandered off, a search of the nearby beach and sea should have been an obvious and vital move.
There is a also a marina less than 10 minutes' drive from the McCanns' flat, providing an escape route for an abductor. More than 10 boats left before maritime police were warned.
Description
5 THE first police appeal for a suspect did not come until 22 days after Maddie vanished.
Cops later said in Portuguese they were seeking a 170cms (5ft 7ins) man but muddled the conversion and said in English he was 5ft 10ins tall.
At one stage police were showing six different E-fit images to local people and one artist's impression was a simple outline said to be "like an egg with hair on."
Cuddle Cat 'clue'
6 MUM Kate McCann was convinced Maddie had not just wandered off because the tot's favourite soft toy Cuddle Cat was still in the room where she slept with twins Sean and Amelie, two.
Police did not take the toy for forensic tests even though an abductor may have touched it.
Kate was seen clutching it 24 hours later at a press conference and has since washed it as it was dirty and covered in suntan lotion.
British experts say Cuddle Cat should have been sealed in a plastic bag then tested.
The most minute drop of sweat or a single skin cell could have revealed the DNA of Madeleine's kidnapper.
Searches
7 A MASSIVE search party should have been organised by police at first light the morning after Maddie disappeared. Instead just 150 police took part in the first searches and they were poorly organised and random.
Holidaymakers
8 A FULL list of other guests at the Ocean Club resort ought to have been compiled by police with the help of staff within hours of the tot's disappearance.
But they did not get the information until almost 48 hours later - and a day AFTER many potential witnesses had returned home at the end of their holidays. Staff were only quizzed 60 hours later.
Appeal
9 A DIRECT appeal to the abductor is usually considered vital in the first hours of a kidnapping. Police seek advice from psychologists to carefully word any plea. But it was Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate who made the public appeal themselves. There was not even a Portuguese police officer at the couple's press conference.
Stranger's DNA found
10 DETECTIVES revealed on June 1 that they had found the DNA of a stranger in the McCanns' apartment.
But they could not check if it was from a known paedophile as Portugal does not have a computerised DNA database of perverts.
The DNA did not match the profile of suspect Robert Murat.
Forensics
11 THE area immediately surrounding the McCanns' holiday apartment was never properly sealed off by police - even though vital clues are often discovered at such a scene.
People were allowed to walk on the flat's front porch 24 hours after Maddie disappeared. There were no fingertip searches and police sniffer dogs were not brought in until large crowds had gathered in the area, confusing any valuable scent. Mark Williams- Thomas, a highly experienced former British detective who travelled to the resort, called it "the worst preserved crime scene I have ever seen".
The original searches did not find the blood in Madeleine's bedroom and her parents' room.
Specialist sniffer dogs and ultra-violet lights were not used. Staggeringly, police gave the go-ahead for the flat to be occupied again although enquiries were continuing.
And by the time the British team checked the apartment it had already been thoroughly cleaned.
Pyjamas
12 DETAILS of the pyjamas Maddie was wearing should have been released straight away.
Anyone who saw her would probably have recalled the distinctive pink Eeyore nightwear.
But officers repeatedly refused to issue a description and it was left to her parents to give details an astonishing four days later.
CCTV
13 IMAGES from CCTV cameras on the main A22 motorway leading out of Praia da Luz towards Spain were not checked.
Robert Murat
14 SUSPECT Robert Murat's home was raided by police who seized his computers.
When they found names and four-digit numbers on a spreadsheet they were convinced they had unearthed "encrypted codes for a paedophile ring."
But the list was simply a family tree giving the names and birth dates of the estate agent's relatives.
Portuguese police bungled their search of Murat's garden.
They did not clear bushes and shrubs - British officers later ordered gardeners to hack away the undergrowth.
They then made a thorough search and inserted probes into the ground to seek any trace of human remains.
Portuguese officers also searched a guest house run by Murat's aunt in nearby Burgao.
They hacked at the concrete-hard ground with picks until it dawned on them that the area had not been disturbed in years.
