The tracker dogs

[G-Unit]

I have done so countless times.  Dogs pressed into service for tracking purposes came from a search-and-rescue core.  Search and rescue work is the work of air-scenting dogs.

Mark Harrison said the Portuguese had deployed air-scenting dogs.

No attempt was made to track the child with the air scenting dogs from Lisbon;

After this, at about 08.00 the three search and rescue sniffer dog teams (Silva with Timmy, Cortez with Sacha and Sousa with Kolly and Cookie) who had arrived at the site, began searching, leaving the resort in the direction of the beach.

Then extra dogs arrived from Lisbon;

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.htm

It's quite clear that there is a difference between the dogs, and it was the two tracker dogs only who attempted to track the child.

[slartibartfast]

I have done so countless times.  Dogs pressed into service for tracking purposes came from a search-and-rescue core.  Search and rescue work is the work of air-scenting dogs.

Mark Harrison said the Portuguese had deployed air-scenting dogs.

Please desist from promoting this myth. You have repeatedly been given cites to counter your stance. Any further posts of this myth will be deemed disruptive and will be dealt with accordingly.

[Brietta]

No attempt was made to track the child with the air scenting dogs from Lisbon;

After this, at about 08.00 the three search and rescue sniffer dog teams (Silva with Timmy, Cortez with Sacha and Sousa with Kolly and Cookie) who had arrived at the site, began searching, leaving the resort in the direction of the beach.

Then extra dogs arrived from Lisbon;

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.htm

It's quite clear that there is a difference between the dogs, and it was the two tracker dogs only who attempted to track the child.

I don't follow.

**snip
On Saturday 21.07.2007 I met with Major Luis Seqeuira, GNR Portimao who was the search coordinator for all search activity that was under taken in the physical search for Madeleine McCann.
Major Seqeuira has not benefited from any formal training or accreditation in the management of searching for missing persons. The search officers with the exception of the search and rescue team dispatched from Lisbon had not benefited from any formal training in search procedures. The teams available and deployed by Major Seqeuira were drawn from unit of the GNR, Civil Protection, Fire Brigade, Red Cross and Urban Police. Each team numbered
around 10 and between 80 to 100 personnel were involved in search activity.

The searches were based on a strategy of searching in "rescue and recovery mode?
 http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MARK_HARRISON.htm

What did the search and rescue team from Lisbon actually do ... if not participate in the search for Madeleine?

[Robittybob1]

I don't follow.
....

The searches were based on a strategy of searching in "rescue and recovery mode?
 http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MARK_HARRISON.htm

What did the search and rescue team from Lisbon actually do ... if not participate in the search for Madeleine?

The majority were rescue and recovery dogs but a small number were used as trackers (close in to the scene of the crime) - that's my understanding of it.

[G-Unit]

I don't follow.

**snip
On Saturday 21.07.2007 I met with Major Luis Seqeuira, GNR Portimao who was the search coordinator for all search activity that was under taken in the physical search for Madeleine McCann.
Major Seqeuira has not benefited from any formal training or accreditation in the management of searching for missing persons. The search officers with the exception of the search and rescue team dispatched from Lisbon had not benefited from any formal training in search procedures. The teams available and deployed by Major Seqeuira were drawn from unit of the GNR, Civil Protection, Fire Brigade, Red Cross and Urban Police. Each team numbered
around 10 and between 80 to 100 personnel were involved in search activity.

The searches were based on a strategy of searching in "rescue and recovery mode?
 http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MARK_HARRISON.htm

What did the search and rescue team from Lisbon actually do ... if not participate in the search for Madeleine?

It's perfectly clear. Lots of GNR officers joined the search but the only officers formally trained in search procedures were those from Lisbon.

None of the other GNR officers who searched had received formal training. Not even the coordinator, Major Luis Seqeuira.

[Robittybob1]

It's perfectly clear. Lots of GNR officers joined the search but the only officers formally trained in search procedures were those from Lisbon.

None of the other GNR officers who searched had received formal training. Not even the coordinator, Major Luis Seqeuira.

