The three VERY IMPORTANT photos.

We feel this issue is VERY important so we are importing all the comments about these three photos that have been submitted/published so far into this post. Putting all the information together and give it the visibility we think it deserves.

The making news fake.

A Christmas bonus for our real truth-seeking readers.

From our post “Scare-tactics”: 

Comment #01: 

Anonymous 12 Dec 2018, 10:42:00

Not even sure it's relevant but there's an aerial picture that looks as though it was taken around a similar time as Frogs picture given the amount of vehicles and people at the top of that street. The flat bed van looks to be further down the street past the entrance in this moment though. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3429820/portugal-madeleine-mccann-ocean-club-praia-da-luz/ 


Comment #02: 

Anonymous 12 Dec 2018, 10:57:00

Further to my last comment, there appears to be a high resolution image from an alternative angle here on Google Images. http://portugalresident.com/exclusive-%E2%80%9Cmark-warner-pulls-out-of-praia-da-luz%E2%80%9D-the-real-story 


Reply #01:

Textusa 12 Dec 2018, 13:07:00

Anonymous 12 Dec 2018, 10:57:00,

I hope you do understand the importance of both your photos!

We will get back to them as soon as we can! 


Reply #02:

Anonymous 12 Dec 2018, 18:35:00

Look forward to reading about them.
Regards, Chinese reader number 3, or is it 4? :)


*****

From our post “Scare-tactics – comments continue”:

Comment #01:

Textusa 13 Dec 2018, 14:54:00

Shall we start to get the ball rolling on the importance of the 3 pictures?

They are these:

#1 – Frog’s Cristaluz picture:
https://bilder3.n-tv.de/img/incoming/origs19814918/1322539623-w1280-h960/1ad15a9d3fcb2ef8141054761aa08949.jpg

#2 – The Sun aerial picture:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/nintchdbpict000319512361.jpg

#3 – The PR aerial picture:
http://portugalresident.com/sites/default/files/styles/node-detail/public/field/image/050507_sx_overhead_ocean_club_9.jpg

They contain loads of very important information. Let’s start at what time they were taken.

Picture #1 has already been established that it was in the morning.

We think we can all agree that that pictures #2 and #3 were taken by the same aerial means, probably a drone, doing a run over Praia da Luz, so basically at the same time.

What time was this and why is this important?

Over to the readers who would like to participate. 


Reply #01:

Anonymous 13 Dec 2018, 16:40:00

Later pics look to be much later on in the afternoon, maybe going into early evening looking at shade, shadows etc. 


Reply #02:

Anonymous 13 Dec 2018, 16:54:00

Going on the photos: #2 seems to be late in the evening, looking at the long shadows, certainly after the 'disappearance' happened. Following evening. You can see TV vans on the streets, etc. The VAN/TRUCK (delivering or taking away the BRT tops) is now parked up the street from Tapas. So if you match this with Frog's photo, the table tops haven't been removed - because the van is still on the street, just a few feet up. The table tops are still inside?

#3 shows TABLES with TABLE CLOTHES by the pool. Again, the same truck/van is parked on the street. Again, evening time. 


Reply #03:

Anonymous 13 Dec 2018, 19:02:00

In the Esplanade picture of covered tables etc there are 3 people wearing yellow tops whom I assume to be OC staff. In the hi-res version of the Portugal Resident photo there are 2 people wearing similar yellow tops on the top of the street opposite the McCann's apartment. Are they staff? Possible shift change indicating time of day maybe? 


Reply #04:

Textusa 13 Dec 2018, 20:48:00

Anonymous 13 Dec 2018, 16:40:00,

Doing a very rudimentary calculation, the shadows make an approximate 12 degree angle with the East/West line, and as May 4 lasted 14 hours, that means that the sun at about 1 hour before sunset.
https://www.sunrise-and-sunset.com/pt/sun/portugal/calendario/2007/maio

Taking into account that on May 4 2007 the sunrise was at 20H33 we estimate that the photos were taken at around 19H30.

This hour is important that it is agreed upon. Not with total precision but with enough of it to say that it wasn’t at 17H00 or even at 18H00.


Anonymous13 Dec 2018, 16:54:00

If this was a TV series, you would have jumped to episode 5! We’re still in episode 1.

The movement of the truck probably has a very simple explanation. We would say the most logical would be to not present an obstacle to the entrance. Things linked to catering, for example, would be unloaded at the entrance, so it would be asked to move the truck a few metres down the road.

Another simple explanation, is that the driver went somewhere to lunch and then when s/he came back, parked a little further down the road.

What is relevant to retain is that the truck was there the whole day. It has been filmed and photographed in the morning and is still there at 19H30.


Anonymous 13 Dec 2018, 19:02:00,

Well picked up! Didn’t pick that up and although it could be just a coincidence, how likely would it be for 2 people to be wearing bright yellow tops? We would say very unlikely, so we would agree that they are indeed Tapas staff, at 19H30 outside the McCann apartment.

A hint as to one of the reasons (not the only one) why the time the photos were taken is important, is that this happened less than 2 hours later:
https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article10244986.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/PROD-Gerald-McCann-L-and-Kate-McCann-R.jpg

The McCann’s first press conference. Do count how many TV trucks were there at 19H30. Take into account that at least 2 TV Stations had collected images in the morning. The Portuguese SIC and the British Channel 4.

The Channel 4 video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSZILWgblpU

At 02:07, one of the mysteries solved, by the shadows it can be seen that the dogs were there in the morning.


Reply #05:

Anonymous 14 Dec 2018, 11:07:00

On the PR picture, someone with a red top is seen walking up Rua Francisco Gentil Martins seemingly carrying two shopping bags, so probably coming from Baptista supermarket, so photo taken before Baptista closing time. Don't know what it was on May 4 2007 though.

On the Sun picture, there are two people on the pavement opposite to OC Block 5 who seem to be walking down Rua FG Martins: one with black top, and one who seems to be a kid wearing pink trousers. They can be seen further down the street in the PR picture, about 50 meters away, so PR picture possibly taken 1-2 minutes after Sun picture.

