*** This page currently being developed, 07 June 2011 | Map of Praia da Luz showing Ocean Club sites |
What is commonly referred to as the 'Tapas Reception' is marked as the 'Pool Entrance' on this map. This area was, apparently, neither staffed nor covered by CCTV on the grounds, presumably, that it was not really a reception area but simply an entrance to the Ocean Club facilities. This is the only way in, or out, of the site. The main 24hr reception, where we are told Matthew Oldfield was sent to call the police, is in a completely different place - as indicated on this map. This, we are led to believe, is staffed 24 hours and has CCTV but only pointing at the safety security boxes. | Map showing the sites of the Ocean Club facilities |
On this map showing the Ocean Club facilities, the 'Tapas Reception/Pool Entrance' is described as 'Customer Services' and indicated by the number '4'. (The map can be enlarged slightly by clicking on it).
This map is particularly interesting because it gives details of where the different childrens groups were based.
The 'Mini & Toddlers Club' for 2-yr olds, where Sean and Amelie were placed, is based within the Ocean Club complex, close to the tapas bar, indicated by number '6'. But the 'Kids Club' for 3-5 yr olds, where Madeleine was placed, is actually some distance away. It appears to be marked by the number '2' on this map, but Madeleine was actually based in a building (unmarked on this map) close to the main reception, indicated by the number '13'.
Charlotte Pennington, who nannied at the 'Baby & Toddlers Club' for 4 to 12 month age group, would only have had contact with Madeleine when the children all came together at the end of the day for 'High Tea'. Her location is indicated by the number '7' and is within the Ocean Club complex. | | Gerry McCann | | | Gerry McCann Overview
In Gerry's 4th May and 10th May statements, he appears to be describing search activities in which he was personally involved but his statement of 7th September makes it clear that he is actually describing the activities of other people.
On 4th May, he describes how 'the group' searched in various locations.
On 10th May, he describes how 'they' continued their searches outside.
On 7th September, he describes how 'guests and resort workers' were searching, whilst he 'went to the main reception to check whether they had called the police'. Gerry states that he 'looked for her all over the apartment' and 'particularly remembers having looked under all the beds, inside the wardrobes in all the rooms'. After returning from the reception 'he went back into the apartment where he stayed in the living room and in their bedroom'.
04 May 2007 statement
'Faced with this altered scenario, KATE checked that the twins were in their respective beds, unlike MADELEINE, who had disappeared. After thoroughly searching the apartment, his wife, quite scared and upset, went to the restaurant to alert the deponent and the others about the disappearance. Immediately, the group headed for the club and searched across all the facilities, swimming pool, tennis etc., as well as in the apartment, with the help of Ocean Club employees, while at the same time they contacted the authorities, that would later appear.'
10 May 2007 statement
'Then he closed the shutters, made his way to the outside and tried to open them, which he managed to do, much to his surprise given that he thought that that was only possible from the inside. They continued with searches outside, around the various apartment blocks, the deponent having asked MATHEW to go to the secondary reception in order to communicate the fact to the local police, since he had no doubt that his daughter had been abducted. He refutes, peremptorily, the possibility that MADELEINE could have left the apartment by her own means.'
07 September 2007 statement
'He remembers that after it was known that Madeleine had disappeared he looked for her all over the apartment. He particularly remembers having looked under all the beds, inside the wardrobes in all the rooms at the same time that Kate told him she had looked everywhere already.'
---
'When asked why instead of scouring the land next to the complex they remained inside the apartment, he replies that it did not happen that way. While the guests and resort workers were searching, he went to the main reception to check whether they had called the police, and told Kate to wait inside the apartment. After returning from the reception he went back into the apartment where he stayed in the living room and in their bedroom.' |
| | Kate McCann | | | Kate McCann Overview
Kate has made no official police statement related to the external searches (or, indeed, any events after the moment she entered the apartment at 10pm), other than, on 4th May, to echo Gerry's statement of the same day. This is, in itself, not surprising given it is clear that she did not participate in any external searches that night.
On 4th May, she describes how 'the group' searched in various locations - although, like Gerry, claims no direct involvement.
On 10th May, Kate was not interviewed.
On 6th September, Kate's statement only describes events up to the point where she enters the apartment at 10pm. The interview was suspended, as it was late, with the intention that it 'be continued on the next morning'. The next day, Kate declined to answer any questions.
Kate's diary entry for 4th May only mentions that 'Gerry and I started looking through the streets around 06.00 as it was starting to get light', whilst admitting that there was 'Nobody around' to witness this.
04 May 2007 statement
'Faced with this altered situation, she verified that the twins were in their beds, unlike Madeleine, who had disappeared. The cover was neatly pulled back and the toys were on the pillow as usual. After searching the whole apartment thoroughly, and already quite scared and unnerved, she returned to the restaurant, and alerted her husband and the rest of the group to the disappearance. The group immediately headed to the club [apartment], and set about searching in all the buildings, swimming pool, tennis courts etc... as well as in the apartment with the help of employees. At the same time, they contacted the authorities, which would later arrive.'
04 May 2007 - Kate's diary
'FRIDAY, MAY 4: No sleep, Gerry and I started looking through the streets around 06.00 as it was starting to get light. Nobody around. Why not? Desperate.'
10 May 2007 statement
Not interviewed. Gonçalo Amaral has stated, to this website, that: "The decision was made not to question her at that time, in order not to increase the pain of a mother who had lost a daughter."
06 September 2007 statement
This statment only describes events up to the point where Kate enters the apartment at 10pm. The interview was suspended, as it was late, with the intention that it 'be continued on the next morning'.
07 September 2007 'arguida' statement
Kate declined to answer any questions, which included the following:
'When asked, on the 3rd of May 2007, at around 10 p.m., when she entered the apartment, what she saw and what she did, where she searched, what she handled, she did not reply.'