Baby seat
15 COPS last week said they were looking at a new suspect - a British man who returned a hire car to Faro airport two days after Maddie vanished.
The vehicle had a child seat in the back but no child. Car rental staff alerted police, whose interest was fired when they found the customers were James and Charlotte Gorrod - who had been on holiday in Praia da Luz and knew friends of the McCanns.
But the innocent couple were never questioned. The hire firm had failed to notice the Gorrods had their two-year-old son with them all along. But police leaked word of a "new lead" to Portuguese reporters.
Psychics
16 DETECTIVES wasted time following up tip-offs from psychics and cranks.
Two weeks after Maddie vanished a local medium claimed she had "zoned-in" on map co-ordinates pinpointing a well in which Maddie was being hidden. She said the little girl was still alive.
Portuguese Cops threw a stone down the well to test the bizarre tip-off - without thinking of the injury to Maddie if she had been there
Please feel free to add anything I may have missed as I would like to make a more comprehensive list.
It appears that The Portuguese police have been branded "Keystone Cops" by British officers who are said to be shocked at their appalling blunders. Detectives from Leicestershire are said to be horrified that clues which could have led to the tot's abductors have probably been lost forever.
The British cops, drafted in to review the three-month investigation, were stunned by the "incompetence, inaccuracy and crass inefficiency" they found.
A source close to the team said the officers had been "tearing their hair out in frustration and disbelief" at basic errors which have hindered the search for four-year-old Maddie.
He told The People: "The Portuguese investigation has been a total shambles. Our guys were left shaking their heads at every turn asking: 'Why the hell did they do that...why didn't they do this?' "They are shocked, disappointed and p***** off by what they've found because basic procedures were not followed.
The McCanns' apartment was scrubbed out and occupied by new tenants only five weeks after Madeleine disappeared and the inquiry was supposedly still highly active. When our guys arrived after 13 weeks they had to go back to square one - except square one had been trampled over with size 11 boots."
The Portuguese investigators came under fire within hours of Maddie's disappearance in Praia da Luz on May 3 for failing to seal off the area, start house-to-house enquiries and alert border guards.
There was no lockdown
1 LOCAL police failed to "lock down" and seal off the Mark Warner Ocean Club resort immediately after Madeleine was reported missing at 10pm on May 3.
Her parents were certain that she had been snatched and told officers straight away.
But police, under "Inspector Clueless" Guilhermino Encarnacao, seemed convinced the tot had simply wandered off.
They did not set up roadblocks which just may have snared the abductors.
House to house
2 COPS' failure to accept they had an abduction on their hands meant they did not launch an immediate search of nearby holiday flats and villas or question locals.
House-to-house enquiries started two days later and most of the 500 properties were not visited until after any kidnapper had been given ample time to flee.
Borders
3 BORDER officials should have been told of Maddie's disappearance without delay. A kidnapper could have driven to the Spanish frontier from Praia da Luz in less than an hour. But police only alerted staff at the border 12 hours later.
Boat
4 COASTGUARDS and maritime police were not alerted for 14 hours. If cops thought Maddie had wandered off, a search of the nearby beach and sea should have been an obvious and vital move.
There is a also a marina less than 10 minutes' drive from the McCanns' flat, providing an escape route for an abductor. More than 10 boats left before maritime police were warned.
Description
5 THE first police appeal for a suspect did not come until 22 days after Maddie vanished.
Cops later said in Portuguese they were seeking a 170cms (5ft 7ins) man but muddled the conversion and said in English he was 5ft 10ins tall.
At one stage police were showing six different E-fit images to local people and one artist's impression was a simple outline said to be "like an egg with hair on."
Cuddle Cat 'clue'
6 MUM Kate McCann was convinced Maddie had not just wandered off because the tot's favourite soft toy Cuddle Cat was still in the room where she slept with twins Sean and Amelie, two.
Police did not take the toy for forensic tests even though an abductor may have touched it.
Kate was seen clutching it 24 hours later at a press conference and has since washed it as it was dirty and covered in suntan lotion.