This is corroborated by the red car seen in the Sun picture near the Police roadblock at the intersection of Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva and Rua FG Martins that appears to be stopped while front passenger(s) speak with someone with a white top. Could be the same car as the one seen in the cul-de-sac behind Tapas in the PR picture, where four other cars are already parked.

Quite clearly, journalists are preparing for an "event" and keep on arriving.

NotFrog


Reply #06:

Textusa 14 Dec 2018, 12:26:00

NotFrog,

Agree with analysis, except on one point of important disagreement.

In agreement, thank you for spotting man and child and that tells us that the Sun (S) picture was taken before the PR one. The detail of man-child will be important further on as you’ll see.

About the photo taking, we believe that a helicopter was used as in 2007 drones were not widely spread and were not used by the media.

About the time, the fact that Baptista was open is consistent with photo taken at 19H30. Supermarkets with the size of Baptista are open for business at least up until dinner time in Portugal, which is 20H00 but we would say it wouldn’t close doors before 21H00 or even 22H00.

Where we disagree strongly is when you say “Quite clearly, journalists are preparing for an "event" and keep on arriving.”

Before we argue our case, it’s important that it’s established between us what we agree on what we see:

How many TV cars are there?
We can clearly see 3.
We are uncertain about the white vehicle that is on the bottom left of the S picture parked in the Rua Agostinho da Silva. It has 2 doors open but has no satellite dish, so we don’t consider it to be a TV vehicle. But would like your opinion about that.

Do you agree that photos taken from a helicopter?

Could you please expand as to the reasons that make you say that it’s clear that journos are preparing for an event?

Apologise, not meant to put you in any spot, we’re only, because it’s important, to try to understand if we are missing something which may make us change our mind.

Obviously, all readers are invited to give their opinions on this as well.

Thank you.


Reply #07:

Anonymous 14 Dec 2018, 15:06:00

Not sure I agree with my own wording :) I was just referring to the many cars parked in the street at this late time of day, many of which I assumed to be from media reporters including press agency, radio, freelance... Also, the red car mentioned in my previous comment, which seems to come from Rua Dr FG Matins to go parking behind the Tapas (if my interpretation is correct) suggests that people keep on arriving. So what are all those people here for? Of course, there is the 8 o'clock journal and what not but I thought they were waiting specifically for the McCanns to appear.

I do agree that an helicopter is more likely than a drone in 2007, it was actually my first thought when I saw those pictures. Could it simply be the Protecção Civil helicopter used to help searches (mentioned by GA in Chapter 3)?

Not sure at all about the white car with open doors. Looks like it has some device on top of it, a roof antenna maybe? Also wondering about the two red cars parked in Rua 1º de Maio. Radio channel cars? Ambulances?

Can't wait to see why you strongly disagree on my interpretation. The truth is, I can't make much of these photos, so will be most happy to see some important facts come out.

NotFrog


Reply #08:

Textusa 14 Dec 2018, 16:09:00

NotFrog,

Thank you. Will reply in detail later but for now it was important to establish that the white car was not a TV van.

It can have been for other media but fact is that at 19H30 on May 4 2007 there were only 3 TV vans in Praia da Luz.

Anyone who says there may have been more is being ridiculous as there are still a lot of locations where to park near 5A still available.


Reply #9:

Textusa 14 Dec 2018, 16:11:00

Unpublished Anonymous at 14 Dec 2018, 14:18:00,

…and you have hit the jackpot!

There are many jackpots in the pictures (currently discussing one with NotFrog) but that one is, basically, the adding up of all of them.

Once it hits, it is quite astounding isn’t it? It practically, if not in fact, breaks the entire case!

We will publish your comment when we get to that episode. 😊


Reply #10:

Textusa 14 Dec 2018, 19:20:00

DO NOT PUBLISH DO NOT PUBLISH identified reader at 14 Dec 2018, 17:00:00.

Yes, it's your comment and yes all your observations and questions are pertinent but the conclusion that you have come to is incorrect. As you understand we cannot say more at this stage.

:)


Reply #11:

Textusa 14 Dec 2018, 19:25:00

Unpublished Anonymous to Textusa at 14 Dec 2018, 18:55:00,

You are on the right track as well!

If we get more comments like yours and other unpublished comment, we will have to publish them sooner than expected.


Reply #12:

Anonymous 14 Dec 2018, 19:46:00

Does anyone know what the square tent-like/marquee type construction is, please? It seems to be an add-on to the Tapas bar..it may be irrelevant but I haven't noticed it before. Thank you.


Reply #13:

Textusa 14 Dec 2018, 22:31:00

NotFrog,

José Rodrigues dos Santos is very successful Portuguese TV anchor and author. Many years ago, when he started to write, I remember watching an interview about his most recent work then which focused on that tangible/intangible thing that is information.
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Rodrigues_dos_Santos

He said that his book was born because having one afternoon filmed a demonstration of a military tank, later when he saw the piece he put together he was fascinated by the fact that what he saw on the screen did not match with what he had seen with his own eyes on the ground.

There had been no intended manipulation but the fact that his cameraman made the effort to get the best angles, resulted in the news piece being more spectacular than in reality all had been.

One thing he gave as an example, was that in the news piece there seemed to be more people present than there really were. This was owed to the simple fact that the cameraman had just framed all those present and by doing that, hadn’t shown the majority of empty seats that were in the stands. Who hadn’t been in the demonstration but saw it only on TV, wouldn’t be able to know that only a few people did attend the event.

This distortion of reality fascinated him and he decided to write about it. Again, note, no intended manipulation, simply the cameraman doing his job to get the best images possible. Just doing his job properly.

From the interview (I haven’t read the book, nor can say what book it was as he has since dedicated himself to historical romances) the book took things in a different path than the one the photos of Praia da Luz show.

Rodrigues dos Santos it seems, in his book went on to investigate how the presence of cameras do alter the reality continuum because people do start to act differently when they become aware that they are being filmed. He tried to show how reality is different according to the presence of cameras.

