Gerry & Kate Hire New Team of Investigators

[Claycat]

A team of 12 private investigators has been hired by Kate and Gerry McCann to track down Madeleine, who was three when she disappeared from the family's holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007.

The group includes former Scotland Yard detectives and ex MI5 and MI6 officers, according to The Sun.

A source told the newspaper: "The team in Portugal comprises some of the most experienced officers in the police and security services.

"They feel there is still a great deal of stuff to be gone over and new leads to be found."

Bryan Kennedy, a millionaire who has funded the McCanns' search for Madeleine, is thought to have bank-rolled the new hunt.

Portuguese police have said they will not investigate the disappearance any further.

The team will use information contained in Portuguese police files, which were released last summer.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCann's spokesman, has refused to confirm the new investigation, saying: "We never comment on operational detail."

But he said Mr McCann had flown to Portugal to speak to lawyers about what else could be done to try to find Madeleine.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/madeleinemccann/4237573/Madeleine-McCann-Gerry-and-Kate-hire-new-team-of-investigators.html

[Claycat]

I'm so glad this forum has an open mind and a sympathetic eye towards the McCanns. There are some forums whose members consistently rake them over the coals. One forum was speculating over why they would hire a new team of investigators. I replied that they were still looking for their daughter. I have to be very careful, because it's like swimming with sharks. Anyway, bless you, HFTM.

Interestingly there is a blog called Eyes for Lies where the person is like a human lie detector. She is not psychic. She can read people by their physical clues. She believes the McCanns are telling the truth. It's like that new TV show called "Lie to Me".

Here is a link to that blog in case you are interested.

http://www.eyesforlies.blogspot.com/

[packy]

Hope they do uncover some new clues. Since the parents were over at the restaurant and the kids were alone it left a perfect opportunity for almost anyone to sneak in the room. And didn't someone see a person carrying a child that night?

Interesting blog, Clay. I get a little nervous about a lot of the recent reports regarding the interpretation of human behavior based on body language and the choice or absence of a person's words, as far as how much they are to be taken as anything more than a guideline. Maybe because I know a lot of people who don't fit the norm.

[Sioux_Girl]

I find it hard to believe this story...simply because many of our ex cops etc have said that they believe the McCanns are guilty.

As for people being hard on Gerry and Kate - well if they and their friends told the truth and co operated with the police and didnt try and implicate innocent peopleim sure they wouldnt be hard on them.

Packy regarding someone supposedly seeing a child that night. Thats quiite correct. Two people claim they saw a child. Jane Tanner a friend of the McCanns. Firstly she gave a report that said she saw a guy carrying something she thought MAY have been a child. A few weeks later it changed to a man carrying a child wearing the same pyjamas as Madeleiene had. Weirdly the bar staff say that Jane didnt leave the bar that evening so couldnt have seen him and in addition Gerry and Jeremy Wilkes who WERE in that area both also say that she wasnt there.

The second sighting was by Martin Smith an irish man who saw a man carrying a little girl he thought was sleeping down by the beach just before 10 pm i think it was. He later told the police after seeing Gerry McCann on tv that he thought the guy was in fact Gerry McCann.

In addition to this if you believe the changing stories of the McCanns and there friends..the apartment was being checked every 15 mins max and in addition OBrien was missing most of the night...so the gap to kidnap her isnt as big as one might think.

[annalyzer]

http://www.the-news.net/cgi-bin/google.pl?id=994-14

Madeleine case only reopened if new evidence emerges

24/1/2009

Following last week’s brief visit to Portugal by the father of missing toddler Madeleine McCann, the Portuguese Attorney General’s office has said that the case would only be reopened if “new facts” arose.

“The case can only be reopened if new facts, credible and relevant, are presented”, the Attorney General’s office said in a written statement in response to questions from the Lusa News Agency after the return to Lisbon of the child’s father on a campaign to re-launch the search for his daughter.

The father, Gerry McCann, said last week he intended to cooperate with Portuguese authorities in the search for Madeleine, who went missing in the Algarve in May 2007, believing there are still leads which could be followed up.

“We think there is a very good chance that Madeleine could still be found alive and in good health and so we want the search to continue. We wish to stress our willingness to work closely with the authorities whenever this is possible,” said Gerry McCann.

