Nothing seems to have been ‘urgent’ where the Smith sighting of the man carrying a child was concerned.
Neither is there any certainty about the time of the sighting or even the night it may have occurred.
One only has to refer to Carol Tranmer’s statement for an illustration of how far a person’s recollection of the timing of a particular event can be out.
If the CCTV hadn’t been wiped at the hotel Estrela da Luz, it would have been possible to ascertain the time at which the family returned home on the 3rd May.
Perhaps they would have been remembered in Kelly’s bar if the staff had been asked about it on the 4th May as opposed to the 10th October, or even if they had a copy of the receipt which tallied with the printouts given to the PJ on that date (10th Oct), which would have enabled it to be established which payment might have been theirs.
On October 10th Kelly’s bar was visited
12 Processos Vol XII Pages 3276 to 3280
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External Inquiry
Date 10 ' 10 ' 2007
Place: Kelly's Bar, P da L
Inquiry carried out by Inspectors Rui Fernandes and Ricardo Paiva
Description and results of Inquiry
On this date at about 15.00 we went to Kelly's Bar, located in Rua da Calheta, in Praia da Luz. At the site we were received by an employee of the bar identified as L***** A**** M**** who had been on duty on the night of 3rd May 2007.
When questioned whether on the night in question she remembered the visit to the bar by witness Martin Smith and his family, she replied that she does not remember given the lapse of time between the events and because the bar is daily frequented by dozens of clients of different nationalities.
All the available documentation was requested concerning the expenses in the bar on the night of 3rd May 2007 as we were given the cash register from which photocopies were made referring to the period between 20.00 and 24.00, which is annexed to this report.
Signed
Ricardo Paiva