The purpose of this site is for information and a record of Gerry McCann's Blog Archives. As most people will appreciate GM deleted all past blogs from the official website. Hopefully this Archive will be helpful to anyone who is interested in Justice for Madeleine Beth McCann. Many Thanks, Pamalam

Note: This site does not belong to the McCanns. It belongs to Pamalam. If you wish to contact the McCanns directly, please use the contact/email details campaign@findmadeleine.com    

The Eddie and Keela Searches/Videos *

MCCANN FILES HOME BACK TO GERRY MCCANNS BLOGS HOME PAGE PHOTOGRAPHS
NEWS REPORTS INDEX MCCANN PJ FILES NEWS MAY 2007
 
MCCANN PJ FILES EDDIE & KEELA MARTIN GRIME AUG 2007
MCCANN PJ FILES MARTIN GRIME PERSONAL PROFILE
MACCANN PJ FILES MARTIN GRIME 14 MAY 2008 ROGATORY
 
A detailed look at the events that unfolded during the early days of August when the specialist British sniffer dogs, Eddie and Keela, arrived in Portugal.

Eddie in Apartment 5A
Eddie indicates cadaver odour behind the sofa

Date
30 July 2007
Specialist sniffer dogs, Eddie and Keela, arrive with their handler, Martin Grime.
31 July 2007
In the evening, Portuguese and UK investigators begin their search of apartment 5A with Eddie and Keela.
 
Cadaver odour is indicated in the McCanns bedroom by the wardrobe, in the living room behind a sofa and a light scent indicated outside in a flowerbed. A blood indication is made behind the sofa.
01 August 2007
Jon Corner arrives to film promotional material for the official 'Find Madeleine' site. Kate's parents also arrive.
02 August 2007
Gerry McCann cancels trip to Huelva due to 'viral illness'.
 
Around 18:00pm, the Inspectors knock on the door of the McCanns villa. Jon Corner states in the Panorama documentary that the McCanns were forewarned of this forensic visit and that there were clothes in the washing machine when the Inspectors arrived.
 
Cadaver odour is indicated on two pieces of Kate's clothing (trousers and blouse), on a red T-shirt believed to belong to Madeleine and on the soft toy known as 'Cuddle Cat'.
03 August 2007
The Huelva trip goes ahead, despite all public places being closed.
04 August 2007
Casa Liliana, home of Robert Murat, is searched. Vegetation is cleared from the grounds and in the evening the sniffer dogs are used.
 
Jon Corner returns home.
05 August 2007
The search of Murat's property continues. Nothing is found.
06 August 2007
10 vehicles are collected and examined in a closed car park in Portimao.
 
Cadaver odour is indicated on the McCanns Renault Scenic hire car and also the key of the vehicle. Blood is indicated on the key of the vehicle and the interior of the car's boot.
 
Gerry states in his blog that today he 'went to a large office store in Portimao to buy a new printer and ink' - a journey that would have had to be undertaken by car. But how did he get there and back?
07 August 2007
Martin Grime returns home with Eddie and Keela.
08 August 2007
Kate's parents return home.
09 August 2007
A Portugese newspaper claims police had 'intercepted' emails and phone calls between Kate and Gerry McCann and their friends, which provide 'decisive proof' that Madeleine was not abducted but died in the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.
 
The McCanns take the twins out of the Kids Club.
10 August 2007
Kate and Gerry do a further series of interviews for Portugese and foreign TV. During the Portuguese interview, Gerry is asked if he gave the children Calpol or something to make them sleep. He denies it.
11 August 2007
Police in Portugal acknowledge for the first time that, in light of new evidence, Madeleine may be dead. Chief Inspector Sousa adds that Mr and Mrs McCann are not being considered as suspects following newspaper speculation that they were under suspicion.

Date
30 July 2007
Specialist sniffer dogs arrive
 
The Enhanced Victim Recovery Dogs (EVRD), Eddie and Keela, arrive with their handler, Martin Grime.
 
We had a routine meeting today with the Portuguese police. Kate and I are confident that every avenue is being explored and the vital piece of information that leads to Madeleine is only a phone call away.

This is the last time we will have met the Consul General in a professional capacity, as he retires tomorrow and will be returning to the UK. Bill has provided us with consular support since day 1 and, naturally, he got to know us very well during the last 3 months. He has said that Madeleines abduction is the most tragic circumstance he has had to deal with. Without doubt Bill has given us excellent support and we wish him and his wife a very happy retirement.
31 July 2007
Note: According to translations of 'The Truth of the Lie', Mr Amaral dates the visit to Apartment 5A as 03 August but the PJ files state 31 July. It would seem logical that the dogs would start at the McCanns' first apartment, bearing in mind that is where they believed Madeleine to have died.
 
Seach of Apartment 5A, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
 
- Evening of 3 August, Portuguese and UK investigators begin at Ocean Club, Apt 5A

- Martin leads in Eddie and tells him to sit at the front door, so that he can remove the leash. Contrary to expectations of this wonder dog-detective, Eddie ignored the command and ran immediately to the interior of the apt, where he ran "devilishly" from the living room to the parent's bedroom. Grimes says worriedly that something has made Eddie nervous and he calls Eddie again so that he can give orders to indicate where to start searching. An investigator is video taping. Some minutes later, Eddie focuses on the floor of the couple's bedroom, next to the wardrobe and gives the alert for cadaver odor, in a strident bark

- Why here, in the couple's room? More goosebumps to follow: Eddie gives another strident bark next to the living room wall, behind the blue sofa, under the window.

- Apt 5A begins to give up its mystery.

- On that night, before 10pm, the investigators see Gerald McCann near the apartment, driving alone in the rented Renault with the face of one "who has few friends."

- If the cadaver (EVRD) dog alerts, then the blood (CSI) dog is brought in. They are trained to find ONLY human blood, even in areas thoroughly cleaned with chemicals or bleaches. Sometimes they find blood vestiges so small that they can't be collected, and the surrounding materials themselves have to be transported to the lab. This happened with Keela.

- Keela is brought in and she marks blood in the same place as Eddie marked the cadaver smell... she stopped, immobile, with her nose pointed at the precise location of the smell. The tiles on the floor.

- Outside, Eddie gives two more alerts of cadaver smell, on the varanda of the couple's bedroom and also in a garden situation directly below it. Here, the bark is weaker, like a "could be", with some doubt, like a human shrugging their shoulders.

- Going now to the other apts, the investigators are nervous. Who knows what will come next? But to the amazement of all, after very careful exams of all the other apts, Eddie exhibits complete disinterest. Martin decides to not use Keela, since Eddie found no cadaver smell.

- There are signs of death in Apartment 5A. It's necessary to confirm that, prior to 3 May, no one had died there. The OC has no records of anything like that, nor the fire department, nor the paramedics, nor the prior apt owners knew of any death in the apt.

- It is concluded, therefore, that the cadaver odor could only come from one person: Madeleine Beth McCann
 
Findings, as detailed in the PJ's 57-page report summary
 
1 - Apartment 5A, of the resort 'Ocean Club', place from where the child disappeared.

- cadaver odour dog:
*in the couple’s bedroom, in a corner, close to the wardrobe;
*in the living room, behind the sofa, close to the lateral window of the apartment;

- blood dog:
* in the living room, behind the sofa, close to the lateral window of the apartment (exactly as it was signalled by the cadaver odour dog);

2 – Area of the backyard, close to the apartment 5A:

- cadaver odour dog:
* in a flowerbed, the lightness of the scent detected was commented by the dog handler.
 
Relatively quiet day apart from phone calls and campaign related e-mails. We have Busy couple of days coming up so off to bed relatively early (before midnight)!
01 August 2007
Jon Corner and Kate's parents arrive
 
McCann family friend, and film producer, John Corner arrives to film promotional material for the official 'Find Madeleine' site. Although this never transpires, segments do appear on the Panorama programme aired on 19 November 2007.
 
Kate's parents also arrive for a week's stay.
 
Kate is interviewed for the first time without Gerry. The interview was published on 05 August, in two different versions, by The Independent and The People. Both versions can be found on the 'Kate's Interviews' page of this site. 
 
Another trip to the airport this morning to pick up our campaign manager. Kate did a series of interviews for womens magazines and the Sunday newspapers which took most of the afternoon. Kates parents, who we visit regularly at home, also arrived and the twins were very happy to see them. They will be staying with us for a week.

We have had some new posters designed of Madeleine, in Portuguese and Spanish, which I have been printing out to distribute locally. I also did some filming to camera which we might use on the website and for future events.

02 August 2007
Search of McCanns villa - summary from 'The Truth of the Lie' 
 
- When preparing to go to the McCann's villa with the dogs, everyone knew this was the moment to either take up a technical and legal instrument which could assign responsiblity, or fully remove from suspicion, Madeleine's parents in her disappearance.

- We knew, then, that we had failed when we decided to not wiretap and follow the friends and McCanns from the beginning of the investigation.

- The Public Ministry (MP) created the proper search documents. At the same time, they asked for authorisation to wiretap the villa and car at that time. The MP agreed, as it's been used in other cases. 24 anxious hours later the sitting Judge, covering for someone on holiday, denied the MP's agreement. No time to re-request, the last chance to know what the McCanns said away from the press microphones was gone, just as the couple prepared to leave the country.

- The search was planned in great detail.

- The villa is on Rua das Flores, 27, rented at the beginning of the summer with money donated to the Find Madeleine Fund.

- At 6pm-ish, the inspectors knocked on the door. Kate and Gerry were giving the twins a bath in the exterior pool. Surprisingly, they both reacted well to the search warrant and in a forthright and open way gave unlimited access to the investigators.

- Eddie started, going directly to the living room where on top of a chair was cuddlecat, which now had a little green ribbon and rosary around its neck. Again, Eddie showed his 7 years of experience dedicated to forensic crime scene work and, with a determined and affirmative bark, indicated that CuddleCat had been in contact with a cadaver.

- Using cardboard boxes, all the clothes in the house were taken to a specially prepared area to be placed on the ground for the dogs.

- At 23h20 all the clothes are spread out. Again, Eddie marks a strong cadaver odor on Kate's clothes: slacks in black/white check and a sleeveless white blouse. He barks frenetically.

- Keela finds no blood vestiges.
 
Findings, as detailed in the PJ's 57-page report summary
 
6 – In the clothes and belongings of the Family MCCANN

- cadaver odour dog:
* in two pieces of clothing belonging to KATE HEALY
* in a piece of clothing of the minor MADELEINE
* in the plush toy, possibly belonging to MADELEINE (it was detected cadaver odour, when the soft toy was inside the residence – at the date occupied by the family)
 
Jon Corner - Panorama documentary
 
CORNER: Well this is the bizarre thing Richard because the police said to Kate and Gerry: "Yeah, we're going to be coming along, we want to do some forensics." And Kate and Gerry were massively optimistic about this. You've got to remember if your daughter is missing and the police phone you and say: "We want to do some forensics, that's a straw that you hang onto. That's a moment for optimism.
 
- Just earlier in the documentary, Corner had said this:
 
CORNER: They took most of their clothing, they were taking even the wet clothes out of the washing machine. I was aware that the cuddlecat was boxed up and we were asked to leave the villa.
 
- So, the police phoned the McCanns to say they were coming over to do some forensics and the McCanns, it would appear, immediately filled up the washing machine with clothes.
 
Today was a bit of a write off for me as I was laid low with a probable viral illness which meant I could not stray too far from the house! I did manage to get through some e-mails, telephone calls and some paperwork. Feeling a bit better tonight so hopefully be back to normal tomorrow.