'When asked for how long she searched inside the apartment after detecting the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine, she did not reply.'
'When asked about what happened after she raised the alarm at the Tapas, she did not reply.'
'When asked who participated in the searches, she did not reply.'
'When asked, during the searches, and already with the police present, in what locations Madeleine was searched for, how and in what manner, she did not reply.'
'When asked if it is true that during the search she remained sat on her bed inside her bedroom without moving, she did not reply.' |
| | David Payne | | | David Payne Overview
David Payne describes three separate periods of searching:
Firstly, he searches the pool and the area around the Ocean Club before heading up towards the Millennium restaurant and then back past the supermarket to the seafront, where he searches the beach and under beach huts,
Secondly, after the GNR officers arrive, he does some unspecified searching, and
Thirdly, between three and four o'clock in the morning, he says he and Gerry go out looking for Madeleine. He says they went down past the Ocean Club reception, and down to the beach, where Gerry broke down. In his Rogatory interview, on 11th April 2008, he describes the following sequence of events:
- Kate raises the alarm
- Walks up towards McCanns' apartment with Kate, who tells him 'they've taken her'
- Enters the McCanns' apartment. He states, 'I didn’t actually enter too much into the room but I walked to the edge...you know the twins were in their cots...I think they were much further into the room but you know I could see Madeleine's bed'. [reminiscent of Oldfield's claim; standing outside the bedroom and peering in. He vaguely 'thinks' the twins were further into the room (although he does not unequivocally state that he personally saw them) but can state with clarity that he 'could see' Madeleine's bed.]
- He runs up to his own apartment to check his children.
- He says, 'at some stage I went back and asked Dianne [Webster, who had stayed at the Tapas restaurant] to just, could you go and stay with the children'.
- He does a sweep of the pool and the area immediately around the Ocean Club, then meets up with Matt and Russell.
- He goes up towards the Millennium restaurant but says, 'it was just so quiet and there was nothing going on that way'.
- He decides to go down past the Supermarket and towards the seafront. He goes along the whole length of the beach looking under the beach huts.
- He returns to the McCanns' apartment to see what was happening and if the police had arrived.
- Two GNR officers arrive.
- He says, 'we then...did some more searching' but does not specify with whom or where. He adds that 'Mark Warner staff, went to different areas'.
- Officers from Polícia Judiciária arrive.
- He states that between three and four o'clock ('I’m not sure what time it was') he and Gerry went out looking for Madeleine. He says they went down past the Ocean Club reception, and then went down to the beach.
- He says that Gerry 'broke down with me on the [beach] front'.
- He states they spent some time ('not long') on the beach before returning to the apartment 'around about four, four thirty in the morning'.
- With wife, Fiona, they make up beds, in their apartment, for the McCanns'around about you know four, four thirty around that time'.
- They sleep for 'a couple of hours' and wake 'about six, six thirty' to find the McCanns awake. 'Kate and Gerry had already been out looking...for Madeleine' although the only evidence of the McCanns searching is their word. He adds, 'they’d been out searching already looking to see what's happening'. |
04 May 2007 statement
No statements related to searching.
10 May 2007 statement
Not interviewed.
Rogatory interview - 11 April 2008 statement
'...as we were walking up towards the flat she said err you know they’ve taken her and it was, you know, and I know there’s been a controversy about what was actually said but you know that is very accurately what had been said. Like I say, as I say you know you could just never forget her face and those words, and err as we were, you know, approaching their apartment I was just saying to Kate, I said well look how do you know that is the case, and err you know again I, I can’t remember the exact words then, but I was very interested in finding what the state of the apartment was like when she’d got there to see who’d left err doors open or etcetera. And from my point of view you know the things that were, I think it was really pertinent to me was that there was two, there was two gates on the back entrance from that apartment. There’s the gate which is immediately bring, you know brings you on to the err the road and then there was another child gate, that was at the top and I, you know, and given the fact that the front door was shut I was just saying well what was the state of those two gates, were those gates open when you went up or were they shut, and she was adamant that those two gates were shut. Well you know there was two possibilities, she’d either been taken or she’d wandered off, no child is gonna wander off and shut two gates behind them so at that moment I knew, although I didn’t want to believe it, but I knew that she’d been abducted. Then you know obviously pretty much I think, you know, people that pretty much the same as me you know it’s a shock, you know ah because you’re, you know, you’re still not wanting to believe what, what the obvious is and you know so we, you know we, we went, you know went to the apartment err you know and I didn’t actually enter too much into the room but I walked to the edge and you know there was, you know the twins were in their cots, err they were in you know parallel, there was you know I could see, you know I think they were much further into the room but you know I could see Madeleine’s bed and then you know it was just like all hell broke loose. You know we, you know we didn’t know what to do, we went running around you know err the safety of my own you know children, you know I started, you wanted to check that your own two are alright so I, some say I ran up to our apartment and checked they were alright. Dianne had err had said, Fiona had asked Dianne to stay at the table, at the Tapas just in case err you know Madeleine wandered by or you know and thought that was the best place and I say at some stage I went back and asked Dianne to just, could you go and stay with the children. I did a sweep of the err the pool err and the area you know immediately around err the Ocean Club, then met up with Matt and err Russell and you know I remember saying right what, you know, what we gonna do and Matt was saying right we’ve gotta try and be you know systematic here err you know, right if you, you want to go off in that area and I’ll go down to the Ocean Club reception and you know ask them to call the Police and so you know I, I started venturing up towards the err Millennium where we’d eaten and it was just so quiet and there was nothing going on that way and I just thought oh you know, and I again I was just building up hope that she’d ran off err you know I actually went on a search and I went down past the Supermarket, I went down towards the err seafront, you know went along the whole length of the err beach looking under you know err beach hutsand etcetera, just you know and shouting Madeleine, any people that we saw we explained, but also in the melee there was err other people err sorry going back to