Did the PJ conduct a proper search for evidence at OC?

[Eleanor]

completely pointless waste of money.   The Algarve is surrounded by sea, how on earth are you going to check all the boats leaving the 1000's of kms of shoreline daily?

It's International Law.  Sheesh.

[AnneGuedes]

It would be a ludicrous thing to criticise Mr Amaral for not closing the borders.
That would involve cancelling hundreds of flights at the various international airports, completely stopping international trade, bringing the army in to police the ever growing queues of cars and trucks at hundreds of border crossings with Spain.

Of course, that ridiculous idea reveals they didn't well know where they were. They would never have dreamed of having the borders of France or Germany closed, had this occurred in Honfleur or in Dornumersiel.

[AnneGuedes]

completely pointless waste of money.   The Algarve is surrounded by sea, how on earth are you going to check all the boats leaving the 1000's of kms of shoreline daily?

This abduction from bed is so exceptional (first case in Europe "since" the (staged) abduction of Savile Kent, sorry to repeat it), that it is treated as if the Joconde had been stolen from the Louvre ! A little girl that BOD couldn't distinguish from others on the tennis court !

[Estuarine]

completely pointless waste of money.   The Algarve is surrounded by sea, how on earth are you going to check all the boats leaving the 1000's of kms of shoreline daily?

Sorry (well I am not really but I am being polite) to be picky old top but is there another Algarve I have missed?
The one I went to is, from Sagres to Vila Real San Antonio, about 130km.

[Silkywhiskers]

Sorry (well I am not really but I am being polite) to be picky old top but is there another Algarve I have missed?
The one I went to is, from Sagres to Vila Real San Antonio, about 130km.

That is if they searched the road.

I said shoreline.  The area off which boats can launch. 

The SHORELINE itself is hundreds of kilometres.  You do understand that walking along the beach from point A to point B  is not the same as taking a shortcut (road)? 

[pegasus]

This is silly.  There are Police Posts at the borders into Spain and some of them are manned, so it would not have been a massive operation to put a check on these.  In fact some vague attempt was made later on, but the Police were more interested in listening to chat shows on the radio than checking cars.

If you had been Mr Amaral would you have put troops at every border crossing and stopped every vehicle? And would you have searched inside every luggage bag?

As for boats, they might have checked to see which boats left but they didn't follow through to see where these boats went.

The PJ did find the destinations of boat departures from the marinas, see the dozens of pages in the files about checks on boats.

[Silkywhiskers]

If you have the footprints of a wild bear, you're not going to go out searching for a cat.

[Estuarine]

That is if they searched the road.

I said shoreline.  The area off which boats can launch. 

The SHORELINE itself is hundreds of kilometres.  You do understand that walking along the beach from point A to point B  is not the same as taking a shortcut (road)?

I know what I said and I know what you said. You said 1000's of kms of shore line. Demonstrate that your assertion is correct ie the shore line of the Algarve is more than 2000km. P**s or get off the pot.

[Eleanor]

The south facing coast line of The Algarve is 155 kilometres, so maximum 200 kilometres in total.

[pegasus]

The south facing coast line of The Algarve is 155 kilometres, so maximum 200 kilometres in total.

Do you think Mr Amaral's team should have searched every boat on the Algarve coast?
If not then where is the substance for this nautical attack on his competence?
Where would you have searched that Mr Amaral did not?

[Eleanor]

Do you think Mr Amaral's team should have searched every boat on the Algarve coast?
If not then where is the substance for this nautical attack on his competence?
Where would you have searched that Mr Amaral did not?

No, I don't think he should have searched every boat.  It was too late for that because some of them have left.  But I do think he should have checked on where they went. There are International Laws of Customs and Excise which Amaral will have known about, him being the great Drug Hunter.
Boats can't just swan around where ever they please.

[Silkywhiskers]

No, I don't think he should have searched every boat.  It was too late for that because some of them have left.  But I do think he should have checked on where they went. There are International Laws of Customs and Excise which Amaral will have known about, him being the great Drug Hunter.
Boats can't just swan around where ever they please.

LOL!

They can and they do!

The fact remains, there is hundreds of km of coastline and it is physically impossible to police all of it.

[icabodcrane]

All this is academic if the McCanns are to be believed

They say Madeleine was abducted at 9.10pm  ( just after Gerry's  check  )

They didn't check on her again till  10.00pm

Police weren't contacted until 10.40pm

That's an hour and a half  lost

Any boat would have been miles out to sea,   or any vehicle already across the Spanish border,  before the police had even been made  aware  that the child was missing

[VIXTE]

No, I don't think he should have searched every boat.  It was too late for that because some of them have left.  But I do think he should have checked on where they went. There are International Laws of Customs and Excise which Amaral will have known about, him being the great Drug Hunter.
Boats can't just swan around where ever they please.

I am not sure about the low on this in Portugal, I researched this for my book for another country.. It seems that the bigger boats have to inform the authority if they like to leave the port but the small boats like fishemen's boats don't . They only have to have a sailing permit, which is renewed yearly. If stopped by the sea police or the inspections they have to show the permit..
This is how I understand it.. maybe this doesn't apply to Portugal, I don't know..

[Eleanor]

I am not sure about the low on this in Portugal, I researched this for my book for another country.. It seems that the bigger boats have to inform the authority if they like to leave the port but the small boats like fishemen's boats don't . They only have to have a sailing permit, which is renewed yearly. If stopped by the sea police or the inspections they have to show the permit..
This is how I understand it.. maybe this doesn't apply to Portugal, I don't know..

I think you will find that this is correct, even in Portugal.

Fishing boats are always going to return to port shortly.