Kate did manage to put up some of the new Madeleine posters in shops around Praia da Luz.. It is noticably busier, now that we are in August, with lots of tourists many of whom are from Portugal. The figures from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children show that one in six kids are recovered after being recognised from a poster. Such statistics do encourage us that relatively simple measures may be effective in helping us find Madeleine.
03 August 2007
A '100% sure' Maddie sighting is reported
 
In Belgium, details emerge of a possible sighting of Madeleine. A child therapist says she is '100% sure' she saw Madeleine at a restaurant in the town of Tongeren, not far from the Dutch border. A bottle is taken for DNA testing but turns out to be that of a man. The sighting originally took place on 28 July 2007.
 
It is exactly 3 months since Madeleine was abducted. Kate and I had an early start as we drove to Huelva, 50Km over the border from Portugal in Southern Spain. We were meant to go yesterday but had to cancel because I was ill.

Unfortunately it was a public holiday in Huelva and the large shopping centre we planned to visit was closed. We did distribute posters in several garages, taxi ranks and the bus and train stations and gave out some Madeleine wristbands. This was definitely a worthwhile exercise, as many people did not seemingly recognise Madeleine but we did get a very warm response from the Spanish people we met. We would encourage everyone to continue taking posters on holiday but please ask permission before putting them up in public places.

When we arrived back in Praia da Luz we did a couple of media interviews to building up to August 11th, which will mark 100 days if Madeleine is still missing. There will be a lot of media activity next week reviewing Madeleine's abduction, the investigation and of course the campaign to help find her. It is an opportunity to highlight that we have not given up hope and are still optimistic of being reunited with Madeleine.

Tonight we prayed for Madeleine at a vigil in the church. This has happened every Friday since Madeleines abduction and was very well attended tonight, probably due to the greater number of tourists in the resort.
04 August 2007
Search of Casa Liliana, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
 
- 4 and 5 August. Ground "aired" and opened. Over two days of thorough searching, no signs from Eddie at Murat's home.
 
Madeleine McCann: suspect's home searched Telegraph
 
By staff and agencies
Last Updated: 12:48AM BST 05 Aug 2007
 
Police in Portugal investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have begun another search at the home of the only official suspect in the case.
 
Up to 10 police officers, including two British detectives, starting searching the land surrounding the house of Robert Murat at about 7am today, his spokesman Tuck Price said.
 
They are clearing undergrowth and cutting down trees on the property in Praia da Luz, just yards from where the little girl was snatched from her family's holiday apartment more than three months ago.
 
The area is said to be thick with vegetation and the officers are using rakes and hedge trimmers to clear the area.
 
Mr Murat is not at home, and the search is expected to last up to four days.
 
The latest search in Portugal comes as police in Belgium investigate a possible sighting of the four-year-old there.
 
A customer at a restaurant in the Flemish town of Tongeren, not far from the Dutch border, said she was "100% sure" she had seen the youngster.
 
She said the girl was with a couple, a Dutch man and an English-speaking woman, who were acting strangely and not like "normal parents".
 
A police spokeswoman said they were treating the report "seriously" and are looking for DNA on a drinks bottle used by the girl.
 
They have also issued an identikit drawing of the man based on the description given by the "trusted witness".
 
Today's search of Casa Liliana, the villa in which Mr Murat lives with his mother, Jenny, is not the first time the property has come under scrutiny.
 
Mr Murat, 33, was thrown into the spotlight 11 days after the four-year-old from Rothley, Leicestershire, was snatched from her bed in the Algarve village.
 
Then officers from Portugal's investigative Policia Judiciaria searched the house extensively, which is just a short walk from the apartment where the McCanns were staying at the time of the abduction.
 
Several items were taken away for analysis while Mr Murat's girlfriend Michaela Walczuch and her estranged Portuguese husband Luis Antonio were also interviewed as witnesses.
 
Mr Murat was named as an official suspect, but was never formally arrested.
 
In July he was re-interviewed by police investigating the youngster's disappearance.
 
Jon Corner returns home
 
(see Gerry's blog below)
 
McCanns unhappy with Daily Mirror 'spoiler' piece
 
The McCanns are understood to have expressed serious concern about the tactics of the press for the first time, after the Daily Mirror publishes a 'spoiler' piece ahead of Kate's first interview - due to be published in full tomorrow.
 
The Daily Mirror article, heralded on its front page as 'My Dark Moments by Kate McCann', was actually based on interviews with the McCanns' relatives - not Kate. However, a spokesman for the Daily Mirror said: ''We have received no complaint from the McCanns or their representatives.''
 
Another early start to the day as I dropped the crew who did some filming for the website and other forthcoming events. Kate and I did a short interview reviewing the last 3 months and the search for Madeleine. We spent the rest of the day with the kids and Kate's family. We were all glad it clouded over in the afternoon to give us some respite from the intense heat.

The most recent searches by the police have attracted a lot of renewed media interest with satellite trucks arriving back in Praia da Luz. It is likely that some of the British Broadcasters will also come back out.

We werre all very tired and we managed to get off to bed at 10.30pm, which is very early for us by recent standards.
05 August 2007
Search of Casa Liliana, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
 
- 4 and 5 August. Ground "aired" and opened. Over two days of thorough searching, no signs from Eddie at Murat's home.
 
Press reports
 
British detectives, with Portugese detectives, continue to search the home and grounds of Casa Liliana, the home in which Robert Murat lives with his mother.
 
Two British police technicians, using specialist 'Pulsar' equipment, check the grounds of Casa Liliana to detect whether any earth has been 'disturbed' in the last few months.
 
No new evidence is discovered.
 
Kate's first interview, without Gerry, is published.
 
We attended church this morning as usual. The local priest father Manuel is on holiday so the mass was all in Portuguese and although quicker than normal we did not understand too much of the sermon.

I note there was a lot of coverage of Kates interview in the Sunday newspapers today. I managed to read one of them and certainly seemd to sum up very well how we are feeling and coping without Madeleine. The key message is that we are doing everything we can to help find Madeleine.

After lunch we had a meeting with our campaign manager and Kates family to run through a few things which will be happening this week. There was going to be a lot of media here leading up to the 100 days although we still hope we will not get to that marker, even before this latest search by the Portuguese police.

Kate and I popped back down to the church later on tonight to say a few quiet prayers for Madeleine. The town is much busier at night than when we first came here on holiday and ieven compared to a few weeks ago.

Computer glitches now sorted out thanks to Calum at infohost.
06 August 2007
Examination of 10 vehicles, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
 
- 6 August, underground parking garage

- 10 vehicles examined which were used by Murat, Michaela, Malinka, Luís António, McCanns and one by Russell O'Brien

- 10 metres between cars to avoid contamination of smells between them

- Martin tells Eddie to start on exteriors, with all doors/windows tightly closed: intense sniffing of wheels, underneath, door jams, edges of boot. 1, 2, 3 cars. Nothing.

- 4th car. Eddie significantly alters his behaviour. Visibly more excited, he doesn't immediately approach the car as he did with the others. He raises his head and, with his nose in the air, sniffs incessantly around the car indicating that he is trying to find the source of that well-known odour and which he has been finding for years, which he had detected in the area and knows he is now going to find. Martin's voice commands him back to searching the car itself. Eddie provides yet another surprise in the case, barking strongly as he alerts to the existence of cadaver odour in the car rented by the McCanns.

- Precisely, Eddie alerts to:

---- the lower part of the driver's door
---- in the boot, where the dog was biting and barking, indicating the odour was coming from inside the car

The car was taken apart by forensic experts and around dawn, Keela finds vestiges of blood where Eddie signalled: the key and the luggage compartment

- As with the apartments, Eddie was uninterested in the other cars, not hesitating nor displaying behaviour similiar to the other vehicles, making his actions quite clear and precise.

- Gonçalo Amaral says he had already been removed from the team when he learned that one of the McCann's neighbours (at the second villa), a Portuguese lawyer, says that in the nights leading up to the dog exams, the McCanns frequently left the luggage door open.

- One of Gerry's brother-in-laws later affirmed they used the car to transport garbage and that, once, some blood from beef spilled in the luggage area, thereby justifying the "strange" odour.

- One of Kate's aunts said that the car had unpleasant smells that she assumed came from the baby's diapers.

These justifications don't stand up to the English dogs. These dogs are exclusively trained to alert to human blood and cadaver odours. The hygiene habits of the users of this car do not even appear credible for the civilized people making up this group, which make the statements of these two, in the very least, bizarre.
 
Findings, as detailed in the PJ's 57-page report summary
 
7 – In the vehicle used by the MCCANN family

- cadaver odour dog:
* signalled the key of the vehicle;

- blood dog:
* signalled the key of the vehicle;
* signalled the interior of the vehicle's boot;
 
Gerry visits Portimao
 
Gerry states in his blog that on this day he 'went to a large office store in Portimao to buy a new printer and ink' - a journey that would have had to be undertaken by car.
 
We might initially presume that Gerry delivered the Renault Scenic to the PJ in Portimao himself and then went shopping for his 'printer and ink'. However, press reports state that the Renault Scenic was collected by a junior PJ officer and then driven the 35 miles from Praia da Luz to Portimao. If that is so, and Gerry did visit Portimao today, how did he get there and back?
 
Police contaminate Madeleine car Daily Mirror
 
Stewart Maclean In Praia Da Luz
29/10/2007
 
THE HUNT FOR MADELEINE .. and then they crash Murat van
 
Crucial DNA evidence from Kate and Gerry McCann's hire car may have been contaminated - because police drove it to the forensic lab themselves.
 
Bungling detectives failed to properly secure vehicles seized during the six month probe into the disappearance of four-year-old Madeleine in Portugal.
 
Instead of taking them on a low loader as they would be in Britain, junior officers drove the 35 miles from Praia da Luz to the forensic analysis lab in Portimao.
 
And the detective driving suspect Robert Murat's van CRASHED it.
 
Experts said the astonishing blunder could jeopardise any DNA evidence allegedly found in the boot of the Renault Scenic - which the McCanns hired 25 days after Madeleine vanished - and destroy the police theory that they they used it to move her body.
 
Former Scotland Yard detective Hamish Brown said: "It defies all rules of investigation. It's positively wrong. Any human who got into that vehicle would risk contaminating evidence, damaging fingerprints and possible cross-transference of fibres.
 
"It should have gone on to a low loader to preserve any evidence it might contain."
 
And ex-Surrey police child protection detective Mark Williams-Thomas said: "The fact that an officer was allowed to drive the car to the lab himself obviously vastly increases the risk of contamination."
 
Kate and Gerry have always said the traces, being analysed at the Forensic Science Service lab in Birmingham, could have been transferred innocently from Madeleine's clothes and toys when they used the car to move to a new villa.
 
 
Today was again very busy. Lots of e-mails and telephone calls to family and friends who have been involved in the campaign to find Madeleine. I went to a large office store in Portimao to buy a new printer and ink, both of which were badly needed after all the posters we produced this last week.
 
There has been lots of media attention on the latest police searches. We are pleased that the investigation remains so active and we are cooperating fully with the Portuguese and British police, as we have done since day 1. We continue to hope and pray daily for that vital breakthrough or sighting that will lets us be reunited as a family.
07 August 2007
Blood samples sent to FSS, summary from 'The Truth of the Lie'
 
- Upon detection, we begin the collection and remit of the evidence to a forensic lab

- 2 early questions: how to collect and where to send. Someone from the Portuguese Police Lab came to do the collection. In a joint meeting between British and Portuguese forensic experts, it was decided to not try to do tests locally. Instead tiles were very carefully removed, monitoring all with photographs, and taken to FSS for Low Copy Number tests, the lab where they can identify DNA from microscopic blood samples.

- To safeguard the samples, the technician who removed the tiles also hand-carried them to the FSS.

