The caprice of these files ...

[ferryman]

You'd have expected the person who took a call as vital as that a little girl, guest of the Ocean Club, had gone missing, to log the exact time of the call?

From his statement, it appears he didn't:

Date: 2007/05/09
Witness Statement
Helder Jorge Samaio Luis

Occupation: Receptionist Ocean Club

Has worked at the Ocean Club for almost a year and a half and works as a Receptionist at the main Ocean Club Reception. He doesn't work fixed hours but he always works on the 16.00 to 34.00 shift.

All his work takes place at the main reception.

He knows about the situation that happened at the Ocean Club concerning the disappearance of a little given that on the day in question (03/05/2007) he was on duty and was contacted by a member of staff from the Tapas Restaurant between 09.30 and 22.00 who informed him that the daughter of some guests who were dining there had disappeared.

That he immediately contacted the GNR in Lagos, shortly after this the child’s father and John Hill arrived at the reception and he phoned the GNR again.

He then contacted the head of reception Vítor Santos and informed him of the situation.

He remained at the OC reception until 24.00 when he was replaced by a colleague Mr Eliseu.

He then left the OC and went home.

He did not see or hear anything suspicious on 3rd May nor on the previous days.

Reads, signs, ratifies.
 

Leave aside that 0930 would be 9.30am. 

And that 3400 doesn't exist as a time (obviously a typo, but a warning siren of what peril there is in reading anything too literal into so much of what we read)

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/HELDER_LUIS.htm

[ferryman]

And John Hill's statement:

Name: JOHN ELLIOT HILL

- Profession: Manager
- Place of Work: Ocean Club - Praia da Luz - Lagos


- As the deponent does not speak Portuguese, he will helped by the interpreter Sra. Lidia N. Employee of the PJ.

With regard to the facts of the investigation. Statements show that he knew of these facts by means of a phone call from Lindsay, head of the child care service, who told him about a female child staying at the resort who had disappeared. This phone call was made to the deponent's mobile phone at about 22.28 on 03-05-2007. About 5 minutes later the deponent presented himself at the resort, because Lindsay had told him that she had initiated the procedure for missing children used by the company and the child had not been found. Upon arriving at the scene he saw about 100 people, employees, guests and residents searching the grounds, the beach and adjoining areas calling out the child's name.

Initially the deponent thought that the child had got lost or disorientated, but as the searches did not produce any results he became increasingly worried.
-
The deponent went to the main reception to see if the authorities had been alerted, and fifteen minutes later went to the apartment being used by the McCanns, where he saw that both members of the couple were in a panic and were shouting that the child had been taken. The deponent thinks that the GNR arrived at the scene at about 22.45, however in a conversation several weeks later, he heard someone say, he doesn't remember whom, that they had arrived at about 23.30, but as he was so busy he declared that he had no notion of the passage of time.
-
- Together with Lindsay the deponent occupied himself with orienting the search operations, in the sense of trying to determine that the same area was not searched more than once, given that the search area was quite extensive.
- ---
He has been employed by the Ocean Club since March 2006 and has no knowledge of any untoward situation involving Ocean Club users or in the village itself, other than some damage and minor thefts.


- When questioned he stated that the search operations that he organised finished at about 04.30. Elements from the PJ and GNR reinforcements with sniffer dogs were still at the scene.
-
- He wishes to add that he does not know of any motive that could have been the cause of the Madeleine's disappearance.

- On the night of the disappearance he always saw the McCanns together in the apartment they were occupying at the time, with the exception of an episode when Gerry went to the main 24 hour reception
- , with the purpose of speaking to a GNR officer, he is not sure at what time this occurred, but it was certainly before 24.00.
- . ---

- The deponent tried to print various photos that were distributed in different sites as well as trying to support the McCanns, although they did not need so much support after about seven weeks the deponent remembers when, in his personal opinion they were more capable in terms of mental capacity to deal with the situation.
-
- No more was said. Signs statement together with the interpreter.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/JOHN_HILL.htm

[Admin]

Could you add the relevant links to the bottom of your posts please Ferryman.  Thanks.   

[Carana]

You'd have expected the person who took a call as vital as that a little girl, guest of the Ocean Club, had gone missing, to log the exact time of the call?

