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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 that is interested in Justice for Madeleine Beth McCann. Many thanks Pamalam. |
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| The 'Victoria Beckham lookalike' in the hunt for Madeleine McCann asked if tourist had her 'new daughter' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The woman detectives are hunting in the search for Madeleine McCann asked a
British tourist if he was about to deliver her 'new daughter'. The woman, who had an Australian accent, spoke to a British businessman in Spain just three days after the youngster disappeared. She had been acting in an 'agitated' manner outside a bar in Barcelona and, when approached, asked the man: 'Are you here to deliver my new daughter?', a source close to the investigation said last night. The tourist, who was chaperoning his brother on a stag party, was too shocked to reply and the woman repeated the question twice more. A second member of the party also spoke to the woman before she left. It is believed that the woman mistook the witness for a man she had arranged to meet. Investigators yesterday issued an urgent appeal for information about the woman, described as a 'glamorous and well turned out' Victoria Beckham lookalike. Dave Edgar, the retired detective hired by Kate and Gerry McCann to lead a private inquiry, said it was very possible the youngster was smuggled into Barcelona by yacht from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz where she disappeared in May 2007.
Yesterday he revealed an image of the woman, thought to be Australian, at a press conference in London, appealing for help in finding her. Mr Edgar, 52, said the two Britons, who were part of a larger group on a trip to
Spain, saw the woman acting suspiciously in the early hours of May 7, 2007 during a night out at the city's Port Olimpic Marina. The men said she appeared anxious as she paced up and down outside the El Rey de la Gamba bar as if she was waiting to meet somebody. After watching the woman for ten minutes, one of the Britons approached her and they had a short conversation. 'She said something that was potentially significant to the investigation,' Mr Edgar said. He described it as a 'strong lead,' but refused to give any more details. The woman then went into an adjacent bar where she had a heated conversation with a local man in what appeared to be fluent Spanish. She was last seen walking towards a hospital and more distant ferry and cruise ship terminals. The man she talked to described her as between 30 and 35, slim, about 5ft 2in and with short brown hair. She was wearing expensive looking blue jeans and a jersey top, possibly pastel-coloured. The man said she spoke with what he believed was an Australian accent. Mr Edgar said: 'Madeleine most definitely could have got from the area to Barcelona by yacht. This woman is a significant individual, though I wouldn't describe her as a suspect.'
He said the witness, a married 41-year-old professional without children, only contacted the McCanns' investigation team six weeks ago. Mr Edgar said that the delay was for 'personal reasons' and that he had insisted on remaining anonymous.
'We are satisfied that he is a very credible witness and the account he's given is clear and concise,' Mr Edgar said.
The man had been drinking but was not drunk, while the woman was sober. The McCanns' private detectives travelled to Barcelona in search of extra information, but the CCTV footage of the area had already been wiped.
They have informed Portuguese detectives about the new lead and plan to talk with the Australian Federal Police and the Spanish authorities. The e-fit of the woman by a British police artist was described by the witness as 80 per cent accurate. The McCanns, from
Rothley, Leicestershire, have been kept informed. Their
spokesman Clarence Mitchell
said: 'They've learned through bitter experience not to
get their hopes up.' But he said they had 'drawn strength' from the new momentum in the investigation.
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| Comments (117) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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how
come it has taken 2 long years for
this info to come to light. surely
anyone with any concerns for
madeleine would have spoken up at
the time. why has it taken two long years for this info to be declared? why do the phto fits keep changeing so dramatically? and surely if looking for madeleine a new picture should be used so the public are up to date on her age. so many questions and no answers. I would like to see kate and gerry ask for the case to be re-opened and to physically take part in looking for madeleine. if it were my daughter i would. Whatever anyone thinks about this case, one thing is for certain a child of nearly 4 years old who had been abducted would surely talk to other people about her real parents and her siblings. No wonder no one has been caught yet if they thing that looks like VB! Outrageous! He should be prosecuted for witholding evidence. why has this only just come to light? How creditable is it 2 years after the event, whatever the personal reasons he should have spoken up before now. I think this lead will come to nought. Somebody who has kidnapped a British child is hardly going to ask a stranger, that too a Brit, have you got my new daughter, not once but many times. Obviously the woman was waiting for somebody to deliver a child to her (could be something as innocent as her current boyfriends child - hence the word new daughter). Which criminal would be openly waiting for a kidnapper to deliver a child in front of a busy place like a bar? That too just three days after the child went missing and it was big news everywhere. When they find the person, and they will, I bet they'll look something like one of these pics, since almost all the photo pics look like they could be the same person, given a wig and false teeth - try it, and see for yourselves. The man could even have been a woman...
