The tracker dogs

[Angelo222]

Thanks to the member who posted Amaral's groveling excuses as to why the poorly resourced Praia da Luz police were impeded in their efforts to find Maddie.  Let this be a warning to anyone who visits these countries with young children.  Take your eyes off them at your peril.

[Carana]

Thanks to the member who posted Amaral's groveling excuses as to why the poorly resourced Praia da Luz police were impeded in their efforts to find Maddie.  Let this be a warning to anyone who visits these countries with young children.  Take your eyes off them at your peril.

That's a bit rough, I find. Mistakes happen in investigations in any country for one reason or another.

[ferryman]

In the inspection at the villa the video (before Levy started messing about with it) very clearly showed clothes littered about all over the place.  That video has now been removed completely.

More than that, if clothing was on premises (packed or unpacked) Eddie ought to have been able to detect a scent if there was one to detect. 

The garage was almost certainly a figment of Amaral's imagination.

And we know from the 'inspection' at the gym that the clothes were transported in bulk-standard cardboard boxes.

Fact remains, Madeleine never went near either villa or gym, so there ought never to have been inspections at either place.

You won't find any clues from the files as to why there was.

You may from Grime's escapades in America ...

[Carana]

I'd assumed the "garage" in question was the carpark used for the car inspections.... Could be wrong though.


ETA:

It has just been pointed out to me that it couldn't have been the same "garage" / carpark as the car inspection took place in a carpark in Portimão, not Lagos.

[Carana]

Something I've never understood is what constituted an alert for any particular item of clothing. He tossed some items in the air and nuzzled others.

When I checked the video against the lists of items, it still wasn't clear.

[Carana]

It's still not clear to me....

Quite apart from why the items in the list don't seem to always correspond to the interest shown by Eddie, all the items in that list came from the same box.

Did Harrison keep an eye on the boxes during the entire time between the villa inspection and when the items were finally laid out in the gym? Did some people go off for a bite to eat and someone started to unpack that box?

No idea.

Were all the clothes in that box clean? Or was there a mixture?



Page 2099

Official record of the canine inspection at 18h14 on 2 August 2007 at the current residence of the McCann couple situated at Rua das Flores, 27, Praia da Luz, Lagos.

The five participants are indicated as two PJ Inspectors; UK NPIA officer (Harrison); UK dog handler (Grime); UK English Springer spaniel (Eddy).

The entire activity was recorded on video image and sound.

As part of the residence search performed today at the above address, a canine search was also conducted.

Thus, the activity started at the indicated time, all rooms at the address [property] having been walked through, the following result being confirmed:

- 18h36 - the dog Eddy, that detects cadaver odour, 'marked' [alerted in] the area of a cupboard in the lounge, it being confirmed that the dog indicated a pink soft toy belonging to Madeleine Beth McCann.

This document is drawn up to ratify the truth of the above and is duly signed.
(two signatures)
=============================================
Pages 2100-2102

Official record of the canine inspection at 23h20 on 2 August 2007 at the Municipal Pavilion of Lagos, [situated in] Lagos.

The ten participants are indicated as being five PJ Chief Inspectors (2)/Inspectors (3); The UK NPIA officer (Harrison); the UK dog handler (Grime); the Portuguese-speaking officer from Scotland Yard (Freitas); and the two UK English Springer spaniels - Eddy and Kila.

Following the search effected at Rua das Flores, 27, during which certain items were seized, this present inspection was performed, in a place appropriated for its purpose, attempting to identify particular pieces of clothing possibly indicated by the dogs, namely Eddy [that] indicates cadaver odours and Kila [that] indicates blood odours.

In these terms, the pieces of clothing recovered [from the home] were laid out individually in accordance with instructions given by the British technicians, the dogs [then] walking the area where they [those pieces of clothing] were laid out by order and with the following results described below.

1. Between 23h20 and 23h30 the two dogs were allowed to reconoitre the entire area to guarantee that there were no existing odours - and none were detected by them.

2. Between 23h30 and 23h40 items from the box labelled 'common room' were inspected by the blood dog without result.
- At 23h41 the cadaver dog began its inspection and 'marked' some clothing on the edge of the area. The inspection ended at 23h52 with the clothing having been collected for later direct examination and photographic report.