the apartment so was popping in just to you know, to see what’s happening, had the Police arrived err you know just to see who was, you know, thinking that some, you know, body would take charge of the situation and err Mark Warner staff had err grouped together and they were err you know trying to help the situation. Err one of the Mark Warner err ladies was staying with, in the apartment with err with Kate, you know Fiona stayed there, there was people you know popping in and out. There was a lady I think who I believe she came from the flat who ended up, you know, coming in towards their apartment as offering help and you know the next recollection really is that you know the Police, there was two Policemen who err arrived who I believe were from the GNR, err you know it felt you know quite some time before they got there, err I think there was a language barrier, the err one of the receptionists from the Tapas area, Sylvia, she was trying, actually no it wasn’t Sylvia, it was the lady, one of the ladies who we, you know, I can’t remember her name, who was trying to communicate you know between us and we were trying to convey that she’s been abducted and we, we got a computer err printer, we’d got a picture of Madeleine so that it could be distributed as quickly as possible. We were trying to impress the importance to the, to the err two Policemen err that you know that she’d been abducted, that you need to close off all the roads and that you know, that this is an abduction and you know at that was basically the sequence of events up to that stage. Err we then you know, did some more searching, went around, you know, Mark Warner staff, went to different areas just, I didn’t know whether she’d ran off and, you know obviously nothing, you know nothing transpired and then as time lapsed then there was some Police from err Portimãoarrived, two plain clothed Police, there was some other Police in the background, whether they were from Portugal I don’t know, you know they were just hanging back and then err the two Portuguese err Detectives wanted to you know havetime with Kate and Gerry and just specifically question them. Err you know I made err a phone call at some stage in the evening to err Fiona’s dad back in the UK who I’ve got a lot of respect for and has given me very, a lot of very good advice because you know you certainly would never have believe that you will find yourself in a situation err like this and you know there was very able people who were there, you know. Everybody who was out there you know was very responsible and people that I would turn to but under the circumstances I don’t think anyone functions err particularly anywhere near a hundred percent and you know just looking to try and get some advice from someone outside the situation because you know we just didn’t feel that we could get this message across to err to anybody that she had been abducted.”
1485 ”Yeah.”
Reply ”Err so then you know the Police were with err you know Kate and Gerry, you know chatting to them and you know looking at the apartment, etcetera, and they, you know I felt that they had been probably around for about an hour and then Matt met up with err with Kate and Gerry after. Me and Gerry you know I’m not sure what time it was, it was you know between three and four o’ clock when, again looking for her. We went down err through past the Ocean Club reception, we went down err to the beach and in between all this you know Kate and Gerry were just breaking down you know just their behaviour was, you know was never questioned or did I ever think there was anything strange about you know their behaviour and how they would, they would act, you know in such a set of circumstances and you know Gerry’s a very stoical person and you know, I think you know its the way that he’s conducted himself over the past few months you know, and he broke down with me on the front, you know. You know just very obviously a broken man, and you know we spent some time you know, not long, I was trying my best to console him, we went back then to the err the apartment, you know it’s, by around about four, four thirty in the morning you know there was nothing else that you know that we could do. The Police had left err the twins had been, at this stage, moved into err into our apartment, and we made beds up on the floor for Kate and Gerry in our apartment and we must have, you know, err gone into bedrooms around about you know four, four thirty around that time. We err slept for a couple of hours, we woke up to find that you know Kate and Gerry had already been out looking you know err for Madeleine err and then we were obviously waiting for things to happen, you know, quite frustrated, and err you know and then certain people arrived outside again you know from, from the err Police and err at that stage err yeah I, I was talking with Robert MURAT.'
---
'We went back to the apartment about four, four thirty err we slept err you know we’d got err Sean and Amelie err over to the apartment, you know we’d got the bedding done for Kate and Gerry and then we went sleep, we woke up about six, six thirty err and then as I say, err, you know Kate and Gerry were err you know were already awake, not that they’d, you know, they’d slept sorry you know they were still awake and err you know they, they’d been out searching already looking to see what’s happening. Again I remember Kate very distraught you know, there was nobody outside the err apartments and you know and it just felt like time was just ticking by and you know nothing, you know appeared to be happening.' |
| | Fiona Payne | | | Fiona Payne Overview
Fiona Payne describes one period of immediate searching, in which she "went round the back of the apartments and round the back of the tennis courts on the main road and then cut down in front of the Baptista Supermarket and back up".
She claims she later went to check the stairwell of the apartments, in case Madeleine had gone up there, but was stopped by Jane Tanner, who told her Rachael Oldfield had already checked there (it is at this point that Jane Tanner tells Fiona she saw 'a man carrying a child'). In her Rogatory interview, on 10th April 2008, she describes the following sequence of events:
- Kate raises the alarm
- Describes how 'Gerry jumped up and went 'She can't be gone' and raced off with Kate. And obviously we all followed...we all were sort of racing behind Kate and Gerry, erm, back up to the apartment'. [this contradicts husband, David Payne, who claims to have had quite a detailed conversation with Kate as they were 'walking' back to the apartment]
- Does not enter the McCanns' apartment. She states, 'we didn’t go in at that point, I think Kate, erm, Gerry must have rushed in with Kate and pretty much immediately Dave, erm, Matt, Russell and myself split up in four different directions just to do a search'. [this contradicts husband, David Payne, who claims to have entered the apartment at this point and stood at the doorway to the children's bedroom]
- She describes how she 'went round the back of the apartments and round the back of the tennis courts on the main road and then cut down in front of the Baptista Supermarket and back up'.
- [She does not mention David Payne running up to their own apartment to check their children - she states that her mother had the baby monitor]
- She says, 'by the time I got back everyone else had done their loop and at that point then no-one had seen Madeleine'. She says her search lasted 5/10 minutes at the most.