In this tank demonstration there was no manipulation but there was distortion. Now imagine the distortion that can be achieved if manipulation is really intended. And that’s one of the many things that these Praia da Luz photos show: a news manipulation of the news itself.

Where is the media circus that we were all induced into believing that there had been the day after Maddie disappeared?

Nowhere to be seen because there wasn’t one. That simple and the pictures show it very clearly.

Portugal is in the same time-zone as the UK. Everyone knows that primetime news hour is 20H00. The photo was taken half an hour before TV Stations would be opening live. And there are only 3 TV vans.

And of these 3, 2 were in Luz since morning, SIC and CH4.

Their videos prove it. And one, SIC, very early in the morning as they captured the Tapas lot going to Portimão.

That leaves 1 TV van for: RTP, TVI, Sky News, BBC and ITV. Just to name the Portuguese and the British ones.

The Portuguese TVI, put up a very piece about it at 09:35 that morning on its TVI24 site but as far as we know, they didn’t say anything on TV at 13H00 nor at 20H00.
https://tvi24.iol.pt/algarve/madeleine/crianca-inglesa-desaparecida

Nor did RTP. In fact, we all have in our memory that Gerry with his torch and notebook with Kate beside him were the first images of the case. That was filmed when it was dark, so well after 20H00. A couple of hours, at most after the pictures were taken.

And we only saw them on May 5 because they were not aired live.

(Cont)


Reply #14:

Textusa 14 Dec 2018, 22:32:00

(Cont)

Wasn’t the media supposed to be blaring about it since early morning of May 4? If we are to believe the statements of Yvonne Martin, Stephen Carpenter and the Murats that was what was supposedly happening… but where was all that media in Luz? Nowhere to be seen.

Do note that in Frog’s picture, the one taken in the morning, the TV van #3 (the one by the Block 2 pool in Rua Agostinho da Silva) is not present. It hadn’t arrived yet. But Yvonne Martin had come rushing from the other said of Lagos and Stephen Carpenter had done laps around Luz because of the news they heard, when at best, there were only 2 TV crews there.

On the T-crossing by Block 5, by the white car, one can see about a dozen people standing there. Were they the reporters, or just curious people? It they were reporters, were all of them reporters? And if all of them were reporters, can it be considered a media-storm? It can’t and it clearly wasn’t. 30 minutes before prime-time.

And yet, when one watches the videos of that first press conference, just filmed a couple of hours at most after these pictures were taken, one feels that the parking lot of Block 5 was filled with press:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeB_vGZWE5s

Just keep cameras flashing and the feeling that there were reporters piling up on each other is created. Is what we see at 19H30 consistent with the video conference? It isn’t.

But the pictures give us another media related detail: the helicopter.

Although there was clearly no major media footprint on the ground, there was a helicopter flying around taking pictures clearly related to Maddie’s disappearance.

There is clearly a disconnect between what one can see on the ground with what was deployed in the air.

It was like someone was determined to make the case a media-storm when it was far from being one. And for that to be can be because someone knew at 19H30 of May 4 2007 that Maddie would never be found.


Reply #15:

Textusa 15 Dec 2018, 11:02:00

DO NOT PUBLISH DO NOT PUBLISH at 15 Dec 2018, 09:35:00
Please allow us to publish the contents of your comments with or without your “internet ID” as you wish.

This last one is media related and we think it’s pertinent to the analysis. Thank you.


Reply #16:

Textusa 15 Dec 2018, 11:08:00

We now ask readers to go back and look at the videos of May 4 2007.

Please see how many volunteers, locals or guests, are seen in the background or together with the police, seen searching for Maddie.

We will give a hint. Locals, one, Robert Murat. Guests, one, Raj Balu.

Now understand that the importance of the photos. It's not what they show but what they don't show. What they don't show and HAD to have shown.

HAD to show according to all the stories we were told but don't. And the case just cracks wide open.


Reply #17:

Textusa 15 Dec 2018, 11:16:00

For example, where are the search parties, where is the looking at bins, yards, fields, wells, etc? Shouldn't Luz be really filled with people on the streets and everywhere?

Another example, with so many guests there, why not a SINGLE one at the Tapas area?


Reply #18:

Textusa 15 Dec 2018, 12:31:00

We think we should now publish the comments that we have withheld:

“Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Scare tactics - comments continue":

What strikes me is the complete absence of any holiday makers in the OC complex. Correct me if I am wrong but I literally can't see anyone. Possibly too cold to swim or sunbathe but no tennis, no kids in the playground, no-one going anywhere, no-one just going for a stroll in the early evening.

Posted by Anonymous to Textusa at 14 Dec 2018, 14:18:00”

And:

“Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Scare tactics - comments continue":

Hi - do you think it's odd that the photos don't show any holiday-makers around the pool area? I know T9 wouldn't be expected to be there but those guest not associated in any way might. Just a thought. Thank you.

Posted by Anonymous to Textusa at 14 Dec 2018, 18:55:00”

And we’re waiting for the “do not publish” reader to allow us to transcribe here the content of his comments that is pertinent to this debate.

Post Scripum #1: Do not publish comments

We have now been authorised, via a DO NOT PUBLISH DO NOT PUBLISH comment at at 15 Dec 2018, 16:56:00. The poster in question has asked that his/her internet ID be censored:

“Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Scare tactics - comments continue":
DO NOT PUBLISH DO NOT PUBLISH
Hi Textusa - are you referring to the comment about lack of people in the OC Complex? I think I said maybe to cold for swmimming but no tennis, no stollers either etc.
If so it is also odd how there there doesn't seem to be any tourists on the beach headland either - if a pleasant early evening I would expect to see some tourists out for a stroll, some on the church square etc. Where on earth is everybody? Were they never really there?
Was the OC dinner at this time - sorry don't have time to look this up..
But I really do look forward to the next episode :)
More than anything though glad you ok!
(censored)
Posted by Anonymous to Textusa at 14 Dec 2018, 17:00:00” 

And:

“Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Scare tactics - comments continue":

DO NOT PUBLISH DO NOT PUBLISH

Also if the 'press conference' was some two hours later - where is the set-up. If fairly major TV companies involved then they would be there well beforehand to set up and run-throughs. There would be evidence of staff, equipment, vehicles. Nothing. Just Nothing.