3. Clothes from the box labelled Lounge ("sitting room") were inspected by the blood dog between 00h02 (now 3 August) and 00h05 without any result. The same clothes were inspected by the cadaver dog between 00h06 and 00h07 also without any result.

4. Then the suitcase labelled 'Twins bedroom' was inspected, followed by two sets of inspections of its contents due to the large number of individual pieces it contained: the blood dog inspected [the first set] between 00h12 and 00h15, and then [the second set] between 00h22 and 00h24 - both without any result.
The cadaver dog inspected [set one] between 00h16 and 00h17, then [set two] between 00h25 and 00h26, also without any result.

5. An empty suitcase labelled 'Visitors bedroom' was inspected, along with sundry clothing packed in a box labelled Outside Clothes rack. Between 00h40 and 00h43 the blood dog inspected without any result, and in its turn the cadaver dog inspected between 00h44 and 00h45, also without any result.

6. The clothes packed in the box labelled "couple's bedroom 1" was inspected by the blood dog between 00h51 and 00h55, while the cadaver dog inspected it between 00h56 and 0057 without any result from either dog.
because there were so many pieces of clothing in the box a second inspection was conducted between 01h04 and 01h07 by the blood dog, and between 01h08 and 01h09 by the cadaver dog, [again] without any result from either dog.

7. The clothes packed in the box labelled "couple's bedroom 2" was inspected by the cadaver dog between 01h20 and 01h22, then the blood dog between 01h23 and 01h25. Nothing abnormal was detected by either dog.

Attached, the photo report which immediately follows and the video recording on MiniDV cassette.

There being nothing more the activity stopped at 01h30.

This document is drawn up to ratify the truth of the above and it is going to be signed by all participants.
(three signatures appended; five missing)
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/INSPECTION_SITES.htm

[ferryman]

I think you miss the salient point.

It doesn't matter whether Amaral meant specially designed boxes or not.

It doesn't even matter that (what we know from the evidence of our own eyes) bulk standard cardboard boxes were used.

At the time of the inspection, months after the crime, it was way past too late to worry about cross contamination.  The clothes, by then will have been packed into suitcases, put on wardrobe shelves, put through washing machines and heaven knows what else.  Cross-contamination, if it was going to occur, would, by then, long since already have occurred, and taking (retrospective) precautions would have been a classic case of bolted horses and barn doors.

The salient question is why was there an inspection at the villa?  And why was there a further inspection at the gym?

There is not a single logical, coherent, or consistent explanation of either inspection.

[Luz]

Well I have a different take on this.

Budlemans lifter must have handled Madeleines blanket to move her and possibly to wipe his sweaty hands.  His sweaty smell would be the over-riding smell on that blanket.  I think the dogs (GNR weren't they?) followed his smell rather than Madeleines

No they weren't GNR dogs, they are a special canine squad that have helped many victims not only in Portugal but also in other countries (they have been in the 911, in the huge Greek earthquake, in Haiti,...just to mention a couple). If they had been given a piece of Madeleine's clothing they would follow her and not a sweaty pretense abductor.

[ferryman]

Well I have a different take on this.

Budlemans lifter must have handled Madeleines blanket to move her and possibly to wipe his sweaty hands.  His sweaty smell would be the over-riding smell on that blanket.  I think the dogs (GNR weren't they?) followed his smell rather than Madeleines

No they weren't GNR dogs, they are a special canine squad that have helped many victims not only in Portugal but also in other countries (they have been in the 911, in the huge Greek earthquake, in Haiti,...just to mention a couple). If they had been given a piece of Madeleine's clothing they would follow her and not a sweaty pretense abductor.

Think that one through logically, Luz.  If you are deploying dogs to find victims of natural disasters such as earth quakes, you want the type that will track the generic human scent, not the individual one.

The type of dog you describe would be air-scenting.  That's the generic scent.

[Carana]

I think you miss the salient point.

It doesn't matter whether Amaral meant specially designed boxes or not.

It doesn't even matter that (what we know from the evidence of our own eyes) bulk standard cardboard boxes were used.