- She remembers saying to Matt, 'You go down to main reception and phone the Police'.
- At that point, she enters the McCanns' apartment and states, 'I stayed with Kate for the rest of the evening, I didn’t, other than going onto their sort of balcony and out the front area of their apartment, I was with Kate'.
- She states that David Payne entered the McCanns' apartment with her at that point and adds, 'I don’t think he went in any of the bedrooms, I think he was just mainly in the living room trying to put together what they should all be doing really'.
- She describes how, from that point on, 'Kate with Gerry and Dave sort of to’ing and fro’ing until the first lot of Police arrived'.
- She says that, at one point, she went to check the stairwell 'because I thought nobody had checked, you know, up, going up in the building to see if she’d gone up there, and I’d started to go up the stairs and then Jane had come out and said ‘Oh Rachael’s already checked’ or somebody else was up there'. [Note: this was before the police arrived]
- She later states 'Rachael was around, erm, in the stairwell, she’d been up I think looking on the other floors, erm, so she was around' and that she didn't see Matt and Russell for some time after their initial searches.
- Two GNR officers arrive.
- Officers from Polícia Judiciária arrive.
- Moves bedding to their apartment, with Mark Warner nannies, for McCanns
- [She does not make any mention of David Payne's claim that between three and four o’ clock he and Gerry went out looking for Madeleine]
- She describes how it was, 'four o’clock, probably about half past four when we went to bed'.
- She states, 'half an hour after that or an hour after that it was starting to get sort of vaguely light and Kate had come into the room just said ‘Look, will you’, would I look after Sean and Amelie and said they need to go and look for Madeleine'. Later commenting, 'it was still very cold and, and dark, erm I think it was you know, between five and six' [this contradicts David Payne, who states that they slept for 'a couple of hours' and woke 'about six, six thirty' to find the McCanns awake and that 'Kate and Gerry had already been out looking...for Madeleine' and 'they’d been out searching already looking to see what’s happening'. |
04 May 2007 statement
'Immediately, they organised search groups, either in the apartment thinking that she could be hidden, or outside, which resulted in nothing, even with the help of the employees.'
10 May 2007 statement
Not interviewed.
Rogatory interview - 10 April 2008 statement
'Gerry jumped up and went ‘She can’t be gone’ and raced off with Kate. And obviously we all followed ... So we all were sort of racing behind Kate and Gerry, erm, back up to the apartment. Erm, we didn’t go in at that point, I think Kate, erm, Gerry must have rushed in with Kate and pretty much immediately Dave, erm, Matt, Russell and myself split up in four different directions just to do a search, you know, again assuming that she must have just wandered off. Erm, tut, so, you know, I don’t know which way they went, but I, I went round the back of, erm, tut, well this way around the back of the apartments and round the back of the tennis courts on the main road and then cut down in front of the Baptista Supermarket and back up, that was the route I did”.
1485 “Yeah”.
Reply “And by the time I got back everyone else had done their loop and at that point then no-one had seen Madeleine. Erm, I remember saying to Matt at that point ‘You go down to main reception and phone the Police’. Erm, and I, I don’t know what Matt, erm, I don’t know what Dave and Russell did at that point. I said ‘I’m going to go up to the’, erm, ‘Kate and Gerry’s apartment’. Gerry had come down at that point. They hadn’t found Madeleine, erm, panic was starting really. Erm, tut, after that really I stayed with Kate for the rest of the evening, I didn’t, other than going onto their sort of balcony and out the front area of their apartment, I was with Kate. Erm, and Gerry, he was to’ing and fro’ing, in and out, in and out. Erm, it was just awful”.
---
'1485 “When you were with Kate in the aftermath, who else was in the apartment, I know you say that Gerry was coming and going, was there any other?”
Reply “Gerry was coming and going. Dave came in and, erm, he came in initially with me, erm, when I went to Kate, I don’t think he went in any of the bedrooms, I think he was just mainly in the living room trying to put together what they should all be doing really, he was talking more to Gerry, so he was in. I didn’t see Russell or any of the other group in, in Kate and Gerry’s apartment. Fairly soon after, erm, a girl called Emma, who, I don’t know what her position in MARK WARNER was, she was sort of, erm, tut, I don’t know what you call them, she was mainly working at the reception area, just as a, erm, tut, I don’t know what you call her job title, she was sort of looking after everybody”.
1485 “Just one of the travel assistants or something, yeah?”
Reply “Yeah. Erm, huh, I mean, I don’t know what time she got there, it seemed quite early on, she was, she was in the room for the most part, it was me, Emma and Kate with Gerry and Dave sort of to’ing and fro’ing until the first lot of Police arrived”.
1485 “Did you speak to Jane during that time or was it after that you spoke to Jane?”
Reply “No, it was during that time and I think after I’d been in the apartment, I think the furthest I went away from the apartment at that point was just to go to the stairwell to check, because I thought nobody had checked, you know, up, going up in the building to see if she’d gone up there, and I’d started to go up the stairs and then Jane had come out and said ‘Oh Rachael’s already checked’ or somebody else was up there. And, at that point, erm, Jane had sort of rushed out and had said, you know, quietly, sort of almost pulling me away from Kate’s door, erm, ‘I saw a man carrying a child’. And the horror and realisation I think of what she had seen was quite evident at that point. And I took it as serious at that point, at what she was implying, that she thought she might have seen Madeleine. Erm, and I, in the panic, I just said at that point, I said, well the Police hadn’t arrived, I said ‘We’ve just got to tell the Police. We’ve got to tell the Police what you’ve seen’. And didn’t’ say anything to Kate or Gerry about what Jane had told me at that point”.'
---
1485 “Was there just you and Jane at that point?”