It is as if everything is on lockdown.

(censored)

Posted by Anonymous to Textusa at 15 Dec 2018, 09:35:00” 

We have taken the liberty to publish this bit from the comment submitted that authorised us to publish:

“Have just realised that apart from no guests or no media setting up of course there is no sign of any significant searching or any sign of co-ordination to search. Wow.” 

Post Scriptum #2: Tableskirts.

A detail from the immense information these 3 pictures are able to tell us:

If we zoom in, we can see that the tables at Tapas are still with bed-skirts. Also the truck is still there, circled in yellow.

This means that at 19H30 no one has told the Tapas staff to dismantle things that were set up for the event. Things remained set as they were in the morning.

By this time, it would be more than evident for everyone that the event wasn’t going to take place but apparently everyone was concentrated on doing other things for them to be able to remember warn the Tapas personnel to put it all away. We wonder when was this order given.

This also shows that no one dined at Tapas that night, much less queued up to book that morning. The missing queue that we showed why it didn’t exist in our post of Sept 28 2011 “Tapas Quiz Night, Question #11/?”
http://textusa.blogspot.com/2011/09/tapas-quiz-night-question-11.html

The fact that there isn’t a single person inside the Tapas area, confirms that the premises were closed down just for this event, no one else allowed. Well, with the exception of the Neil Berry and the SIC TV crew:

What made Neil Berry so special?

Post Scriptum #3: Tapas Staff
 

It’s 19H30. Supposedly the Tapas is about to be bustling with activity, dinner is coming but of the few rubberneckers present, 2 of them are apparently from the Tapas bar (detail picked up by Anonymous 13 Dec 2018, 19:02:00)

Doesn’t this show that the Tapas was without any activity and the staff simply didn’t have anything to do even though it’s smack-down dinner time?

A dinner night that Tapas would say that this much beverages were consumed:

And all consumed only by 3 people, the Hynds, who, supposedly, were starting to have dinner when the photo was taken, and they would be the only ones for the rest of the night:
 

No wonder the rest of the staff could go watch the circus up the road. They really had nothing to do. There are clients eating at Tapas, supposedly again, and some staff are outside watching what seems to cause little interest in anyone else!

Post Scriptum #4: GNR Officers

Comment received from NotFrog:

“Anonymous 15 Dec 2018, 14:50:00

(…)

Another question: do you rule out that the helicopter was the one from Proteção Civil we know was used on May 4?

NotFrog” 

*****

NotFrog,

It could be. Could be any chopper. That is only a question of money, as there are many ways to hire helicopters, and if one has enough money to pay then one gets to fly.

But I think the point you want to make is made through this photo:

(pic from here)

There were an exaggerated number of GNR officers present. Why so many? Crowd control? What crowd?

This was a missing child case and we’re not seeing the reason for so many officers. Some are dressed to help the searches but there are many who, it seems, were just used as extras for a poorly scripted movie. 

They are just standing there, not knowing what to do.

Someone, it seems, from the Portuguese side, someone capable of - or capable of influencing such a decision - deploying this police force there, was helping stoke up the flames so things could be transformed into a desired bonfire when only a match was on fire. Or possibly fooled into thinking that a huge popular uprising would be generated. Or possibly understood very quickly that the British higher powers were jumping on this and decided not to spare resources...

Fact is, the GNR was there in exaggerated numbers as the pictures show. But in the images that ran the world, the GNR helped convey the idea that it was a media worthy crime from the start.

Post Scriptum #5: Lurking Raj Balu

This has already been debated but we would like to give it visibility, Raj Balu photographed lurking over 5A on the morning after Maddie disappeared:

We have said that there’s no reason for this picture not to have been in the PJ Files. We said the only reason we said that it isn’t was because whoever took the photo, from the top of a building that is not part of the Ocean Club, knew that this man, who happened to be staying in Block 6, was not involved in Maddie’s disappearance. Or, in other words, the photographer knew who Raj Balu was.

Some people believe that lurking is not a criminal offence:

https://twitter.com/FragrantFrog/status/1072273677478191104

“Green Leaper‏ @FragrantFrog

Replying to @CarlaSpade @ditsy_chick and 3 others

Lurking is not a criminal offence. Being in Block 5 at 6pm was not a criminal offence. Balu & Berry were on a balcony in Block 6 when they saw Gerry searching (not swinging). Carpenter framed no-one.

3:35 pm - 10 Dec 2018”

True. But then we ask, what was the 2009 Mockumentary other than about a lurking man, the Pimpleman, who no one has bothered to look for since then?

Basically, if it’s an imaginary person, it’s important for the case, but when it’s real, when the lurker has been photographed, it’s not. 

Post Scriptum #6: People

 We have been told that guests, staff and locals all decided to help, launching themselves in searches.

 Well, according to the OC Booking sheets, the consolidated number of guests at the end of May 3 was 355. And at the end of May 4, 368.

http://textusa.blogspot.com/2015/09/missing-people.html

There were 112 Ocean Club employees and 33 Mark Warner ones.

http://textusa.blogspot.com/2015/04/tourism-diet.html

So, just and staff and guests we have 500 people for May 3 and 513 people for May 4. To these one must add people like the Hills who don’t appear on the lists but we know they were there.

But let’s just keep things at 500 for staff and guests.

Now, one has do add up the locals. We don’t know the numbers but looking at the pictures, not that many were there. We see people leafleting (who were they leafleting to?) and very few rubberneckers. But we are told that everyone was turning bins, looking into yards, scouring the fields, looking into well, combing the beach… so shall we say 200, 250 people?

750 people in a small town like Luz.

One can’t invent a crowd. One can’t say it was a terrorist assault and they were all huddled in a large hall under armed guard.

WHERE ARE THEY?

No guests were curious to see what was happening in 5A? None? Why?

