Who was the mystery couple?

[misty]

All the caveats about whether the 'missing couple' actually exist apply, but I'm just running with the possibility.

It is only a newspaper report from the Express and so there may be reliability issues, but a few quotes stood out:

(a) It is believed they entered the bedroom on May 2, 2007, the evening before Madeleine disappeared from the Ocean Club at Praia da Luz on Portugal’s Algarve.

(b) It is already known that Pamela Fenn, who lived directly above apartment 5a, heard a child, believed to be Madeleine, crying for about an hour on the evening of May 2.

Mrs Fenn stated:

She also refers to the day of the 1st May 2007, when she was at home alone, at approximately 22.30 she heard a child cry, and that due the tone of the crying seemed to be a young child and not a baby of two years of age or younger.

At about 23.45, an hour and fifteen minutes after the crying began, she heard the parents arrive, she did not see them, but she heard the patio doors open, she was quite worried as the crying had gone on for more than an hour and had gradually got worse.

===

There is a mismatch in dates, but this is quite possibly an error in the report/statements, so it is possible this all happened on the same night.

Mrs Fenn states 'she heard the parents arrive, she did not see them.'

It would not appear to be certain that the parents entered the apartment, as reported by Mrs Fenn, because she did not see them, it could have been the 'mystery couple'.

If the mystery couple do exist then I'm speculating that the people reporting seeing the mystery couple and the mystery couple are one and the same, and that the purpose of the entering the apartment was, as reported “Apparently they were concerned about the crying and went to see if they could comfort the girl.”

What circumstances do you consider would lead to a couple of strangers near 5A entering the apartment, which had its window shutters down & a balcony barely visible from the street, simply because they heard a child crying?

[sadie]

What circumstances do you consider would lead to a couple of strangers near 5A entering the apartment, which had its window shutters down & a balcony barely visible from the street, simply because they heard a child crying?

I dont believe it. 
Nobody went close enough to the apartment to hear any child crying.

And nobody would go up those steps, then slide the patio door open and investigate anyhow.  They would go to reception and request help. 

IMO

[Robittybob1]

I dont believe it. 
Nobody went close enough to the apartment to hear any child crying.

And nobody would go up those steps, then slide the patio door open and investigate anyhow.  They would go to reception and request help. 

IMO

Which reception?  The 24 hour main reception?  Was that door at the secondary reception always open at night time?

[sadie]

Which reception?  The 24 hour main reception?  Was that door at the secondary reception always open at night time?

Either.   Surely nobody would walk into another persons apartment without going thru the proper channels?

I dont know the answer whether the door was open at night, but when we went it was open and furthermore nobody in attendance.

But it was desperately quiet.  Only one or two other tables used.

[Robittybob1]

Either.   Surely nobody would walk into another persons apartment without going thru the proper channels?

I dont know the answer whether the door was open at night, but when we went it was open and furthermore nobody in attendance.

But it was desperately quiet.  Only one or two other tables used.

If they considered themselves friends they might.

[Innominate]

What circumstances do you consider would lead to a couple of strangers near 5A entering the apartment, which had its window shutters down & a balcony barely visible from the street, simply because they heard a child crying?

The caveat is 'if the mystery couple exists'.

If they exist they may have come forward to Police and have already been eliminated from any involvement in the subsequent disappearance - the statements that refer to the 'mystery couple' are not in the public domain AFAIK.

One possible scenario is if the 'mystery couple' do exist and did enter the apartment, then I would suspect they were either contacted by Mrs Fenn or they are another resident of the block.

It would be fairly unusual to enter an apartment in these circumstances, but if they were aware that the parents left the children unattended and knew the child had been crying for a long time, someone might decide to make a check.

I would have gone through proper channels, but someone may have not have wanted to involve the Police, or there may be other reasons, such as they felt it was an emergency situation.

[Admin]

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[ShiningInLuz]

I dont believe it. 
Nobody went close enough to the apartment to hear any child crying.