'issued an urgent appeal for
information about the woman' I am not surprised that more new leads are being discovered, probably and understandably to keep Maddie high profile. But I do not think this will turn up anything new, and I hope I am wrong And why has it taken over 2 years for this 'significant' lead to be investigated?
It is
hard to attach much importance to
this latest 'witness' testimony.
This woman could just be a disturbed
sole who tapped into the search for
the child and acted out a role for
herself. Attention seekers appear
all the time when children go
missing - remember the lady who
swore she had seen Holly and Jessica
walking past her house at the time
of the Soham case? My heart goes out to the McCanns, I cannot imagine the torture they are enduring. It is terrible to believe that somebody out there knows what has happened to their daughter and doesnt have the heart to help them find her. We can only pray for them
Can I
clear something up.
"Why
would a convicted paedophile that
was in the area at the time Maddy
went missing refuse to talk to
investigators and police and refuse
to give an alibi? "
Two
years is too long to remember what a
chance encounter with a total
stranger looked like! And given the
fact that a little girl had been
abducted there is no excusing for
what ever reason not coming forward
straight away even if he was playing
away or whatever the police are
sympathetic and would have kept it
from his wife partner etc, he could
have been anonymous then as he is
now. It was world wide news the
within two days. I'm sorry but I don't believe a word of it. Is there a photo fit of the man seen by the Irish family, carrying a child towards the beach on the night Maddy disappeared? ...... I wonder why? The number of people on this site that are against the McCanns amazes me and all of them should be deeply ashamed of themselves. They bring discredit to themselves, they add to the McCanns suffering and give great comfort to the evil perpetrators of this crime. took long enough to come forward, if he remained anonymous, there can be no reason for not coming forward earlier, he has a right of anonymity unless he is a suspect of course. She may have had an Australian accent, but this can be confused with a New Zealand one albeit soffer, easily mistaken by a Brit. If she is well turned out, she could live in Marbella, or have been goine back to Australia. Its beyond me how she would have been able to have got her back without being seen. This is why we need the amber alert. I hope and pray she is found alive. Terrible that "personal reasons" kept this man from informing the police two years ago. But I do hope it turns out to be a good lead. I thought the conversation wasn't going to be revealed for 'operational reasons'!! How ridiculous, and how stupid does Clarence Mitchell think we are??
Has
nobody realised that 'daughter'
which is what the woman has been
reported as asking for, is drug
slang for a quarter of an ounce.
This woman was trying to score an
ounce 2 years ago and Clarence
Mitchell and the 'detectives' have
managed to turn it into a worldwide
hunt for someone involved in the
disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The 'detectives' obviously never
worked in the drug squad! the top two men look just like the e-fit of the woman. maybe they are related - or the pictues are not very good. in any case the woman looks nothing like victoria beckham. Amazing the evidence that only comes up years later! This has hindered the search for this chld.
this
small road outside this complex must
have been one of the busiest roads
in portugal giving all the sightings
all the suspects bumping into one
another.
Are
you sure this picture has not been
in the paper before??I`m sure I have
seen it somewhere along the way
i
hope to god they find the poor
little baby... and if any one did
take her that they rot in hell
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gill
- she was three years old. How many
three year olds are sent to the
shops?
