The Find Madeleine website, Tannerman & the e-fits

[Sherlock Holmes]

Dear Anne,

I said I would get back to you regarding the question of local knowledge being required in the hiding of a body.

I am sure Gerry McCann is a lot more clever and quick thinking than me, but the thought of doing something like that under pressure of time with no pre-planning just doesn't seem possible.

What location would he pick? Burial would need knowledge of the ground in a particular spot - and equipment. Burial at sea would need knowledge of tides. (Tides in PdL not conducive to carrying a body away anyway - would GM be likely to know this?!). Caves, tunnels, drains, lava tubes in the rocks - how would a first-time visitor to a place know about these things?

And how could he possibly know that the place he had selected, without any researching, would be somewhere no-one would search or find?

Apologies to Gerry McCann for even putting it like this, because I feel the whole idea is preposterous. And it seems to me that the proof of the pudding lies in the last point - the fact that despite the whole area being combed by locals, nothing whatsoever has ever been found - not just a body, but clothing or any other piece of incriminating evidence. IF she died and was disposed of (excuse the graphics) in  PdL or environs, it was done exceptionally well by someone with local knowledge - or the perpetrator was astonishingly lucky.

[jassi]

Dear Anne,

I said I would get back to you regarding the question of local knowledge being required in the hiding of a body.

I am sure Gerry McCann is a lot more clever and quick thinking than me, but the thought of doing something like that under pressure of time with no pre-planning just doesn't seem possible.

What location would he pick? Burial would need knowledge of the ground in a particular spot - and equipment. Burial at sea would need knowledge of tides. (Tides in PdL not conducive to carrying a body away anyway - would GM be likely to know this?!). Caves, tunnels, drains, lava tubes in the rocks - how would a first-time visitor to a place know about these things?

And how could he possibly know that the place he had selected, without any researching, would be somewhere no-one would search or find?

Apologies to Gerry McCann for even putting it like this, because I feel the whole idea is preposterous. And it seems to me that the proof of the pudding lies in the last point - the fact that despite the whole area being combed by locals, nothing whatsoever has ever been found - not just a body, but clothing or any other piece of incriminating evidence. IF she died and was disposed of (excuse the graphics) in  PdL or environs, it was done exceptionally well by someone with local knowledge - or the perpetrator was astonishingly lucky.

I would favour being lucky

[Sherlock Holmes]

I would favour being lucky

How so, jassi?

[jassi]

How so, jassi?

Mainly because, despite all the trips backwards and forward between the restaurant and the flat made by Tapas members and the presence in the area of other guests, no one, apart from possibly the Smith group ever seem to have seen anybody at all. To remove a child without leaving any physical traces surely must have involved a fair degree of luck.

[AnneGuedes]

Mainly because, despite all the trips backwards and forward between the restaurant and the flat made by Tapas members and the presence in the area of other guests, no one, apart from possibly the Smith group ever seem to have seen anybody at all. To remove a child without leaving any physical traces surely must have involved a fair degree of luck.

A certain luck, I agree, but that Escola Primaria is a rather dark desert. But, once he was alone again, Smithman could cross anybody as a searching person.

[AnneGuedes]

I am sure Gerry McCann is a lot more clever and quick thinking than me, but the thought of doing something like that under pressure of time with no pre-planning just doesn't seem possible.
I've no doubt Mr McCann is clever and quick and what he imo might have done would prove it. I'm not so sure he would have done it, had he had time to pre-plan. 
The pressure of time and the fact it appeared to him as the only way to keep what remained of his family were potent impellers. We know that people in dramatic situations can go further than one would imagine.
What location would he pick? Burial would need knowledge of the ground in a particular spot - and equipment. Burial at sea would need knowledge of tides. (Tides in PdL not conducive to carrying a body away anyway - would GM be likely to know this?!). Caves, tunnels, drains, lava tubes in the rocks - how would a first-time visitor to a place know about these things?
And how could he possibly know that the place he had selected, without any researching, would be somewhere no-one would search or find?
All this obviously doesn't make sense.
Apologies to Gerry McCann for even putting it like this, because I feel the whole idea is preposterous.
Al-right but it's not mine !
And it seems to me that the proof of the pudding lies in the last point - the fact that despite the whole area being combed by locals, nothing whatsoever has ever been found - not just a body, but clothing or any other piece of incriminating evidence. IF she died and was disposed of (excuse the graphics) in  PdL or environs, it was done exceptionally well by someone with local knowledge - or the perpetrator was astonishingly lucky.
I guess Dr Watson would say so, dear Holmes !