- 7 August, taken to the FSS were:

---- tiles from behind the sofa and under the window
---- blood from the car key
---- hairs found in the luggage area
---- blood from the lining from the right side of the luggage area

- Gonçalo Amaral speaks of "blood" when other reports say "bodily fluids" because Keela only alerts to human blood.
 
UK lab to test blood found in Madeleine room Guardian
 
Sandra Laville, crime correspondent
Tuesday August 7 2007
 
Blood samples from the Portuguese apartment where Madeleine McCann was staying while on holiday with her family will reach a British laboratory tomorrow for analysis.
 
The samples, which are understood to have been found in the apartment by a team of sniffer dogs operated by police from Leicestershire, will be examined by scientists from the Forensic Science Service (FSS), based in Birmingham, the Guardian understands.
 
The first task for scientists will be to try to get a DNA sample from the blood, reported to have been found on a wall of the villa in Praia de la Luz where the McCann family was staying.
 
If the scientists are successful, the profile will be checked against the DNA of the missing four-year-old and against the national DNA database, set up by the FSS.
 
Police from Leicestershire, where the McCann family live, are leading the UK contingent of officers in Portugal helping detectives. Among the team is a detective sergeant from the Metropolitan police who speaks Portuguese and is working as a translator. Also on the team is a British-based profiler who is helping to build a picture of the suspected abductor.
 
Leicestershire police refused to comment yesterday on whether it was their officers who discovered the blood smears. But reports from Portugal suggested officers from the Leicestershire force used specialised equipment and their own sniffer dogs to re-examine the two-bedroom apartment on the Mark Warner holiday complex.
 
Blood was reportedly found on a wall in the bedroom where Madeleine had been sleeping with her younger brother and sister on May 3, the night she disappeared. A source was quoted as saying that one of the dogs stopped at the spot and barked to indicate it had found something.
 
Reports in the Portuguese press today suggested police had suspected for some months that Madeleine died in the apartment on May 3. The Diario de Noticias (DN) quoted a source close to the inquiry as saying that police had completely discounted kidnap as a result.
 
The source said detectives from Britain and Portugal had been closely monitoring the movements of the parents, Gerry and Kate, since Madeleine's disappearance.
 
Police sources told DN that they were concentrating "on the family circle and their friends", some of whom had been under surveillance in the UK.
 
Meanwhile, it was reported that Portuguese police had been monitoring a second suspect in the investigation.
 
The new suspect, said DN, is a man of about 40, about 1.70-1.75m tall, with brownish hair and who could be African or English. This man was seen with Robert Murat, the only named suspect in the case, and, before Madeleine's disappearance, in the company of the McCann family.
 
Separately, the lawyer for Mr Murat said he would sue for wrongful arrest once his client was proved innocent.
 
Mr McCann said today he could not comment on any specific details of the police inquiry. He told Sky News: "We do know some information that, one, we're not allowed to tell, and, two, we would never ever put anything into the public domain that might put the investigation of Madeleine at risk."
 
Mr McCann, a cardiologist, said he and his wife "strongly believed" Madeleine was alive when she was taken from the apartment. "We're not naive, but on numerous occasions the Portuguese police have assured us that they were looking for Madeleine alive and not Madeleine having been murdered," he added.
 
The fact that he and his wife had come under scrutiny from detectives was "difficult", Mr McCann said, but he insisted they were "more than happy" to cooperate.
 
"We expect the same thoroughness and to be treated the same way as anyone else who has been in and around this. And we wouldn't expect it any other way," he said. "The same high levels will be applied to us as would be applied to anybody else, and that's only right and proper."
 
The results of DNA tests on a drinks bottle used by a young girl resembling Madeleine who was seen in Belgium could be returned on Thursday. A customer at a restaurant in the Flemish town of Tongeren, not far from the Dutch border, said she was "100% sure" that she had seen the missing youngster.
 
Kate and I managed an early morning run today. It was pleasantly cooler, with a refreshing breeze, which made a nice change. The media presence in Praia da Luz is at its greatest since the first couple of weeks, as is the amount of speculation and rumour regarding the investigation.

This morning we agreed to do a short, pooled interview that was made available to all broadcasters worldwide. We wanted to make it clear, that as far as we know, there is still absolutely no evidence that Madeleine has been seriously harmed and Kate and I have to believe she is still alive. The Portuguese police have assured us on numerous occasions that they are looking for Madeleine and not a corpse. Of course all possibilities are being considered and the police
have to be certain before eliminating any of the scenarios. It is absolutely right that we are subject to the same high standards of investigation as anyone else. Kate and I have, and will continue to assist the police in every possible way.

We hope there is a breakthrough in the investigation very soon. In the meantime the campaign to keep the public involved in the search for Madeleine continues. We are always trying to think of ideas that will reach people who may not have heard of Madeleines disappearance. I spent a couple of hours this afternoon working on forthcoming events but did manage to squeeze in a much-needed haircut!
08 August 2007

Kate McCann interviewed by BBC Woman's Hour radio programme
 
 
Madeleine McCann: Blood found in bedroom The Telegraph
 
By Richard Edwards in Praia da Luz
Last Updated: 1:28am BST 08/08/2007
 
Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are carrying out tests on blood traces found inside her apartment bedroom, it has emerged.
 
The dramatic discovery was made by British detectives brought in to launch a review of evidence, and led to renewed criticism of an "inept" Portuguese investigation.
 
The British team used specially-trained sniffer dogs and ultra-violet technology to scan for specks of blood inside the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz where Madeleine disappeared 96 days ago.
 
Tests will now establish whether the traces are those of the four-year-old.
 
The review, led by Leicestershire police, also focused this weekend on the home of Robert Murat, and is expected to be the final stage in clearing him of his status as the only formal suspect in the case.
 
Samples have been sent away for urgent DNA testing and detectives believe the discovery could "change the direction" of the investigation.
 
A Portuguese police source said: "If the results are positive, this will open up a completely new line of inquiry".
 
The tiny traces of blood - invisible to the naked eye - were found at a low height on the wall in the bedroom of the McCann holiday apartment at the Ocean Club.
 
Specially trained cocker spaniel sniffer dogs, which are able to detect blood up to seven years old, located an area of the bedroom in which to search. The windows were blacked out using a tarpaulin and a specialist ultraviolet torch pinpointed the specks of blood.
 
Police sources played down reports in a Portuguese newspaper that the blood had been identified as Madeleine's.
 
Previous forensic tests have taken a month to return from the national laboratory.
 
The potential breakthrough led to immediate criticism of Portuguese police for missing key forensic evidence, and failing to bring in outside expertise earlier in the investigation.
 
The apartment was searched this weekend even through it had been "released" as a crime scene by Portuguese authorities on June 11, cleaned and rented out to other families.
 
Former detectives are mystified as to why it has taken more than three months to make the discovery. Mark Williams-Thomas, a former Surrey detective and now a leading child protection expert, said: "I am staggered that it has taken so long.
 
"The police should have sealed the apartment immediately, on day one and then conducted a thorough forensic examination- this would have taken days and would have involved analysis for fluids and fibres and involved stripping the apartment bare.
 
"Even if this proves not to be significant, it should have been discovered in the first few days and eliminated. This shows just how inept the Portuguese police were at carrying out the initial forensics tests.
 
"Just imagine the impact it will have on Gerry and Kate so many months on - to find that something so vital was missed right at the beginning. "It is great that British police have finally carried out a review but you have to ask why has it taken three months for it to happen?
 
"I called for a review within the first month, especially because of the relative lack of experience of the Portuguese team working on this.
 
"It's astounding that it has taken this long to bring in specialist help. It makes a mockery of the Portuguese investigation."
 
British police dog handlers had offered expertise to Portuguese authorities in May. They were only invited to join a "review of evidence" - which is now commonplace in high profile investigations in Britain - last week.
 
A two-day "final" search of Mr Murat’s villa - 150 yards away from where Madeleine disappeared - uncovered no new evidence. As many as 10 officers had spent Saturday clearing thick vegetation.
 
They began digging today and two British police technicians used specialist "Pulsar" scanning equipment to detect whether any earth had been "disturbed" in the past few months.
 
Mr Murat, 33, has been the only official "arguido", or suspect, since May 10, when he was detained by police. He was questioned for a second time last month but detectives have never found any evidence to arrest him formally.
 
Members of the Murat family today drove four cars shared by Mr Murat with the family to a police headquarters for them to be searched again by the sniffer dogs.
 
Mr Murat has welcomed the searches, which he believes will be the last step in proving his innocence.
 
His mother, Jennifer Murat, 71, insisted: "He is going to be cleared. He is innocent."
 
It has also emerged that police are also investigating possible links between Madeleine's case and a suspected child abductor in Switzerland who committed suicide last week.
 
Kates parents left early this morning. We did a short interview on how our faith has helped us during the last 3 months since Madeleines abduction. Given the events of the last few days we need to draw even greater strength from our faith and everyone who has supported us.

With the huge amount of media attention on us again it is very difficult to do anything with the kids without them being filmed and it is unfair on them. There is a huge amount of speculation in the media that Madeleine is dead, particularly with the obvious change in strategy of the investigation recently. At our meeting with the Portuguese police today we reaffirmed that we have to believe Madeleine is alive until there is concrete evidence to the contrary. It is this belief that has driven everything we have done in relation to publicising Madeleines disappearance over the last 3 months.

Result
Buildings/locations
 
Apartment 5A: The McCanns (28 April - 03 May 2007)
Cadaver odour/
Blood traces
Ocean Club apartment: The McCanns (04 May - 01 July 2007)*
X
Vista Mar Villa: The McCanns (02 July - 09 September 2007)
Cadaver odour*
Apartment 5B: Matthew and Rachael Oldfield
X
Apartment 5D: Russell O'Brien/Jane Tanner
X
Apartment 5H: David Payne/Fiona Payne/Dianne Webster
X
Praia da Luz: The beach area indicated by Danie Krugel, using an iron tool, created by Mark Harrison, that punctures the soil to allow smells to exit.
X
Praia da Luz: Buildings, abandoned/in construction, ruins, waterways, entrances to sewers, beach, vegetation around the village, including the volcanic rock "Rocha Negra".
 
Notes:
 
* The second apartment is not specifically mentioned in the 57-page PJ Report Summary - only Apartment 5A and the 'House of the MCCANNs at the date of the inspection' [the villa].
 
However, reference is made to 'page 993' of the report, where there is 'a report listing the apartments that were subject to searches, with special attention on blocks 4 and 5'. The McCanns' second apartment, in block 4, would surely have been one of those searched.
 
* Cadaver odour indicated on two items of Kate's clothing, one item of Madeleine's clothing and 'Cuddle Cat' - all found in the villa
X
Vehicles
 
Vehicle 1: Blue Opel Corsa*- hire car (James Gorrod) 
X
Vehicle 2: Fiat Punto (Ralph Eveleigh – Murat's uncle)
X
Vehicle 3: Peugot 205 (Robert Murat)
X
Vehicle 4: Renault Scenic - hire car (The McCanns)
Cadaver odour/
Blood traces
Vehicle 5: Skoda Fabia (Michaela Walczuch)
X
Vehicle 6: Volkswagen Transporter (Jenny Murat)
X
Vehicle 7: Nissan Patrol (Luís António)
X
Vehicle 8: Volkswagen Passat (Luís António)
X
Vehicle 9: Audi A4 (Segei Malinka)
X
Vehicle 10: Renault Kangoo (Luís António)
 
Notes:
 
*The Opel Corsa was rented from SIXT rental car agency by James Gorrod, a friend of Russell O’Brien, between the 28th of April and the 6th of May, 2007.
X

Eddie and Keela searches - What the PJ case file says kidnapping.be
 
Thanks to AnnaEsse for translation  
 
Date: 31 July 2007 - 20h00:

Report: Inspection of the apartments
 
Participants:

PJ: Tavares A. & Ricardo P. Inspectors

UK: Mark Harrison, Martin Grime (UK Forensic Canine P SM Expert),
Eddie & Keela (English Springers)

Silvia B. Manager of the Ocean Club complex.