And nobody would go up those steps, then slide the patio door open and investigate anyhow.  They would go to reception and request help. 

IMO

Why would anyone assume 5A had anything to with the Ocean Club when 5G and many others weren't?

[misty]

The caveat is 'if the mystery couple exists'.

If they exist they may have come forward to Police and have already been eliminated from any involvement in the subsequent disappearance - the statements that refer to the 'mystery couple' are not in the public domain AFAIK.

One possible scenario is if the 'mystery couple' do exist and did enter the apartment, then I would suspect they were either contacted by Mrs Fenn or they are another resident of the block.

It would be fairly unusual to enter an apartment in these circumstances, but if they were aware that the parents left the children unattended and knew the child had been crying for a long time, someone might decide to make a check.

I would have gone through proper channels, but someone may have not have wanted to involve the Police, or there may be other reasons, such as they felt it was an emergency situation.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/400796/Mystery-couple-seen-going-into-McCanns-flat-on-night-before-sobbing-Madeleine-disappeared


SCOTLAND YARD detectives are trying to find a middle-aged couple said to have entered Madeleine McCann’s holiday apartment to comfort her because she was crying, we can reveal today......

The tip-off was given by two key witnesses who were reinterviewed as part of the Yard’s two-year, £4.5million  investigation........

==================================================
From that article we can glean there are definitely two separate couples, one known to SY following interviews prior to May 2013 (so presumably a UK couple) &  another unknown couple seen by the aforementioned entering 5A.
From that we can deduct that the known couple either
a) totally withheld from the original investigation all information about what they saw
b) Told LP who failed to forward the info to the PJ   or
c) Told LP who sent details to the PJ which was then ignored.
Unless Madeleine had ventured outside, imo it is beyond belief that anyone would enter someone else's apartment simply because a child could be heard crying and furthermore leave the children alone again without attempting to trace the parents. Would Madeleine really have just settled back down to sleep in the presence of 2 strangers? Totally ridiculous imo.

Mrs Fenn stated that she was out on the Wednesday evening. Rachel was next door, unwell. The Moyes couple arrived on the Wednesday evening - I will have to check to see if there is any record of the arrival time.
Is it possible that the known couple only actually saw the Moyses going into Block 5 & the story has been somewhat embellished after source?

[Robittybob1]

So how would that conversation with the tip off go?  "The tip-off was given by two key witnesses who were reinterviewed as part of the Yard’s two-year, £4.5million  investigation........"

Would the key witnesses be the ones who saw the couple or would they have just heard about it from someone else?

[misty]

So how would that conversation with the tip off go?  "The tip-off was given by two key witnesses who were reinterviewed as part of the Yard’s two-year, £4.5million  investigation........"

Would the key witnesses be the ones who saw the couple or would they have just heard about it from someone else?

I imagine each family who were residing within the vicinity of Block 5 would have been asked about their movements during the days preceding 4th May & their recollections of whom & what they noticed. SY had established the identity of most UK holidaymakers in the resort by May 2013 but I'm not sure how many people of other nationalities had been traced.

[Robittybob1]

I imagine each family who were residing within the vicinity of Block 5 would have been asked about their movements during the days preceding 4th May & their recollections of whom & what they noticed. SY had established the identity of most UK holidaymakers in the resort by May 2013 but I'm not sure how many people of other nationalities had been traced.

What would someone being classed as a "key witness" imply?  Just another tentant in the G5 block would that automatically make them key witnesses?

[misty]

What would someone being classed as a "key witness" imply?  Just another tentant in the G5 block would that automatically make them key witnesses?

Blocks 2, 4, 5 & 6 were highlighted by the Met but I guess anyone who'd been near Block 5 that week could be a key witness.

[ShiningInLuz]

Blocks 2, 4, 5 & 6 were highlighted by the Met but I guess anyone who'd been near Block 5 that week could be a key witness.

Agreed.

More so if it was on 3 May, IMO.