What was it that jogged Mr Smiths memory?

[AnneGuedes]

So you have seen him getting down the stairs, I didn't.

[DCI]

That is exactly what happened in my opinion Carana.  How many other ways are there of carrying a sleeping child of that age and size down aircraft steps?   Only one IMO and that's exactly the same except on the R/H shoulder.    Only a small baby would be carried differently.

Unless you wanted to break your neck, by not having a free hand, just in case of a fall.

Anne, how would you carry a child down stairs?

[sadie]

except for his wife who agreed with him,

Wasn't Mr Smith's wife ambivalent?

I think she said it could have been Gerry

Martin didn't say anything much different, except that he was presumably asked to express his doubt on a scale.

He didn't even say it was Gerry himself who reminded him of the man he saw - it was the way he was holding/carrying his sleeping child that looked familiar to him.       His memory had not been jogged by all the pictures of Gerry that he must have seen previously on TV and in the Press.

Right. It wasn't his face (nobody said so), but the uncomfortable holding that... struck him, which is coherent with his assumed incapacity to recognize the carrier. You don't expect a father to hold his child clumsily and this detail is likely kept in memory.

There was nothing clumsy, or remarkable in any way, about the way Gerry carried S***

Gerrys method of holding S*** was perfect and the way any experienced adult would carry a child.  He held him firmly against his body in an upright position, supported under his bottom by Gerry left arm.  Gerrys right arm and hand were at the ready to grab the rail, in case he should fall ... or equally ready to support S***s back, should he jerk awake.

I cant understand all the fuss.  Seems someone was trying to make much of nothing

[icabodcrane]

There was nothing clumsy, or remarkable in any way, about the way Gerry carried S***

Gerrys method of holding S*** was perfect and the way any experienced adult would carry a child.  He held him firmly against his body in an upright position, supported under his bottom by Gerry left arm.  Gerrys right arm and hand were at the ready to grab the rail, in case he should fall ... or equally ready to support S***s back, should he jerk awake.

I cant understand all the fuss.  Seems someone was trying to make much of nothing

I agree sadie

The way Gerry was carrying his little boy as he got off the plane seemed perfectly natural and comfortable to me

[sadie]

Oh, you remind me of a very decent anti who was a fan of Edith Piaf.

Some real brutes on there; it was horrifying.

This is so much more civilized.

[AnneGuedes]

The way Gerry was carrying his little boy as he got off the plane seemed perfectly natural and comfortable to me

It seems everybody says so (I've not seen the video), so what jogged Mr Smith's and his wife's memories ? Why did Mr Smith translate his feeling in "uncomfortable way" ? Wouldn't anyone say that Jane T's carrier was carrying "uncomfortably ?

[sadie]

I've no idea Anne.

Perhaps Mr Smith was just using the way that Gerry was holding S^^^ as an example of the way that ?bundleman? was holding ?Madeleine ?  And because of language probs he was misunderstood

or being suspicious minded here,
Maybe Mr Smith was deliberately misunderstood, wound up, in order to try and deliberately incriminate Gerry?  Who knows?

Rebelo would have none of it ... and it appears that neither will SY

[Benice]

The way Gerry was carrying his little boy as he got off the plane seemed perfectly natural and comfortable to me

It seems everybody says so (I've not seen the video), so what jogged Mr Smith's and his wife's memories ? Why did Mr Smith translate his feeling in "uncomfortable way" ? Wouldn't anyone say that Jane T's carrier was carrying "uncomfortably ?

If you watch the video Anne I think you will see why there is nothing odd about the way GM is carrying his child.

IMO Jayne Tanner's 'man' was carrying Madeleine in the way they would if she had been handed to them  by someone else.    Not a comfortable position - and not one you would be able to maintain for very long IMO.

[AnneGuedes]

The way Gerry was carrying his little boy as he got off the plane seemed perfectly natural and comfortable to me

It seems everybody says so (I've not seen the video), so what jogged Mr Smith's and his wife's memories ? Why did Mr Smith translate his feeling in "uncomfortable way" ? Wouldn't anyone say that Jane T's carrier was carrying "uncomfortably ?

If you watch the video Anne I think you will see why there is nothing odd about the way GM is carrying his child.

IMO Jayne Tanner's 'man' was carrying Madeleine in the way they would if she had been handed to them  by someone else.    Not a comfortable position - and not one you would be able to maintain for very long IMO.

As I said, Benice, something jogged Mr Smith's and his wife's memories. Was it the right arm or the left one ? Or the hand ? How do men actually carry kids ? With the two arms or with only one ? Men have more muscles than women ! Much more ! I wouldn't be able to carry a child on my shoulder with just one arm around to support the body. I would use the opposite arm as well.
But usually men don't and keep an arm free.

[John]

Just to remind everyone.



This is the image which apparently jogged Mr Smiths memory of the man he and his family encountered in Praia da Luz carrying a child in the same manner on the very night that Madeleine disappeared.

[AnneGuedes]

That is exactly what happened in my opinion Carana.  How many other ways are there of carrying a sleeping child of that age and size down aircraft steps?   Only one IMO and that's exactly the same except on the R/H shoulder.    Only a small baby would be carried differently.

Unless you wanted to break your neck, by not having a free hand, just in case of a fall.

Anne, how would you carry a child down stairs?

I would keep a free hand and likely hold the bannister, as does Mrs McCann, in case of a fall.

[AnneGuedes]

Who looks more "comfortable" ? Mr or Mrs McCann ?

[icabodcrane]

The entire Smith family agreed that the man they saw that night was carrying a child in the exact way as Gerry is seen to be carrying his son in the image above

There is nothing remarkable about that  ...  it is the most natural and comfortable way to carry a sleeping child

What is worth mentioning, though,  is that in the McCann documentary/reconstruction the manner in which the man was carrying the child was misrepresented

The McCanns and Dave Edgar  (  their private detective who was participating ) had read the Smith witness statements,  and yet chose to present the man they had seen that night to be carrying the child in the way Jane Tanner,  and not they  had described

Why did they do that  ?

[AnneGuedes]

The entire Smith family agreed that the man they saw that night was carrying a child in the exact way as Gerry is seen to be carrying his son in the image above

There is nothing remarkable about that  ...  it is the most natural and comfortable way to carry a sleeping child

What is worth mentioning, though,  is that in the McCann documentary/reconstruction the manner in which the man was carrying the child was misrepresented

The McCanns and Dave Edgar  (  their private detective who was participating ) had read the Smith witness statements,  and yet chose to present the man they had seen that night to be carrying the child in the way Jane Tanner,  and not they  had described

Why did they do that  ?

I think they tried a compromise between JT carrier and Smith carrier, the result being rather implausible (a child would surely have woken up being carried this way).

[John]

The entire Smith family agreed that the man they saw that night was carrying a child in the exact way as Gerry is seen to be carrying his son in the image above

There is nothing remarkable about that  ...  it is the most natural and comfortable way to carry a sleeping child

What is worth mentioning, though,  is that in the McCann documentary/reconstruction the manner in which the man was carrying the child was misrepresented

The McCanns and Dave Edgar  (  their private detective who was participating ) had read the Smith witness statements,  and yet chose to present the man they had seen that night to be carrying the child in the way Jane Tanner,  and not they  had described

Why did they do that  ?

It wasn't very professional was it Icabodcrane?  I wonder if we can find that particular video so I can get a frame from it?