On that date, inspections were conducted in the apartments occupied by members of the McCann family as well as the group who were with them at the time of Madeleine McCann's disappearance. It was only on that date that the apartment, identified as that of the parents, was empty allowing further investigation which was authorised by the respective occupants. Thus, at the appointed time, the search with the dogs began, covering the following apartments:


5A (Gerry/Kate McCann):
 
From 20h00 to 21h20, the dogs go through.
 
20h20: The cadaver dog, "marks," the couple's wardrobe area in the bedroom.
 
20h22: The cadaver dog, "marks" an area behind the sofa in the sitting room near the window overlooking the road.
 
From 20h47 to 21h20, the blood detecting dog goes through.
 
21h10 The dog, "marks" an area of floor behind the sofa in the sitting room, near the window overlooking the road.

5B (Matthew/Rachael Oldfield):
 
21h24 to 21h27: The cadaver dog did not alert on anything.

5D (Russell O'Brien/Jane Tanner):
 
21h29 to 21h34: The cadaver dog did not alert on anything.

5H (David/Fiona Payne & Dianne Webster):
 
21h35 to 21h38: The cadaver dog did not alert on anything.

4G (McCanns' second Ocean Club apartment):
 
21h42 to 21h45: The cadaver dog did not alert on anything.

Garden belonging to apartment 5A (with access via the balcony and the steps):

21h49 to 22h00: The cadaver dog "marks" an area of the garden immediately below the window.


Date: 01 August 2007 - 06h00

Report: Inspection of the surrounding areas.
 
After evaluation of the area surrounding the Ocean Club tourist village, based in Praia da Luz, taking account of the characteristic topography of the ground and the distance from where the small child Madeleine McCann disappeared, an inspection was carried out with the help of dogs specialised in the detection of cadaver odour, in various places, such as described:

1 - At 06h40, an area between the "Piteira" road and the "Oliveira" road, was inspected. At 07h15 the inspection was completed with nothing being detected by the dogs.

2 - At 07h25, an area adjacent to the "BEIJAFLOR" property on the "Figueira," road, defined by the "Ramalhete" road. An inspection of the whole area was made and nothing abnormal was noted. The inspection was completed at 07h45.

3 - At 07h55, an area between the "Casa Azul" residence on the "Figueira" road and the "Casa Pandora" residence as well as a dirt road on the left of the "Figueira" road was inspected by the dogs without anything abnormal being noted. The inspection ended at 08h05.

4 - At 08h20, an area between the residences "Casa Pandora" on the "Figueira" road, "Quinta Mimosa" and "Casa Ladeira" without anything abnormal being noted. The inspection ended at 08h40.

A photographic report of the places inspected is attached.

Initial conclusion.

To the coordinator of the criminal investigation.

Faced with new elements revealed by the dog handling unit's search, attached to the report, and on the basis of Mark Harrison's report, there is every reason to believe that the small child Madeleine McCann died in apartment 5A where she was spending her holiday with her parents at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz. Following the markings by the cadaver odour detecting dogs and traces of human blood inside the apartment from which the child disappeared, we have done further extensive research, revealing that there was never a death, or a body, notified in this same apartment before. In this report, several places were marked, signaling the presence of cadaver odour and human blood. In addition, we can observe that a cadaver odour was detected in the garden adjacent to apartment 5A. Nothing was detected in the other residences.

It follows from this investigation that there are indications, in practice and in the facts, of the crime of murder such as defined in ArticleQI310 of the Penal Code.

So as to go further with this lead, of which certain results may reveal new evidence, we request authorisation to carry out further inspections, within the legal framework, in two distinct places:

1 - Rue des Fleurs no...The McCann family's current residence in Portugal.
 
2 - Rented vehicle Renault Scenic, registration ...DA - 27.

We suggest that this inspection is entrusted to the PJ and ask the Public Prosecutor for a 20 day mandate. Thus, we consider that there are indications that consolidate strong suspicions according to which, there are elements of evidence of a crime, inside the vehicle used by the McCanns and, moreover, likely to reveal important details of fundamental importance for the investigation.
 
Date: 02 August 2007 - 18h14
 
Report: 27 Rue das Floras- Praia Da Luz - Lagos

Participants:

PJ: Ricardo P & J. Carlos P., inspectors.
UK: Mark Harrison, Martin Grime & Eddie.

On that date, within the context of a residential search, carried out at the McCann couple's current residence, an inspection by a dog handling team was made. Thus, at the time indicated at the beginning of the report, all areas of the property were inspected and the following results obtained:

18h36 - The dog Eddie, who detects cadaver odours, "marked" the area of a cupboard in the living room. On checking, the dog was indicating a pink soft toy belonging to MadeleineMcCann.
 
The clothes
 
Date: August 2nd 2007 - 23h20

On that date, following the home visit made to the McCanns' current residence, on the Rue des Fleurs, various items of clothing were laid out in an appropriate place for this purpose, to carry out an inspection by the dog handling unit.

The collected items of clothing were set out individually with the agreement and under the directions provided by the British technicians, the dogs having previously covered the space where the clothing was laid out.

1 - 23h20: Prior reconnaissance of the place by the two canine units to guarantee that the space was clear of all odours being sought. The reconnaissance was completed at 23h30 without anything being signalled by the dogs.

2 - 23h30: An initial inspection by the human blood detecting dog, began with the clothing packed in the box bearing the notation: "Living room." At 23h40, the inspection was completed without the dog showing anything abnormal.

23h41: The canine human remains recovery dog started its inspection and "marked" various clothes. The inspection was completed at 23h52. The clothes were returned to their box for later use.

From 00h02 until 01h30, (03/08/07) all the other boxes, containing clothing from the twins' bedroom, from the friends' bedroom, from the bedroom of the couple labelled 1 & 2, as well as the empty luggage, was inspected by the two dogs without conclusive results.

Apartment 5A - OCEAN CLUB

As joinder to the procedure. It is made known and according to superior orders that today at 20h00, specialists from LPC (Police forensics lab) Fernando V. and Lino R., after having seen the recorded images resulting from the inspection by the dog handling unit on 31/07/07 in apartment 5A, duly mandated, proceeded with the collection of whole floor tiles where the dogs used in the inspection indicated the possible existence of traces of human blood as well as the presence of a body in the apartment. The tiles were lifted so as to preserve possible samples to be analysed by the appropriate laboratory. This entire action was filmed in order to illustrate the way in which the lifting was accomplished and with what tools so that the experts had a better idea of the work.

Date: 04 and 05 August 2007

Report: Casa Liliana, residence of the suspect Robert Murat, situated on "Ramalhete" road - Praia da Luz - Lagos.

Participants:

PJ: Tavares A., chief inspector, J. Carlos P., Ricardo P, inspectors
UK: Mark Harrison, Martin Grime and Eddie.

On that date, within the context of residential visits, which were carried out at the home of the suspect ROBERT MURAT, an inspection by the dog handling unit was made in the gardens and inside the residence of the accused.

August 4th 2007 - 19h28: Start of the inspection of the gardens of the residence. Eddie, human remains recovery dog, covered the whole perimeter outside the dwelling and nothing abnormal was signalled.

August 5th 2007 - 15h22: The same dog inspected all rooms of the residence and nothing in particular was signalled.

RUSSELL O'BRIEN

To the coordinator of the criminal investigation.

In the context of the investigation, we have collected information concerning a vehicle used by RUSSELL O'BRIEN, friend and member of the group who spent their holiday with the McCann family in the Algarve . At the time of the request for vehicles considered important to the procedures that follow, we were not aware of the identification details of this vehicle. Meantime, our investigation has led us to establish that it may be a vehicle of the "Opel" range, a "Corsa" model, registration....AG - 62. At the present time, we do not have a mandate to search for and seize the vehicle to allow us to add the vehicle to the planned inspections. As a consequence, we request such a legal mandate in order to be able to realize the planned inspections.

Samples sent to the lab

Between 15h00 on August 4th 2007 and 06h30 on August 5th 2007, the following samples were recovered in the living room of apartment 5A at the OCEAN CLUB where a murder probably took place.

Samples 1A to 3B: recovered on the floor.
 
Samples 4A to 13B: recovered on the wall.
 
Samples 14A to 15B: recovered behind the sofa.
 
Sample 16A: recovered from the blue curtain.
 
Samples 16B: recovered from the white curtain behind the blue curtain.
 
All of these elements have been handed over to the Birmingham Forensic Science Services. (FSS)

Date: 06 and 07 August 2007
 
Report: Between August 6th at 21h30 and August 7th at 04h00, the following samples were recovered in the grey Renault Scenic car.

From the driver's side:

1A: Hair
1B: Fibre and hairs
1C: Fibres and hairs
1D: Fingernail

Front passenger side:

2A: Hair
2B: Hair
2C: Fibres and hairs
2D: Fibres and hairs
2E: Fingernail

Between the seats:

3A: Hair

Back seat:

4A: Hair
4B: Fibres and hairs
4C: Fibres and hairs

Centre seat:

5A: Hair
5B: Fibres and hairs
5C: Fibres and hairs

Right-hand seat:

6A: Hair
6B: Fibres and hairs
6C: Fibres and hairs

Luggage compartment (rear boot)

7A: Hair
7B: Fibres and hairs
7C: Fibres

8A: Hair
8B: Fibres and hairs
8C: Fibres and hairs

9, 10 and 11: Hair

12: Car key

13: Control samples of seat fabric

All of these were handed over to Birmingham FSS for analyses.

August 2007

OPERATION TASK CANINE SEARCH REPORT

Personal Profile

I am a 'retired' police officer, formally a senior instructor at the South Yorkshire Police dog training establishment.
 
I have 35 years experience in the training of dogs both within the police service and in the public sector.
 
I specialise in the development and training of specialist search dogs to include narcotics, explosives, currency, human remains, blood and semen.
 
I am the Special Advisor to The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, in relation to their Canine Forensic Program.
 
I am a U.K.A.C.P.O. (Association of Chief Police Officers, England and wales) accredited police dog training instructor. Iam a Subject Matter Expert in forensic canine search and on the N.P.I.A. (National Policing Improvement Agency) Expert Advisers database.
 
I advise Domestic and International Law enforcement agencies on the operational deployment of Police Dogs in the role of Homicide investigation.
 
I develop methods of detecting forensically recoverable evidence by the use of dogs and facilitate training.
 
I am regularly deployed to homicide cases within my portfolio and form a 'Specialist Canine Homicide Search Team' including the S.A.M dog teams from Dyfed Powys and USA.
 
I have trained and handle two operational specialist search dogs: 'Eddie' is a 7-year-old English Springer spaniel dog who is trained as an Enhanced Victim Recovery Dog (EVRD).
 
'Keela' is a three-year old English Springer spaniel bitch who is trained as an Human blood search dog (C.S.I. dog).
 
OPERATION TASK CANINE DEPLOYMENTS 1-8 AUGUST 2007

On the instruction of The PJ Director, The Portuguese police kept all search records concerning the deployment of the search dogs. All dog searches were recorded by video.
 
The following searches were conducted:
 
Five apartments at a complex in Praia da Luz.
Mr. Murat's property at Praia da Luz.
Mr. McCann's Villa at Praia da Luz (Present occupancy).
Articles of clothing from Mr. McCann's residence.
Western beach Praia da Luz.
Eastern Beach Praia da Luz.
10 Vehicles screened at Portimao.
 