Plus, do note that the Ocean Club is not the only resort in Praia da Luz. So add to the population present the guests of other resorts. If the Ocean Club was that booked, so would be all others.

Readers have commented they were possibly hiding. Why? We go back to the BRT scenario of May 4. They certainly didn’t want to be photographed but, as it can be easily seen, whoever and whatever was photographed was being controlled.

If the PJ and GNR saw someone of relevance from the UK, would they be able to recognise who it was? Of course not. So why hide?

Please don’t include the locals because pictures show that on May 4, practically no one was interested. Probably only the few we see standing near 5A. The rest of Luz was just going on with their lives.

We suggest that at this point in time there were 2 major activities going on among guests and staff and ex-pats: running as fast as possible from there and concocting as fast as possible whatever was needed to be concocted.

That’s why no one is seen. Everyone is fighting for their interests behind closed doors. Some demanding, other pleading and others just praying for their names not to appear in the documents.

Those whose fate was sealed because their names did appear, were being indoctrinated, together with the relevant staff on what to say. 

Post Scriptum #7: Pulling the strings

We have been told that the McCanns are the all powerful. What they don’t control, Clarence Mitchell does. That’s what we’ve been told.

Our readers know we don’t believe in that. And these pictures prove it.

Quoting ourselves from our post “The Saint of Salem II”
http://textusa.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-saint-of-salem-ii.html

“4. Time

Kate McCann in her book:

“It was about 10am by the time a couple of PJ officers turned up. (One of them, in his thirties, tall and well built, I thought of for ages simply as John. I’m not sure he ever gave us his name, but later – much later – we found out that it was João Carlos.) They told us they had to take us and our friends to the police station in Portimão. We couldn’t all go at once as somebody needed to look after the children. After some discussion, it was agreed that Gerry and I, Jane, David and Matt would be interviewed first and the PJ would come back for the others later in the day. Fiona and Dianne took Sean and Amelie to their club along with the other children. While our world was falling apart, the best way of trying to keep theirs together seemed to be to stick with what they were used to.
Gerry and I travelled in one police car with the others following in a second vehicle. It was an awful journey. It took twenty, twenty-five minutes, but it felt much longer. (…)
Our first impressions of the police station were not encouraging. Basic and shabby, it didn’t seem conducive to efficiency and order. We were shown to a small waiting area separated from the control room – where calls and faxes came in – only by windows and a glass door, which was left ajar. In the control room, officers in jeans and T-shirts smoked and engaged in what sounded more like light-hearted banter than serious discussion.
I know as well as anybody that one shouldn’t judge people – or perhaps places, either – on appearances, but it all made me immensely nervous. I was appalled by the treatment we received at the police station that day. Officers walked past us as if we weren’t there. Nobody asked how we were doing, whether we were OK or needed anything to eat or drink or to use the bathroom. Our child had been stolen and I felt as if I didn’t exist. I’ve tried to rationalize it since: maybe they just couldn’t imagine how it felt to be a parent in such circumstances, or maybe they couldn’t speak English and it seemed better or easier simply to avoid us. Whatever the case, it was a horribly isolating experience.
At some point that morning we’d become aware that friends and family were appearing on television expressing our concern about the lack of police activity overnight. I think I’d registered Trisha and a good friend in Glasgow popping up on the TV in the apartment. Gerry has a memory of seeing some familiar faces on the set in the police control room. (…)
After an hour or so, Gerry, Matt and Jane were taken off for questioning. I remember constantly looking at the clock, counting the hours since we’d last seen Madeleine, my terror mounting with every five minutes that passed.”

As a side note, if ever there was a day childcare needed, Friday May 4 in Praia da Luz would be it.

Kate does speak of sticking “with what they were used to” and wasn’t leaving the kids at childcare something they were used to do? There was the lunch time period but we’re sure that under the circumstances Mark Warner would make sure they were taken care of during the period.

If there was a time for keeping the kids out of the way this was it so if there was a structure to leave kids well-tended to, why did Russ, Rachael, Fiona and Dianne stay behind to take care of the kids?
Gerry McCann was heard in Portimão at 11:15.

Just going by Kate’s words, they arrived at the station at 10:15. For that then they left Luz at 09:50/09:55. Which would mean the PJ officers arrived in Luz after the same PJ officers took them to Portimão to be questioned.

Google maps says it takes 28 minutes. But this is in 2015. That is in theory and in 2007 the roads weren’t as good so let’s say, to be realistic and say it took 30/40 minutes, which means the convoy would have left around 09:35/09:45.

Kate is clear in showing that this trip was done with no hurry whatsoever.

In fact she complains that PJ police seemed to show no sense of urgency about the case or about them.

So it’s very unlikely for PJ to have arrived in Luz, quickly rounding up who they wanted to question, push them into the cars and bolt towards Portimão so that they could put them in some obscure room and then forget about all of them for an hour.

We are being generous with the time. In fact it seems the PJ came even earlier than we have estimated above, they came at 08:30.

From McCannfiles:

“This news item was broadcast at 14:00 on May 4th. The following news item (below) confirms that the man in the brown jacket is an officer of the Policia Judiciaria, who had come to collect them at 08:30am that morning. That makes this footage being recorded just 10/11hours after Madeleine had been reported missing.

The PJ officer appears to be looking round for David Payne, who we see at the end of the clip sitting in the front passenger seat of the car. Presumably, Kate and Gerry went in one car, driven by the PJ officer, whilst Jane Tanner, Matthew Oldfield and David Payne went in a second car.

Presumably, their partners Russell O'Brien, Rachael Oldfield and Fiona Payne stayed behind to mind their children.

At the start of the clip Gerry says "Where are we going?"”

The McCannfiles, the website from where the quote above is from opens its 04 May 2007 page with this picture:

It has the following caption: “Picture above, 04 May 2007, about 11 hours after Madeleine had been reported missing: The McCanns, officers of the PJ and some members of the Tapas Group gather at 08:30am outside the holiday apartments, prior to their departure to the police station in Portimão.”