In an interview with the Lusa News Agency, Madeleine’s father said he had returned to Portugal for the first time since September 2007 to discuss with his lawyer, Rogério Alves, the best way of collaborating with the Portuguese authorities to “explore steps that still haven’t been taken and which could have made a difference.”

He added that it was important to study the case and the investigative process carried out so far “to avoid duplicating steps already taken,” and also “to not waste resources.”

“It’s the first trip to Portugal and I hope it will be the first of many during the coming months … The aim is to see what can still be done in the search for Maddie,” McCann added.

He said the British police and their colleagues in various other countries continue to receive “information from different sources” about what happened to Madeleine, as well as reports of “possible sightings”.

“Like all parents of missing children we want any leads to be investigated,” stressed Madeleine’s father, who met with his lawyer and British consular officials shortly after his arrival in Portugal.

He further told Lusa that he had no present intention of progressing with any legal case against the Portuguese state or any other body, particularly the media, underlining that he wanted to “go forwards and not backwards”.

“I want to make it completely clear that the past is in the past and we very much want to focus on what still can be done to continue the search. This is our priority and always was. Therefore these issues (possible cases) are just not relevant at this moment.”

Madeleine was just three when she went missing on May 3, 2007 from the bedroom where she was sleeping with her two younger twin brotherand sister in a tourist complex in Praia de Luz, Lagos, while her parents dined in a nearby restaurant.

On September 7 of the same year the child’s mother Kate and her father were declared persons of interest to the case, but on July 21, 2008 the Attorney General’s office announced the closing of the case and the shelving of the process.

The couple’s suspect status was lifted.

Police originally suggested they were dealing with a possible abduction, but later admitted the child could have died, although the authorities never managed to ascertain what happened.

[Sioux_Girl]

http://www.the-news.net/cgi-bin/google.pl?id=994-14

Madeleine case only reopened if new evidence emerges

24/1/2009



The father, Gerry McCann, said last week he intended to cooperate with Portuguese authorities in the search for Madeleine, who went missing in the Algarve in May 2007, believing there are still leads which could be followed up.

“We think there is a very good chance that Madeleine could still be found alive and in good health and so we want the search to continue. We wish to stress our willingness to work closely with the authorities whenever this is possible,” said Gerry McCann.

.


Yay after two almost he decides he wants to cooperate with the Portugese police :rolleye0001:

Well firstly maybe he and his wife should go back there and answer ALL questions the PJS asked instead of refusing to answer then like before.

Secondly there friends could go back and be interviewed again...and this time see if any statements actually add up to the others.

Thirdly...the McCanns and there friends could go back to Portugal as the Pjs wanted and do the reconstruction the Pjs wanted to do ...

Fourthly i think its remarkable that anyone who supposedly had a child kidnapped wouldnt cooperate with the police for almost 2 years after there child went missing. I also dont get why it would would take all this time for one of her parents to go back there. Most normal parents would have been there lots trying to find there "missing child".

[FoolsGold]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229919/Madeleine-McCann-detective-facing-1m-fraud-charge.html

It appears there was really no oversight of what precisely the detectives were doing. It seems there was at best whimsical investigative actions taken without any coordination or oversight.

"...
A private detective was paid up to £500,000 to find Madeleine McCann has been charged with fraud.
Kevin Halligen is wanted by the FBI for conning a law firm out of £1.3 million
A court has ordered Halligen to repay £2million to a business partner. A British lawyer is claiming £1.3million after investing in Halligen’s company.

Halligen’s firm, Oakley International, was hired by the Madeleine Fund but was dropped after six months over claims he was making little progress and spending too much. ...:"

[LiveLaughLuv]

After Jaycee Dugard, there is always that chance Madeline is alive.

I think a new set of eyes may just be what Madeline needs to help in finding her.

As far as them cooperating with the Portugese police, they were the only suspects considered in Madeline's abduction, they shut down tight after the police wouldn't consider other possibilities. If they can put the past in the past and let bygones be bygones, maybe they can get some headway and possibly see there is another suspect, not the parents as the portugese police have suggested, since the couples status as suspects has been lifted it may give them more hope than before. I pray this does bring some new information as to the whereabout of Madeline or who might have taken her.

She's easy to spot with her genetic eye pupil defect.

Hoping this will bring Madeline home...:give_rose:

[downunder]

I find it hard to believe this story...simply because many of our ex cops etc have said that they believe the McCanns are guilty.

