The inspection of the McCann's clothing by dogs Keela and Eddie in the gym.

[Angelo222]

Can anyone clarify this please.   (in red)

Does this mean that the clothing etc was removed from the Villa AFTER the dog search?

Yes 100%

The boxes containing the clothing which was laid out in the gym for the dogs had the villa address on the labels.

[Benice]

Can anyone clarify this please.   (in red)

Does this mean that the clothing etc was removed from the Villa AFTER the dog search?

Yes 100%

The boxes containing the clothing which was laid out in the gym for the dogs had the villa address on the labels.

If that is the case then why no alerts to the clothing in the villa before it was removed?

[Angelo222]

I just don't believe that he would 'cue'  his dogs into falsely alerting in the McCanns villa ... why  would  he ?

Once again you are confusing intentional cueing with unintentional cueing.  No one(to the best of my knowledge) is accusing Grime of deliberately cueing the dogs to alert at the McCanns possession, do you understand this?

As you are discussing the clothing in the gym I want to add this point.  I have watched the video over and over several times and I cannot understand why the dog moved the t-shirt and the trousers because he walked straight over them.  He did not react to them in any other way other than to move them.  Are we supposed to believe that this was some sort of evidence of something because to be honest I find the whole procedure laughable.

[Angelo222]

Can anyone clarify this please.   (in red)

Does this mean that the clothing etc was removed from the Villa AFTER the dog search?

Yes 100%

The boxes containing the clothing which was laid out in the gym for the dogs had the villa address on the labels.

If that is the case then why no alerts to the clothing in the villa before it was removed?

Maybe they were put away in drawers?

[Mrs. B]

Can anyone clarify this please.   (in red)

Does this mean that the clothing etc was removed from the Villa AFTER the dog search?

Yes 100%

The boxes containing the clothing which was laid out in the gym for the dogs had the villa address on the labels.

Yes, and as far as I can tell, there's no sign of items being individually bagged, just all thrown together in boxes. I've never seen such blatant disregard for basic rules regarding handling potential evidence.

[John]

Can anyone clarify this please.   (in red)

Does this mean that the clothing etc was removed from the Villa AFTER the dog search?

Yes 100%

The boxes containing the clothing which was laid out in the gym for the dogs had the villa address on the labels.

Yes, and as far as I can tell, there's no sign of items being individually bagged, just all thrown together in boxes. I've never seen such blatant disregard for basic rules regarding handling potential evidence.

And not only that, how would you like your garments strewn all over a filthy floor and walked over by a couple of muts after having your eldest child abducted a few weeks earlier?  Bloody appalling behaviour in my book.  What the hell was Grime thinking of?

[Mrs. B]

Appalling, yes, and not only that, had any of those items possibly had any value as evidence in a future trial, the items collected would have been contaminated. I.e. in their attempt to gather evidence, they effectively rendered any possible evidence useless.

[John]

The villa which the McCanns rented was at Rua das Flores 27 in Praia da Luz.  Weren't they effectively tricked into vacating the property by the PJ so that the searches could take place?  For me that was the pits after everything they already had been through.

[ferryman]

Can anyone clarify this please.   (in red)

Does this mean that the clothing etc was removed from the Villa AFTER the dog search?

Yes 100%

The boxes containing the clothing which was laid out in the gym for the dogs had the villa address on the labels.

If that is the case then why no alerts to the clothing in the villa before it was removed?

Benice, from the files, here is the only record I can find of a proffered reason for the inspection at the gym:

Following the search effected at Rua das Flores, 27, during which certain items were seized, this present inspection was performed, in a place appropriated for its purpose, attempting to identify particular pieces of clothing possibly indicated by the dogs, namely Eddy [that] indicates cadaver odours and Kila [that] indicates blood odours.

In these terms, the pieces of clothing recovered [from the home] were laid out individually in accordance with instructions given by the British technicians, the dogs [then] walking the area where they [those pieces of clothing] were laid out by order and with the following results described below.

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

Possibly indicated?

Yet more ambiguous signals from Eddie the infallible?

The only other record is Amaral's book.

According to him, he received a phone call at home from Almeida that Harrison needed a second premises for the inspection following the one at the villa.

A garage in Lagos was found, spruced and super-cleaned but (apparently) not clean enough.

