If it is that easy to prove that Smithman wasn't GM (because he was at the Tapas Bar at 10pm) then this begs the question why didn't Clarence Mitchell publicise the sighting at the LSE event (January 2008) nor indeed at any of his public appeals around that time or since news of Smithman first broke? John makes the perfectly valid point that CM doesn't publicise Smithman because Smith thought it might have been GM (and CM believes him to be totally innocent). But if it's so easy to prove it wasn't GM then why not publicise a credible sighting of a possible abductor when we know how well they publicised lots of other reported sightings?
I haven’t followed this case so don’t know who Clarence Mitchell is.
I can’t answer why he never mentioned this in January 2008.
I can only speak from logic.
The man the Smithman family saw carrying a child resembles Gerry, undoubtedly. But the fact remains that all the family said they saw him at around 10pm. Gerry’s last trip to the apartment was, I believe, around 9PM?
They were doing half hourly checks, and I read the 9:30pm check was carried out by one of the Tapas 7, Matthew, who had the apartment next door and he said he’d check on the McCann’s too.
So from approximately 9:15pm until 10pm when Kate went to check and discovered Maddie missing, Gerry must have been inside the Tapas Bar otherwise the staff, friends, Kate and everyone else would have said he wasn’t , surely?