Reply “No, Rachael was around, erm, in the stairwell, she’d been up I think looking on the other floors, erm, so she was around. At that point I don’t recall, I don’t know where Matt and Russell were, I didn’t see them really after, you know, our immediate search, until a lot later”.
---
1485 “What happened and when did you finally get to bed?”
Reply “It was after four o’clock, erm, tut, again, I don’t know, that, that whole period, it’s hard to sort of put a time to it. I remember it being after four o’clock, probably about half past four when we went to bed. But in that ensuing time the PJ had arrived, erm, the plain clothes detectives, I think there was a couple of them and they’d been in the apartment and obviously they, at that point, had said they needed to close off the apartment or move the twins. Erm, so I’d suggested putting the twins up in our apartment, erm, Emma, who was there, had arranged some of the MARK WARNER Nannies to get some extra cots and more bedding, erm, and we set up the cots in our living room and a bed for Kate and Gerry as well, not that they used it, but, erm, and then I think, I think they were Policemen, I can’t remember who carried up Sean and Amelie. Erm, and we sat on the sofa, me and Kate with the twins asleep on us for a while, erm, and they didn’t wake up and, again, that was quite strange, even in the transfer and, and being handled by people that weren’t their parents, they didn’t, they didn’t wake up. Erm, and we settled them down and made a bed up for Kate and Gerry and I think it was around sort of half four’ish we decided we should all try and just get, get a rest, because everyone else had gone, you know, it was just, again, it was that feeling of helplessness really, everyone had gone, erm, you know, what are we supposed to do”.
1485 “Yeah”.
Reply “Erm, tut, so Dave and I went to bed and we tried to sleep. Erm, I think about half an hour after that or an hour after that it was starting to get sort of vaguely light and Kate had come into the room just said ‘Look, will you’, would I look after Sean and Amelie and said they need to go and look for Madeleine and, erm, which I did. And I was conscious that, you know, Kate and Gerry were wrapped up warm and went out on the streets looking for Madeleine.
---
1485 “What did you do once she’d come back and raised the alarm?”
Reply “We, I say we all jumped up, Gerry was first, he just sprinted off with Kate and they, they were ahead of everybody else, erm, cos I had the monitor and mum and I just thought somebody ought to stay behind, I was probably latter in the, in the line, cos I just said to mum, ‘Stay put and see if she comes back, keep the monitor’ and then you know, me, erm, Jane wasn’t there obviously, it was me, Rachael, er Matt, Russell and Dave that sort of, erm, got to the part outside the apartment and that’s when we, we just said, ‘Right, let’s do a quick search, like you go that way, you go that way’.”
1485 “Yes”.
Reply “Because you see within seconds it was, you know, everybody split up and did a quick, quick search in a different direction”.
1485 “I think my next series of questions I’ve asked you in relation to you going into the McCANN’s apartment, you went in with Kate, what you said earlier on”.
Reply “Umm”.
1485 “And you described what you saw, you’ve described the children sleeping, they slept and everything, so are the twins, nothing unusual, but one thing I want, need to ask you is, erm, how long after the alarm was raised, did you end up in the McCANN’s apartment?”
Reply “After that initial search, it was as long as it took me to walk round, erm you know to the left of the apartments, round the back of the tennis court and the, so you know, five minutes”.
1485 “Five minutes”.
Reply “It wasn’t long (inaudible)”.
1485 “So from the time that you’d gone racing off after Kate and Gerry”.
Reply “Yeah”.
1485 “You ended up in the apartment, five minutes later you think?”
Reply “Yeah, five, ten minutes it was certainly within ten minutes it wouldn’t have taken me long to (inaudible)”.
1485 “What did you do next, you took part in sort of, well you took part in the search, searches?”
Reply “Umm”.
1485 “Who were you with when you were searching?”
Reply “Kate”.
1485 “Did Kate walk that perimeter?”
Reply “Oh what, sorry the search outside the apartment?”
1485 “Yes”.
Reply “No I was on my own, we were all, we were all on our own at that point, I don’t think anybody doubled up, erm I say we, the main people just went, I think Rachael might have gone in to check on, she went straight in I think to check Grace and stayed with Grace and it was just the other men and me and my mum had the monitor but yeah we all went on our own for that initial check”.
1485 “Yes. Did your mum join you then at some point, or did she?”
Reply “Mum came up once I was in the apartment with Kate, er my mum came up to like, ‘What shall I do, I’ve waited’ and at that point I said, ‘Just wait with Scarlet up in the apartment’.”
---
Reply “I stayed in the apartment, erm I was aware later that the GNR were there as I say they were wandering round the front and the back and, and the time when I came out and met Robert MURAT, erm I’m assuming that was sort of after sort of midnight, there and that sort of time because the uniformed Police were there, erm the sort of troops in their boots, I don’t, think they’re GNR, erm and then you know, I, I was just in, in the apartment for, for the most part just with Kate, erm I eventually moved up back to my apartment when it was suggested by the PJ that you know, they had to get the twins out, so I went to that part to organise our flats and you know, the, the nannies in with the travel cots and the bedding, I helped them set that all up, so at that point I was separate to Kate and Gerry. Erm and then I was just in, in our apartment, I’d say for, I’d say half three, four o’clock when they brought the twins up, erm I sat on the sofa with Kate next to me and say we had the twins asleep on us, a good half an hour with Kate, just in complete shock, sobbing. Erm, then we put the twins to bed in the, in the cots, I say we made Kate and Gerry a mattress up on the floor and we chatted some more and by about half four, we’d all decided to just try and lay down, at least just to, to get a rest if not sleep. Erm, Dave and I went into our room with Scarlet and sort of left Kate and Gerry in the living room with the twins really. I think Dave and I must have actually eventually dozed off for a bit, cos we got woken up by Kate knocking on the door and just you know, as I said earlier, suggesting they, they couldn’t sleep, they couldn’t, they couldn’t rest and they were just, it was driving them up the wall, just sitting there and not doing anything and they wanted to go out and look and would we just keep an eye on the twins”.
