Did OC reception let Madeleine down?

[Robittybob1]

Matt went to Reception, asked them to call the police  and left there obviously thinking that was happening.  As far as he was concerned the Police were on their way.   He was not to know that reception had let Madeleine down.

20

But when you read the statements of the staff none of them state that someone like Matt asked them to ring the Police yet there is a wave of other events that start at the time that Matt says he went to the main reception.  So I think there is evidence he went there at that time but no one acknowledges his influence.  Did he fail to make his point?  Did he not be strong enough?  In his photos he looks manly enough.  He is a wind surfer and physically rugged, so I don't think of him as being shy or meek and mild.  Why didn't it work?  Can we really blame OC only?

[G-Unit]

But when you read the statements of the staff none of them state that someone like Matt asked them to ring the Police yet there is a wave of other events that start at the time that Matt says he went to the main reception.  So I think there is evidence he went there at that time but no one acknowledges his influence.  Did he fail to make his point?  Did he not be strong enough?  In his photos he looks manly enough.  He is a wind surfer and physically rugged, so I don't think of him as being shy or meek and mild.  Why didn't it work?  Can we really blame OC only?

There's no independent evidence that Matt went to reception. The only evidence from the group is that he was asked to go there, and he says he did.

The person at reception never mentions him, however. He himself doesn't seem all that reliable though. His times are completely wrong about when he phoned the GNR, and he says he phoned his boss after the second phone call. That would be at 2253 onwards, but if he did the call is not listed.

His boss says the receptionist phoned him between 2200 and 2215, which is also wrong. He left for the OC and arrived at reception at around the same time as the GNR, which was 2300 onwards.

So if the receptionist phoned his boss he did so on a different phone, and he did so after 2253.

[jassi]

Presumably analysis of relevant phone records will have shown precise times for all these calls, even if they are not available to the public at large.

[Alfie]

There's no independent evidence that Matt went to reception. The only evidence from the group is that he was asked to go there, and he says he did.

The person at reception never mentions him, however. He himself doesn't seem all that reliable though. His times are completely wrong about when he phoned the GNR, and he says he phoned his boss after the second phone call. That would be at 2253 onwards, but if he did the call is not listed.

His boss says the receptionist phoned him between 2200 and 2215, which is also wrong. He left for the OC and arrived at reception at around the same time as the GNR, which was 2300 onwards.

So if the receptionist phoned his boss he did so on a different phone, and he did so after 2253.

The ONLY evidence?  That is pretty strong evidence unless you have any reason to doubt Matt's word on this matter?

[G-Unit]

The ONLY evidence?  That is pretty strong evidence unless you have any reason to doubt Matt's word on this matter?

Just because someone says they did something it doesn't mean they did. The receptionist said he phoned the GNR between 2130 and 2200, but he didn't. Gerry McCann said he checked the children by using the front door, but then decided he didn't.

[Alfie]

Just because someone says they did something it doesn't mean they did. The receptionist said he phoned the GNR between 2130 and 2200, but he didn't. Gerry McCann said he checked the children by using the front door, but then decided he didn't.

The receptionist DID phone the police, but got the times mixed up (or the person taking the statement did).  Gerry DID check on the children but got his front and back door terminology back to front, an easy mistake to make.  To suggest that Matt said he went to reception to get them to call the police but actually DIDN'T is in a different league altogether.

[Alfie]

Matt rogatory interview... 

"so Fiona, I think, asked me to go and phone the Police, so I actually went down the route to where she would have gone for Nursery drop off, which his back to the, to the main reception essentially, so I went down that route looking for her at that time and I asked the reception to phone the Police, and that must have been about five past, it's difficult to know what time it was at that time, but maybe about ten past ten, five past ten, ten past ten'.
 
00.51.10 4078 'Quite quick then''

Reply 'Yeah, sort of pretty much, you know, straight away, erm, I think it was only, but then it was a kind of, it was surreal when you got there, I said, you've got to phone the Police, you know, a child's been taken, and they went, oh no, she's probably just sort of woken up and he thought she's probably sort of wandered off or something like that and you thought, yeah, maybe you're right, maybe you're right, erm, can you please, it was sort of, it was kind of, it was sort a weird kind of lack of urgency, you know, he'd ring, but you had to sort and stand there and say, ring now, ring now, so I don't know if they rang at that point, but certainly, erm, you know, I certainly asked them to, about perhaps sort of maybe about ten past ten maybe".

[ShiningInLuz]

Matt rogatory interview...

"so Fiona, I think, asked me to go and phone the Police, so I actually went down the route to where she would have gone for Nursery drop off, which his back to the, to the main reception essentially, so I went down that route looking for her at that time and I asked the reception to phone the Police, and that must have been about five past, it's difficult to know what time it was at that time, but maybe about ten past ten, five past ten, ten past ten'.
 