We think the 08:30 time of departure from Luz to be realistic. Not because we think there was any sense of urgency but we are sure was one of priority.

It’s expectable for the PJ to have gone go and picked up for questioning the missing child’s parents and their friends first thing in the morning.”

We have from the PJFiles that the statements started at the following hours:

Gerry McCann 11H15

Jane Tanner 11H30

Matt Oldfield 11H30

Kate McCann 14H20

David Payne 14H45

Fiona Payne 19H20

Rachael Manpilly 19H20

Dianne Webster 20H50

Russell O’Brien 21H45

They were in Portimão basically all of May 4. So, it wasn’t them who were pulling the strings. Nor was Clarence Mitchell who was nowhere near.

If it wasn’t them… then who was pulling them?  Because someone was...

It could only have been someone outside the T9. Or, Most likely, many people outside the T9.

Lastly, how credible is this passage from Kate’s book, pg 92, after one sees the pictures taken at 19H30:

“We were completely unprepared for what we found when we drove back into Praia da Luz some time after 8.30pm. The road outside our apartment block was lined with what seemed like hundreds of press and TV crews, five or six deep all the way”

Really?

Post Scriptum #8:  May 5 table-skirts

Comment that we have received:

“Anonymous 17 Dec 2018, 11:27:00

 Zooming in on the May 5 aerial video it looks like the tables are still with skirts. Do you agree?”

To which we replied:

“Textusa 17 Dec 2018, 12:51:00

Anonymous 17 Dec 2018, 11:27:00,

Agree. We will write about that in a Post Scriptum.”

Here is that Post Scriptum.

We must say that at first, we disagreed with Anonymous.

We have to be consistent, and if we can’t be certain about something then we can’t state as fact, but can only leave it as a hypothesis.

Having zoomed in, the definition of the original image wasn’t sufficient allow us to reach a conclusion as to whether the tables in the Tapas esplanade had table-skirts.

Using the car as an example, one can see that unless objects are clearly in the open, one cannot come to any definite conclusions about them.

So, just by zooming in we couldn’t agree that the image showed that there were table-skirts. It could have been the case but it could only have been tablecloths. So, in principle we disagreed but that didn’t mean Anonymous wasn’t right.

Fortunately, we have a picture that clears all up. The Sky News picture of May 5 tweeted by the Frog:

And because we were looking for this clarification, we saw something we had missed before: it doesn’t show tablecloths at all as we previously thought but rough wood round tops and table-skirts:

The tablecloths had been removed between the night of the 4th and the day afterwards.

As our readers know, we did a comparison between this photo and Frog’s posh esplanade photo and saw that many of the tables were missing.

It’s like a path to the pool was cleared. That, together with the fact that on May 5 there were still table-skirts are, for us, a clear indication that putting the esplanade back to what it was, had, understandably, a very low priority. As we have said, so much other had to be concocted, so many to protect, so many wanting protection, so many tell what to say, so many documents to create while pretending nothing was happening within the “walls” of the resort, reason why the dismantling of the unimportant esplanade took more than one day.

To those who will try and ask if the PJ didn’t see it all this activity, please don’t. The PJ saw it but didn’t take notice. The tables with table-skirts being brought in and taken out was for any outsider an activity unrelated with Maddie’s disappearance and perfectly normal for a restaurant to have.

Post Scriptum #9:  Shadows and GNRs 

We have to make a correction to what we said in the post about aerial photos having been taken at about 19H30 on May 4.

A fact is what is not subjective and because it’s objective, cannot be argued against.

Shadows are factual. For example, as Portugal is in the Northern Hemisphere, all shadows from the Sun must be projected the North of the East-West line. Dawn defines East, sunset West. At noon, shadow is perpendicular to that line, projecting itself on the North of it.

We based our estimation that the aerial photos were taken at around 19H30 based on the shadow projection. We found that we were wrong. The shadows weren’t wrong (evidently), it was we who weren’t sufficiently precise.

We discovered our mistake because we had to revisit the issue after seeing the Getty video of the T9 being taken to Portimão for questioning. The minute we saw that shadows on that video, we knew that they would be important.

Before we go to that video, let’s first correct ourselves on the time we think the aerial photos were taken. We have then to determine as precisely as we can where the East-West line is in the Portugal Resident (PR) photo.

Via Google Maps, one can see that one of the cul-de-sacs of Rua Professor Dr Gentil Martins makes a 25° angle with that line

One can transpose that to the photo and see that the shadows run along that line:

Sunset was at 20H33 that day, so photos were not taken at 19H30 but definitely between 20H00 and 20H30.

That is full-on prime time TV news.

The day after what would become the world’s missing person crime of the century, the world’s first truly live global crime, the lack of media present in situ is absurdly minimal.

If the apartment 5A had caught fire the night before, there would have been more media present and certainly a lot more curious people.

Maddie was not a media phenomenon. Media was made to be a media phenomenon. Through hard work, it was shoved down our throats. The public did not pick it up as we were told had been the case. The public was made to pick it up.

And we attribute that to:

- Maddie’s imagery, by which we mean leaflets and posters immediately available;

- the high number of GNR officers present;

- to the masterful creation and staging of that 1st press conference.

The aerial photos show there was no one to give the leaflets to but the images we saw on TV was that of people distributing them, of people gluing the posters to their store windows and of people really interested in looking at them. Propaganda 101.

These 3 things together, created the illusion of something that wasn’t. Together they worked as an effective bait because and the world snapped its mouth on it ferociously.

All a production but what an effective production.

Our apologies to our readers for having softened the hoax. The fact the photos were taken an hour later than we initially said, only reinforces what we said.

It was the Getty video and its shadows that made us revisit the aerial photo times. Why? Because the shadows in that video answer one important question in the case even if not with the precision the aerial photos do, that is at what time were the T9 taken to Portimão.

In this post, in our “Post Scriptum #7: Pulling the strings” we quoted ourselves saying “We think the 08:30 time of departure from Luz to be realistic. Not because we think there was any sense of urgency but we are sure was one of priority” but that was based solely on agreeing with a caption of a photo.

