John raised an issue on the other thread discussing these tracker dogs http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?action=post;quote=352885;topic=1279.180;last_msg=352885
In the thread in the OP there were questions about whether there could be more than one person's scent on the items used to educate the dogs. I.e. if they used a towel how certain can they be they grabbed the right towel and did anyone else use that towel at any other time?
First problem 1. New scent trails can be confused with old scent trails.
Second problem 2. Cross contamination of the scent source to follow. Was it Madeleine they were following?
Firstly, there is confusion about the type of dogs used. S & R dogs can be air scent dogs who can find people in a large open area or a disaster. They search for people in general. They can also be ground scenting dogs, which are tracker dogs and they follow a specific person after sniffing something with the person's scent on it. The dogs used to follow Madeleine were tracker dogs.
http://www.ussartf.org/dogs_search_rescue.htmI was under the impression that Madeleine went to the left out of the front door just once, when she and the twins ran away;
That, between Monday and Wednesday, not knowing the precise date, when they left the residence by the main door, to place the children in the respective creches, MADELEINE left [went] running to the left to the extreme opposite of the residential blocks where they were lodged, playing with the twins. That they had gone down to the furthest point away from those blocks, not knowing exactly how, the three children got into the gardens at the rear [of the blocks]. Then they followed the inside corridor [pathway] at the rear, next to the hedges [fences] up to the street that led to the secondary reception.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/GERRY-MCCANN-10MAY.htmThe normal route was either out of the front door turn right or out of the patio door and down the steps.
There is some disagreement about what was given to the dog handler;
Officer Silva, who handled S & R dog Timmy said;
They gave the dogs a Turkish bath towel which was supposedly used by the child in question
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/ANTONIO_SILVA.htmHe didn't let his dog sniff the towel though, it was Officer Fernandes with Rex and Zarus from the tracking team, who tracked round Block 5, as below;
Major Antonio Dias de Matos in his search report dated Dec 2017 said;
At about 23.00 the extra teams that had been requested for reinforcement arrived (Officer Rosa with Oscar and Officer Martins with Fusco, both from the search and rescue unit and Officer
Fernandes with Rex and Zarus from the tracking team).After the officers had been updated about facts relating to the disappearance, they tried to reconstruct the route the girl might have taken with the
two tracker dogs. For this purpose the dogs were given a blanket to sniff, provided by the parents, which had been used by Madeleine.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/GNR_SNIFFER.htmFernandes said;
His role was to use the dogs' skills by allowing them to sniff a towel which had supposedly been used by the minor in question.
That after the dogs were given this scent from the towel and near apartment 5A of block 5, the first sniffer dog headed to the door of that apartment. Immediately afterward, he turned to block 5, using a circumvented route to block 5, and came to the road between this block and the leisure area of the resort (pools, restaurant, etc), and turned to the left, or around the referred to apartment and headed to the main road.
Taking into account the aforementioned result, he states that it can be confirmed with a certain degree of certainty that the missing minor passed that location, on the day of the events or before that date.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/PEDRO_ESTEVES.htmKate said;
I fetched the pink princess blanket she took to bed with her every night, which they took, and some of her clothes, which they didn’t
[Madeleine]
So there are two dog handlers saying they used a towel, contradicted by the Major and Kate who said it was a blanket. The dog handlers made their statements on 9th May. Kate and the Major a long time after the event. Take your pick.
The route;