1485 “Can you remember what sort of time that was roughly?”
Reply “Erm it was still very cold and, and dark, erm I think it was you know, between five and six, I say, I say, I think we’d, we’d, we’d just dozed off, so erm it was still very early. |
| | Matthew Oldfield | | | Matthew Oldfield Overview
He looks out for Madeleine as he walks to the main reception to ask staff to call the police. This is the same route Madeleine would have taken to be dropped off at the Kid's Club.
He returns to the apartment and describes everyone 'milling about on the street'. He volunteers to go up to the Millennium Restaurant because 'it was just one of the routes that I thought she might have taken'.
He continues 'up and onto the top road to the Millennium Restaurant' and lets people know that a little girl was missing.
He then returns through the back streets, down onto the beach and then back to the apartment.
He states that he then 'went back down to the reception...and at that point, Gerry had come down as well'.
After the GNR officers arrive, he says that 'we did more headless running around...at times we were sort of like crossing each other, there was Dave, and running on my own, and sort of the other way, and I then went out on the coast road a bit further down, erm, I don't know what we thought we could do, but it was just better than being close to them and being there, erm, and so we ran out on that, I think this road unfortunately is called, erm, which road is it, Cemetery Road I think it's called'.
Whilst searching he crosses paths with Nathan, 'one of the waterfront people'.
He then describes how he wanders around because 'some of the apartments were occupied and some were still being built...a sort of a lonely sort of isolated place, but, you know, it was all very sort of close'.
He says, 'on one of the return visits, I did go into the apartment, just as far perhaps as the, erm, as the kitchen, and I could see them sat on the sofa, but they were in with the Police and there was nothing we could do or say, so we came back out, and that's the only time I went back into the apartment'. [It's not clear if this refers to the GNR officers or those from the Polícia Judiciária, who arrived later] In his Rogatory interview, on 9th April 2008, he describes the following sequence of events:
- Kate raises the alarm
- Describes how 'there was just a blur as everybody then just ran off from the table. Erm, then everybody I think left the table, I mean, I just remember being behind Dave as he was, and Gerry, as they were running, erm, Russell I think (inaudible) a bit behind and so we all ran'.
- On the question of entering the McCanns' apartment, he states, 'I'm almost a hundred percent sure we didn't go to the apartment, we were, because it was just so awful, so Gerry and Kate and maybe Dave, I'm not sure, but went sort of to the bottom of the steps and they sort of went in'. [this contradicts his previous two statements in which he says he entered the apartment after Kate raised the alarm but, as on his previous alleged check, did not enter the children's bedroom]
- He describes how 'we went round to check firstly on G**** to make sure she was okay and we dropped Rachael up there, telling her that she wasn't to move'. [it's not clear why Rachael needed more than one person to drop her off at her apartment (he refers to 'we') and why she needed to be dropped off 'up there' when the Oldfield's apartment was immediately next door to the McCanns' apartment. If we believe the statements of Jane Tanner and Fiona Payne, then Rachael didn't stay in the apartment - so, who looked after G****?]
- He states that 'Jane came out of the apartment, did she come out of the apartment at that point or was it later in the evening, I can't remember, but I remember seeing them, you know, most of the time and then for the rest of the evening they were stood, you know, at the doorways to the apartments'. He later adds that 'then Jane said, the shutters up, and, you know, we sort of scarpered and Dave and Russell were just running off sort of shouting'suggesting she was there prior to any search.
- He thinks Fiona asked him to go and phone the Police, so he 'actually went down the route to where she would have gone for Nursery drop off, which his back to the, to the main reception essentially, so I went down that route looking for her at that time and I asked the reception to phone the Police'.
- He then went back to the apartment 'and it was just obvious that she wasn't in the apartment, but we were still sort of just milling about on the street, everybody was just running around just sort of trying to, you know, sort of search nearby roads. And so we, erm, I volunteered to go up to the, erm, I went up to the Millennium Restaurant because it was just one of the routes that I thought she might have taken'.
- He is not sure of the timing but he continued 'up and onto the top road to the Millennium Restaurant, which is pretty much you come up and along this road for about sort of five or ten minutes and sort of this end of town, let them know that a little girl was missing'.
- He then returned through the back streets, down onto the beach and then back to the apartment.
- He says that, 'at some point we were back and forth to the, to the reception as well'.
- He says that, 'there was plenty of running around through the back streets and back to the apartment and then, you know, where's the, where are the Police'.
- He states that he then 'went back down to the reception, this would have been about thirty minutes or so later, erm, back to reception, erm, and at that point, Gerry had come down as well'.
- The GNR officers arrive, 'five minutes after Gerry and I had been there [the reception]...they put him in the car and drove back up to the apartment'.
- He continues, 'after that we did more headless running around, checked on G****, erm, you know, at times we were sort of like crossing each other, there was Dave, and running on my own, and sort of the other way, and I then went out on the coast road a bit further down, erm, I don't know what we thought we could do, but it was just better than being close to them and being there, erm, and so we ran out on that, I think this road unfortunately is called, erm, which road is it, Cemetery Road I think it's called'.
- Whilst searching he crosses paths with Nathan, 'one of the waterfront people'.
- He describes how he 'wandered around, because some of the apartments were occupied and some were still being built, so there was a kind of a bit of, a sort of a lonely sort of isolated place, but, you know, it was all very sort of close'.