British experts say Cuddle Cat should have been sealed in a plastic bag then tested.
The most minute drop of sweat or a single skin cell could have revealed the DNA of Madeleine's kidnapper.
Searches
7 A MASSIVE search party should have been organised by police at first light the morning after Maddie disappeared. Instead just 150 police took part in the first searches and they were poorly organised and random.
Holidaymakers
8 A FULL list of other guests at the Ocean Club resort ought to have been compiled by police with the help of staff within hours of the tot's disappearance.
But they did not get the information until almost 48 hours later - and a day AFTER many potential witnesses had returned home at the end of their holidays. Staff were only quizzed 60 hours later.
Appeal
9 A DIRECT appeal to the abductor is usually considered vital in the first hours of a kidnapping. Police seek advice from psychologists to carefully word any plea. But it was Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate who made the public appeal themselves. There was not even a Portuguese police officer at the couple's press conference.
Stranger's DNA found
10 DETECTIVES revealed on June 1 that they had found the DNA of a stranger in the McCanns' apartment.
But they could not check if it was from a known paedophile as Portugal does not have a computerised DNA database of perverts.
The DNA did not match the profile of suspect Robert Murat.
Forensics
11 THE area immediately surrounding the McCanns' holiday apartment was never properly sealed off by police - even though vital clues are often discovered at such a scene.
People were allowed to walk on the flat's front porch 24 hours after Maddie disappeared. There were no fingertip searches and police sniffer dogs were not brought in until large crowds had gathered in the area, confusing any valuable scent. Mark Williams- Thomas, a highly experienced former British detective who travelled to the resort, called it "the worst preserved crime scene I have ever seen".
The original searches did not find the blood in Madeleine's bedroom and her parents' room.
Specialist sniffer dogs and ultra-violet lights were not used. Staggeringly, police gave the go-ahead for the flat to be occupied again although enquiries were continuing.
And by the time the British team checked the apartment it had already been thoroughly cleaned.
Pyjamas
12 DETAILS of the pyjamas Maddie was wearing should have been released straight away.
Anyone who saw her would probably have recalled the distinctive pink Eeyore nightwear.
But officers repeatedly refused to issue a description and it was left to her parents to give details an astonishing four days later.
CCTV
13 IMAGES from CCTV cameras on the main A22 motorway leading out of Praia da Luz towards Spain were not checked.
Robert Murat
14 SUSPECT Robert Murat's home was raided by police who seized his computers.
When they found names and four-digit numbers on a spreadsheet they were convinced they had unearthed "encrypted codes for a paedophile ring."
But the list was simply a family tree giving the names and birth dates of the estate agent's relatives.
Portuguese police bungled their search of Murat's garden.
They did not clear bushes and shrubs - British officers later ordered gardeners to hack away the undergrowth.
They then made a thorough search and inserted probes into the ground to seek any trace of human remains.
Portuguese officers also searched a guest house run by Murat's aunt in nearby Burgao.
They hacked at the concrete-hard ground with picks until it dawned on them that the area had not been disturbed in years.
Baby seat
15 COPS last week said they were looking at a new suspect - a British man who returned a hire car to Faro airport two days after Maddie vanished.
The vehicle had a child seat in the back but no child. Car rental staff alerted police, whose interest was fired when they found the customers were James and Charlotte Gorrod - who had been on holiday in Praia da Luz and knew friends of the McCanns.
But the innocent couple were never questioned. The hire firm had failed to notice the Gorrods had their two-year-old son with them all along. But police leaked word of a "new lead" to Portuguese reporters.
Psychics
16 DETECTIVES wasted time following up tip-offs from psychics and cranks.
Two weeks after Maddie vanished a local medium claimed she had "zoned-in" on map co-ordinates pinpointing a well in which Maddie was being hidden. She said the little girl was still alive.
Portuguese Cops threw a stone down the well to test the bizarre tip-off - without thinking of the injury to Maddie if she had been there
Please feel free to add anything I may have missed as I would like to make a more comprehensive list.