CANINE SEARCHES AT FIVE APARTMENTS AT PRAIA DA LUZ

All five apartments were searched using the EVRD. The only alert indications were at apartment 5a, the reported scene.

The EVRD alerted in the:
 
Rear bedroom of the apartment in the immediate right hand corner by the door.
 
Living room, behind sofa.
 
Veranda outside parent's bedroom.
 
Garden area directly under veranda.
 
My observation of the dog's behaviour in this instance was that the dog's behaviour changed immediately upon opening the front door to the apartment.
 
He will norrnally remain in the sit position until released and tasked to search. On this occasion he broke the stay and entered the apartment with an above average interest. His behaviour was such that Ibelieved him to be 'in scent' and I therefore allowed him to free search without direction to allow him to identify the source of his interest. He did so alerting in the rear bedroom.
 
I released him from this and tasked him to continue to search. He did so alerting in an area to the rear of the sofa in the lounge.
 
The dog's behaviour for these alerts led me to the following opinions:
 
The first alert was given with the dogs head in the air without a positive area being identified. This is the alert given by him when there is no tangible evidence to be located only the remaining scent.
 
The second alert was one where a definitive area was evident. The CSI dog was therefore deployed who gave specific alert indications to specific areas on the tiled floor area behind the sofa and on the curtain in the area that was in contact with the floor behind the sofa. This would indicate to the likely presence of human blood.
 
The forensic science support oficers were then deployed to recover items for laboratory analysis.
 
There were no alert indications from the remaining properties. Idid however see the dog search in the kitchen waste bins. These contained meat foodstuffs including pork and did not result in any false alert response.
 
CANINE SEARCH OF MR MURAT'S PROPERTY

The property was subjected to a search for human remains or blood stained articles. The outside of property was stripped of vegetation and after the ground being probed was searched by the EVRD dog. The inside of the property was then searched by the dog. There were no alert indications and no human remains were located.

CANINE SEARCH OF MR McCANN'S VILLA, PRESENT OCCUPANCY

The villa interior, garden, and all property within were searched by the EVRD. The only alert indication given was when the dog located a pink cuddly toy in the villas lounge. The CSI dog did not alert to the toy when screened separately.
 
It is my view that it is possible that the EVRD is alerting to cadaver scent contamination. No evidential or intelligence reliability can be made from this alert unless it can be confirmed with corroborating evidence.
 
BOXES OF CLOTHING 1 PROPERTY FROM MR McCANN'S RESIDENCE

At a suitable venue numerous boxes of clothing 1 property taken from the McCann present residence were screened using both the EVRD and the CSI dog. The venue was screened by both dogs prior to introducing clothing / property. Neither gave an alert indication. The screening then took place with the contents of each box being placed around the room in turn. The process was recorded by video and written records were taken by PJ officers.
 
The only alert indication was by the EVRD on clothing from one of the boxes. I am not in possession of the details as these were recorded by the PJ ofíicers present.
 
It is my view that it is possible that the EVRD is alerting to 'a cadaver scent' contaminant. No evidential or intelligence reliability can be made from this alert unless it can be confirmed with corroborating evidence.

WESTERN BEACH

The beach above the waterline was searched. This extended to areas of fallen rock and the cliff face as far as the dog could negotiate the incline. There were no alert indications.
 
EASTERN BEACH

The beach above the waterline was searched. This extended to areas of fallen rock and the cliff face as far as the dog could negotiate the incline. There were no alert indications.

CANINE VEHICLE SEARCHES

Ten vehicles were screened in an underground multi storey car park at Portimao. The vehicles, of which I did not know the owner details, were parked on an empty floor with 20-30 feet between each. The vehicle placement video recording and management of the process was conducted by the PJ. The EVRD was then tasked to search the area. When passing a vehicle I now know to be hired and in the possession of the McCann family, the dog's behaviour changed substantially. This then produced an alert indication at the lower part of the drivers door where the dog was biting and barking. I recognise this behaviour as the dog indicating scent emitting from the inside of the vehicle through the seal around the door.
 
This vehicle was then subjected to a full physical examination by the PJ and no human remains were found. The CSI dog was then tasked to screen the vehicle. An alert indication was forthcoming from the rear driver's side of the boot area. Forensic samples were taken by the PJ and forwarded to a forensic laboratory in the U.K.
 
It is my view that it is possible that the EVRD is alerting to 'cadaver scent' contaminant or human blood scent. No evidential or intelligence reliability can be made from this alert unless it can be confirmed with corroborating evidence. The remainder of the vehicles were screened by the EVRD without any interest being shown. Therefore the CSI dog was not further deployed.
 
SUMMARY
 
The tasking for this operation was as per my normal Standard Operating Procedures. The dogs are deployed as search assets to secure evidence and locate human remains or Human blood.
 
The dogs only alerted to property associated with the McCann family. The dog alert indications MUST be corroborated if to establish their findings as evidence.
 
Therefore in this particular case, as no human remains were located, the only alert indications that may become corroborated are those that the CSI dog indicated by forensic laboratory analysis.
 
My professional opinion as regards to the EVRD's alert indications is that it is suggestive that this is 'cadaver scent' contaminant. This does not however suggest a motive or suspect as cross contamination could be as a result of a number of given scenarios and in any event no evidential or intelligence reliability can be made from these alerts unless they can be confirmed with corroborating evidence.

Video showing the search of the McCanns Renault Scenic hire car and also inside Apartment 5A (released 05 September 2008)

An extended video of Eddie's reaction to the McCanns Renault Scenic hire car (released 06 September 2008)

Martin Grime (from video above)
 
Talking about Eddie after he had barked loudly, indicating cadaver odour, in the area behind the sofa in the McCanns holiday apartment:
 
'What we should understand with this dog is that he only barks when he finds something, he won't bark at any other times. He won't bark at other dogs, he won't bark at strangers, he won't bark when somebody knocks on the door or anything like that. So, again, I would say that is a positive indication.'
 
Talking about Keela after she had given a 'passive indication' behind the same sofa that Eddie had indicated cadaver odour:
 
'The crime scene dog has actually given me what we call a 'passive indication', where she freezes, in this spot here, which would indicate to me that there is some human blood there.'

New videos of the dogs

Images of the McCanns villa in Praia da Luz, Algarve, Portugal.
 
The Portuguese police search the McCanns villa and find several medicines, confidential CEOP manuals, books about murder, and cadaver odour on 'Cuddle Cat', which belonged to Madeleine.
 
Video released by Spanish Antena 3 TV. 10 September 2008

The journalist from the first video essentially says what is covered in the article translated below. The second video explains what we have heard from Mr Grime previously and talks about the conclusions of the dogs findings, which can be read in the PJ's Final Report.

Antena3 Report: The McCanns kept numerous medicines which provoked sleepiness Antena3 (Spanish)
 
New exclusive images from the report
 
Espejo Público [an Antena3 TV Show]
Madrid, 10.09.2008 | 11:03 h.
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
 
Given the repeated refusal of the British police to send different reports about the marriage, the Portuguese police drew up a profile searching throughout the McCanns second house, in Praia da Luz.
 
Thus, officers, accompanied by two police psychologists, conducted a meticulous search in the main bedroom.

In a case of abduction, the family circle is always investigated. The police were surprised on having seen the bedroom. Kate seems to be mourning. In her small bedside table are many photos of Maddy surrounded with rosaries and a Bible, which had bookmarked, with a picture a fragment of the Old Testament in which it could be read: "However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die".

At the other side of the bed, on Gerry's bedside table the attention is given to, between other books, "The interpretation of Murder". In the study where Gerry writes his blog and where he works at the campaign to find his daughter, another surprise: CEOP manuals, books with access restricted to police and governmental entities.

Faced with this discovery, Mark Harrison, the British police officer brought from the United Kingdom to coordinate the case, finds it difficult to believe. He wonders how this married couple had access to these manuals, which are exclusively reserved for police officers.

The Portuguese Officers confirm, in this way, their suspicions about the contacts which have been provided to the McCanns, which, for them, is translated into huge political pressure that, in their judgment, limits the investigation.

Also, the police find numerous medicines, which they examine in search of the sedatives that they fear were given to the children by the McCanns on the night of the 3rd of May. They also register the side effects caused by the medicines that they find, and verify that the majority of them provoke sleepiness. They examine as well the drawers, closets, as well as the twins' room and that no longer sleep in cots but in beds.

The final report of the process, in contrast to the images included in the same report, state that independently of the curious and morbid conclusions, the only fact that one can determine, as such, is the disparate behaviour of the couple at the time of facing Madeleine's disappearance.

Date
31 July 2007
Search of the McCanns' Ocean Club apartment 5A

Martin Grime arrives with Eddie at the McCanns' apartment 5A

Martin Grime arrives with Eddie at the McCanns' apartment 5A

Eddie searches the McCanns' apartment

Eddie starts to show interest in the sofa area

Eddie in Apartment 5A

Eddie indicates cadaver odour behind the sofa
 
PJ Summary Report:
 
- cadaver odour dog:
* in the living room, behind the sofa, close to the lateral window of the apartment
 
- blood dog:
* in the living room, behind the sofa, close to the lateral window of the apartment (exactly as it was signalled by the cadaver odour dog)

Eddie shows interest in the wardrobe

Eddie indicates cadaver odour around the McCanns' bedroom wardrobe
 
PJ Summary Report:
 
- cadaver odour dog:
* in the couple's bedroom, in a corner, close to the wardrobe
 
*

Eddie communicates a discovery by barking

Eddie indicates the discovery of cadaver odour by barking. In addition to indications within the apartment, Eddie also indicated cadaver odour outside in the small back garden area.
 
PJ Summary Report:
 
- cadaver odour dog:
* in a flowerbed, the dog handler commented on the lightness of the scent detected
 
(In 'The Truth of the Lie', Gonçalo Amaral states that outside, Eddie gives two more alerts of cadaver odour, on the veranda of the couple's bedroom and also in a garden situated directly below it. Here, the bark is weaker, like a "could be", with some doubt, like a human shrugging their shoulders.
 
The 57-page PJ Report Summary makes no mention of cadaver odour being indicated on the veranda.)

02 August 2007
Search of the McCanns' villa

Eddie indicates a discovery in the McCanns' villa

Eddie indicates the discovery of cadaver odour on 'Cuddle Cat'
 
PJ Summary Report:
 
- cadaver odour dog:
* on the soft toy, possibly belonging to MADELEINE (cadaver odour was detected when the soft toy was inside the residence – at the date occupied by the family)

Eddie searching for cadaver odour on clothes

PJ Summary Report:
 
- cadaver odour dog:
* on two pieces of clothing belonging to KATE HEALY
 
(Note: Gonçalo Amaral in 'The Truth of the Lie' states that Eddie marked a strong cadaver odour on Kate's clothes: slacks in black/white check and a sleeveless white blouse)

Eddie indicates cadaver odour on an item of red clothing

PJ Summary Report:
 
- cadaver odour dog:
* on a piece of clothing of the minor MADELEINE
 
(Given Gonçalo Amaral's description of Kate's clothes, as per previous picture, we must assume that this red T-Shirt, that also indicated cadaver odour, was the 'piece of clothing' that belonged to Madeleine)

06 August 2007
Examination of 10 vehicles in car park

Eddie waits to examine 10 vehicles

Martin Grime prepares to let Eddie off the leash

Eddie searches around the McCanns Renault Scenic hire car

Eddie smells cadaver odour around the McCanns' Renault Scenic hire car

Eddie clearly indicates cadaver odour

Eddie clearly indicates cadaver odour by barking loudly
 
PJ Summary Report:
 
- cadaver odour dog:
* signalled the key of the vehicle
 
- blood dog:
* signalled the key of the vehicle
 
(The PJ Summary Report does not mention the indication of cadaver odour around the base of the driver's door - yet Eddie can be clearly seen in this photograph, and accompanying video, indicating cadaver odour at that point.
 