As for people being hard on Gerry and Kate - well if they and their friends told the truth and co operated with the police and didnt try and implicate innocent peopleim sure they wouldnt be hard on them.

Packy regarding someone supposedly seeing a child that night. Thats quiite correct. Two people claim they saw a child. Jane Tanner a friend of the McCanns. Firstly she gave a report that said she saw a guy carrying something she thought MAY have been a child. A few weeks later it changed to a man carrying a child wearing the same pyjamas as Madeleiene had. Weirdly the bar staff say that Jane didnt leave the bar that evening so couldnt have seen him and in addition Gerry and Jeremy Wilkes who WERE in that area both also say that she wasnt there.

The second sighting was by Martin Smith an irish man who saw a man carrying a little girl he thought was sleeping down by the beach just before 10 pm i think it was. He later told the police after seeing Gerry McCann on tv that he thought the guy was in fact Gerry McCann.

In addition to this if you believe the changing stories of the McCanns and there friends..the apartment was being checked every 15 mins max and in addition OBrien was missing most of the night...so the gap to kidnap her isnt as big as one might think.

Thank you Sioux Girl!

I have posted a couple of times about this case but my posts have been deleted as "knocking the parents".

Unfortunately, there is a lot to "knock".

I also believe that our USA friends are only getting part of the story - if you have researched and read as much about this case as I have, sadly there is only one conclusion to be drawn.

I believe the reluctance is partly due to the fact that the McCanns are good looking, educated, well spoken doctors. People simply do not want to believe they could be involved.

If our USA friends look back at the media reports which have hit their headlines, they will observe that approximately every 2 months there is another headline. New "suspects", developments etc.

I cringe to think how many more innocent people are going to be dragged into suspicion by this carefully orchestrated media manipulation.:puke:

[downunder]

I find it hard to believe this story...simply because many of our ex cops etc have said that they believe the McCanns are guilty.

As for people being hard on Gerry and Kate - well if they and their friends told the truth and co operated with the police and didnt try and implicate innocent peopleim sure they wouldnt be hard on them.

Packy regarding someone supposedly seeing a child that night. Thats quiite correct. Two people claim they saw a child. Jane Tanner a friend of the McCanns. Firstly she gave a report that said she saw a guy carrying something she thought MAY have been a child. A few weeks later it changed to a man carrying a child wearing the same pyjamas as Madeleiene had. Weirdly the bar staff say that Jane didnt leave the bar that evening so couldnt have seen him and in addition Gerry and Jeremy Wilkes who WERE in that area both also say that she wasnt there.

The second sighting was by Martin Smith an irish man who saw a man carrying a little girl he thought was sleeping down by the beach just before 10 pm i think it was. He later told the police after seeing Gerry McCann on tv that he thought the guy was in fact Gerry McCann.

In addition to this if you believe the changing stories of the McCanns and there friends..the apartment was being checked every 15 mins max and in addition OBrien was missing most of the night...so the gap to kidnap her isnt as big as one might think.

Thank you Sioux Girl!

I have posted a couple of times about this case but my posts have been deleted as "knocking the parents".

Unfortunately, there is a lot to "knock".

I also believe that our USA friends are only getting part of the story - if you have researched and read as much about this case as I have, sadly there is only one conclusion to be drawn.

I would like to point out the double standard in regard to the reaction on the boards to Shaniya's mother. Some really nasty things are being said and allowed to remain by the moderators. People will say, yes, but she's been arrested! So were the McCanns. At the point of writing Shaniyas mother has not been tried and is still entitled to the assumption of innocence, but these posts remain unmoderated.

I believe the reluctance is partly due to the fact that the McCanns are good looking, white, wealthy, educated, well spoken doctors. People simply do not want to believe they could be involved.

If our USA friends look back at the media reports which have hit their headlines, they will observe that approximately every 2 months there is another headline. New "suspects", developments etc.

I cringe to think how many more innocent people are going to be dragged into suspicion by this carefully orchestrated media manipulation.:puke:

[Sioux_Girl]

After Jaycee Dugard, there is always that chance Madeline is alive.

I think a new set of eyes may just be what Madeline needs to help in finding her.

As far as them cooperating with the Portugese police, they were the only suspects considered in Madeline's abduction, they shut down tight after the police wouldn't consider other possibilities. If they can put the past in the past and let bygones be bygones, maybe they can get some headway and possibly see there is another suspect, not the parents as the portugese police have suggested, since the couples status as suspects has been lifted it may give them more hope than before. I pray this does bring some new information as to the whereabout of Madeline or who might have taken her.