- Now almost 10 months on we now as much now as the day Madeleine went missing. Isn't it time the PJ stopped looking for the easy way out and stopped trying to scapegoat Kate and Gerry and actually admitted they have nothing?
- No DNA
- No Evidence
- No Clues
Thursday, 21 February 2008
McCanns in row over girl's picture
Monday February 18, 2008
Gerry and Kate McCann may face legal action
Gerry and Kate McCann did not ask permission to use the picture of a missing five-year-old on a publicity poster for Madeleine, it's been claimed. They should not have featured Spaniard Mari Luz's image, her father Juan Jose Cortes said. He may now take legal action against the couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire. The McCanns printed thousands of the posters for a Valentine's Day campaign.
A spokesman apologised but said he thought permission was given. Mari vanished last month in Huelva, Spain – 200km (120 miles) from Praia da Luz, where Maddie went missing in May.
Mr Cortes said: 'They are two distinct cases, two different countries and two lines of investigation.'
Meanwhile, Portuguese police union chief Carlos Anjos said the investigating force is weighed down by bureaucracy and few resources.
Gerry and Kate McCann may face legal action
Gerry and Kate McCann did not ask permission to use the picture of a missing five-year-old on a publicity poster for Madeleine, it's been claimed. They should not have featured Spaniard Mari Luz's image, her father Juan Jose Cortes said. He may now take legal action against the couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire. The McCanns printed thousands of the posters for a Valentine's Day campaign.
A spokesman apologised but said he thought permission was given. Mari vanished last month in Huelva, Spain – 200km (120 miles) from Praia da Luz, where Maddie went missing in May.
Mr Cortes said: 'They are two distinct cases, two different countries and two lines of investigation.'
Meanwhile, Portuguese police union chief Carlos Anjos said the investigating force is weighed down by bureaucracy and few resources.
From: www.metro.co.uk
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Photograph
Did that photograph get sent to Private Detectives as well or not?
I think it was Tinkerbell who was not too sure of the crime scene and I have found the B.B.C. Panorama description and video excellent so enclose the link :-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7100000/newsid_7103400/7103460.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&nol_storyid=7103460&bbcws=1
It shows the front of the Apartment which has hardly been discussed, and where Gerry & friend stood talking, when Jane Tanner came out and the person carrying the child walked away from the front door area. I find it all very illuminating having not looked at it for a while now. Would be very interested in your thoughts and opinions please.
I think it was Tinkerbell who was not too sure of the crime scene and I have found the B.B.C. Panorama description and video excellent so enclose the link :-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7100000/newsid_7103400/7103460.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&nol_storyid=7103460&bbcws=1
It shows the front of the Apartment which has hardly been discussed, and where Gerry & friend stood talking, when Jane Tanner came out and the person carrying the child walked away from the front door area. I find it all very illuminating having not looked at it for a while now. Would be very interested in your thoughts and opinions please.
McCann's private detectives chargng Find Madeleine fund £50,000 per month in EXPENSES
Last updated at 21:55pm on 10th February 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann's private detectives are charging the Find Madeleine fund £50,000 a month in expenses, it was revealed yesterday.
The costs charged by Spanish agency Metodo 3, appointed in September to find the missing girl, are on top of its £8,000 monthly fee - which is paid by one of the couple's wealthy supporters.
Metodo 3's expenses are the biggest single cost to the fund, which collected £1.2million in donations, but is expected to run dry within months.
It was previously thought that the agency was hired for a flat monthly fee of £50,000.
But it agreed £8,000 a month, plus unlimited expenses to take on the case, which has boosted its profile.
If its "operational costs" top £50,000 the excess is met by the McCanns' wealthy backers, such as double glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy. He is to review Metodo 3's six-month contract before it expires next month.
The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the agency was "doing valuable work on the ground".
He added: '"The £50,000 is for legitimate operational costs, having people scattered around different countries.
"The fund contributes £50,000 a month of publicly donated money because it's money to help find her. We feel that's proper use of that money."
From the Daily Mail
Kate and Gerry McCann's private detectives are charging the Find Madeleine fund £50,000 a month in expenses, it was revealed yesterday.