Interesting comments. A British lad
goes missing in the Blue Mountains
and 5 days later his father declares
him dead, has a service and clears
off. He of course miraculously
re-appeared. I am very sorry about what's happened and hope for a speedy return of Madelaide to her family. But can someone explain to me why, when hundreds of children go missing each year, has this received so much media attention? What amazes me is the sheer number of strange people hanging around Madeleine's apartment - did the management co. have 24 hour security for the building? If not, they should have - sounds like a dangerous place. I hate to say this but the chances of here being alive are virtually zero at this point. The McCanns have learned an extremely valuable lesson here that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. That fact alone in their 'prison sentence.' i wont read the comments here as most will anger me as they are from heartless individuals. but as usual i will just say keep going guys, i still think of Madeleine daily and i for one am glad things are still getting done in the search for her. ignore the negative 'people' (i use the term loosely). and i continue to hope for news about Madeleine soon
Unless these "leads" are proven to
be credible they should say
absolutely nothing. Ian Simms of Chelsea you are so right. I feel so sad for the McCanns and have prayed daily for their child's return. It looks nothing like Victoria Beckham. I hope they find her. This family show such dignity and determination I am so fed up of others complaining about this case being funded by the tax payer, surely cases like this are what we want our money spent on, i.e finding missing children! The frustrating thing is someone out there knows exactly what has happened to Madeline, its our job to keep looking until we find that person, no matter how much it costs, after all what if it was your child?
the
reason the witness did not come
forward may be because he should not
of been there perhaps if his wife
found out could of been a problem it
said his circumstances have changed
The best chance of finding Madeleine lies in the case being reopened in Portugal. Kate and Gerry only need to ask for the case to be reopened and it will be without having to wait for new evidence to be found. For the life of me I don't know why they allowed it to be closed. They could have asked for it to remain open.
What
"personal reasons" in God's name
could possibly hold a person back
from giving this kind of info to the
police?????? My God, this was a 3
year old child taken from her
parents, why withhold ANY info
back????? What a shame this witness did not go forward to the police earlier. It is so unlikely this woman will be traced - two years on and she could look so very different. My wishes as I'm sure every decent person in the world also wishes is that the McCanns find out what happened to Madeleine and get her back with them, irrespective of the cost. Other cases which remain unsolved for so long often are solved five, ten, twenty years on.
I
would go to the ends of the earth if
one of my daughters were taken from
me. I truly feel for the McCans - this is a horrific thing to happen to anyone. But as much as it pains them, shouldn't they start concentrating on the family that they do have and their other children. I would hate to think that those children are growing up in Maddie's shadow.
Yikes! Talk about a cold lead.
Still, perhaps they will get lucky
and track this person down.
-
Karin Hermann wrote: I think we all agree in questioning why did it take so long for this witness to come forward now. On the other hand the police are saying that the witness is credible ... this could mean that this woman is already known to the police and have been waiting for some verification of some kind. Nevertheless I hope and pray that there is still a chance that we will see Madeline again. I can't imagine how a woman looking agitated in Barcelona can have much to do with Maddy - and if the woman said something so startling wouldn't the person hearing have reported it straightaway to the police. Gimme a break - this is fake!!!! Funny how just 2 days after the British Police were accused of wasting over £750k on the McCann case their own detectives come up with this "new" lead.........
Why
would a convicted paedophile that
was in the area at the time Maddy
went missing refuse to talk to
investigators and police and refuse
to give an alibi?
The
McCanns and other parents did wrong
leaving the children, others do the
same and send small children to
corner shops, let them to play
unsupervised, walk to and from
school, roam supermarkets away from
parents and more. They NEVER expect
in any of those situations that
someone will steal their child. Apart from this whole 'significant development' are truly ridiculous. More than 2 years after Maddy went missing, these so-called vitnesses come forward. Gimme a break. Just one qustion, will the investigation of this latest 'clue' again be funded by British tax payers? I can't believe how the compassionate, concerned comments get so many red arrows! This is a small child we're talking about here, regardless of who did it/who people think did it or anything else like that, a small child has gone missing and therefore some compassion and sympathy is needed! Disgraceful. Some people on here need to thaw the ice in their hearts. To Alex, Stockport . I totally agree with you and cannot undestand all the nasty comments when it comes again to Madeleine and the Mc Canns. They do what ever they can to find their daughter. Leave them alone if you havn't anything nice to say. Agree with you Christine, White Abbey, the 'milk of human kindness' has run out in the UK. It is a hard place with some truly heartless people, the decaying society that exists in the UK now is a direct product of its inhabitants. How sad for madeline that this person of interest took TWO yrs before coming forward because of 'personal reasons'. I can't think of any that would have prevented the possible safe return of a 4 yr old girl to her family. Lets hope she is not lost forever. So this VB lookalike happened to say something about Madeleine a couple of days after she disappeared. Wasn't everyone talking about it a couple of days after? Nothing unusual at all and I agree with the previous poster - she doesn't exist. Hope they find poor maddy, must be horrible for them!
