How likely is it that Jane Tanner and the Smiths saw the 'same' man ?

[John]

Can someone answer this question.  How the hell could Jane Tanner provide facial details when she never saw the guys face?




_{The sketch was based on an interview with Gail Cooper,
a grandmother from Nottinghamshire, who originally
gave a statement to police in May last year.}

[icabodcrane]

It wasn't all : The shoes were black in colour and classic in style, shoes with a light heel.

Would it have been possible to see those kinds of details in those circumstances  ?  (  I mean it's not like she was aware of the significance of it at the time and was paying close attention  ) 

I don't think it is

[AnneGuedes]

Can someone answer this question.  How the hell could Jane Tanner provide facial details when she never saw the guys face?




_{The sketch was based on an interview with Gail Cooper,
a grandmother from Nottinghamshire, who originally
gave a statement to police in May last year.}

Mrs McCann stated this gentleman looked pretty like Jane T's bundleman. As this gentleman doesn't look really like Mr McCann, the idea of merging the two carriers sounds a bit unreasonable.

[John]

And this is all she saw and in a poor light too.

[AnneGuedes]

And this is all she saw and in a poor light too.

The hair, John, don't you see the hair is similar ? Longer on the neck.

[AnneGuedes]

And this is all she saw and in a poor light too.

You'll note that the pants are not short at all. It was obviously imperative to sketch the lace and the flowers, how could you do that if the pants were short ?

[AnneGuedes]

...  and I found myself agreeing with you

I was interested if your reasoning was the same as mine  (  that the lapse of time between sightings made the it unlikely that it was the same man  )

The police did not appear to feel that Jane’s sighting in Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva and the man and child reported by the Irish holidaymakers in Rua da Escola Primária were related. They seem to have concluded that these were in all likelihood two different men carrying two different children (if, they implied, these two men actually existed at all). The only reason for their scepticism appeared to be an unexplained time lapse between the two sightings. They didn’t dovetail perfectly. To me the similarities seem far more significant than any discrepancy in timing.
Every time I read these independent statements in the files (and neither could have been influenced by the other, remember – Jane’s description had not been released to the public before the Irish witnesses made their statements)...
It sounds like, through similarities in sightings, the Smiths' statements, being independent, were cautioning Jane's statement as independent.

[sadie]

Can someone answer this question.  How the hell could Jane Tanner provide facial details when she never saw the guys face?




_{The sketch was based on an interview with Gail Cooper,
a grandmother from Nottinghamshire, who originally
gave a statement to police in May last year.}

This was NOT Jane Tanners photfit.  I am surprised that you didn't know that.

I feel sure that you wouldn't want to create a new myth.

[Benice]

That has always been a sticking point for me.   I just don't see how Jane could have seen the details on the small part of the pyjama bottoms visible  ...  in the dark ...  at that distance ...  in a fleeting moment

JT gives the distance as between 5/10 metres - ''nearer to 5''.   I don't think that's such a distance not to be able to see.   It wasn't pitch black - and there was lighting.   5 metres is just over 16ft.

[AnneGuedes]

Please, John, can you measure the distance between the patio gate and the T junction, as you measured the distance between the Tapas restaurant and the flat (70 m) ?

[sadie]

24 metres Anne

5a gate to T junction (Bundleman/ Jane Tanner corner)

[faithlilly]

JT gives the distance as between 5/10 metres - ''nearer to 5''.   I don't think that's such a distance not to be able to see.   It wasn't pitch black - and there was lighting.   5 metres is just over 16ft.

Far enough away for you not to be able to see a tiny design on a child's pyjama legs which would have been, in reality much further up the child's legs than the drawing implies.

http://www.mccannfiles.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=actual&linkpath=http://www.mccannfiles.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/crimewatchappeal.jpg&target=tlx_picpf3r

[sadie]

There was a street lamp shining straight on him on the opposite corner.  He was walking almost directly towards it.  It was actually very slightly to the south of his path so would provide very good illumination for Jane T to see.

And as a woman on her own after dark, she would be watching any strange man like a hawk

[Mrs. B]

JT gives the distance as between 5/10 metres - ''nearer to 5''.   I don't think that's such a distance not to be able to see.   It wasn't pitch black - and there was lighting.   5 metres is just over 16ft.

Just to illustrate the length we're talking about here - this is a normal parking space - 6m x 2.4 m - you'd have to have seriously impaired vision NOT to be able to see fairly clearly from one end to the other of a parking space, even in poor lighting.

[Benice]

Far enough away for you not to be able to see a tiny design on a child's pyjama legs which would have been, in reality much further up the child's legs than the drawing implies.

http://www.mccannfiles.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=actual&linkpath=http://www.mccannfiles.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/crimewatchappeal.jpg&target=tlx_picpf3r

But even if you couldn't see the design in detail, you would get an impression of one,  in the same way you would get an impression of differing colours.      If they were just plain white with no patterning then I think that would have been obvious to JT.