The costs charged by Spanish agency Metodo 3, appointed in September to find the missing girl, are on top of its £8,000 monthly fee - which is paid by one of the couple's wealthy supporters.
Metodo 3's expenses are the biggest single cost to the fund, which collected £1.2million in donations, but is expected to run dry within months.
It was previously thought that the agency was hired for a flat monthly fee of £50,000.
But it agreed £8,000 a month, plus unlimited expenses to take on the case, which has boosted its profile.
If its "operational costs" top £50,000 the excess is met by the McCanns' wealthy backers, such as double glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy. He is to review Metodo 3's six-month contract before it expires next month.
The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the agency was "doing valuable work on the ground".
He added: '"The £50,000 is for legitimate operational costs, having people scattered around different countries.
"The fund contributes £50,000 a month of publicly donated money because it's money to help find her. We feel that's proper use of that money."
From the Daily Mail
Sunday, 3 February 2008
I Expected This Response To Alipio Ribeiro's Comments
The negativity towards the McCann’s seems to be deep rooted, but people have to realise that it does not alter the fact that Mr Ribeiro said what he said -fact. He did not say it under duress. He did not say it in a different language, he said it because he knows it is true and quite simply, what he said is accurate and true. As head of the PJ, he would know the value of his words to the McCann's; the McCann's legal team and to the McCann's supporters. If there was not a problem there was actually no need for him to say anything at all about the McCann's arguido status, he could have answered the investigation is ongoing, but he did not, he *chose* to say that the McCann's were given their arguido status too hastily, to quickly, too whatever word you want to use for too fast, it doesn't matter, they were made arguidos too quickly."
Act in haste, repent at leisure"
This is what the man is actually thinking, you do not come out with comments like those if you do not think it. The very fact that he chose those words indicates, that he knows the PJ have very ,very little or most likely absolutely no evidence against McCann's, if they did have all this DNA and other evidence he would not be making that statement, why would he? No need to. The PJ have no evidence, they have no DNA evidence and now it is clear they have no case.
What we saw in this man Alipio Ribeiro was a man trying to distance himself from what is about to emerge, this is the start of the PJ doing what they know they have to do to free the McCann's from suspect status.Why else would he say that he has *no* control over who is made arguido and he cannot order that arguido status to be lifted? What he is saying here is that, I had nothing to do with the McCann's being made arguidos and I had nothing to do with their arguido status remaining, or being recently extended. This puts the decision to make them arguidos firmly on the shoulders of the man already kicked off of this case, Police Chief Goncalo Amaral. It puts the decision to keep them arguidos on the shoulders of the incumbent Paulo Rebelo and it takes the blame off of himself, Alipio Ribeiro. This is him trying to keep his job.
Something has happened behind the scenes to bring this about, why else would Alipio Ribeiro head of Portugal's police suddenly give an interview on this case? He has said precious little about it so far, so why now? I think possibly one of two things may have happened, or quite possibly both. The Portuguese government has lost patience and asked just what is going on in this case, it is embarrassing Portugal in the eyes of the world. The PJ blamed the British government for stalling on these rogatory letters and the British government do not even have them and then it emergese that they have not even left the Portuguese Attorney General's office, so on a diplomatic level, I think questions are now being asked about this investigation.
Perhaps the Portuguese government requested a full account on the state of this investigation. Whatever it is, these rogatory letters and the failure of the Portuguese Attorney General's department to undertake the drafting and delivery of these letters has probably set off a chain of events.
I think this is one cock up too many for Portugal and one leak too many by the PJ.
They have overplayed their hand and now its time for their cards to be put on the table. The Portuguese government know this, Alipio Ribeiro knows this and now the PJ know it and the Portuguese public had to be prepared for what is coming and this is the start of it.
