Myth #4 - Apartment 5a had lichen on the window sill

[John]

Myth #4 - Apartment 5a had lichen on the window sill

This was a reference to the McCann's holiday complex at the Ocean Club at Praia da Luz.

This myth seems to have arisen following a comment by an 'expert' engaged as part of a Channel 4 TV review team to the effect that who made a comment lichen not being disturbed.  This individual was never involved in the actual case and though he had been in Praia da Luz as part of this TV review his comment was not specific to the Apt 5 window sill but was more general, "Apart from anything else, the window sills in that area are covered in green lichen. The minute you try and scrape over the window sills you would have left marks and we know that the scenes of crime lady, the next morning, was looking for exactly that."


The actual window sill at what was Madeleine's bedroom at Apt 5a can be seen in the Portuguese police document below which contains photographs taken almost immediately after her disappearance.

It can be clearly seen that there is no lichen on the sill.

[sika]

I like this thread. 

That's the first one ticked off on the list.

[Admin]

Sorry, we changed the order to match our sister site on twitter.  Call this #4.   

[Angelo222]

Brilliant work admin. 

The police failed to find any evidence that a person had entered or left by the window because nobody did.  The abductor entered the apartment via the front door and left that way as well.  Obviously he raised the shutter from the inside and opened the window to check if the coast was clear and didn't take time to close them.  It ain't rocket science.   

[Eleanor]

It has been an unadulterated pleasure watching some of these ghastly fairy stories demolished.

Thank you.  Some of us have been at this for six long and incredibly boring years.  Best I don't say anything about HiDeHo.  I might get banned.

[fizzbomb]

Brilliant work admin. 

The police failed to find any evidence that a person had entered or left by the window because nobody did.  The abductor entered the apartment via the front door and left that way as well.  Obviously he raised the shutter from the inside and opened the window to check if the coast was clear and didn't take time to close them.  It ain't rocket science.   

How did the Abductor get a key for the front door ? i thought it was the patio door they had left open in case of fire etc ?
Did the abductor silently? open the shutters in the dark before or after the  placing the cuddle cat high on a shelf ?
and if he was checking the coast was clear , how come when the abductor opened the shutters window , gerry mccan or Jez Wilkins  did not see or hear him do it , they were outside the apartment the coast certainly was not clear ,
so why walk in the direction he did? if he left via the front door , to be seen by jane tanner , but run the risk of been seen by her Dad !!! 

[fizzbomb]

I like this thread. 

That's the first one ticked off on the list.



All that proves , is that as the Police were saying there was no break in , and nobody got in or out through a window
i bet Donal MacIntyre is a bit peed as he based his whole theory on the information given to him that there were in fact
two abductors who at the very least had passed Maddy through the window .
of course he was working with the information given to him .by who ?
And of course there  is no evidence apart from the McCanns word for it that any doors were left open , a fact they only remembered some time later , about the time the police had ruled out a break in , funny that !!

[Mr Moderator]

Brilliant work admin. 

The police failed to find any evidence that a person had entered or left by the window because nobody did.  The abductor entered the apartment via the front door and left that way as well.  Obviously he raised the shutter from the inside and opened the window to check if the coast was clear and didn't take time to close them.  It ain't rocket science.   

How did the Abductor get a key for the front door ? i thought it was the patio door they had left open in case of fire etc ?
Did the abductor silently? open the shutters in the dark before or after the  placing the cuddle cat high on a shelf ?
and if he was checking the coast was clear , how come when the abductor opened the shutters window , gerry mccan or Jez Wilkins  did not see or hear him do it , they were outside the apartment the coast certainly was not clear ,
so why walk in the direction he did? if he left via the front door , to be seen by jane tanner , but run the risk of been seen by her Dad !!!

I will have a go at answering your points fizzbomb.

A key is not a problem for someone intent upon abducting a child.  There are many ways is which a key for a holiday apartment can be obtained.  The patio door was unlocked but too much of a risk to use thus the need to use the hidden front door.  Gerry and Jez were on the opposite side of the building when the abductor opened the shutters.  They would not have heard anything from that distance.  Why the abductor chose to go in the direction he did can only be speculated at.  Most likely the path of least resistance to a waiting vehicle.  He would have believed the childs father had returned to the tapas bar and had no way of knowing that a second parent (Jane Tanner) would be making an unscheduled trip when she did.  As has been discussed at length on other threads it is most likely that the movements of the parents had been monitored for some days prior to the abduction.

[DevilsAdvocate]

I will have a go at answering your points fizzbomb.

A key is not a problem for someone intent upon abducting a child.  There are many ways is which a key for a holiday apartment can be obtained. 

Would you care to list some of the many ways a supposed stranger can access an apartment key please !

The patio door was unlocked but too much of a risk to use thus the need to use the hidden front door.  Gerry and Jez were on the opposite side of the building when the abductor opened the shutters.  They would not have heard anything from that distance. 

From what research are your claims that Gerry & Jez would not hear the shutters being opened based upon ? Please quote your source research or is this just supposition ?


Why the abductor chose to go in the direction he did can only be speculated at.  Most likely the path of least resistance to a waiting vehicle. 

Surely the path of least resistance would have been to have a vehicle waiting in the car park ? Failing that the next path of least resistance would have been to turn left out of the car park toward the general region of the Smith sighting ! By turning right as you suggest, the abductor would head toward a populated area toward Casa Lilliana, this surely would have been the path of most resistance.