The
witness didn't come forward for two
years for personal reasons? Hmmmm.
How
sad are the vile comment and general
lack of humanity here, one woman
given a hard time in a personal
attack, for a fair comment about a
crime committed.
I'm a
little confused.
Like
everybody else..... to find this
child we have to leave no stone
unturned.....that's vital. All those who have NEVER made a mistake - put your hand up? thought so! these poor people are paying the biggest price for a MISTAKE!!! dont you think they regret it... show some compassion people and never forget there is still a little girl out there!
Whilst I understand the McCann's
need to pursue every avenue and
every line of investigation, I feel
that enough is enough. If they
hadn't left their children alone,
none of this would've happened!
I
really hope Madeleine can be found,
even after all this time. I know
it's unlikely, but I don't think
anyone should give up hope when they
are in these circumstances. These people are searching for thier daughter, thier daughter. Are they supposed to give up just becuase certain people dont find it interesting anymore (which cant be true or you wouldnt bother wasting your time reading the articles)? Get real. If any of you are parents you should be ashamed of yourselves. i dont see what this has to do with our police and taxpayers money to investigate this disappearance on foreign soil (over £600,000) ....it is a matter for that country to ask us for help and then fianance it . As if they have a cat in hells chance of tracing this woman 2 years on!!! Her hair is probably long & blonde by now.... who are they trying to fool??? Let's cut the negative and nasty comments. This child could well still be alive. It is quite obvious to anyone with half a brain that there is more to this lead than just a photo fit and an agitated woman. Maybe they have only just discovered this information if it was given to the Portuguese police and they didn't look into it. After all, they didn't do a very good job did they?! They just wanted to blame it on the parents with no evidence, save them actually having to look for someone else.
"Going by previous efforts, wouldn't
it be prudent to keep this info out
of the public domain until it is
certain that this man somehow
linked?" Christine Whiteabbey, people have a right to their views and people who aren't sympathetic to the McCanns can't be said to condone child abduction,that is a ridiculous and childish thing to say. This forum is for all people to share their views, it's not a platform for you to force YOUR opinions on other people. People like YOU worry ME because you refuse to let others to speak freely. I'm still not convenced either way about the McCanns part in this sad case, but that is my choice and I am entiltled to voice it without fear of being shouted down by a single minded big-mouth. To Christine in Whiteabbey: The parents could not see the room where the children were sleeping. It was too far away and anyway it happened at night so it was dark
This
person doesn't exist, I'm afraid.
This is quite clearly a case of the
police trying to justify using the
public's money for an investigation
which quite clearly is going
nowhere. Why has it taken 2 years for this to come to light? Wouldn't this have been reported around the time of her disappearence? and the woman in question certainly won't look like this now surely...I find it really strange to be using this as a new lead 2 yrs on.
The
McCanns left a small child ON HER
OWN in a hotel room while they went
to have fun. Most resorts have a
kids club or somewhere where she
would have been safe, they were on
holiday so it's not like bedtime
mattered is it. Here we go again! I am guessing the fund must be running a tad low. I pray she is found and my thoughts are with her distraught parents.
"One
of the men noticed the woman, who he
described as appearing 'agitated'.