- He says, 'on one of the return visits, I did go into the apartment, just as far perhaps as the, erm, as the kitchen, and I could see them sat on the sofa, but they were in with the Police and there was nothing we could do or say, so we came back out, and that's the only time I went back into the apartment'. [It's not clear if this was the GNR officers or those from the Polícia Judiciária, who arrived later]
- He says, 'we went to bed about sort of two, three, something like that'. |
04 May 2007 statement
'At around 10pm, Kate, Madeleine's mother, went to her apartment to check on her children. She came back totally shocked, shouting, saying that Madeleine was no longer in her bedroom. At that time all the adults were in the restaurant. Then, the whole group went to Madeleine's bedroom and checked that the twins were sleeping OK. That there was no signs of a burglary in the apartment. Only, one window in the children's bedroom was open. The window and the shutters were open.'
10 May 2007 statement
'The question asked, he mentions that the first time that he entered the McCANN's apartment was precisely on the night of her disappearance (that is to say, this past 3rd of May), and on the second one of the checks that have been reported above - that is, at around 9.25 p.m.
---
'Noticing the disappearance, Kate returned in panic to the restaurant where the deponent was in order to tell her husband, Gerald.
The question asked, he relates being convinced that, at the time of that communication, all the group members were in the restaurant – the reason for which he supposes that Russell had rejoined them in the meantime.
Faced with such news, all of the members of the group rushed towards GERALD's apartment, which they entered through the back entrance - that is, through the sliding glass door that faces the pool.
When asked, he mentions that when this new entry into the McCANN's apartment took place, according to what he recalls, he did not go near MADELEINE McCANN's bedroom, which is why he cannot supply any details about the state in which said bedroom was in.'
[In his Rogatory interview, he says: 'If you ask whether we went, you know, into the apartment and I'm almost a hundred percent sure we didn't go to the apartment']
Rogatory interview - 09 April 2008 statement
Reply "Well Kate went and did the next check and think because we'd, I didn't, we didn't all go at that point, just Kate went and, erm, and then came running back saying, she's gone, Gerry Madeleine's gone, and she was sort of borderline hysterical, as you'd expect, and then there was just a blur as everybody then just ran off from the table. Erm, then everybody I think left the table, I mean, I just remember being behind Dave as he was, and Gerry, as they were running, erm, Russell I think (inaudible) a bit behind and so we all ran. If you ask whether we went, you know, into the apartment and I'm almost a hundred percent sure we didn't go to the apartment, we were, because it was just so awful, so Gerry and Kate and maybe Dave, I'm not sure, but went sort of to the bottom of the steps and they sort of went in, erm, and as soon as they sort of said, you know, she's gone and everything, all hell broke loose, we went round to check firstly on G**** to make sure she was okay and we dropped Rachael up there, telling her that she wasn't to move, Jane came out of the apartment, did she come out of the apartment at that point or was it later in the evening, I can't remember, but I remember seeing them, you know, most of the time and then for the rest of the evening they were stood, you know, at the doorways to the apartments, erm, we went back round, erm, and everybody was just running around like sort of headless chickens, so I remember saying, you know, we need a plan, I mean, I don't know why I said that but I think I'd just read too many novels, because everybody just seemed to just sort of run, there was sort of no organisation, you know, and it was obviously important that we, you know, we did something constructive rather than just running around looking in the hedgerows if, you know, what we, because we all went through this, you know, is she really gone, surely she must have just sort of wandered off and we’re just going to find her and she's going to be there, but, you know, she's like a four year old child and, you know, she, I mean, all the doors were shut, she wasn't really going to run off and then Jane said, the shutters up, and, you know, we sort of scarpered and Dave and Russell were just running off sort of shouting, so Fiona, I think, asked me to go and phone the Police, so I actually went down the route to where she would have gone for Nursery drop off, which his back to the, to the main reception essentially, so I went down that route looking for her at that time and I asked the reception to phone the Police, and that must have been about five past, it's difficult to know what time it was at that time, but maybe about ten past ten, five past ten, ten past ten".
4078 "Quite quick then?"
Reply "Yeah, sort of pretty much, you know, straight away, erm, I think it was only, but then it was a kind of, it was surreal when you got there, I said, you've got to phone the Police, you know, a child's been taken, and they went, oh no, she's probably just sort of woken up and he thought she's probably sort of wandered off or something like that and you thought, yeah, maybe you're right, maybe you're right, erm, can you please, it was sort of, it was kind of, it was sort a weird kind of lack of urgency, you know, he'd ring, but you had to sort and stand there and say, ring now, ring now, so I don't know if they rang at that point, but certainly, erm, you know, I certainly asked them to, about perhaps sort of maybe about ten past ten maybe. Erm, then we went back up to, or I went, because I was on my own, I went back up to the, erm, to the apartment and it was just obvious that she wasn't in the apartment, but we were still sort of just milling about on the street, everybody was just running around just sort of trying to, you know, sort of search nearby roads. And so we, erm, I volunteered to go up to the, erm, I went up to the Millennium Restaurantbecause it was just one of the routes that I thought she might have taken, although I couldn't say why I thought she would because we'd only been there once on that night before and maybe she'd been for the restaurant, so we'd only been at the initial welcoming, that was the only time that we went for that meal in the evening because the food wasn't great there, it wasn't quite up to the MARK WARNER resorts of, but anyway, so we did other things and that's why we liked the Tapas, so there was no reason really why she'd have gone up there, but it was a, just a different route. So a lot of it in terms of timing is blurred, but up and onto the top road to the Millennium Restaurant, which is pretty much you come up and along this road for about sort of five or ten minutes and sort of this end of town, let them know that a little girl was missing and then gone back through the back streets, down on the beach and then back to the apartment. Erm, at some point we were back and forth to the, to the reception as well. And I think what the reception probably did was ring the MARK WARNER people and say, there's somebody that's saying there's a child missing, because by that time there were lots of MARK WARNER people around, erm, and they were very good, they, you know, they obviously, you know, got there and that might have been the impetus that got them to ring the Police, if, because I understand that there is some discrepancy about when we thought we'd called the Police and when the Police were actually called and that might be that they went on the, on that route first and then went, I think it's Stuart HILL or, well the Manager, the sort of Manager got involved, that might have been when it occurred. Erm, so there was plenty of running around through the back streets and back to the apartment and then, you know, where's the, where are the Police, where are the Police, erm, and so went back down to the reception, this would have been about thirty minutes or so later, erm, back to reception, erm, and at that point, Gerry had come down as well, erm, and, erm, you know, was obviously, you know, sort of intermittently sort of calm and then completely, you know, hysterically upset, it was sort of, you know, it was sort of pretty sort of upsetting, because you didn't know what to really say, because you can't really say, you know, it's going to be okay, because, you know, you assume the worst and it's going to be particularly awful, you know, it's going, you know, some, erm, person's got, (inaudible), some xxxxxxx's got my, you know, got my daughter and she's so innocent. And, I mean, at that point, we were sort of in a room next door, you know, the bedroom across, and we thought maybe it could have been G**** quite easily. Erm, but, you know, there's, you know, seeing them normal all the time and then to go to that was just, you couldn't act it, it just wasn't, it was just, you don't know how you're going to react in that sort of situation, but, erm, you know, it was just, we've already mentioned the sort of frightening and you wanted to be away from it, but you wanted to try to do something to make it better, but you couldn't".
