Was Mr Smiths claim just pie in the sky after all?

[pathfinder73]

There is pronoun ambiguity in the portuguese (the most original we have) and likewise in its unofficial translation back to english.
IMO in P's statement, when P passes X, P is in the middle of the road, and X is on the east side of the road (to P's right).
The labelled spot "P" in the photos marks where X was, when P passed him, IMO, and that is from reading the portuguese captions.

So you're trying to say he was on the right pavement when he passed Peter and then crossed to the opposite side of the street onto the other pavement to pass Martin  8-)(--) That would be very unusual and they didn't comment anything about him zig zagging from one side of the street to the other. That would stand out a mile to anybody as being very suspicious 

[Silkywhiskers]

Have you noticed that the PJ who created those illustrations thinks that all tourists walk on the footpath at night.  Now that's so funny.

Don't forget the dogs...

[pegasus]

So you're trying to say he was on the right pavement when he passed Peter and then crossed to the opposite side of the street onto the other pavement to pass Martin...

Yes X was on east side of RdEP (when P passed him) and then X was on west side of RdEP (when M passed him).
The PJ marked on the photos three positions of X.
Label P is the position of X (when P passed him).
Label M is the position of X (when M passed him).
Label A is the position of X (when A passed him) and this is very easy to prove by reading her statement.
Are you suggesting the PJ, on location with the 3 witnesses, chose to record the locations of the witnesses, and not bother to record the vastly more relevant 3 locations of X?

[Silkywhiskers]

So you're trying to say he was on the right pavement when he passed Peter and then crossed to the opposite side of the street onto the other pavement to pass Martin  8-)(--) That would be very unusual and they didn't comment anything about him zig zagging from one side of the street to the other. That would stand out a mile to anybody as being very suspicious 

I'm starting to get a picture in my head.

Like something out of Agatha Christie, silently zig zagging through the streets of PDL with a corpse...make that, something out of a horror movie...

[pegasus]

IMO it is understandable that the man alters his course to avoid colliding with three groups of people.

Look at the exact location marked "A" in the last photo here http://www.mccannfiles.com/id162.html
I am claiming that is where X was (when A saw him)
That fits exactly with her statement that as she emerges from the steps she looks left and sees the man walking towards her.

Are you claiming instead that the location marked "A" it is where A was (when she saw X)?

 

[John]

The points "P" "M" and "A" in the photos mark where the man was when each of the 3 witnesses saw him.
That is what the captions indicate. And it is simplest to confirm for point "A", it matches her statement, when she emerged from the steps she saw him to her left, 2 metres away from her, on the southside pavement of Rua 21, walking east towards her. BTW the 3 witnesses are there in the photos, this was a competent diligence conducted by taking the 3 witnesses to the actual location. All IMO

Sorry Pegasus, I misread your post on the first pass.  I think you have it right, Peter states the following...

States further that when he passed the individual, the individual was coming down to his right, going around the deponent in the middle of the street. At that time the traffic was minimal or non-existent.

What he is in fact saying is that the mystery man walked around him and moved to the other side of the road where Martin then passed him.

I believe you are right about the photos with M, P and A on them.  They relate to where mystery man was situated and not the witnesses.  So there we have it, he walked a circuitous route to get to the steps possibly to avoid being seen under the street light. Unfortunately for him though Aoife walked right out and passed right in front of him.

Good work guys...not the actions of an innocent man though is it?

[Silkywhiskers]

Sorry Pegasus, I misread your post on the first pass.  I think you have it right, Peter states the following...

States further that when he passed the individual, the individual was coming down to his right, going around the deponent in the middle of the street. At that time the traffic was minimal or non-existent.

What he is in fact saying is that the mystery man walked around him and moved to the other side of the road where Martin then passed him.

I believe you are right about the photos with M, P and A on them.  They relate to where mystery man was situated and not the witnesses.  So there we have it, he walked a circuitous route to get to the steps possibly to avoid being seen under the street light. Unfortunately for him though Aoife walked right out and passed right in front of him.

Good work guys...not the actions of an innocent tourist eh?

Nor an "abductor", who having got this far, would surely have carried on a straight line with or without the Smiths seeing him.

He'd risked enough as it is, with everyone milling about on their "checks" that night.

[pathfinder73]

He did a check so they are checking the wasteland area.

[Brietta]

The points "P" "M" and "A" in the photos mark where the man was when each of the 3 witnesses saw him.
That is what the captions indicate. And it is simplest to confirm for point "A", it matches her statement, when she emerged from the steps she saw him to her left, 2 metres away from her, on the southside pavement of Rua 21, walking east towards her. BTW the 3 witnesses are there in the photos, this was a competent diligence conducted by taking the 3 witnesses to the actual location. All IMO

If the three witnesses have been taken back to the scene of the sighting, it may explain the discrepancies John noted in their statements and the PJ photographs.
Perhaps it was easier for them to revise exactly where they were in locus rather than from memory in a statement.

[pathfinder73]

Exactly right I can't see the Smiths refusing to do a reconstruction of his movements unlike others 

[John]

Are we agreed then that Smithman was acting very oddly in the way he walked past the Smiths? If he had been an innocent he would gave walked straight down and across the road.

It also appears to me that only someone without a motor vehicle would have taken the risk of walking the whole way from block 5 at Ocean Club right down to where the Smiths saw him.

[pegasus]

If the three witnesses have been taken back to the scene of the sighting, it may explain the discrepancies John noted in their statements and the PJ photographs.
Perhaps it was easier for them to revise exactly where they were in locus rather than from memory in a statement.

The statements in Portimao, and the visit by the PJ with the 3 witnesses and a camera to the sighting location, all happened on 26 May 2007.

[sadie]

Exactly right I can't see the Smiths refusing to do a reconstruction of his movements unlike others 

Oh really?  What makes you say that?

Seems to me that they prefer anonimty.

[pathfinder73]

Oh really?  What makes you say that?

Seems to me that they prefer anonimty.

Because they have nothing to hide.

[pathfinder73]

Are we agreed then that Smithman was acting very oddly in the way he walked past the Smiths? If he had been an innocent he would gave walked straight down and across the road.

It also appears to me that only someone without a motor vehicle would have taken the risk of walking the whole way from block 5 at Ocean Club right down to where the Smiths saw him.

No real abductor would do it but desperate times call for desperate measures. It all comes back to the same person. The supressed efits, the long check so they're going back to the wasteland. They are tracking Smithman and they know he is.