I
sincerely hope that this is
something of substance and not
another ghost hunt. We would all
love to see the lass found safe and
well, I just cant see that being the
case with all the world-wide
publicity surely someone would have
seen her in 2 years. I think it's about time they put this to bed, she's gone and not coming back. This latest story is nonsense - why would anyone wait for two years before coming forward with such a dodgy story. Did these two guys suddenly wake up the other day and say "oh gosh, remember that woman we spoke to in Barcelona, after we had been pubcrawling for hours, she seemed to know something about Madeleine McCann, I had completely forgotten until now. Let's not go to the police though, let's just contact their private detectives" More rubbish being fed to the public and sadly far too many people are lapping it up. Here we go again So it's the private "detectives" hired by the McCanns that have found this startling new evidence. They need something to keep them employed.
This
was on Australian tv on the
breakfast show this morning, and
they
Much
as we'd like to believe this would
lead somewhere, it hardly sounds
like reliable 'evidence'. A group of
people drinking in bars in the early
hours - come across a woman (also
drinking?), has a 'brief'
conversation when her words ran away
with her, and she appears 'agitated'
and waiting for someone, then gets
angry with someone else. And she
speaks Spanish! In Spain! Unusual?
When
people criticise the McCanns for
babysitting themselves rather than
using the hotel service they are
effectively saying that child
kidnappers are correct in taking
children. It is against the law to
kidnap a child from her bed and take
her away and that is a far far far
bigger crime than anything the
McCanns may or may not have done so
let's put that to one side. This
could have happened to any parent as
the kidnapper/killer could have
sneaked in while the family were
sleeping or while the children were
on the beach. I'm glad there are still leads to keep the search going on, the case isn't over until she is found, whatever the outcome. People who criticise the McCanns are puzzling and they worry me. The McCanns went on HOLIDAY to a resort which they thought was safe. They could see the hotel room from the restaurant where they ate and they checked on the children on regular intervals. This is no different to eating downstairs while your children sleep upstairs. They didn't hire a babysitter because they didn't need to as they were effectively doing it themselves. Who could possibly imagine a crime like this could ever happen and that a paedophile may have been watching them for days? If everyone can't see the terrible pain that this family are in and show compassion then I can't imagine what type of people you are - heartless and possibly sympathetic to wrong doers. Sadly I think that Madeleine is dead and that every 'sighting' must give false hope to the McCanns when they might be better accepting her death and finding some peace. I truly hope and pray that Madeleine is found. I still can't understand how they could have left the children unsupervised but that is beside the point. These poor parents have spent 2 years in anguish whilst trying to rebuild their lives as best they can. I think they have learnt the hard way just how precious children are and if only Maddy could be found, I have no doubt that parents the world over would share their joy and happiness. God bless them and I hope Maddy finds her way home safely.
AGREE
WITH Pip, UNited Kingdom, 06/8/2009
06:06.
Sadly, I doubt she is alive.
All
the doubters will look pretty stupid
when Madeleine is found safe and
well.
In
the back of my mind I always thin of
this little girl, I truely hope they
find her one day. this story does not sound in the least credible, is this another attempt to boost the dwindling Madeleine fund? The amount being spent on PR men,defence lawyers and the like are costing the fund dearly Does anyone really believe that the most sought after little girl in the world could be smuggled into a country with one of the most stringent and effective border controls? Report abuse
to be
honest i cant nderstand some peoples
views on here! Report abuse |
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It's possibly a strong lead and possibly linked. Hope it turns out for the best for the McCanns and especially Madeleine.
Unfortunately a child under the age of four retains very little memory as they grow and at the age of six she may have little recollection of her prior life. I am sure she would recall her parents well once in their arms but without their presence she would have only a vague notion of their existence. This is why people get away with kidnapping children so young and raising them as their own. The child forgets and only has a vague notion that they are not where they are supposed to be.
I suspect the witness didn't realize the full weight of his encounter and felt he would rather stay mum on it then risk job, family, or whatever it was he was concerned about.
could the woman be from New Zealand? Did not the McCanns live in NZ early in their relationship?
- Gwen, USA, 7/8/2009 17:20
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