But because the scent trail fades rapidly with time a partially trained dog today would be better than a fully trained dog tomorrow. It is largely the dogs natural ability some are born with good noses and others don't.

[G-Unit]

Could you document that claim too please?   Just so this thread becomes fully useful reference please.  I don't doubt you.

I think I already did. Oh well, here it is again.

In her book she says she handed over the blanket in the morning. She says she saw no dogs during the night, but the GNR patrol dog handler was given the blanket at 02.30am.

I don’t remember seeing any police dogs until the morning, and if there were any specific police searches overnight, they were not apparent. At some point in the first twenty-four hours (I could not say when exactly, but probably that morning) I recall one of the GNR patrol officers asking us for some of Madeleine’s clothing or belongings to enable these dogs to identify her scent. 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]

 After arriving at the GNR post with his colleagues Morais and two dogs (Numi and Kit), German Shepherd dogs, which made up the search team, they immediately left for P da L. They arrived at about 02.30.

When they arrived at the scene, they entered the McCann's apartment by the front door, and entered the living room, where there were some PJ officers as well as the MCCann couple. The just talked to some colleagues from the PJ and asked for a piece of clothing that Madeleine had worn or used recently. They were given a pink/orange blanket that the child had been covered with in her bed.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/CARLOS-LACAO.htm

He saw Kate again at 4pm and recognised her from earlier. Did he still have the dog with him? He doesni say;

He remembers that during a brief rest period at about 04.00, Madeleine's mother asked whether there was any news and whether the roads had been blocked off.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/CARLOS-LACAO.htm

I couldn’t see anyone about by this time, except for a couple of GNR police cars in the road outside and a handful of officers hanging around. None of them appeared to be doing very much. I couldn’t stand the thought of nothing happening while time marched inexorably onward. Madeleine could be miles away by now. At one point I went out to speak to the police, needing some reassurance. It was difficult and exasperating as communication was so limited, and there was no reassurance to be had. [Madeleine]

How exasperating it must have been; Portuguese people speaking Portuguese. No consideration at all. How Kate expected to see what was happening outside I don't know; she was indoors mostly.

[Alfie]

I think I already did. Oh well, here it is again.

In her book she says she handed over the blanket in the morning. She says she saw no dogs during the night, but the GNR patrol dog handler was given the blanket at 02.30am.

I don’t remember seeing any police dogs until the morning, and if there were any specific police searches overnight, they were not apparent. At some point in the first twenty-four hours (I could not say when exactly, but probably that morning) I recall one of the GNR patrol officers asking us for some of Madeleine’s clothing or belongings to enable these dogs to identify her scent. 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]

 After arriving at the GNR post with his colleagues Morais and two dogs (Numi and Kit), German Shepherd dogs, which made up the search team, they immediately left for P da L. They arrived at about 02.30.

When they arrived at the scene, they entered the McCann's apartment by the front door, and entered the living room, where there were some PJ officers as well as the MCCann couple. The just talked to some colleagues from the PJ and asked for a piece of clothing that Madeleine had worn or used recently. They were given a pink/orange blanket that the child had been covered with in her bed.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/CARLOS-LACAO.htm

He saw Kate again at 4pm and recognised her from earlier. Did he still have the dog with him? He doesni say;

He remembers that during a brief rest period at about 04.00, Madeleine's mother asked whether there was any news and whether the roads had been blocked off.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/CARLOS-LACAO.htm

I couldn’t see anyone about by this time, except for a couple of GNR police cars in the road outside and a handful of officers hanging around. None of them appeared to be doing very much. I couldn’t stand the thought of nothing happening while time marched inexorably onward. Madeleine could be miles away by now. At one point I went out to speak to the police, needing some reassurance. It was difficult and exasperating as communication was so limited, and there was no reassurance to be had. [Madeleine]

How exasperating it must have been; Portuguese people speaking Portuguese. No consideration at all. How Kate expected to see what was happening outside I don't know; she was indoors mostly.

