Kate McCann insisted that Gerry and Dave go out searching for Madeleine.

[sadie]

The one thing especially about this thread is that the people who a few threads back were insisting that neither Gerry nor Kate did any searching (What terrible people they were !!).... have suddenly decided that Gerry and Kate did search and a good deal of it .... and that Gerry was on the beach looking.

The double standards of some of you appalls me.


It was a long search period.  Of course Gerry would search the beach ... and he would go to all the places where they had gone as a family.  He would be thinking that it was possible that Madeleine had gone back there looking for them.   In his desperation he would look everywhere.

PFinder, there is no proof whatsoever that Smithman, went east towards the church from Rua D'Escola.  He could have gone south, down the steps towards the little rocky cove .... or he could have gone down the steps and then west.  In fact at any point he could have vanished into a house or have been picked up by a car.   
All this is if Smithman actually exists and some think he doesn't.


There are persuasive arguments by both Shining and Heri that Smithman would not have gone towards the church.

Shining pointed out that the route you suggest took him past the busy ATM machine and several restaurants.  Not likely for one wanting to not be seen.

Heriberto used a more scientific approach using vector diagrams, which indicated that he was most likely to be heading south or west ... but definitely NOT east towards the Church             
 

[pathfinder73]

Smithman would have been to that place before and he wasn't going nightswimming. He had been to the main beach and knew where the church was. Gerry asked for directions to the church that night suggesting that he didn't know where it was. How strange - I would think you couldn't miss it rising high above the promenade apartments if you had been to the beach

[ShiningInLuz]

Smithman would have been to that place before and he wasn't going nightswimming. He had been to the main beach and knew where the church was. Gerry asked for directions to the church that night suggesting that he didn't know where it was. How strange - I would think you couldn't miss it rising high above the promenade apartments if you had been to the beach

His route on the ice-cream trip to the beach did not take him near the church.

So it's over to you to come up with a plausible reason as to why Gerry might know where the church was.

[pathfinder73]

His route on the ice-cream trip to the beach did not take him near the church.

So it's over to you to come up with a plausible reason as to why Gerry might know where the church was.

SUN 29 APRIL 2007

"In the afternoon the children went back to their clubs and, after a leisurely hour by the pool with Fiona, David and Dianne, Gerry and I took a run along the beach. Being able to play tennis and run together for the first time in ages was a real treat." (Madeleine)

We don't know if they ran along the promenade to the rocks area but it's a good possibility. Most tourists have a look around the resort regardless of an ice cream trip. Running along the beach and not one noticed the church i.e. the tallest building along the beach front. Interesting.....

[ShiningInLuz]

SUN 29 APRIL 2007

"In the afternoon the children went back to their clubs and, after a leisurely hour by the pool with Fiona, David and Dianne, Gerry and I took a run along the beach. Being able to play tennis and run together for the first time in ages was a real treat." (Madeleine)

We don't know if they ran along the promenade to the rocks area but it's a good possibility. Most tourists have a look around the resort regardless of an ice cream trip. Running along the beach and not one noticed the church i.e. the tallest building along the beach front. Interesting.....

Thanks for this.  I could not remember a single reference to Gerry jogging, which rather bothered me as the pair were interested and obviously had the opportunity.

The viewpoint you have posted is from the top of the cliffs near Boa Vista looking west.  Is there anything to indicate that Kate and Gerry went up those cliffs prior to 3 May 07.

The view from the beach is on the Luz webcam site.  And I would contend that picking out a church whilst jogging on the beach is a non-starter.  So it still boils down to which route they took to get to the beach.  If it was Avenida dos Pescadores or Rua do Poço, they would go close to the church.  If not, they wouldn't know the church existed.

[pathfinder73]

Gerry's mate knew where the church was before they both went out later for another search.

"I then went down and did that sweep of you know, right down past the Supermarket err going slightly to the side and then onto the front past where the church is at the bottom." (David Payne Rog)

[Alfie]

Gerry's mate knew where the church was before they both went out later for another search.

"I then went down and did that sweep of you know, right down past the Supermarket err going slightly to the side and then onto the front past where the church is at the bottom." (David Payne Rog)

Your quote does not bear out your statement.  Want to try again?

[pathfinder73]

Your quote does not bear out your statement.  Want to try again?