From his statement, it appears he didn't:

Date: 2007/05/09
Witness Statement
Helder Jorge Samaio Luis

Occupation: Receptionist Ocean Club

Has worked at the Ocean Club for almost a year and a half and works as a Receptionist at the main Ocean Club Reception. He doesn't work fixed hours but he always works on the 16.00 to 34.00 shift.

All his work takes place at the main reception.

He knows about the situation that happened at the Ocean Club concerning the disappearance of a little given that on the day in question (03/05/2007) he was on duty and was contacted by a member of staff from the Tapas Restaurant between 09.30 and 22.00 who informed him that the daughter of some guests who were dining there had disappeared.

That he immediately contacted the GNR in Lagos, shortly after this the child’s father and John Hill arrived at the reception and he phoned the GNR again.

He then contacted the head of reception Vítor Santos and informed him of the situation.

He remained at the OC reception until 24.00 when he was replaced by a colleague Mr Eliseu.

He then left the OC and went home.

He did not see or hear anything suspicious on 3rd May nor on the previous days.

Reads, signs, ratifies.
 

Leave aside that 0930 would be 9.30am. 

And that 3400 doesn't exist as a time (obviously a typo, but a warning siren of what peril there is in reading anything too literal into so much of what we read)

I don't see what you mean by 3400 as a time?

Other than that it would indeed seem to be an example (of several) in which times were wrongly noted in statements (presumably by officers).

I checked the original - the same thing.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/P3/03_VOLUME_IIIa_Page_795.jpg
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/P3/03_VOLUME_IIIa_Page_796.jpg

[ferryman]

Could you add the relevant links to the bottom of your posts please Ferryman.  Thanks.   

d'accord.

Links added.

[ferryman]

I don't see what you mean by 3400 as a time?

He worked until midnight, 2400 (or 0000) by the 24 hour clock, but recorded as 3400.

ETA: second line down of the statement:

He doesn't work fixed hours but he always works on the 16.00 to 34.00 shift.

[Redblossom]

Typos happen all the time, there are a few in the original documents and in the translations, but it's easy to see them for what they are when it is plainly obvious. Other errors or ommissions  or questions might have to be cross checked with other documents or just worked out by deduction.

Regarding the OC receptionist not recording the time they called the police, seeing as they called them *immediately* when asked, the time the police call log shows will be the time they did. And in this case was 2241 and then around 10 minutes later, from memory.

[Carana]

I don't see what you mean by 3400 as a time?

He worked until midnight, 2400 (or 0000) by the 24 hour clock, but recorded as 3400.

ETA: second line down of the statement:

He doesn't work fixed hours but he always works on the 16.00 to 34.00 shift.

Ah. 3400 is a typo in the English translation: the original says 24h00.

However, your second point would indeed seem to be a mistake in the original: according to which he was contacted by a colleague between 9h30 and 22h00 (concerning the disappearance).

[Carana]

Typos happen all the time, there are a few in the original documents and in the translations, but it's easy to see them for what they are when it is plainly obvious. Other errors or ommissions  or questions might have to be cross checked with other documents or just worked out by deduction.

Regarding the OC receptionist not recording the time they called the police, seeing as they called them *immediately* when asked, the time the police call log shows will be the time they did. And in this case was 2241 and then around 10 minutes later, from memory.

I agree. Lucky that the two issues (one in the English and one in the original) concerned an employee...

[Redblossom]

Lucky they concerned an employee?

[Carana]

Lucky they concerned an employee?

If those same mistakes / typos were in any of the T9 statements, I doubt that they would be acknowledged as such. They would quite likely be the subject of a short video clip with LIES in 72pt bold.

[Redblossom]

Lucky they concerned an employee?

If those same mistakes / typos were in any of the T9 statements, I doubt that they would be acknowledged as such. They would quite likely be the subject of a short video clip with LIES in 72pt bold.

Many things have been taken out of context vis a vis the tapas group's statements, but it is not true to say that there are not very obvious discrepancies and changes of statements there in places.

ETA That is one of the mainreasons there was a need for a reconstruction. The rogatory interviews in parts ironed these out and on other parts threw up other discrepancies. As did Kate Mccann's book btw.

[registrar]

The files are indeed capricious

However the 0930-2200 thing doesn't concern me overly

A common enough mistake where the translator erred and 2130 was indeed meant

IMO