[Mr Gray]

I do agree with that, but I bet the McCann will never be charged, not because they are innocent, but because too many important people supported them and would be discredited if they were found guilty.

The idea that a serious crime would be covered up by the establishment is preposterous...imo

[AnneGuedes]

The idea that a serious crime would be covered up by the establishment is preposterous...imo

Imo too.

[Lyall]

Cyril Smith, Birmingham Six, Guildford Four, Jimmy Savile, Jack Straw, David Kelly et al !
Yup, it is absolutely preposterous ! And again your 'opinion' is worthlessly un-researched!

Jack Straw? >@@(*&)

[AnneGuedes]

Jack Straw? >@@(*&)

This one will always be remembered as the guy who, in spite of  the judge Baltasar Garzón and moreover in spite of the decision of the (then existing) Law Lords, sent back home the sadly famous Augusto Pinochet, a fervent adept of torture and a talented (personal) money making dictator.

[Lyall]

Straw and Sir Mark Allen -

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/10/jack-straw-torture-libyan-dissidents

Ah right, I agree he should be in The Hague, but the British establishment has been covering up war crimes for centuries hasn't it. It's nothing new

[Lyall]

This one will always be remembered as the guy who, in spite of  the judge Baltasar Garzón and moreover in spite of the decision of the (then existing) Law Lords, sent back home the sadly famous Augusto Pinochet, a fervent adept of torture and a talented (personal) money making dictator.

Another great day for Britain

[faithlilly]

Dear Anne,

I said I would get back to you regarding the question of local knowledge being required in the hiding of a body.

I am sure Gerry McCann is a lot more clever and quick thinking than me, but the thought of doing something like that under pressure of time with no pre-planning just doesn't seem possible.

What location would he pick? Burial would need knowledge of the ground in a particular spot - and equipment. Burial at sea would need knowledge of tides. (Tides in PdL not conducive to carrying a body away anyway - would GM be likely to know this?!). Caves, tunnels, drains, lava tubes in the rocks - how would a first-time visitor to a place know about these things?

And how could he possibly know that the place he had selected, without any researching, would be somewhere no-one would search or find?

Apologies to Gerry McCann for even putting it like this, because I feel the whole idea is preposterous. And it seems to me that the proof of the pudding lies in the last point - the fact that despite the whole area being combed by locals, nothing whatsoever has ever been found - not just a body, but clothing or any other piece of incriminating evidence. IF she died and was disposed of (excuse the graphics) in  PdL or environs, it was done exceptionally well by someone with local knowledge - or the perpetrator was astonishingly lucky.

There are many municipal bins dotted around PDL which would need no local knowledge to utilise. Gerry may have used one as a holding receptacle or perhaps he expected the body to be found but as the bins were emptied in the early hours the body was taken and disappeared into landfill. An appalling thought I know but there is no theory in relation to Madeleine's disappearance that isn't unpalatable.

[ferryman]

Or perhaps you are making it all up as you go along ...

[Wonderfulspam]

There are many municipal bins dotted around PDL which would need no local knowledge to utilise. Gerry may have used one as a holding receptacle or perhaps he expected the body to be found but as the bins were emptied in the early hours the body was taken and disappeared into landfill. An appalling thought I know but there is no theory in relation to Madeleine's disappearance that isn't unpalatable.

You are quite right Faithlilly, there are many municipal large bins throughout the Algarve emptied on  a nightly basis !

And thus in this hypothetical scenario,  when no body had been found after a few days to weeks, they would have been confident enough to know she would never be found. Confident enough that they might not worry too much about 'sightings' and ransom demand phonecalls from kidnappers.