She's easy to spot with her genetic eye pupil defect.

Hoping this will bring Madeline home...:give_rose:



The problem is they have now had at least three private detective agencies trying to find Madeleine and theres been problems with all of them. Not one have really found out any evidence to suggest that she is in fact alive..or dead for that matter. Metodo another agency employed by them had weird practices also.

The parents werent the only suspects. Robert Murat was also. They also looked at friends of Murat and other people also. And one thing you need to understand the parents were made arguidos ok but not necesarily because they was suspects. Now they have a system different to us and you...and there are some questions they can not ask you UNLESS your a arguido. They was not necessarily accusing the parents but using the status as required by there law. Now the other problem was that Kate wouldnt answer questions which is probably another reason the cops made them arguidos. The Pjs have said they will reopen the case at any time they get credible info. In fact the parents could have asked them to reopen the case but didnt. The problem is IF the case is reopened..it requires everyone working together..and answeing questions..and by this i mean everyone who was there and i dont just mean the McCanns. I mean everyone who was staying at the resort.

[Sioux_Girl]

Downunder i know what your saying and i know its frustrating after reading the files BUT..this is a forum for missing people and the idea is to support the family of the missing...which i do think is an excellent idea. Some of the work ive seen by some people on here is amazing and i think the work done here is excellent. I THINK you can post alternative info thats out there IF you can link it..which i know is hard being that most of it has been translated so not the original article.

Another thing to remember is due to action brought by the V Arthur case website owners have to be careful whats posted on there site else they can get fined which..on a site such is this is bad cause that money could be better used. I do know of a site like this that supposedly was threatened with being fined with regard to the McCann case and..so..its understandable why site owners have to be careful now with whats posted on there forums.

[FoolsGold]

That Halligen investigator never listened to even ONE phone call from the tip line, he was too busy going through half a million pounds. The calls were ofcourse largely "hogwash" but the estimated ten percent that were of possible value were never listened to by the investigator. It seems the investigators prior experience was as a caterer.

FBI took him into custody on a variety of fraud charges involving other cases.

[FoolsGold]

Latest news on that caterer's performance ... oops, I mean detective's performance:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1231757/Madeleine-McCann-investigator-didnt-listen-ANY-tip-offs-given-hotline--squandered-500-000.html

[Sioux_Girl]

I was told by someone many months ago now that they had phoned the tip line several times and got no answer. This isnt the first company employed by the fund where questions have been asked

Funny thing is tho ...this company were involved quite a while ago now...we have been hearing all the time about these tips coming in..when the phone apparently wasnt being answered even :(

[LiveLaughLuv]

Latest news on that caterer's performance ... oops, I mean detective's performance:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1231757/Madeleine-McCann-investigator-didnt-listen-ANY-tip-offs-given-hotline--squandered-500-000.html

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal today that despite setting up a hotline for potential informants and witnesses, none of the hundreds of calls received by a call centre hired by Halligen, 48, was listened to by Oakley investigators - and Halligen also bragged to his colleagues that he had executed a series of peculiar tactics to find Madeleine.
He claimed to have hired an actor to pretend to be a 'drunken priest' who would seek confessions as he toured the bars of Praia da Luz, the resort where Madeleine disappeared in May 2007.
And he told colleagues that a family with a Madeleine lookalike daughter had been paid to set up home in a nearby resort in order to tempt out a potential kidnapper.
Meanwhile, a paper trail obtained by The Mail on Sunday shows that Halligen, a former director of a catering firm, launched an extraordinary spending spree on hotels, cigar bars, restaurants and luxury goods while he was in the pay of the Find Madeleine Fund, and in the period shortly after he was fired last summer.
Missing: Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007
Documents show that in his first two months as lead investigator in the search for Madeleine, Halligen spent £7,000 on a personal chauffeur.
A few months later, on a short trip to New York with a girlfriend, he lavished £1,600 on Salvatore Ferragamo leather goods, £5,500 on handbags, £500 on an Italian meal, £150 on a pair of designer glasses and £900 on a three-night stay at the five-star Renaissance Hotel.
And in a one-month visit to Washington, where he owned a £1.5million mansion, he spent more than £3,000 on dining out and £6,000 on a room at the US capital's Intercontinental Hotel.
He also paid out more than £50,000 on plumbing and mosaic tiling for his house in Great Falls, Virginia - a property in which he has never spent a night because of constant home-improvement work.
The revelations will dismay everyone who donated to the Find Madeleine Fund. But perhaps of most concern is the lack of attention paid to the hundreds of phone calls received by the Madeleine hotline.
Halligen and Oakley International, based in Washington, failed to listen to a single call received on the hotline set up for potential informants by Kate and Gerry McCann last year.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1231757/Madeleine-McCann-investigator-didnt-listen-ANY-tip-offs-given-hotline--squandered-500-000.html#ixzz0YNaNhuTF