4078 "You feel helpless?"
Reply "You are and yet people on the outside of it, erm, responded in a much more practical way, of course, they would do, but with decent suggestions about doing this, doing that, you know. But, erm, we were there about sort of eleven, ten past eleven when the GNR sort of Police arrived and there was two of them in a Police car. Somebody's asked whether the siren was on and I think the lights were flashing but I don't remember, and I may have heard the siren in the distance, but I can't recall. So they arrived just about five minutes after Gerry and I had been there. And one of the cleaning ladies I think came to translate, I think this is Sylvia or Sylvie, I'm not sure, but she was there helping, you know, saying, this is, you know, this is the father. And they put him in the car and drove back up to the apartment. And then, erm, after that we did more headless running around, checked on G****, erm, you know, at times we were sort of like crossing each other, there was Dave, and running on my own, and sort of the other way, and I then went out on the coast road a bit further down, erm, I don't know what we thought we could do, but it was just better than being close to them and being there, erm, and so we ran out on that, I think this road unfortunately is called, erm, which road is it, Cemetery Road I think it's called, I seem to remember noticing it because it seemed like a horrible, I think it’s this bit here".
4078 "It covers quite a lot of area".
Reply "You're basically out on, I think this is Cemetery Road or one of these roads and it just takes you out down the coast and there's lots of new build sort of resorts going up".
4078 "And all the areas that made a search, with hindsight or at the time, there was nothing that you can think of that might be relevant to?"
Reply "No, because as you went on you'd meet other groups, there was Nathan, one of the waterfront people, who managed the waterfront, who we'd met previous on a MARK WARNER holiday, so, you know, you'd sort of cross paths with people who were sort of searching and then, you know, it'd get deserted and there were dogs barking at you as you sort of wandered around, because some of the apartments were occupied and some were still being built, so there was a kind of a bit of, a sort of a lonely sort of isolated place, but, you know, it was all very sort of close, and there was nothing, you know, looking for sort of like funny parked cars or, erm, you know, anything really that seemed a bit odd".
4078 "Did you see Kate during that initial?"
Reply "No, no, I mean, partly, you know, because I just didn't know what to say to them and partly because by that time they were in with the Police. And then we went to bed about sort of two, three, something like that".
4078 "You obviously found it very, very difficult seeing Gerry in that state?"
Reply "Yeah, most, yeah, I mean, it was pretty upsetting sort of seeing him like he was and also, you know, because, you know, we thought, obviously we were all having the same sort of thoughts, that, you know, you know, paedophiles, Madeleine's gone, a little girl. Erm, Rachael stayed at the apartment and, erm,and I think Jane did as well, erm, around. I think we, at one stage, on one of the return visits, I did go into the apartment, just as far perhaps as the, erm, as the kitchen, and I could see them sat on the sofa, but they were in with the Police and there was nothing we could do or say, so we came back out, and that's the only time I went back into the apartment".
---
4078 "Okay. And the only other thing I can think of at this point in time. You mentioned that after it was discovered that Madeleine had gone, everyone was running around and you were conscious that there was no organisation. Did you take it upon yourself to start organising?"
Reply "No, and this is again, this is the sort of, another thing that, you kind of know the theory, well it's just from sort of reading sort of novels and just sort of being sensible, there was obviously, you know, (inaudible) there is obviously a time that you need to get everything done sort of pretty fast, because, you know, if you just think about it logically now, I know that's what we were thinking at the time, but you just see so many people running around, looking in hedgerows, that's fine if she's just wandered off, you're going to find her even if it takes half an hour, but if she's been driven by somebody at speed, you need to get onto that, get orders, whatever, and whatever response you think you need or we thought locally we'd need, I mean, you just sort of start that straight away. But there was that initial inertia of, are we sure she's really gone, are you sure she's not there and she's sort of hiding in the bathroom or something, erm, before it sort of kicked in. But, you know, I was going, we need to have a plan, but everybody had already run, there was nobody to sort of impose it upon. And, you know, I don't know that, I think if I'd done anything differently I would have stood by the desk and said, no, you must ring now, you really must, rather than just sort of saying, oh, you know, and sort of at the back of my mind thinking, well maybe they're right, maybe I'll go back and she's just turned up and that'll be absolutely fantastic, maybe I'm wasting his time, but I didn't stand over the desk and say, do it. Erm, but, aside from that, there was no real, you know, sort of structured plan of what we should do". |
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