So Amaral drums up a gym (where, hours before, hot sweaty bodies will have been pumping iron and whatever else) and that was clean enough.

Erm, quite ....

But there's no record of that in the files.

[icabodcrane]

The villa which the McCanns rented was at Rua das Flores 27 in Praia da Luz.  Weren't they effectively tricked into vacating the property by the PJ so that the searches could take place?  For me that was the pits after everything they already had been through.

In what way were they  'tricked' into vacating the property ?

My understanding is that Gerry was contacted by the police that morning telling him that they would be coming to villa to do some forensic work

Naturally the villa would need to be vacated for a few hours in order for that  forensic work to be carried out

Where was the 'trick'  ?

[ferryman]

Here is the record from Amaral's book:

To avoid contamination of evidence that will be gathered at the McCanns', Mark Harrison has insisted on the availability of decontaminated premises exclusively set aside for this purpose. Julio Barroso, mayor of Lagos, agrees to lend us the garage of a new, unoccupied building in the centre of Lagos. The place is cleaned from top to bottom.

On August 2nd, at 6pm, the inspectors arrive at the McCanns' residence and present the search warrant. The principle of the examination by the specialist dogs is explained. Kate and Gerry are in the swimming pool in the garden with the twins. Contrary to all expectations, they allow us access to their house in a very natural way.

Eddie goes immediately to the lounge. He comes to a stop in front of a wicker armchair on which is lying Madeleine's small pink soft toy, which Kate was never without in the early days of the investigation. Nowadays, she wears a rosary and a green ribbon around her neck. Eddie barks to let us know that he has detected an odour: the soft toy has been in contact with a body.

The soft toy and all the clothes from the house are placed into boxes specially made to preserve evidence. These objects are then conveyed to the decontaminated premises. They are placed on the ground, a good distance apart for the dogs to examine.

At 8pm, Tavares de Almeida calls me to let me know that Mark Harrison requires another place because this one is not sufficiently clean.

- How do I find a place at this kind of time?

- Sort it out!

Julio Barroso offers us the new sports hall in Lagos which, finally, meets the required standards. The objects are once again laid out on the ground and the dogs can start. Eddie alerts us to a strong cadaver odour on some of Kate's clothes, but the CSI dog doesn't detect the slightest trace of blood.

[AnneGuedes]

Naturally the villa would need to be vacated for a few hours in order for that  forensic work to be carried out

Where was the 'trick'  ?

Before proceeding to effect the search, copy of the dispatch attached determining who had access to the place, mentioning that they can be present during the search and be accompanied or substituted by someone of confidence will be delivered. If the persons in reference are not present, copy of the dispatch can be delivered where possible to a family member, neighbour, caretaker or whoever acts as substitute, article 176, n 1 and 2 of the CPP.

 

[Benice]

Can anyone clarify this please.   (in red)

Does this mean that the clothing etc was removed from the Villa AFTER the dog search?

Yes 100%

The boxes containing the clothing which was laid out in the gym for the dogs had the villa address on the labels.

If that is the case then why no alerts to the clothing in the villa before it was removed?

Maybe they were put away in drawers?

That shouldn't have presented a problem for Eddie.   According to Grime he could detect scent buried a couple of feet underground  - so any scent from an item in a drawer should have been a doddle.

[Benice]

Can anyone clarify this please.   (in red)

Does this mean that the clothing etc was removed from the Villa AFTER the dog search?

Yes 100%

The boxes containing the clothing which was laid out in the gym for the dogs had the villa address on the labels.

Yes, and as far as I can tell, there's no sign of items being individually bagged, just all thrown together in boxes. I've never seen such blatant disregard for basic rules regarding handling potential evidence.

And not only that, how would you like your garments strewn all over a filthy floor and walked over by a couple of muts after having your eldest child abducted a few weeks earlier?  Bloody appalling behaviour in my book.  What the hell was Grime thinking of?

What I find incredible is that every item of clothing supposedly alerted to - just happened to have been packed into the same box!   (According to Grime)

[AnneGuedes]

No, the McCann did not "flee" Portugal, the lease on the Villa they rented was up & the PJ were fully informed that they were leaving. They were totally free to do so in accordance with Portuguese law.

Very true. Mr McCann's blog and Mrs McCann's "Madeleine" show clearly they had been aware for weeks of a curve in the investigation and had thought, who will blame them ?, it was time to leave.