British police commence ground searches and digs in Praia da Luz.

[jassi]

I wonder what they think is going to be there after so many years?

[pegasus]

I wonder what they think is going to be there after so many years?

SY have not said what they could possibly find, so the logical way to get some idea would be past cases and there must be many (the only one I remember was a glove)

[pegasus]

Interesting, the sewer search is a surprise location, will there be more?

[Silkywhiskers]

Interesting, the sewer search is a surprise location, will there be more?

What on earth could be in a sewer?

And have they found remains in the hole?

Is that why the forensic team are wearing masks - the stench of death?

Or just a pongy hole?

The fact that they are sieving the soil right now, and removing it to a tent to do so....

It's all very macabre.

[Silkywhiskers]

Apparently it's not a "forensic team" but a Forensic Officer, singular.

He only came to the dig on Wednesday, two days in.

Now he is busily taking bucketfuls of soil to a white tent.

He has full forensic gear on including a mask.

Clearly he is some sort of doctor.

***********I think the sewer search indicates that some one is talking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Finally! 

Thoughts?

[a.baker]

I think they have received intelligence from somewhere. "What we have uncovered means that Madeleine may not have left the apartment alive". What have they uncovered? They certainly knew specifically where they wanted to dig.

[Martina]

I think they have received intelligence from somewhere. "What we have uncovered means that Madeleine may not have left the apartment alive". What have they uncovered? They certainly knew specifically where they wanted to dig.

Exactly. Maybe Silky is right and the canaries started to sing?

[patb]

Is it possible that the intel they have received is far more precise than they wanted to admit and they have been giving the impression that its a wide search over several areas when in fact there have been one or two exact locations that the wanted to examine?

[sadie]

I think they have received intelligence from somewhere. "What we have uncovered means that Madeleine may not have left the apartment alive". What have they uncovered? They certainly knew specifically where they wanted to dig.

Yep they used helicopters to search the ground for anomolies, didn't they?

If the hole is where I think it is (and I am not sure tbh) then I can see anomolies in the ground even on GEarth.

Now what better intelligence can they have than from the special equipment on the helicopters?


Nigh Night.  early rising time tomorrow

[patb]

Searching the sewers IMHO strongly re-enforces the fact that SY are looking down the theory of a "panic" scenario. A planned operation/abduction surely would have covered the disposal of items in a more secure way and what items would these be within a planned operation? Toilets, drains etc provide a private, quick, close by and "lay mans" choice in terms of disposing of evidence. In addition, an abductor would be leaving the scene so happy to take any items with them. Toilets/drains etc literally provide a conduit to carry evidence away when you cant carry it away yourself.

[a.baker]

No Sadie. My belief is that intelligence came way BEFORE any helicopters flew over these areas. How long ago did Redwood state "what we have uncovered means that Madeleine may not have left the apartment alive? Then obviously he has had to wait months for permission for the digs in PDL. There will be good reason for his choice of search areas which will have been preceded any helicopter flyovers.

[Brietta]

I find it remarkable that local knowledge doesn’t seem to have been aware of the existence of this hole in the ground.  Or didn't think it important enough to inform the PJ of its existence.  From what we have heard it seems to be deep. 

Madeleine police 'taken by surprise' by discovery
Last updated Wed 4 Jun 2014
World
Madeleine McCann
Portugal
By Martin Geissler, ITV News Correspondent
There have been a couple of developments here that have taken us and have perhaps taken the police teams by surprise.

At the very edge of the wasteland where officers are searching are a couple of white tents.

Under them is a hole.
They found it yesterday, it was covered by a couple of sheets of corrugated iron and then that was covered by some soil.

They dug away and they pulled these sheets apart yesterday and they found this very precise hole in the shape of a square - now, that's of interest to them, they didn't know it was there.

We've seen a couple of police officers in forensic suits inside those tents, we don't know what they've found, we don't know if it is of specific interest but we do know it's something they didn't anticipate when they got here.

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-06-04/madeleine-police-taken-by-surprise-by-discovery-of-hole/

[colombosstogey]

Indeed. No need to be scrabbling around trying to dig a hole with bare hands.

Its dark the child is looking for her mum and wanders off. 300 yards is not far and if there is an old well very easy for a child to simply fall into the hole and never be seen again. Which is a scenario a few of us advocated on the Mirror forum and other sites the wandered off and fallen into a hole (sewer/roadworks), etc.

So the possibility is simple. The child could be in the hole sadly by accident.

Mind you I am amazed that intelligent people would leave a hole big deep enough to fill it with dead sheep and pets etc etc with rotten wood and corrugated metal....

[colombosstogey]

I must admit i do find it incredible that non of the family (even close), are there in PDL. Surely the parents would want to be there every moment (like Ben Needhams mum was when they dug for his body). IF they found the child the parents would be there at the end of this journey to be with her.

No i find that very odd.

[a.baker]

I have always found it odd that there has never been any public support from the remaining tapas 7. One would of thought that that fateful night back in 2007 would have bonded them all for life. They appear to have done quite the opposite and distanced themselves. I don't find the 'wandering off' scenario credible I'm afraid. As others have pointed out,Madeleine would have to opened and closed behind her a patio door and two stairgates and a set of curtains. Not very likely for a three year old child is it. Whoever removed Madeleine had a key to the apartment imo. This suggests to me an OC employee or.....