This is not going to be pretty. Questions are now going to be asked as the world's eyes are once again trained on Portugal, this time even the PJ will be unable to hide behind their secrecy laws. The world now knows the McCann's were made arguidos too quickly/hastily/rapidly and the spotlight will once again fall on the man whose incompetence reduced this investigation to a farce and whose incompetence saw the failure to implement the basic measures in a search for any missing child, it falls onto the man whose ego got in the way of his job (once again) and now looks set to take the blame for all the PJ failings, even those that happened after he was dismissed from this case and that man is going to be made a scapegoat, that man is no other than Goncalo Amaral.
All roads lead to Goncalo Amaral it appears.
Had this man waited just a few more days, then it is extremely doubtful that the McCann's would have been made arguida and arguido, something already admitted by the Portuguese Attorney General himself. Goncalo Amaral decided in his own infinite wisdom and based on no evidence, other than a couple of dogs sniffing around, that the McCann's were guilty and so set off this disgraceful chain of events and made the suffering of the loss of their daughter infinitely worse than it need have been.
The evidence that Goncalo Amaral allegedly and aggressively waved in the face of Gerry McCann in that police station back in September, where he said we have evidence you harmed your little daughter, turns out to be nothing but the dubious report of two sniffer dogs, no wonder when Gerry McCann broke down and cried and pleaded to be shown this evidence, Goncalo Amaral declined. At the centre of this storm is one little girl, Madeleine, and the heartbreaking realisation that since early on in this investigation, police had given up searching for her, she has been very badly let down, if she was let down once by her parents, she has been let down repeatedly by the PJ and also by all those that saw it as some kind of warped sense of duty to jump on the blame bandwagon and start crazily pointing the finger at her parents, accusing them of the most dreadful and heinous crimes.
It is now time for this bandwagon to stop rolling and for people to disembark and some common sense and decency to be urgently injected into this failed investigation, for Madeleine's sake, this should happen now *not* later.
Act in haste, repent at leisure"
This is what the man is actually thinking, you do not come out with comments like those if you do not think it. The very fact that he chose those words indicates, that he knows the PJ have very ,very little or most likely absolutely no evidence against McCann's, if they did have all this DNA and other evidence he would not be making that statement, why would he? No need to. The PJ have no evidence, they have no DNA evidence and now it is clear they have no case.
What we saw in this man Alipio Ribeiro was a man trying to distance himself from what is about to emerge, this is the start of the PJ doing what they know they have to do to free the McCann's from suspect status.Why else would he say that he has *no* control over who is made arguido and he cannot order that arguido status to be lifted? What he is saying here is that, I had nothing to do with the McCann's being made arguidos and I had nothing to do with their arguido status remaining, or being recently extended. This puts the decision to make them arguidos firmly on the shoulders of the man already kicked off of this case, Police Chief Goncalo Amaral. It puts the decision to keep them arguidos on the shoulders of the incumbent Paulo Rebelo and it takes the blame off of himself, Alipio Ribeiro. This is him trying to keep his job.
Something has happened behind the scenes to bring this about, why else would Alipio Ribeiro head of Portugal's police suddenly give an interview on this case? He has said precious little about it so far, so why now? I think possibly one of two things may have happened, or quite possibly both. The Portuguese government has lost patience and asked just what is going on in this case, it is embarrassing Portugal in the eyes of the world. The PJ blamed the British government for stalling on these rogatory letters and the British government do not even have them and then it emergese that they have not even left the Portuguese Attorney General's office, so on a diplomatic level, I think questions are now being asked about this investigation.
Perhaps the Portuguese government requested a full account on the state of this investigation. Whatever it is, these rogatory letters and the failure of the Portuguese Attorney General's department to undertake the drafting and delivery of these letters has probably set off a chain of events.
I think this is one cock up too many for Portugal and one leak too many by the PJ.
They have overplayed their hand and now its time for their cards to be put on the table. The Portuguese government know this, Alipio Ribeiro knows this and now the PJ know it and the Portuguese public had to be prepared for what is coming and this is the start of it.