Presumably it has not been recorded as such because Eddie is actually indicating that cadaver odour is coming from inside the vehicle - rather than from the car door itself - and, as Martin Grime explains, he does not need to indicate a precise point in the car - simply that there is cadaver odour there. Keela is then used to pin down precise points)

Cadaver odour is detected in the boot of the Renault Scenic

Eddie/Keela indicate cadaver odour/blood within the boot of the Reanult Scenic
 
PJ Summary Report:
 
- blood dog:
* signalled the interior of the vehicle's boot
 
(Given that Keela is only used after Eddie has indicated a cadaver odour, it seems strange that the 57-page PJ Report Summary does not record cadaver odour being indicated in the area of the vehicle's boot, or, indeed, anywhere on the car, apart from the keys.
 
In 'The Truth of the Lie', Gonçalo Amaral states that Eddie precisely alerted to:

* the lower part of the driver's door
* in the boot, where the dog was biting and barking, indicating the odour was coming from inside the car
* the key

Amaral continues that the car was taken apart by forensic experts and, around dawn, Keela found traces of blood where Eddie had signalled: the key and the luggage compartment.
 
Given what we know about the different way each dog searches and indicates, then the dog that can be seen inside the car boot, in photographs and video footage, must be Keela. Once Eddie had indicated cadaver odour emanating from inside the vehicle, through the seal of the car door, he would not have been further deployed inside the vehicle.
 
What still remains unclear is to what extent the vehicle was dismantled in the car park and whether this video footage shows Keela before, or after, any dismantling has taken place.)

Madeleine's red T-shirt that indicated cadaver odour on 02 August 2007 PJ Files

Madeleine's red top which indicated cadaver odour
Madeleine's red top which indicated cadaver odour



Madeleine's red T-shirt worn by Sean, 04 June 2007

Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 04 June 2007
Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 04 June 2007

Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 04 June 2007
Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 04 June 2007

Gerry's blog: Day 32, 04 June 2007

Busier day today with travel arrangements for Berlin and Amsterdam finalised. Leaving tomorrow night and coming back Thurs afternoon. It will be a very busy schedule similar to Madrid. On Thurs night there is a music festival in aid of Madeleine in nearby Lagos which we will be attending. Tonigh, we were interviewed for Crimeatch which will be shown on BBC1 tomorrow night. This was a very good opportunity to recap on all the information which is in the public domain and re-emphasise the appeal, especially since the description of a suspect seen carrying a child was released by the Portuguese police after the initial British appeal. As well as some reports from Crimewatch, you may see a picture of me in a green and yellow find Madeleine t-shirt in tomorrow's paper. The t-shirts were brought over by Phil and later on I thought better about wearing it around the resort she was taken from. I am sure all the people who have chosen to continue their holliday here, rather than take an alternative location, know about Madeleine's disappearance and don't need a further reminder.



Madeleine's T-shirt worn by Sean, 08 June 2007

Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 08 June 2007
Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 08 June 2007

Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 08 June 2007
Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 08 June 2007

Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 08 June 2007
Madeleine's red t-shirt worn by Sean, 08 June 2007

Gerry's blog: Day 36, 08 June 2007

Quieter day today. This was a good chance to catch up with campaign e-mails and phone calls after the trips to Berlin and Amsterdam. At lunchtime we went to the release of 1000 yellow balloons at the beach carrying cards with Madeleine's picture on it and information in 5 different languages including arabic. There were similar launches in Manchester and Madrid. The event was organsied by the Sun who, like almost all of the media, have been incredibly supportive. I told Nick, the Sun journalist, that we are happy to support all strategies which increase the chances of finding Madeleine. Later in the afternoon we went down to the beach and had dinner in one of the restaurants which Sean and Amelie really enjoyed. Sean, in particular has acquired a taste for sea-bass! Kate and I did a short interview for BBC East Midlands to thank everyone for their support and it is likely that this will be shown around most of the regions, certainly Northwest and BBC Scotland. Kate and most of the family headed down to the church for the regular Friday night vigil but I was just too shattered. Tommorrow will largely be a family day although I am not sure what we will be doing yet.

Still taken from PJ video of Gerry's bedside table, at the Vista Mar villa
Still taken from PJ video of Gerry's bedside table, at the Vista Mar villa

The Interpretation of Murder
 
Nigel Moore
03 January 2009
Thanks to Dr Martin Roberts for quotes
 
The PJ video recorded that Gerry McCanns' choice of bedtime reading, whilst staying at the Vista Mar villa, included 'The Interpretation of Murder' by Jed Rubenfeld.
 
A seemingly inappropriate choice of book for a man who believed his daughter had been abducted and could quite possibly be in the hands of a predatory paedophile.
 
However, when one considers some quotes from the book, this may not have been such a peculiar choice of reading material:
 
"The announcement was pure invention, but it was believed, and therefore within three weeks it was so. Mr Banwell had mastered the great truth that truth itself, like buildings, can be manufactured." (p.9).
 
"I cannot be expected to solve a murder if the evidence is trampled and tampered with before I arrive." (p.22).
 
"In this heat, he explained, decomposition would rapidly set in if the corpse was not refrigerated at once." (p.28).
 
"Littlemore studied the bedroom. 'Miss Acton', he said, 'how do you think the man got in here last night?'
 
'Well, he must have – why, I don't know.'
 
It was, Littlemore reflected, certainly a puzzle. There were only two doors to the Acton house, the front and the back... ....Could the intruder have climbed in through a window?" (p.299).

'Every Second Counts: From Recovery To Victory' by Lance Armstrong

'Every Second Counts: From Recovery To Victory' By Lance Armstrong

Search of Vista Mar Villa, 02 August 2007 - In The McCanns' Bedroom

During the PJ searches of the villa rented by the McCanns, it was observed that Gerry McCann's bedside reading material included Every Second Counts: From Recovery To Victory by Lance Armstrong.



Any similarities are purely coincidental...

Master of denial sees his epic fiction ripped to shreds The Irish Independent

By Tommy Conlon
Sunday August 26 2012

During his years as king of the road, Lance Armstrong was master of all he surveyed.

He didn't just win the Tour de France in those glory days, he ran it. His word was law. His rivals feared him. His colleagues obeyed him. Cycling's authorities deferred to him. The US media paid homage to him. Corporate America lavished fortunes upon him. Millions of people the world over worshipped him for his cancer crusade.

The hardest man on a bike, he was the greatest humanitarian off it. It was an untouchable combination. Half man half myth, he exuded omnipotence.

One wonders if it was this sense of omnipotence that convinced him he could fool all of the people, all of the time. Did he think he could control everything and everyone? Did he believe he could get away with it forever?

Doubts about his innocence were there from his first Tour victory in 1999 and would persist from then on, riding in tandem with his vertical ascent into cycling history. As the achievements multiplied, so did the suspicions, hardening all the time through scattered scraps of information, telling details, whispered anecdotes. On their own they didn't amount to much. But compiled together they eventually had the makings of a file, an unofficial dossier of circumstantial evidence.

Much of that evidence was unearthed by the journalists David Walsh and Pierre Ballester for their 2004 book L.A. Confidentiel: Les Secrets de Lance Armstrong. In a pattern that would become familiar over the following years, Armstrong came down on them like a ton of bricks, deploying lawyers at great expense to sue for libel and threaten any interested publishers. The book was published in French; it wasn't released in English-speaking territories.

Allegations of various doping offences continued to drip sporadically into the public domain. A positive test during the 1999 Tour for a corticosteroid that was finessed under the carpet. Urine samples showing abnormal testosterone levels, or traces of illegal substances, that somehow never came to light. Frankie Andreu, his former team-mate, alleging he heard Armstrong admit to doctors that he had used steroids, human growth hormone and EPO.

But he survived the long inquisition. Year after year, race after race, he kept everyone at bay: the sceptics, the investigative reporters, the scientists in their laboratories. One of the greatest frauds perpetrated in the history of sport was going undetected, unproven, unsolved. There was an abiding sense that Armstrong, like some Wall Street titan, was too rich, too famous, too powerful, to be caught. He was basically too big to fail.

In April 2010, his friend and former team-mate, Floyd Landis, delivered a hammer blow. Landis accused him of systematic doping during their days together. A year later, Tyler Hamilton, another old team-mate, alleged on American national television that Armstrong had co-ordinated the team's doping programme. These were eyewitness accounts from the inner circle. The brotherhood had finally broken ranks. The cocoon around Armstrong had been breached.

But he responded as he always did; he went on the attack. He brazened it out. A formidable media operator, he looked the world's press in the eye and said it wasn't true. None of it was true.

It was at this point that one wondered about his sense of omnipotence. He was still behaving like a master of the universe, even though the game was up. He was still resorting to the oldest strategy in the business: deny, deny, deny.

And it looked as if he had succeeded when, last February, government agents ended a two-year investigation without bringing any criminal charges. Once again our hero was free.

But the United States Anti-Doping Agency then took up the case. In June they charged Armstrong and others with engaging in a massive doping conspiracy for nine years, during which he'd won his seven Tours. Again he mobilised his lawyers and waged a PR campaign against his accusers.

But USADA had more evidence assembled than ever before. They had incriminating blood samples. They had ten former cyclists lined up to testify against him. They withstood his court challenges and were heading towards an arbitration hearing with Armstrong, probably in November. If it had gone to a hearing, the evidence amassed against him might have destroyed his reputation.

So, last Thursday, he surrendered instead. He wouldn't contest the charges in a public court. USADA has deemed it an admission of guilt. They will recommend he be banned from any sport under its jurisdiction and that he be stripped of his Tour titles. Armstrong issued a statement. It was laced with anger, paranoia and more denials. He proclaimed his innocence while evading the process that would have confirmed his guilt. It would be the last time, he said, that he would ever address this issue.

It's hard to know which is worse, the doping or the lying. One is done in private, the other in public. It is difficult to comprehend the amount of times that Armstrong has looked the public in the eye and told them lies. Millions of people admired and trusted him. And he lied to them.

In his heyday he would cycle himself to a standstill in the Alps. He ultimately lied himself to a standstill too. His final statement was one last sad and desperate fiction. It was the flag on the summit of a mountain of lies.

The Sun, Friday 05 September 2008

Hounding of the McCanns The Sun
 
By ALEX PEAKE and VERONICA LORRAINE
Published: Today, 05 September 2008
 
THESE were the scenes as two police sniffer dogs investigated the disappearance of little Madeleine McCann — and left her shell-shocked parents wrongly in the frame.
 
The hounds' findings persuaded bungling Portuguese cops to name doctors Kate and Gerry as official suspects in the mystery.
 
Now video footage obtained by The Sun — and revealed for the first time today — lays bare the flimsy evidence used to build the case against them.
 
The 2½-hour film, shot on a police camcorder, chronicles the work of two specially-trained British sniffer dogs. It details the moments when the springer spaniels apparently detected:
 
* The scent of a dead body in the McCanns' rented Renault Scenic, hired 25 days after Maddie vanished shortly before her fourth birthday in May 2007
 
* An aroma of blood in a bedroom cupboard in the family's Praia da Luz holiday apartment, and
 
* A smell of death on Kate's clothes.
 
Dog handler and ex-PC Martin Grimes is seen working with the dogs, named Keela and Eddie, while Portuguese detectives look on.
 
He remarks on camera that Keela will detect "very old" blood. Yet local cops quickly leapt on the findings.
 

