If Smith was correct and the man was Gerry McCann and he was carrying Madeleine who appeared to be in a deep sleep and wearing pyjamas, that would place him scurrying away from the resort towards the beach at almost exactly the same time that Kate entered the apartment, found Madeleine missing, and ran back to the restaurant where the adults in their party were eating.
It is interesting to overlay the Jane Tanner alleged sighting into this picture.
On page 76 of her book Madeleine, Kate explains that at around 9.15pm Jane had seen a man on Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva carrying a child who appeared to be asleep.
(My emphasis in bold.)
According to Kate's book: 'when I'd discovered that Madeleine was missing <ie at 10pm> she <Jane> had been in her apartment three doors along. Hearing the commotion, she had come out and discovered what was going on. Taking Fiona to one side, she told her how, after leaving the restaurant to make her first check <ie: allegedly at 9.15pm> on her children, and having passed Gerry and Jes talking on Rua Dr Gentil Martins, she had seen this man crossing the junction with Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva, then or fifteen feet in front of her, walking from left to fight. Obviously, at the time she had thought little of it: as far as any of us knew, Madeleine was asleep in her baed, and, having just seen Gerry, Jane was well aware that he had been in our apartment only a few minutes before. quite naturally, she'd assumed the man was a father with his child, perpahs on their way home from a creche. As soon as she heard about Madeleine's disappearance, everything fell in to place and she felt sick.'
This in my opinion looks like a very well-rehearsed attempt to create alibis for Gerry and place in firmly in the resort (as opposed to unaccounted for for a period of time which would look suspicious). On his return from 'the check' Gerry passes and has a chat with someone from his tennis group, Jes.
Jane Tanner just so happens to be out and about at this precise time, checking on her children at 9.15pm. In her statement to police she says she passed Gerry and Jes en route to do her apartment check. This creates a very clear alibi. On page 71 of her book Kate claims that there was subsequently some uncertainty about which side of the road Jes and Gerry were actually on, however she notes: ....exactly where they were standing is not crucial. What may be more important is that all three of them were there.
Why is it so important that all three were there? Well, apart from the question of establishing alibis, this is also when Tanner alleges she sees Madeleine's abductor - going in a different direction to the Smith sighting.
Jane Tanner was also, interestingly, back in her apartment when the commotion (over the alleged discovery of Madeleine's disappearance) broke out. Jane Tanner is certainly in key hot spots that night!
What strikes me as revealing is that when the commotion breaks out, Kate in her book claims that Jane takes Fiona to one side and having passed Gerry and Jes talking she sees the man who she believes may have abducted Madeleine.
The Jane Tanner's 'sighting' was only given significance, apparently, after the discovery of Madeleine's disappearance,, which can account for her having done nothing about it at the time (which would not be the case if it had been after the disappearance). It also places the time of the abduction (as far as the McCanns and their friends are concerned, at 9.15pm. This would mean that a potential abductor would have had a 45 minute head start (minimum) before the alarm was raised. And of course it means that, if the Smiths did see Gerry carrying Madeleine at 10pm, it would have been a time of maximum activity in the apartment and very immediate area, as the alarm had only just been called. Therefore Gerry might have got away with creeping away with Madeleine, were it not for the Smith family. In any case, it Tanner's sighting took the eye off the Smith sighting.
It is very telling to me that Jane Tanner is out and about around the resort and in and out of her apartment at both 9.15pm and again at 10pm. These are both critical times that evening, it seems.