The bit directly after the bit you quoted above might give us a clue:

"I walked briskly up and down Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva, sometimes breaking into a jog, clinging to the hope that I'd spot something in the dark". 

[Robittybob1]

I think I already did. Oh well, here it is again.

In her book she says she handed over the blanket in the morning. She says she saw no dogs during the night, but the GNR patrol dog handler was given the blanket at 02.30am.

I don’t remember seeing any police dogs until the morning, and if there were any specific police searches overnight, they were not apparent. At some point in the first twenty-four hours (I could not say when exactly, but probably that morning) I recall one of the GNR patrol officers asking us for some of Madeleine’s clothing or belongings to enable these dogs to identify her scent. 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]

 After arriving at the GNR post with his colleagues Morais and two dogs (Numi and Kit), German Shepherd dogs, which made up the search team, they immediately left for P da L. They arrived at about 02.30.

When they arrived at the scene, they entered the McCann's apartment by the front door, and entered the living room, where there were some PJ officers as well as the MCCann couple. The just talked to some colleagues from the PJ and asked for a piece of clothing that Madeleine had worn or used recently. They were given a pink/orange blanket that the child had been covered with in her bed.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/CARLOS-LACAO.htm

He saw Kate again at 4pm and recognised her from earlier. Did he still have the dog with him? He doesni say;

He remembers that during a brief rest period at about 04.00, Madeleine's mother asked whether there was any news and whether the roads had been blocked off.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/CARLOS-LACAO.htm

I couldn’t see anyone about by this time, except for a couple of GNR police cars in the road outside and a handful of officers hanging around. None of them appeared to be doing very much. I couldn’t stand the thought of nothing happening while time marched inexorably onward. Madeleine could be miles away by now. At one point I went out to speak to the police, needing some reassurance. It was difficult and exasperating as communication was so limited, and there was no reassurance to be had. [Madeleine]

How exasperating it must have been; Portuguese people speaking Portuguese. No consideration at all. How Kate expected to see what was happening outside I don't know; she was indoors mostly.

Hi G-unit - do you think that explains your original statement " After all, she was mistaken about when she gave them the blanket; she thought it was later than it actually was"?

[ferryman]

It's perfectly clear. Lots of GNR officers joined the search but the only officers formally trained in search procedures were those from Lisbon.

None of the other GNR officers who searched had received formal training. Not even the coordinator, Major Luis Seqeuira.

Generic search-procedures, not individual and unique ones.

[G-Unit]

But because the scent trail fades rapidly with time a partially trained dog today would be better than a fully trained dog tomorrow. It is largely the dogs natural ability some are born with good noses and others don't.

I was discussing the lack of training of the officers, but by the same token better untrained officers than no officers. A lot of civilian searchers stayed out until 4am-4.30am too.

[G-Unit]

Hi G-unit - do you think that explains your original statement " After all, she was mistaken about when she gave them the blanket; she thought it was later than it actually was"?

Yes. She gave the dog handler a blanket at 2,30am in the apartment then says she didn't see any dogs. The dog was with him! There was an excuse for not remembering at the time, but I can't work out why she seems to cast doubt on the events described in the files.

According to the PJ files, to which we did not have access until August 2008, two patrol dogs were brought to Praia da Luz at 2am on 4 May

I don’t remember seeing any police dogs until the morning, and if there were any specific police searches overnight, they were not apparent.[Madeleine]

[G-Unit]

The bit directly after the bit you quoted above might give us a clue:

"I walked briskly up and down Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva, sometimes breaking into a jog, clinging to the hope that I'd spot something in the dark".

Do you know where that road is Alfie? Most of the searching took place further away, that bit was searched first.

[ShiningInLuz]

It's perfectly clear. Lots of GNR officers joined the search but the only officers formally trained in search procedures were those from Lisbon.

None of the other GNR officers who searched had received formal training. Not even the coordinator, Major Luis Seqeuira.

Is there any such thing as a correct procedure for making a search for a missing child?

[Alfie]

Do you know where that road is Alfie? Most of the searching took place further away, that bit was searched first.

I am aware of that yes.  And your point is...?