I'm glad he was arrested. This is an atrocity for him to spend money on himself, his home and not look for Madeline or clues to bring him to her..I do hope the McCanns find someone they can depend on after this fiasco..

Prayers for Madeline....:1222423:

[Sioux_Girl]

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1231757/Madeleine-McCann-investigator-didnt-listen-ANY-tip-offs-given-hotline--squandered-500-000.html#ixzz0YNaNhuTF


I'm glad he was arrested. This is an atrocity for him to spend money on himself, his home and not look for Madeline or clues to bring him to her..I do hope the McCanns find someone they can depend on after this fiasco..

Prayers for Madeline....:1222423:

In fairness..the McCanns also used money that was supposedly to search for Madeleine on there mortgage. This was what upset so many people here. I remember one old man..he had holes in his shoes...and he had been saving up for a new pair and instead of buying them he sent it to the fund only to have it reported a lot of the money wasnt being used for that purpose at all.

I too wish they would find Madeleine. Then one way or another some finality could be brought to this. Personally i dont ever expect there to be a resolution to this :(

One thing i would add is there was a police force in charge of this case. They wanted to do a reconstruction of the night of the 3rd of May. The parents said no. The McCanns wouldnt cooperate with the police. There friends all gave differing versions and different time lines. One minute the Pjs were being told the children were being checked every 5 mins or so but it was more like hourly checks. One minute the door was locked then it wasnt. Likewise there was claims the shutters were forced open by the kidnapper and this was refuted by Mark Warner Holiday Complex. In addition when asked Kate wouldnt answer questions. At the end of the day a little girl was missing and the Pjs were there to help find the little girl. The case will be reopened at any time any credible information becomes available. But you know...people who DO supposedly have information are in fact being told not to tell the pjs but to ring the McCanns detectives...when they dont even have any power where this case is concerned. Why would you not want the police investigating your childs disappearance to know any vital information that could find her? I dont get it. I guess my point was...there was no need to hire these agencies...they could have had a better service for free.

There was another agency they hired Metodo 3. These was the ones who said they would find Madeleine before Christmas. Complaints have been made about this company also and how they acted in this case.

I just wish they could all work together :(

[LiveLaughLuv]

In fairness..the McCanns also used money that was supposedly to search for Madeleine on there mortgage. This was what upset so many people here. I remember one old man..he had holes in his shoes...and he had been saving up for a new pair and instead of buying them he sent it to the fund only to have it reported a lot of the money wasnt being used for that purpose at all.

In all fairness, isn't what that fund is used for? :g:

If the parents need their mortgage paid to take other stresses off their heads, why not? Isn't that what others have done with donated money when their child was abducted? A few names come to mind...

In all fairness how can one work when their child is abducted? How can they pay their mortgage if they are out of work..I don't see using money to have a roof over your head as being misappropriated compared to what the PI did with the donations..

[Sioux_Girl]

In all fairness, isn't what that fund is used for? :g:

If the parents need their mortgage paid to take other stresses off their heads, why not? Isn't that what others have done with donated money when their child was abducted? A few names come to mind...

In all fairness how can one work when their child is abducted? How can they pay their mortgage if they are out of work..I don't see using money to have a roof over your head as being misappropriated compared to what the PI did with the donations..

You are correct. They could not be expected to work if there child is abducted however...remember we are different to you guys..they would have got paid leave for x amounts of months which should have been enough to pay for the mortgage. Technically i kinda agree with what your saying..that it should be allowed to help the family but what didnt help was when the accounts were released and the vast majority of that years money hadnt been spent on actual searching. In addition there was a outcry in how the fund was set up ie people thought it was a charity basically...whereas it had been made more into a company business.

I think what started off people even more...was when they wanted to use the fund to pay there legal bills. There was a huge outcry about that.