Don't they call it the 'golden hour' or somesuch - after a person disappears - the actions that are carried out within that timeframe often determine the outcome of said investigation.
Yes but the "golden hour" (Mark Harrison's expression) was wasted by their not calling immediately (when Mrs McCann hurryied back to the Tapas Bar) on their cell phones the European alert nb 112 that answers in English and would have sent the PJ right away.
Do you really think that the Tapas group would have been aware of the 112 number which was almost wholly unknown in the UK in 2007? Do you really think they would have known as you state that they would have got an answer in English on that number? (Incidentally I am not certain that this is true. My understanding is that the operator will have understanding of English but will respond in their own language. Can you clarify?)
Here is a report from three years after the disappearance which specifies that only 10% of English people even then were aware of the 112 number.
http://ec.europa.eu/news/justice/100211_en.htm
I know that I was not aware of the 112 number in 2007. A specific incident in mid 2008 brought it to my attention and I know that I would have had no idea what number to use to call the police directly in Portugal. I suspect the McCanns did the best thing they could by getting the reception to contact the police for them.
Everybody knew that nb in Portugal and dialing this nb you're attended at least in Basic English (experiment !). Don't you realize that all Tapas employees, except for the gardeners may be, speak English and don't you realize the McCann knew it after spending 5 days in the resort ? The Tapas employees would have given the alert nb if they had been told the shutters/window had been forced. The main reception guy called first the OC manager... And calling the GNR instead of the PJ he showed he didn't suspect an abduction.
Please give evidence for your claim that "everybody knew that nb in Portugal". I think you are exaggerating. The report I have posted does not even in 2010 have 50% of the population there knowing it. It lists only Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia and Finland where more than 50% knew the number.
As for your suggestion that I experiment/play with the 112 number I find that an appalling thing for you to say. I don't know about Portugal but here in the UK it is rightly a criminal offence to play games with that emergency number.
A quote from the report I posted regarding language (remember this is 3 years after 2007)
Language continues to be a problem. One in 10 respondents who had called 112 abroad complained they had difficulty communicating with the operator. In most cases the calls were handled in the language of the country they were visiting.I maintain that the McCanns would almost certainly not have known that number and even more certainly would not have been aware that having been answered in Portuguese they would have been able to converse with the person in basic English.
I maintain that they did the logical and most natural thing in the circumstances. They approached the reception of the complex where they were staying. It is exactly what I would have done at the time and exactly what I did in mid 2008 when I had need of police assistance while abroad. It was after that that I learned of the 112 number.
