Caught on CCTV. Mohammed Januzi being led away by an abductor.

[Alfred R Jones]

Worth taking a chance on? Why not go for an easier target?

Who knows what goes on in the mind of a child abductor?  They do take insane risks, that much is known.

[faithlilly]

How many times had a stranger tried to carry her away in front of her Grandmother, I wonder...?  The thing is - you may THINK you know how someone is going to behave in any given situation but it doesn't necessarily follow that they will conform to your expectations.

So now you know Madeleine better than her grandmother ?

[Alfred R Jones]

So now you know Madeleine better than her grandmother ?

No  course not.  My point is, she can't really know how Madeleine would have reacted until it actually happened, same as I really have no idea how my kids would react to an intruder into their rooms at the age of 4.  I don't think they would have screamed, but I may be wrong - fortunately we never had to find out. 

[ShiningInLuz]

The latest 'story' in the Express.

...

Scotland Yard detectives seeking Madeleine, who disappeared in Portugal aged three on May 3, 2007, are following developments closely.

It is expected they will ask their German counterparts to check the killer’s passport to see if he was ever in Portugal.

...

Can anyone tell from your passport where you have been travelling in Europe?

Let me see - Portugal, Spain, France, Greece, Italy.  Not a mark on my passport.

USA and Egypt, my passport got stamped.

Canada?  Sorry, not sure.

So who's got a passport stamp from travelling within the EU?

[mercury]

Can anyone tell from your passport where you have been travelling in Europe?

Let me see - Portugal, Spain, France, Greece, Italy.  Not a mark on my passport.

USA and Egypt, my passport got stamped.

Canada?  Sorry, not sure.

So who's got a passport stamp from travelling within the EU?

Not wanting to further a discussion about an extremely tenuous possibility and suspect number 2450 ...passports dont need stamps, they are scanned these days, the number of times, and places dependent on airport/country procedures....how long that info is kept though I have no idea...

[ShiningInLuz]

Not wanting to further a discussion about an extremely tenuous possibility and suspect number 2450 ...passports dont need stamps, they are scanned these days, the number of times, and places dependent on airport/country procedures....how long that info is kept though I have no idea...

Mine has never been scanned.

Eyeballed every time.  Stamped occasionally.  Scanned never.

Is there something about Germans that the Portuguese, in a union of free movement, feel the need to track?

[mercury]

Mine has never been scanned.

Eyeballed every time.  Stamped occasionally.  Scanned never.

Is there something about Germans that the Portuguese, in a union of free movement, feel the need to track?

As I said I do not know every country's procedures, here in the UK, my passport is scanned at check in and just before boarding...it is also scanned on entry to holiday destination x, sometimes not y, and then on return to the UK always scanned

I am sure if the police authorities need to check on someones movements and activities  it wont be that hard as there are many ways

[ShiningInLuz]

As I said I do not know every country's procedures, here in the UK, my passport is scanned at check in and just before boarding...it is also scanned on entry to holiday destination x, sometimes not y, and then on return to the UK always scanned

I am sure if the police authorities need to check on someones movements and activities  it wont be that hard as there are many ways

Just what is it there is on your passport to scan?

I have a fairly recent British passport, and on mine there is nothing to scan.

There is no barcode, there is no magnetic strip, there is zero.

My passport is numbered.  As a security precaution, this number is perphorated into one of the early pages.

I cannot go through one of the post-Madeleine automatic check ins because I have got nothing that checks in.

What did German man have in 2007 that did?

[misty]

Just what is it there is on your passport to scan?

I have a fairly recent British passport, and on mine there is nothing to scan.

There is no barcode, there is no magnetic strip, there is zero.

My passport is numbered.  As a security precaution, this number is perphorated into one of the early pages.

I cannot go through one of the post-Madeleine automatic check ins because I have got nothing that checks in.

What did German man have in 2007 that did?

I think your info is on the hologram on page 31 if there is no chip. E passports were introduced in 2006.

[mercury]

Just what is it there is on your passport to scan?

I have a fairly recent British passport, and on mine there is nothing to scan.

There is no barcode, there is no magnetic strip, there is zero.

My passport is numbered.  As a security precaution, this number is perphorated into one of the early pages.

I cannot go through one of the post-Madeleine automatic check ins because I have got nothing that checks in.

What did German man have in 2007 that did?

If there was nothng to scan they wouldnt scan it i suppose, dunno

[ShiningInLuz]

I think your info is on the hologram on page 31 if there is no chip. E passports were introduced in 2006.

I have not been chipped, passport or otherwise.

On page 31 I have an owl.

If you mean the stuff on p3, I have a crappy photo of me, a note that there are no official observations, something that looks like a gull in flight, and a flying bird in silhouette.

Page 2 looks more promising.  There is a tiny symbol at the end of the top line of "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" that looks ominous.

But I have been a visitor to Portugal multiple times in the last 10 years.  I have never had my passport swiped or scanned.

Why should Mr German's be different?

[Alfred R Jones]

There have been microchips in Uk passports since at least 2006 I think, and passports are scanned, according to this https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/importance-of-scanning-passports-in-eu-uks-participation-in-schengen-agreement/importance-of-scanning-passports-within-eu-and-countries-across-the-world-by-border-force-and-schengen-borders-provisions

Passengers may not notice that their information has been taken if they give API or Advance Passenger Information prior to check in.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-passport-exit-checks-everything-5476792

[ShiningInLuz]

Having looked at my passport again, note 3 makes it clear that I've got an e-passport, and that I can use it in automated gates if I choose.

I wasn't aware I did have one, so I've never used an automated gate.

The current one was issued in 2011, so the previous one would have been 2001.  Presumably not chipped?

I'm still not sure about this one.  Paedo McDonald was picked up in 2010, supposedly from CCTV of his mobile home.  Precisely how he was tracked to a camp site in Olhâo is unclear.  If Portugal had a computer register of passports v hotels/camp sites etc then it would have been a doddle, but I have to say that sounds awfully advanced to me, based on my experience of Portuguese systems.

Hmmm.

[Anna]

Having looked at my passport again, note 3 makes it clear that I've got an e-passport, and that I can use it in automated gates if I choose.

I wasn't aware I did have one, so I've never used an automated gate.

The current one was issued in 2011, so the previous one would have been 2001.  Presumably not chipped?

I'm still not sure about this one.  Paedo McDonald was picked up in 2010, supposedly from CCTV of his mobile home.  Precisely how he was tracked to a camp site in Olhâo is unclear.  If Portugal had a computer register of passports v hotels/camp sites etc then it would have been a doddle, but I have to say that sounds awfully advanced to me, based on my experience of Portuguese systems.

Hmmm.

He was using a stolen passport in Portugal (Smith) Maybe he was apprehended and recognised?
2 passengers on the plane that left Malaysia and disappeared, also used stolen passports. So there seems to be very little else can be done to be sure that the bearer of a passport is the owner. Fingerprint recognition might work though.

[jassi]

There have been microchips in Uk passports since at least 2006 I think, and passports are scanned, according to this https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/importance-of-scanning-passports-in-eu-uks-participation-in-schengen-agreement/importance-of-scanning-passports-within-eu-and-countries-across-the-world-by-border-force-and-schengen-borders-provisions

Passengers may not notice that their information has been taken if they give API or Advance Passenger Information prior to check in.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-passport-exit-checks-everything-5476792

I assume that you are talking about airports  and it is to do with airline security. I travel by ferry to Ireland once or twice a year and they never check my passport at all, either coming or going, merely scan a pre printed ticket and that seems to be to ensure that its the right car that is going.