00.51.10 4078 'Quite quick then''

Reply 'Yeah, sort of pretty much, you know, straight away, erm, I think it was only, but then it was a kind of, it was surreal when you got there, I said, you've got to phone the Police, you know, a child's been taken, and they went, oh no, she's probably just sort of woken up and he thought she's probably sort of wandered off or something like that and you thought, yeah, maybe you're right, maybe you're right, erm, can you please, it was sort of, it was kind of, it was sort a weird kind of lack of urgency, you know, he'd ring, but you had to sort and stand there and say, ring now, ring now, so I don't know if they rang at that point, but certainly, erm, you know, I certainly asked them to, about perhaps sort of maybe about ten past ten maybe".

Why would Helder Luis not mention this request, assuming it happened?

[Alfie]

Why would Helder Luis not mention this request, assuming it happened?

Why would Matt make the whole thing up, assuming it didn't happen?  When you give a statement you tend to remember more what you did, than what others did (unless specifically asked) - perhaps that is the explanation?

[ShiningInLuz]

Why would Matt make the whole thing up, assuming it didn't happen?  When you give a statement you tend to remember more what you did, than what others did (unless specifically asked) - perhaps that is the explanation?

We don't have an explanation for this difference, only speculation.

Helder was the sole receptionist on duty that night, and if he could not remember someone turning up at reception (long before the two calls he made) and requesting police be called then his memory is extremely poor.

There is obviously some reason for this discrepancy.  We simply don't know what that reason is.

[Alfie]

We don't have an explanation for this difference, only speculation.

Helder was the sole receptionist on duty that night, and if he could not remember someone turning up at reception (long before the two calls he made) and requesting police be called then his memory is extremely poor.

There is obviously some reason for this discrepancy.  We simply don't know what that reason is.

Did he say he couldn't remember someone turning up at reception and requesting the police to be called?

[ShiningInLuz]

Did he say he couldn't remember someone turning up at reception and requesting the police to be called?

He was asked (as everyone was) whether there was anything else relevant to add to his statement.

He did not mention an early request, which would have been pertinent in establishing a time line.

Nor did he mention Gerry's alleged visit to the crèche to see if Madeleine had gone there.

Before anyone gets overly concerned about this, there appears to be two ways to get into the crèche.  Via 24hr reception and up internal stairs.  And an external approach described in the PJ Files about the route taken for children's outings to the beach.  This does not go through reception.

I have no idea whether the latter route was open in the evening, or closed for security.

But it begs the question as to why Gerry would not check on the call to the police if he was in 24hr reception or very close to it.

[Alfie]

He was asked (as everyone was) whether there was anything else relevant to add to his statement.

He did not mention an early request, which would have been pertinent in establishing a time line.

Nor did he mention Gerry's alleged visit to the crèche to see if Madeleine had gone there.

Before anyone gets overly concerned about this, there appears to be two ways to get into the crèche.  Via 24hr reception and up internal stairs.  And an external approach described in the PJ Files about the route taken for children's outings to the beach.  This does not go through reception.

I have no idea whether the latter route was open in the evening, or closed for security.

But it begs the question as to why Gerry would not check on the call to the police if he was in 24hr reception or very close to it.

What was he asked, exactly?

Because it is logged in his statement that he said

"He did not see or hear anything suspicious on 3rd May nor on the previous days"

Now, why would he reply that Matt Oldfield had come into reception to ask him to call the police as something suspicious?

[Alice Purjorick]

Presumably analysis of relevant phone records will have shown precise times for all these calls, even if they are not available to the public at large.

That would on the face of it seem a reasonable asumption.
It is not however as much fun as the alternative that The OC are somehow culpable because they didn't make a phone call there is no evidence they were ever asked to make.
Like you I expect those pesky Portuguese Peelers have run the tape over it though.

[Robittybob1]

Matt rogatory interview...

"so Fiona, I think, asked me to go and phone the Police, so I actually went down the route to where she would have gone for Nursery drop off, which his back to the, to the main reception essentially, so I went down that route looking for her at that time and I asked the reception to phone the Police, and that must have been about five past, it's difficult to know what time it was at that time, but maybe about ten past ten, five past ten, ten past ten'.
 
00.51.10 4078 'Quite quick then''

Reply 'Yeah, sort of pretty much, you know, straight away, erm, I think it was only, but then it was a kind of, it was surreal when you got there, I said, you've got to phone the Police, you know, a child's been taken, and they went, oh no, she's probably just sort of woken up and he thought she's probably sort of wandered off or something like that and you thought, yeah, maybe you're right, maybe you're right, erm, can you please, it was sort of, it was kind of, it was sort a weird kind of lack of urgency, you know, he'd ring, but you had to sort and stand there and say, ring now, ring now, so I don't know if they rang at that point, but certainly, erm, you know, I certainly asked them to, about perhaps sort of maybe about ten past ten maybe".

What Matt says sounds very real.  He sees someone ringing but really has no idea who they are talking to or what they are saying in Portuguese, or who it is he is giving his instructions to.  I can only think it isn't the main receptionist even though Matt does use the pronoun "he" as in "he'd ring" but they didn't ring for he "doesn't know if they rung at that point".  I'm sure they would have said "the Police have been rung".