This is not going to be pretty. Questions are now going to be asked as the world's eyes are once again trained on Portugal, this time even the PJ will be unable to hide behind their secrecy laws. The world now knows the McCann's were made arguidos too quickly/hastily/rapidly and the spotlight will once again fall on the man whose incompetence reduced this investigation to a farce and whose incompetence saw the failure to implement the basic measures in a search for any missing child, it falls onto the man whose ego got in the way of his job (once again) and now looks set to take the blame for all the PJ failings, even those that happened after he was dismissed from this case and that man is going to be made a scapegoat, that man is no other than Goncalo Amaral.
All roads lead to Goncalo Amaral it appears.
Had this man waited just a few more days, then it is extremely doubtful that the McCann's would have been made arguida and arguido, something already admitted by the Portuguese Attorney General himself. Goncalo Amaral decided in his own infinite wisdom and based on no evidence, other than a couple of dogs sniffing around, that the McCann's were guilty and so set off this disgraceful chain of events and made the suffering of the loss of their daughter infinitely worse than it need have been.
The evidence that Goncalo Amaral allegedly and aggressively waved in the face of Gerry McCann in that police station back in September, where he said we have evidence you harmed your little daughter, turns out to be nothing but the dubious report of two sniffer dogs, no wonder when Gerry McCann broke down and cried and pleaded to be shown this evidence, Goncalo Amaral declined. At the centre of this storm is one little girl, Madeleine, and the heartbreaking realisation that since early on in this investigation, police had given up searching for her, she has been very badly let down, if she was let down once by her parents, she has been let down repeatedly by the PJ and also by all those that saw it as some kind of warped sense of duty to jump on the blame bandwagon and start crazily pointing the finger at her parents, accusing them of the most dreadful and heinous crimes.
It is now time for this bandwagon to stop rolling and for people to disembark and some common sense and decency to be urgently injected into this failed investigation, for Madeleine's sake, this should happen now *not* later.
McCann's Re Publicity
There has been criticism about why is this couple out there publicising this, doing interviews, going in front of cameras, going through photo opportunities? If you look at what would have happened in the UK, you would have had, probably within hours, a proactive intervention by British police, who would have said this is the process we now need to go through.But Kate and Gerry had been largely left to get on with it, with no support in the initial stages, or guidance. They realised the media were a huge potential ally and went fo it. I would do the same and I don't think there is any parent that would not, faced with the same circumstances.Perhaps they did this publicity because they had no help from the PJ, no family liason officer, they were left to get on with things on their own. Foreign Country, unfamiliar surroundings. Do not speak the language. Fear/panic.The Child Rescue Alert system was launched here (GB) nationally only last year, (2007) and is based on the Amber Alert system that runs in the US. Essentially, the system relies on the media being told at the earliest stage, to encourage the public to act as the "eyes and ears of the police". At a local level, at least, this appears to have been done in Portugal, as people were out searching for Madeleine very quickly, but the national level of this earch does not seem to have been put into operation.In GB there basically 4 levels of criteria that need to be met
(1) The child is apparently under the age of 18-yrs-old;
(2) There is reasonable belief that the child has been kidnapped or abducted;
(3) There is reasonable belief that the child is in imminent danger of serious harm or death; (4) There is sufficient information available to enable the public to assist the police in locating the child
(1) The child is apparently under the age of 18-yrs-old;
(2) There is reasonable belief that the child has been kidnapped or abducted;
(3) There is reasonable belief that the child is in imminent danger of serious harm or death; (4) There is sufficient information available to enable the public to assist the police in locating the child
How much of this was actually met in the early days of the Madeleine investigation? The authorising officer in the UK (IN Madeleine’s case the PJ) would have allowed for a circulation of an alert to all the media outlets the individual force has agreements with, which will contain some or all of the following:
- Description of the child
- Scanned photo of the child
- Details of location and nature of the offence
- Description of the offender(s) CCTV/photo of the offender(s)
By comparison to this, the PJ didn't even get a photograph of Madeleine released until day 4 of the of the investigation.The McCann's it appears had been left tp get on with this themselves and they played it the way they thought they should, if the Pj wanted it played differently, they should not have left them alone to try and aorganise the media side of this search themselves.
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