For example, the Frog tries to push this to have happened much later:

https://twitter.com/FragrantFrog/status/1070833365119590400
“Green Leaper‏ @FragrantFrog 
Replying to @Anvil161Anvil16 @CarlaSpade 
It was cooler first thing (K&G had fleeces on when they left with PJ around 11pm [11am, clearly a typo]. RM wanted to appear official imo. Maybe he was sweating a lot......
4:12 pm - 6 Dec 2018”

We see only one reason for the Frog to try and push forward the hour they left for the PJ: Yvonne Martin.

Note, that by doing so, the Frog contradicts Kate McCann who in her book says they were ignored for over an hour at the PJ. If they left at 11H00, then Gerry could not have been heard at 11H15 and much less wait for over that hour.

The Frog protects a person who brings paedophilia – pointing directly to one of the group and not some random stranger – into the case of Kate McCann’s missing daughter, Maddie.

We have established that the photo was taken between 07H30 – 08H30. We will explain how we did that.

One has to understand the orientation of Ria Dr Agostinho da Silva in relation with the East-West line and the hourly progression of shadows in a day with 14 hours of daylight as was May 4 2007.

For the first one just has to use Google Maps:

The other, as Earth rotates at a steady rhythm, then if it takes 14 hours from sunrise to sunset (as it did on May 4), that means that all has to be done is to divide 180° (East-West) in 14 intervals and that tells us that a shadow rotates with a circling speed of 13° each hour:

Please note that the dashed arrows do no represent the length of the shadows, they simply indicate the direction in which a shadow is projected for every hour after sunrise.

The same but now with Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva projected vertically:

That is in what directions one would see the shadows being projected if one stood at the bottom of the road, where the cameraman is standing.

We have obtained this still from the video but the reader can see that others could be obtained, we chose this one as the shadows from PJ Officer and Jane Tanner are “workable” for the intended purposes:

With this still, the precision is less than with the aerial photos because we the image is too close to the subject but the reader can intuitively immediately deduce at what time the picture was taken.

We used the focal point of the camera and ran it by the feet of Jane Tanner and the PJ Officer to determine the axis of the street. We then drew lines over the shadows and with that obtained the angles they made with the axis.

Then we superimposed this in the East-West line over the Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva and came to the conclusion that it was about 1 hour after sunrise which was at 06H33. So, according to this, this photo was taken at 07H30, when it’s indeed chilly that a fleece is welcomed.

We remind readers that this method is not precise but it certainly gives another meaning to the words “We think the 08:30 time of departure from Luz to be realistic”.

Now we would say that the departure definitely happened before 08H30, and would point 08H00 as the most likely time.

Why is this important?

Let’s start with Yvonne Martin. On June 12, she said this:

“In the past 04 MAY 2007, at 07H00 took knowledge, via a English TV station, Sky News or BBC, of the disappearance of a minor of that nationality in Praia da Luz – Lagos.

(…)

At 09H00, she met the McCann couple by the apartment from where a girl had disappeared, accompanied by a third element, of the male gender, who seemed to her quite familiar;…”

On June 13, just 24 hours later, she said this:

“As she works directly in situations of children at risk, and in being so very near Praia da Luz, she went there with the intent of providing all possible support to the couple, having arrived there at 09H30.

Clarifies that she didn’t go immediately to Praia da Luz, as she still had personal things to do at her house, having left at 09H00.

Initially she couldn’t locate the exact place where the family was on holidays. On seeing a patrol car that was passing near her, she approached those elements asking that they indicate the location in question. So, she was accompanied by the patrol car up to the apartment from where the child had disappeared and where the parents were.

On the site there was a group of 3 people, being 2 of the male gender and the third was of the female gender.

She approached the couple and identified herself.

Two of the elements of that group, one of the male gender and the other of the female gender, identified themselves as the parents of the missing child, or in other terms, the McCann couple.”

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/YVONNE-WARREN-MARTIN.htm

We have dealt with Yvonne Martin’s participation in the events in 2 posts so far, even though we still have to finish dealing with this subject:
- “The Saint of Salem I”
- “The Saint of Salem II”

Immediately, this video is proof that Yvonne Martin is not telling the truth. At 09H00 (as per Jun12) or at 09H30 (as per Jun13) the McCanns were long gone. No longer an estimation, a certainty.

And talking about being certain, Yvonne Martin on her Jun13 statement, makes it quite clear that she’s very certain at what time she left the house: at 09H00. And that she took half an hour to get to Praia da Luz.

This video alone dismantles her statement(s).

In our post “The Saint of Salem I” in its heading “#07. Yvonne Martin’s and her interactions” we mentioned that she had interacted with the authorities 9 times. The first one we mentioned was:

“i – When she arrived in Luz and says she approaches a GNR officer to ask directions and is escorted by that GNR officer to near apartment 5A”

It must be said that the very first time I read this GNR escort from her statements back in 2008, it was what made me think immediately that this person was not being truthful. A bit too fantasist to be real.

Indeed, there is not one but 2 GNR patrol cars in the video but anyone familiar with the Portuguese reality and the Portuguese authorities know that any Portuguese officer refuses to serve as guide (and will show how unpleased they are when they realise one approaches them with that intent) and when is such a situation will only provide verbal indications as to where one should head.

To have passed by car “near her” as she says, it would have meant they were travelling in the opposite direction. It would mean they would have to have stopped, listened to her query and then instead of directing her verbally, the GNRs do an U-turn on their unicorn, sorry, patrol-car and escort this stranger to where Maddie had disappeared. As if.

A place where there wasn’t exactly a crowd. As if.

Is this credible? No, it isn’t.