Click below to see more pictures of the sniffer dogs searching McCann's property

Click here for slideshow

 

 


Shortly after the dogs were drafted in, police made Kate and Gerry, both 40, "arguidos" — official suspects.

Cleared

Although the couple, from Rothley, Leics, were eventually cleared, they went through ten months of added hell as they led the search for Maddie, who has still not been found.

Last night ex-Flying Squad commander John O'Connor said: "I find it absolutely appalling the detectives can treat the McCanns as official suspects on the back of such flimsy evidence."

The Sun's never-before-seen footage gives the true picture of how the investigation was conducted.

It shows the dogs in the McCanns' Algarve holiday home — apartment 5A of the Ocean Club in Praia de Luz.

Eddie is first to be taken into the two-bed apartment and spends nearly 30 minutes sniffing around.

He barks twice — once in a bedroom and once at a spot behind a sofa underneath a living room window.

Martin says: "As soon as I came in the dog is very excited. From his body language it would appear he has picked up a scent that he recognises.

"There is enough scent there for him to give me a bark indication."

After Eddie leaves the apartment, Martin takes in Keela. She can be seen freezing — a sign she has found something — underneath the window where Eddie had earlier barked.

Martin says on camera: "The crime scene dog has given me a positive indication. That indicates to me there is some human blood there. She will detect blood that is very old and find anybody’s blood."

While Portuguese cops carried out DNA tests on "fluids" found in the flat, it has never been revealed if any blood was found.

Detectives also asked Martin to use his dogs on the McCanns' hire car.

Eddie is seen barking at the driver's door before standing still in the boot, then scrabbling in one corner.

Martin says: "We had a reaction from the dog. The scent is coming out of the sealed door."

The dogs also sniffed items of clothing — and the film shows Eddie again picking up a scent on some of Kate's.

The family GP has insisted she came into contact with at least SIX dead bodies before going on holiday with her husband and three children.

Martin and the spaniels are then taken round the apartment hired by the McCanns after Maddie vanished. No evidence is uncovered there.

Portuguese police used the findings as a basis for their theory that Maddie had died in the family’s apartment on the night she went missing.

The scent in the car convinced them the couple had hidden her body and later disposed of it, despite the world's media watching their every movement.

Police files released last month showed that all DNA evidence against the McCanns had proved inconclusive.

Mr O'Connor, with more than 30 years' police experience, last night blasted the "ridiculous" Portuguese probe.

He said: "This clearly shows they were clutching at straws. It seems to me they have used the dogs to reinforce their own prejudices.

"As far as I am concerned they suspected Kate and Gerry or their party of being involved from day one.

"They made up their mind so, when the dogs detected the scent, as far as they were concerned that was it.

"But the dogs found nothing that could be used as evidence in a court of law. They are a tool to finding conclusive evidence, nothing more."

*

'It's crazy to rely on animals' The Sun

Published: Today, 05 September 2008
 
EXPERTS say sniffer dogs can play a vital role in fighting crime — but warn it is "madness" to rely on their findings.
 
The animals are used to lead police to evidence, but do not provide evidence themselves.
 
One expert told The Sun: "The dogs can identify traces of blood, but it's crazy to draw major conclusions just from what they find.
 
"Any evidence they find should be used as a starting point. It's madness just to rely on the findings of the sniffer dogs."
 
Handler Martin Grimes, who worked with his dogs on the Maddie case, admitted the animals offered no more than "a guide".
 
He said: "They can identify traces of blood and detect the smell of a decomposing body, but that is as far as they go."
 
Martin said his dogs Keela and Eddie would only give him an indication when they find what they are trained to detect.
 
Unreliable
 
He said: "Blood could be invisible to the naked eye, but Keela will detect it. It doesn't matter if it's hundreds of years old.
 
"Eddie smells for the scent of a decomposing human body. He can detect any part of a human body that is decomposing — hair, bones, flesh, anything.
 
"The smell of a decomposing body is very difficult to get rid of. It can easily be transferred to clothing and on to a person."
 
A spokesman for the McCanns said: "Dog alerts can be unreliable. The handler himself makes it clear in the police report that such alerts are meaningless without corroborative evidence. There was no such evidence.
 
"Gerry and Kate are not interested in dwelling on mistakes that were made. They and their investigation team wish to focus entirely on finding Maddie."
 
*
 
The Sun Says The Sun
 
Ruff Justice
 
Published: Today, 05 September 2008
 
SO now we know.
 
Portuguese police built their pathetic "case" against the McCanns on the say-so of two animals.
 
Sniffer dogs should be used to back up an already solid case, not as the foundations of one.
 
But the bungling sleuths were so prejudiced against Madeleine's parents — and so devoid of any actual clues — that they gave absurd weight to every bark and sniff.
 
The only surprise is they didn't take the spaniels' statements and put them on the witness stand.

'McCann Dog Found Scent Of Death' Sky News
 
11:02am UK, Friday September 05, 2008
 
Images of a police sniffer dog yelping and barking during a search of the McCann's Algarve apartment after Madeleine went missing have emerged.

Video shows sniffer dog search of McCann's apartment
Video shows sniffer dog search of McCann's apartment

Portuguese detectives were convinced the animal's behaviour was proof that parents Gerry and Kate were involved in the disappearance of their daughter.

The footage, obtained by The Sun newspaper, shows two trained springer spaniels searching the Praia da Luz flat and the couple's rented car - 25 days after Madeleine went missing.

The dogs picked up the "scent of a dead body", an "aroma of blood in a cupboard" and a "smell of death" on Kate's clothes.

Former PC Martin Grimes, the British dog handler who conducted the search, told Portuguese officers the hounds could pick up the scent of very old blood.

During the video he told officers: "The crime scene dog has given me a positive indication.

"That indicates to me there is some human blood there - she will detect blood that is very old and find anybody's blood."

Despite these warnings Kate and Gerry McCann were made official suspects.

Police files released last month showed that all DNA evidence against the couple, from Rothley, Leicestershire, proved inconclusive.

They, and Robert Murat have now had their "arguido" status removed.

Sniffer Dog Searches Madeleine Flat
 
Sep 5, 2008
 
The Sun newspaper has obtained footage of sniffer dogs searching the apartment in Portugal from where Madeleine McCann disappeared, 25 days after she went missing. The dogs were said to have picked up "the scent of a dead body".
 
(00:00:39)

Eddie in car park
Dogs ran towards the McCanns' car Correio da Manhã
 
Investigation: CM reveals images of the dogs' work
 
Ana Luísa Nascimento / Eduardo Dâmaso
06 September 2008 - 14h30
Thanks to 'astro' for translation 
 
Ten cars are parked in an underground parking garage. 'Eddie' and 'Keela', dogs that are trained to detect cadaver odour and human blood, respectively, are released inside this garage, and at different moments in time, they run towards a grey Renault Mégane (sic: Scenic), where they stop and give their handler a sign: it's the car that was rented by Madeleine McCann's parents, three weeks after her disappearance, and where Gonçalo Amaral believes that the little girl's body was carried.
 
The performance of the British dogs, images of which are revealed first-handedly by CM, was decisive for the Polícia Judiciária and for the investigation, which had been oriented towards the abduction theory until then. 'Keela' and 'Eddie', which are often used in the United Kingdom and with success, coincided in the marking of objects and locations that are related to the McCanns: inside the apartment where Madeleine disappeared from (in the couple's bedroom, in the living room and near the side window), in the patio, inside the vehicle that was used by the McCann family (rented three weeks after the little girl's disappearance), on two pieces of clothing that belong to Kate, and on Maddie's soft toy.
 
In the case of the car that was rented by the McCanns on the 27th of May 2007, both 'Keela' and 'Eddie' ran towards the vehicle as soon as they were released inside the parking garage where it was located together with nine other vehicles, and they coincided in marking the car key and the inside of the car boot. The investigation's videos reveal that the dogs gave their signal in different manners, but coincided on the locations. They both stop on the spot, but while 'Eddie' barks when he detects cadaver odour, 'Keela' remains completely static when she finds a blood trace.
 
Concerning the other inspected vehicles, which included all that had been used by Robert Murat, the first person who was made an arguido, and the car that belonged to a friend of Kate and Gerry, nothing was detected by either one of the dogs, according to the final report.
 
The use of the British dogs was defended by the English authorities themselves, as they are used to this inspection technique in the United Kingdom, and the result of their work led the Polícia Judiciária to constitute Maddie's parents as arguidos, in order to confront them with elements that could result in their incrimination.
 
NOTES
 
Dogs defended by the English – Mark Harrison, the English policeman who was designated to help the PJ in the search for Maddie, wrote a report in which he defended the use of the dogs that are trained to detect cadaver odour and blood.

Animals decisive for the police – The performance of the British dogs that are specially trained to detect cadaver odour and human blood was decisive for Kate and Gerry to be constituted arguidos.

Body may have been inside the car – Gonçalo Amaral, the former coordinator of the case, believes that Maddie's body was transported inside the car that was rented by the McCanns three weeks after the disappearance, and marked by the dogs.

"They never failed"
 
'Eddie' and 'Keela', springer spaniel sniffer dogs that were used in the investigation into the disappearance of Maddie, did not give a single "false positive result".

The assertion comes from English expert Martin Grime, who in his search report guarantees that the behaviour of the dog that is trained to detect cadaver odour "changed immediately after we opened the front door to the apartment" where Madeleine McCann disappeared from.

"He entered the apartment with an above the average interest", the document reads, explaining that the dog marked the couple's bedroom, the living room, behind the sofa and near the side window. The same signals were issued by the dog that is trained to detect blood traces. The animals marked the same locations and objects that are related to the McCanns, including the car that was rented by Madeleine's parents, a Renault Mégane (sic: Scenic) that was rented three weeks after the little girl's disappearance. Among ten cars that were placed inside a parking garage, both 'Eddie', that is trained to detect cadaver odour, and 'Keela', that is trained to signal traces of human blood, changed their behaviour next to the car that was used by the McCanns in May 2007.

Interpretation of murder

Crime novels, manuals that are exclusively used by the police and others concerning the search for missing children were the couple's bedside reading. 'The Interpretation of Murder' is one of the book covers that was filmed during the searches that the PJ performed inside the McCanns' house.

If no video appears in the space above, click this link to go to video

Soft toy found by death smell, 07 September 2008
Eddie in the McCanns' villa
Soft toy found by death smell Correio da Manhã
 
Investigation: CM reveals images of the dogs' work
 
Ana Luísa Nascimento / Eduardo Dâmaso
07 September 2008 - 00h30
Thanks to 'astro' for translation
 
The cadaver odour on Madeleine McCann's soft toy was proved when the sniffer dog was able to find it while hidden inside a closed cupboard.

The process of the toy's marking is demonstrated by the images from the investigation's videos that are published by Correio da Manhã, as well as the moment when the springer spaniel that is trained to detect the smell of death, changes its behaviour next to a piece of Kate's clothing.

The cadaver odour on the soft toy was marked inside the residence that was being occupied by the McCanns in July 2007, but the experts repeated the diligence in a scenario outside the house, where the dog, 'Eddie', gave signal again.

Confronted with the indicia that resulted from the inspection done by the dogs, which are widely used in the United Kingdom – English expert Martin Grime asserts that in over two hundred searches, the sniffer dogs have never marked a false positive – the Polícia Judiciária questioned Kate and Gerry and made them arguidos. The authorities were forced to admit a possible involvement of the McCann couple in their daughter's disappearance and to confront them with elements that could result in incrimination.