Gerry was asking directions to the church after David Payne had passed it earlier in his first searches. He only had to ask his mate who was with him at around that time i.e. 4am. Gerry thinks he's the smartest but two can play the dumb game when it suits 

"He only had direct contact with the couple and their friends at about 04.00 when Gerry McCann approached the GNR group of which he was a member to ask whether there was a church close by. He replied to him in English, giving the directions to a nearby church."  Rui Sergio Lópes Silva Occupation: GNR Officer

[Alfie]

Gerry was asking directions to the church after David Payne had passed it earlier in his first searches. He only had to ask his mate who was with him at the time i.e. 4am. Gerry thinks he's the smartest but two can play the dumb game when it suits 

"He only had direct contact with the couple and their friends at about 04.00 when Gerry McCann approached the GNR group of which he was a member to ask whether there was a church close by. He replied to him in English, giving the directions to a nearby church."  Rui Sergio Lópes Silva Occupation: GNR Officer

Where is your cite for David Payne knowing where the church was before 4am?

[pathfinder73]

Where is your cite for David Payne knowing where the church was before 4am?

His interview about his first searches. Hours later he went out with Gerry on another search to the beach - see thread title. PDL is a small town - be hard to miss the church after nearly a week there.

"I then went down and did that sweep of you know, right down past the Supermarket err going slightly to the side and then onto the front past where the church is at the bottom." (David Payne Rog)

[Robittybob1]

Gerry was asking directions to the church after David Payne had passed it earlier in his first searches. He only had to ask his mate who was with him at around that time i.e. 4am. Gerry thinks he's the smartest but two can play the dumb game when it suits 

"He only had direct contact with the couple and their friends at about 04.00 when Gerry McCann approached the GNR group of which he was a member to ask whether there was a church close by. He replied to him in English, giving the directions to a nearby church."  Rui Sergio Lópes Silva Occupation: GNR Officer

Would they have had a key to that church at that stage?

[pathfinder73]

No I don't think so.

"We had been given a key to the church so that we could go there and pray whenever we wished. We cherished these little oases of relative peace and solitude. One night early in the week – I think it was that Tuesday evening (8 May 2007 - PF)– while we were praying privately at Nossa Senhora da Luz, Gerry had an extraordinary spiritual experience. He suddenly became aware of a long tunnel with light at the far end of it. He felt himself enter the tunnel and, as he went deeper and deeper inside, it became wider and wider and brighter and brighter. He had never known anything like this before and he immediately interpreted it as a sign urging us to do absolutely everything within our power to find Madeleine ourselves. From that moment he was convinced that we did not have to sit back passively, issuing statements and waiting for others to bring her home. We needed to take the initiative. Straight away he shared this revelation with me and tried to explain what it meant to him. We had to start right now to mobilize all the resources available to us.
His ‘vision’ – I don’t know what else to call it – in that beautiful little church had a huge impact on Gerry. It was this experience that laid the foundations of our organized campaign to find our daughter.
From the minute he got up the next morning, Gerry was on a mission........." (Madeleine)

[Alfie]

His interview about his first searches. Hours later he went out with Gerry on another search to the beach - see thread title. PDL is a small town - be hard to miss the church after nearly a week there.

"I then went down and did that sweep of you know, right down past the Supermarket err going slightly to the side and then onto the front past where the church is at the bottom." (David Payne Rog)

I'm sorry but that quote simply won't do as it does not prove that David Payne knew where the church was on the night of the 3rd.  He is talking months after the event, months in which he had had ample time to get the lay of the land.

[sadie]

His interview about his first searches. Hours later he went out with Gerry on another search to the beach - see thread title. PDL is a small town - be hard to miss the church after nearly a week there.

"I then went down and did that sweep of you know, right down past the Supermarket err going slightly to the side and then onto the front past where the church is at the bottom." (David Payne Rog)

Hard to miss the church if you were on your own, without toddlers who often needed carrying, but easy to miss it if you had toddlers and only went to the beach by the shortest and safest route    That route was via the alleyways away from traffic and went nowhere near the Church.

[Robittybob1]

No I don't think so.

"We had been given a key to the church so that we could go there and pray whenever we wished. We cherished these little oases of relative peace and solitude. One night early in the week – I think it was that Tuesday evening (8 May 2007 - PF)– while we were praying privately at Nossa Senhora da Luz, Gerry had an extraordinary spiritual experience. He suddenly became aware of a long tunnel with light at the far end of it. He felt himself enter the tunnel and, as he went deeper and deeper inside, it became wider and wider and brighter and brighter. He had never known anything like this before and he immediately interpreted it as a sign urging us to do absolutely everything within our power to find Madeleine ourselves. From that moment he was convinced that we did not have to sit back passively, issuing statements and waiting for others to bring her home. We needed to take the initiative. Straight away he shared this revelation with me and tried to explain what it meant to him. We had to start right now to mobilize all the resources available to us.
His ‘vision’ – I don’t know what else to call it – in that beautiful little church had a huge impact on Gerry. It was this experience that laid the foundations of our organized campaign to find our daughter.
From the minute he got up the next morning, Gerry was on a mission........." (Madeleine)

Very spiritual.  I take that to mean Gerry is absolutely blameless.