But is it Yvonne Martin only contradicted by the video? No, Mr Len Port contradicts her as well and quite significantly:

“Chapter Twenty-four

THE MADELEINE MYSTERY

The peaceful seaside village of Praia da Luz was the unlikely setting for what turned out to be the most reported and discussed missing person case in human history. The disappearance has also been one of the most mystifying, controversial and bitter cases of its kind in modern times. For me as a reporter it all started so quietly.
On arrival in the village before 8.30am on Friday 4th May 2007, I expected to see some urgent activity. A young British girl, Madeleine McCann, had gone missing the previous night. At first I saw no movement at all. The village was silent and still. While driving around, I came across a single police vehicle parked on the roadside at a junction of minor roads towards the back of the village. I parked directly behind it. A few uniformed police officers were standing outside a block of holiday apartments. The only other people in sight were two women in conversation close to a corner ground floor apartment, 5A. As I approached, I noticed that one of them was clearly distressed, so much so I guessed she must be the missing girl's mother, Kate McCann. Later I learned that the other woman was a senior social worker on holiday from England. I overheard Mrs McCann tell her the police were "doing nothing" to find her daughter. She complained that they had not even questioned people staying in the same block of apartments. I understood the social worker to suggest that a description of the missing child should be circulated more widely. That prompted me to introduce myself as an Algarve-based reporter and say that I could use contacts to arrange alerts to be broadcast on an Algarve bilingual radio station. It had flashed through my mind that such alerts had been broadcast when Rachel Charles was reported missing in the Algarve 17 years earlier. The social worker then mentioned the British Consulate. I said I could help there too as I knew the staff at the Consulate and had just spoken to one of them on the phone. Perhaps my offer sounded disingenuous coming from a total stranger and a reporter to boot. Anyway, it was ignored.”

http://www.gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/press/86june14/LenPort_June2014.htm

Mr Len Port speaks of two women. Two women and not two women (Yvonne Martin and Kate McCann) and two men (Gerry McCann and David Payne).

By the way, when he says “on arrival in the village before 8.30am on Friday 4th May 2007” we cannot say that he’s being untruthful as 07H30/08H00 is indeed before that hour. But “before 08.30” contradicts clearly Yvonne Martin.

Another important thing that this video shows is the absence of the GNR foot-print that early in the morning. We can see the 2 patrol cars but nowhere can be seen the number of GNRs we would see, later at the end of the day.

Mr Len Port speaks only of  a “few uniformed police officers were standing outside a block of holiday apartments.”

Note that when the Frog’s Cristaluz photo is taken the GNR presence is still not significant:

As far as all photos we have seen show, there was no reason for the GNR present to be reinforced. Not speaking about the dog-tracking teams but about those we would later see around 5A not knowing what to do.

The McCanns are not present (and they are totally unknown at this time) and there is no crowd. The media presence is minimal. The only reason we see the GNR being needed is to safeguard the perimeter around 5A so that the forensics can be performed properly. But for that, the officers present were more than enough.

It was like the GNR was used in the same way as the “ping-machine” in Monty Python’s meaning of life: just for show off.

Post-Scriptum #10: Sky News

Our friend “FB Anon” has provided another Getty video link:

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/video/exterior-shots-around-the-ocean-club-apartments-in-pria-news-footage/487715446

As the first part is about the GNR tracking dogs, they arrived after they were taken for their first statements, the footages are switched around.

The first part that goes up to 2:00, has been filmed after the part that appears at the end.

It’s easy to see that is so as the last 1:23 (from 2:00 to 2:23) of footage is the one that precedes this video, the one filming the taking of the T9 to Portimão.

https://www.gettyimages.ch/detail/video/exterior-shots-of-gerry-and-kate-mccann-nachrichtenfilmmaterial/487715646

This video confirms that no locals or guests were helping out the dog tracking teams:

It confirms that Praia da Luz did not even notice Maddie has disappeared that day, as everyone appears to go on with their lives not aware that anything had happened the night before (we were told that there had been a “search-wave” on the night of May 3:

Please watch the Channel 4 video and listen to John Hill describe this search.

There were 4 GNR officers which is consistent with 2 patrol-cars:

The image above shows that the shadow projected by the man crossing the entrance of 5A’s parking lot hits the half way the pavement.

This would be the direction of the projection of his shadow:

It confirms that 07H30 was the hour the T9 were taken to the PJ. Possibly, and stretching it, up to 07H45/08H00. Not later than that:

The determination of this time of the footage has the implication that it clearly contradicts Yvonne Martin’s statements as we showed in our Post Scriptum #9. Impossible for her to have been in Luz at that time if she only left her house at 09H00.

But this video, by confirming this hour, raises a very serious question with very serious implications and that is that it shows that the presence of the media in Praia da Luz on that day, really, really strange. We have realised that it was nowhere near in numbers than that we were told but it gets even stranger.

If Yvonne Martin is a minor player, Sky News isn’t.

The Portugal Resident picture, shows that at 20H00 there were only 3 TV Vans. We know from footage we have seen that SIC, Channel 4 and SIC had filmed in the morning, so we’re assuming that the TV Vans we see belong to these TV networks, and that means no other media came to Praia Luz on May 4.

This is very important in itself. Why no other media?

But the 2 Getty videos tell us something that is very revealing specifically about Sky News and that they were there very early that morning.

This immediately begs the question… why was Sky News so early there? As it was proven by the pictures of this post, this certainly was not an event that made media rush towards Luz.

Maddie had just disappeared the night before and at 07H30 Sky News is in Praia da Luz.

Who gave them the warning and who immediately “knew” that this story would grow legs? After all the missing girl could have been found that morning alive and well behind some bush lost and scared and that wouldn’t be news that would justify dispatching a TV crew with urgency to a remote village in the Portuguese Algarve.

The fact that Sky News is that early in the morning there seems to indicate that someone was certain that Maddie was not going to be found.

And if the Maddie news were so important as to dispatch at once and immediately a crew, then why was it not important enough not to deserve live coverage?

Because we know that the first time the news hit the media was at 07H48 on Sky News and now we know that Sky News was already in Luz at this time, so why didn’t they go live? Seriously, why not?

Maybe because that early the only thing that was known was that there was going to be a story but no one was sure what the story was really going to be, so best just leave things at the girl just being missing and nothing else?

By the way, if Yvonne Martin got to hear the first news at 07H48, it would be physically impossible for her to have been in Praia da Luz at 08H00.