He would have believed the childs father had returned to the tapas bar and had no way of knowing that a second parent (Jane Tanner) would be making an unscheduled trip when she did.  As has been discussed at length on other threads it is most likely that the movements of the parents had been monitored for some days prior to the abduction.

Is it your contention that the abductor acted alone or in tandem with another / others ?

[Eleanor]

The area to the left leads immediately to a Main Road which is quite long, and offered no cover at all for someone carrying a child.  The Abductor would have been too obviously exposed, and for too long.

Do have a look at The Map.  I would not have gone that way if I wished to stay out of sight.

All of the back lanes and allies are to the right.  And there is a perfectly obvious route to The Smith's sighting, and to The Beach, if you look at The Map.

The rest of your questions are spurious.

[DevilsAdvocate]

The area to the left leads immediately to a Main Road which is quite long, and offered no cover at all for someone carrying a child.  The Abductor would have been too obviously exposed, and for too long.

Do have a look at The Map.  I would not have gone that way if I wished to stay out of sight.

All of the back lanes and allies are to the right.  And there is a perfectly obvious route to The Smith's sighting, and to The Beach, if you look at The Map.

The rest of your questions are spurious.

I don't need to look at the map, I've visited the location on 3 separate occasions, have you ever visited PdL ?
In addition, my other questions were not directed at you and at no point did I request your input in answering them, I included the questions in a direct quote from Mr.Moderator, to Mr.Moderator, thank you.

[Eleanor]

The area to the left leads immediately to a Main Road which is quite long, and offered no cover at all for someone carrying a child.  The Abductor would have been too obviously exposed, and for too long.

Do have a look at The Map.  I would not have gone that way if I wished to stay out of sight.

All of the back lanes and allies are to the right.  And there is a perfectly obvious route to The Smith's sighting, and to The Beach, if you look at The Map.

The rest of your questions are spurious.

I don't need to look at the map, I've visited the location on 3 separate occasions, have you ever visited PdL ?
In addition, my other questions were not directed at you and at no point did I request your input in answering them, I included the questions in a direct quote from Mr.Moderator, to Mr.Moderator, thank you.

Oh, I see.  You are conducting a one to one conversation on a Public Forum.  So no one else may be allowed to comment?
Okay.  But you are still talking bull shit.

[DevilsAdvocate]

The area to the left leads immediately to a Main Road which is quite long, and offered no cover at all for someone carrying a child.  The Abductor would have been too obviously exposed, and for too long.

Do have a look at The Map.  I would not have gone that way if I wished to stay out of sight.

All of the back lanes and allies are to the right.  And there is a perfectly obvious route to The Smith's sighting, and to The Beach, if you look at The Map.

The rest of your questions are spurious.

I don't need to look at the map, I've visited the location on 3 separate occasions, have you ever visited PdL ?
In addition, my other questions were not directed at you and at no point did I request your input in answering them, I included the questions in a direct quote from Mr.Moderator, to Mr.Moderator, thank you.

Oh, I see.  You are conducting a one to one conversation on a Public Forum.  So no one else may be allowed to comment?
Okay.  But you are still talking bull shit.

Thank you and good evening to you.

[Eleanor]

The area to the left leads immediately to a Main Road which is quite long, and offered no cover at all for someone carrying a child.  The Abductor would have been too obviously exposed, and for too long.

Do have a look at The Map.  I would not have gone that way if I wished to stay out of sight.

All of the back lanes and allies are to the right.  And there is a perfectly obvious route to The Smith's sighting, and to The Beach, if you look at The Map.

The rest of your questions are spurious.

I don't need to look at the map, I've visited the location on 3 separate occasions, have you ever visited PdL ?
In addition, my other questions were not directed at you and at no point did I request your input in answering them, I included the questions in a direct quote from Mr.Moderator, to Mr.Moderator, thank you.

Oh, I see.  You are conducting a one to one conversation on a Public Forum.  So no one else may be allowed to comment?
Okay.  But you are still talking bull shit.

Thank you and good evening to you.

Oh, well done.  So that's it, is it?  You have to denigrate me to fulfill your argument.  Not actually prepared to lay open your thoughts to the Board in general.

Don't try attacking The Mods on this Forum.  They are much more bright than you appear to be.  And, funnily enough, totally unbiased.

[DevilsAdvocate]

The area to the left leads immediately to a Main Road which is quite long, and offered no cover at all for someone carrying a child.  The Abductor would have been too obviously exposed, and for too long.

Do have a look at The Map.  I would not have gone that way if I wished to stay out of sight.

All of the back lanes and allies are to the right.  And there is a perfectly obvious route to The Smith's sighting, and to The Beach, if you look at The Map.

The rest of your questions are spurious.

I don't need to look at the map, I've visited the location on 3 separate occasions, have you ever visited PdL ?
In addition, my other questions were not directed at you and at no point did I request your input in answering them, I included the questions in a direct quote from Mr.Moderator, to Mr.Moderator, thank you.

Oh, I see.  You are conducting a one to one conversation on a Public Forum.  So no one else may be allowed to comment?
Okay.  But you are still talking bull shit.

Thank you and good evening to you.

Oh, well done.  So that's it, is it?  You have to denigrate me to fulfill your argument.  Not actually prepared to lay open your thoughts to the Board in general.

Don't try attacking The Mods on this Forum.  They are much more bright than you appear to be.  And, funnily enough, totally unbiased.

I fail to follow your skewed logic in relation to how questioning a moderators post constitutes an attack on same ! As a footnote I am totally unbiased in my beliefs, I am of the opinion innocent until proven otherwise.
As I said, thank you and good evening.