Kate McCann, who after Maddie's disappearance was accompanied everywhere – and in a visible manner – by her daughter's favourite toy, did not deny the fact that two pieces of her clothing and her daughter's soft toy had been marked by the English dog that is trained to detect cadaver odour and justified the fact with her profession: she alleged that as a doctor at the Health Centre in Leicester she attended six death situations during the period immediately before her vacation time in Portugal.

Manipulated evidence

The soft toy was found on the bed where Maddie allegedly slept on the night that she went missing, but on the bed, no cadaver odour was detected, contrary to the soft toy. This fact led the Polícia Judiciária to believe that the crime scene was manipulated in order to better justify the abduction theory that is sustained by the McCanns and their friends.

In one of the investigation reports the inspectors write that the soft toy was placed on the bed's end in a moment that was posterior to the disappearance. "There was an intentional modification, in an attempt to take advantage for the simulation of the abduction scenario", the process reads.

McCanns devalue dogs

Kate and Gerry McCann continue to defend that Madeleine McCann was abducted on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007, in the Algarve, and they devalue the indicia that was collected during the investigation – mainly the traces that were detected by the sniffer dogs.

"The frailty of these dogs was proved in a study that was carried out in the USA", the McCanns stated in an interview to 'Expresso', reiterating the hope of finding their daughter alive: "We want to find her alive, but if she's dead we want to know. There is nothing in the process to indicate that something bad has happened to her."

Kate and Gerry say that they "firmly" believe that Maddie was abducted by a man and they criticise the former case coordinator, Gonçalo Amaral, who defends the homicide theory. "His behaviour has been a disgrace", they said, considering that the success of his book is a case of "illicit enrichment".

"Suing the McCanns is a possibility to consider" (Gonçalo Amaral, former coordinator of the Madeleine McCann case)

Correio da Manhã – How do you react to the McCanns' statement that your behaviour is a disgrace?

Gonçalo Amaral – That happens in the sequence of a campaign, it's normal for that hostility to exist. Concerning that type of accusations, they have to be pondered…

- Does that mean that you consider the possibility of suing the McCanns?

- Yes, it's a possibility to consider.

- How do you interpret the fact that the McCanns devalue the dogs' work?

- It’s a form of defence. To them, we are all incompetent, but that is not how the dogs are seen in the United Kingdom, where they are widely used and with success.

- The McCanns say that the English police are more experienced in abductions…

- They can present a formal complaint about their daughter's abduction to the English police instead of using private detectives.

Details

200 searches – Expert Martin Grime asserts that in over 200 searches the sniffer dogs have never failed.

Vehicle – 'Eddie' and 'Keela', who are trained to detect the odour of human cadavers and blood, marked the car that was rented by the McCann couple among ten vehicles.

Robert Murat – The cars that were used by Murat, the first to become an arguido, were inspected by the dogs but nothing was detected.

Decisive – The investigation changed its course after the traces that were detected by the dogs.

Notes

16 months: Missing – Madeleine McCann disappeared 16 months ago from the Ocean Club resort, in Praia da Luz, Algarve, where she was spending holidays with her parents and her twin siblings. It was on the evening of May 3, 2007.

Detectives: 1.2 million – Kate and Gerry McCann, Maddie's parents, guarantee that they have already spent 1.2 million euros from the FindMadeleine Fund, with the private investigation into their daughter's disappearance.

Investigation: Case archived – In July, the Public Ministry archived the investigation into Maddie's disappearance. The abduction theory was dismissed and homicide was pointed out as more likely.

Cadaver odour and blood traces were found behind the sofa
Dogs mark trail next to the window Correio da Manhã
 
Investigation: Images of the dogs' inspection inside the apartment
 
by: Ana Luísa Nascimento/Eduardo Dâmaso
08 September 2008
Thanks to 'astro' for translation
 
Animals detected cadaver odour and human blood traces in the living room, behind the sofa
 
When trainer Martin Grime approached apartment 5A of the Ocean Club resort, the sniffer dog that is trained to detect cadaver odour "immediately changed" and as soon as he was released, "he entered the apartment with above average interest".

This information is included in the report by the English expert who accompanied the dogs' inspection of the apartment where Madeleine disappeared from on the evening of May 3, 2007, images of which are published by CM. The diligence culminated in the coincidental action of the British dogs: both 'Eddie', that is trained to detect cadaver odour, and 'Keela', that is trained to find traces of human blood, marked the area behind the sofa, in the living room, next to the apartment's side window. The videos show the dogs jumping over the sofa and immobilising between the sofa and the wall, barking until the piece of furniture was pushed away from the wall. To the Polícia Judiciária, this fact, which is reported in one of the investigation's intercalary reports, "doubtlessly" proves that the sofa was pushed against the wall after the little girl's death. On the other hand, taking into account that very few indicia were collected from this piece of furniture, which was positioned on the same spot where the dogs gave their signal, the PJ admits the possibility that it was "subject to washing" in order to eliminate possible traces.

Odour in the bedroom

Another area of the apartment that the sniffer dog 'Eddie' focused on was the McCanns' bedroom, in a corner next to the wardrobe. In this case, the investigation's video shows the dog immobilising itself inside the wardrobe. In the room where the little girl allegedly slept when she disappeared, nothing was detected, except the soft toy, which the investigators believe was placed on the bed's end afterwards, in order to sustain the abduction theory.

In the Polícia Judiciária's final report, the inspectors underline that the British dogs only marked the detection in locations and on objects that were related to the McCanns: apart from the apartment and its patio, the vehicle that was used by Kate and Gerry (rented 24 days after the disappearance), two pieces of clothing that belong to Kate and Maddie's soft toy were marked.

On the contrary, in the apartments that were occupied by the couple's friends in Praia da Luz and in all the vehicles that were used by Robert Murat, the first person who was made an arguido, nothing was detected by the dogs, as well as in the house that was occupied by the McCanns afterwards.

Strong indicia for Amaral

Gonçalo Amaral, the former coordinator of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine, has defended that there was "sufficient indicia" to accuse the McCanns.

The inspector, who has already stated publicly that he was convinced that the process would be archived from the moment that he was removed from the investigation, believes that the parents could have been accused of concealment of a cadaver and simulating a crime. "With another Public Ministry, I admit that there could have been another decision", he told CM when the archiving dispatch of the case was known.

Just like our newspaper reported, in prosecutor Magalhães e Menezes' dispatch the Public Ministry itself discards the abduction theory, admits that the most likely possibility is homicide, but clears Maddie's parents, while concluding that there was neglect from Kate and Gerry. The prosecutor argued that the McCanns had neither time nor means to conceal the body, given the fact that they had been in Portugal for only a few days. Despite this conclusion, the Public Ministry compiled a list of questions that remain unexplained, namely why the surveillance procedures were changed that night and how the twins did not wake up in the midst of the confusion.

Kate's diary was not valued as evidence

Kate's diary, which was considered as fundamental by the investigators because it revealed Madeleine's mother's profile, led the PJ to England to apprehend it but was never validated as evidence. The document, which Kate started writing following a psychiatrist's advice, was discovered by the police in the Algarve apartment and was initially photocopied and analysed. But it was only in April that the police were granted permission to formally apprehend the original document.

Dogs and tests render investigation expensive

The hundreds of forensic tests that were carried out in the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance cost the State thousands of euros. In the last volume of the process alone, there are five invoices that refer to DNA tests and analyses on biological residues, all of them over twenty thousand euros. The total of expenses with forensic tests in Portugal and England is approximately 145 thousand euros. The daily expense of the British dogs cost one thousand euros and the travel expenses cost over 2700.

Numbers from the case

443 searches were carried out by the Polícia Judiciária in the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

300 policemen from various security forces were mobilised after the disappearance of the little girl from the Ocean Club resort, in Praia da Luz.

130 elements of the Polícia Judiciária, from several directories over the country – mainly Lisbon and the Algarve – were detached for this investigation.

700 persons were heard as witnesses by the authorities during the inquiry, 112 of them being staff of the Ocean Club resort.

2000 diligences were counted by the Public Ministry during the investigation.

3 persons were made arguidos: Robert Murat, Kate McCann and Gerry McCann.

Details

Manipulated evidence – The PJ believes that the McCanns changed the position of objects inside the apartment, manipulating the location in order to justify the abduction theory. The examples are the sofa, which was pushed against the wall, and the soft toy, which was placed on the little girl's bed afterwards.

English under control – Kate and Gerry McCann kept the British journalists under control. In order not to be criticised, they offered photo shoots during their morning strolls in the Algarve – apparently routine but previously arranged, as revealed by Kate's notes.

Distorted information – The PJ says that the information that was collected with the McCanns and their friends was "worked upon" in order to strengthen the abduction theory. The authorities conclude that "everyone lies" on the issue of the surveillance of the children, explaining that "fundamental" information was "distorted".

Lack of credibility – The witness statement from Jane Tanner, who said that she saw someone crossing the street carrying a child, was not considered credible by the PJ, which doesn't understand how the McCanns' friend did not "act immediately" when she saw someone walking away from Maddie's apartment.

No trace: 16 months without clues - Madeleine McCann disappeared from the Ocean Club, in the Algarve, on the evening of May 3, 2007. The little English girl was three years old and was on holidays with her parents and siblings. She was never seen again

Theories: Abduction and homicide – Abduction was the hypothesis that was pointed out after the disappearance of Maddie, and to this day it's the theory that is defended by the parents. But the dogs' work led the authorities to believe in homicide

Kate: Political pressures – Kate's notes after her daughter's disappearance reveal that the McCanns were in contact with the English prime minister, who they asked to pressure Portugal.

McCanns react to footage of police dog searches Portugal Resident
 
Updated: 11 September 2008
 
VIDEO FOOTAGE of a dog howling next to a Renault Megane car in a car park in Portugal allegedly shows the moment British police dogs found the scent of a body in the search for Madeleine McCann.

Part of a two-and-a-half hour video has been posted on British national newspaper The Sun's website and shows one of the police dogs stopping at the door of the hire car and howling in what is indicated by dog handler Martin Grimes as "a reaction to the detection of the smell of death".

The video then moves to show the dogs in apartment 5A, where Martin Grimes speaks to the camera and says: "As a handler I can pick up on the body language of the dogs and I could tell that the dogs were excited as soon as they entered the apartment."

The dogs were both specifically focused on the area below the window in the sitting room but Martin Grimes says: "Keela (the dog that detects human blood) has passively indicated human blood but this could be historical, it is important everyone knows this. She is very, very good and when she indicates there is human blood, there always is."

No evidence

Kate and Gerry spoke about the findings of the dogs to Portuguese newspaper Expresso in the first interview with Portuguese press since they were made arguidos.

When asked about the blood found in the apartment, Gerry said: "No blood was found! This evidence does not have any value without being corroborated by forensic information and it was not." 

He also told reporters that on examining the police files it became clear that the only reason the couple were made arguidos was because of the evidence found by the dogs.

"Now, reading the process, there is no evidence to justify the suspicion, unless you take the evidence of the dogs. The fragility of these dogs has been proven in a US study…dogs make mistakes in two thirds of attempts of finding evidence," he said.

In the interview, which was conducted in Rothley and printed in Expresso newspaper on September 5, Gerry and Kate McCann opposed claims by the paper that most crimes against children are committed by the parents.

"This is not the case when referring to abducted children. This is a case of child kidnapping and it is an exceptional case," said Gerry McCann.

When asked if they feel they were negligent in leaving Madeleine and the twins alone while on holiday in Praia da Luz, he responded: "We have not been negligent, I did what any reasonable father would do but we do deeply regret what happened. I am an optimistic person and I never thought that something like this could ever happen."

He added that he and Kate had altered as parents following the disappearance of Madeleine: "Now we are more protective and less confident as parents. We will not leave our children alone again and because of us neither will many other families."

With thanks to Nigel at McCann Files

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