Are the phantom sightings of Madeleine simply a forlorn hope ?

[Brietta]

And so it starts again.

Mr McCann was angered by Inspector Ricardo Paiva, their former liaison officer, who was responsible for collating any information that came into the police about Madeleine after the formal Portuguese investigation came to an end.
He said: “Inspector Paiva believes Madeleine is dead. How can he investigate thoroughly if he believes that?
“We know now there is a lot of information just filed away – and that is not acceptable.
“Once the file has been closed, what has actually been done? Next to nothing.”

Maybe Gerry should go and suck on his lollipop.

"We were actually trying to understand if it was really a demand for ransom. We were trying to negotiate with that individual who was in Holland. Us Portuguese who were there and the English, we watched it in stupefaction. He was sitting there with a lollipop laughing on the phone and we were all waiting. Completely detached from what was going on and about to happen. Maybe it was his way of reacting to that tension, maybe it's justifiable but to us, we were shocked. We were searching for his daughter, doing our job." (G. Amaral)

I have looked for independent provenance of Dr Amaral's lollipop statement which I believe is in his book, but can find none.
Did anyone else remark on it?

[pathfinder73]

You think he invented it?

[Brietta]

You think he invented it?

I would appreciate another verifiable source, after all there were plenty of people present.

[pathfinder73]

Yes but they were still serving in the police. Amaral resigned so maybe that's why he wasn't giving their names out.

[Silkywhiskers]

I would appreciate another verifiable source, after all there were plenty of people present.

So now we're questioning the veracity of a lollipop?

 8-)(--)

[carlymichelle]

So now we're questioning the veracity of a lollipop?

 8-)(--)

you know what i dont get  british people do NOT show    emotion people decribe many british people as cold and its true  denial run riff in the uk especally about this case imo

[John]

Someone who loses a child in such circumstances must inevitably go through just about every emotion under the sun.  Laughing and sucking on a lollipop Kojak style is better than the alternative imo.

How hard it must have been to endure the emotions relating to a possible discovery only to have them cruelly dashed by hoaxes and con merchants!

[Benice]

I would appreciate another verifiable source, after all there were plenty of people present.

Indeed.   Especially as Amaral  never met or spoke to the McCanns and throughout his book he covers that up by the use of the word ...'We'.     

He was just as 'astonished' at Kate's reaction when they were called back to the police station to look at a photograph on May 4th.       He wasn't there either. 

It is more likely IMO that if they were having to wait for a long time in a tense situation that one of the UK policemen tried to ease the tension for Gerry by talking to him about football.

[pathfinder73]

Or maybe knowing the truth explains their reactions.

[icabodcrane]

Indeed.   Especially as Amaral  never met or spoke to the McCanns and throughout his book he covers that up by the use of the word ...'We'.     

That is not true Benice ...  why do you keep repeating it like a mantra   ?

Gerry met Amaral