At the time of the inspection, months after the crime, it was way past too late to worry about cross contamination.  The clothes, by then will have been packed into suitcases, put on wardrobe shelves, put through washing machines and heaven knows what else.  Cross-contamination, if it was going to occur, would, by then, long since already have occurred, and taking (retrospective) precautions would have been a classic case of bolted horses and barn doors.

The salient question is why was there an inspection at the villa?  And why was there a further inspection at the gym?

There is not a single logical, coherent, or consistent explanation of either inspection.

I MAY come back and disagree with you (keep your ulcer medication handy), but at the moment, I think I see your point.

- If Keela had reacted to the presence of molecules of blood on clothes in a villa 3 months after the event, then what's the point? It wouldn't prove anything - anyone could have had a speck of blood on their clothes 3 months later.

- If Eddie ONLY reacted to the scent of a real cadaver, then I can see why that would be useful to know.
But the fact is that he didn't just react to cadavers - but the scent of human (or porcine) decomposition. And that could have numerous explanations which don't involve a dead body.

[Carana]

Well I have a different take on this.

Budlemans lifter must have handled Madeleines blanket to move her and possibly to wipe his sweaty hands.  His sweaty smell would be the over-riding smell on that blanket.  I think the dogs (GNR weren't they?) followed his smell rather than Madeleines

No they weren't GNR dogs, they are a special canine squad that have helped many victims not only in Portugal but also in other countries (they have been in the 911, in the huge Greek earthquake, in Haiti,...just to mention a couple). If they had been given a piece of Madeleine's clothing they would follow her and not a sweaty pretense abductor.

Think that one through logically, Luz.  If you are deploying dogs to find victims of natural disasters such as earth quakes, you want the type that will track the generic human scent, not the individual one.

The type of dog you describe would be air-scenting.  That's the generic scent.

I agree with Ferryman on this point as well.

[AnneGuedes]

Well I have a different take on this.

Budlemans lifter must have handled Madeleines blanket to move her and possibly to wipe his sweaty hands.  His sweaty smell would be the over-riding smell on that blanket.  I think the dogs (GNR weren't they?) followed his smell rather than Madeleines

No they weren't GNR dogs, they are a special canine squad that have helped many victims not only in Portugal but also in other countries (they have been in the 911, in the huge Greek earthquake, in Haiti,...just to mention a couple). If they had been given a piece of Madeleine's clothing they would follow her and not a sweaty pretense abductor.

Think that one through logically, Luz.  If you are deploying dogs to find victims of natural disasters such as earth quakes, you want the type that will track the generic human scent, not the individual one.

The type of dog you describe would be air-scenting.  That's the generic scent.

This is right.
Many search and rescue dogs were used in PDL and around. Some came from the GNR national school, but this school sent also two experimented sniffers dogs. They were given Madeleine bath towel. Curiously their route, on the 4th of May night, was similar to the route of the patrol dog (given Madeleine's comfort blanket) about 4 hours after the disappearance. This patrol dog, though, had some training in tracking.

[Carana]

Well I have a different take on this.

Budlemans lifter must have handled Madeleines blanket to move her and possibly to wipe his sweaty hands.  His sweaty smell would be the over-riding smell on that blanket.  I think the dogs (GNR weren't they?) followed his smell rather than Madeleines

No they weren't GNR dogs, they are a special canine squad that have helped many victims not only in Portugal but also in other countries (they have been in the 911, in the huge Greek earthquake, in Haiti,...just to mention a couple). If they had been given a piece of Madeleine's clothing they would follow her and not a sweaty pretense abductor.

Think that one through logically, Luz.  If you are deploying dogs to find victims of natural disasters such as earth quakes, you want the type that will track the generic human scent, not the individual one.

The type of dog you describe would be air-scenting.  That's the generic scent.

This is right.
Many search and rescue dogs were used in PDL and around. Some came from the GNR national school, but this school sent also two experimented sniffers dogs. They were given Madeleine bath towel. Curiously their route, on the 4th of May night, was similar to the route of the patrol dog (given Madeleine's comfort blanket) about 4 hours after the disappearance. This patrol dog, though, had some training in tracking.

I found the report of the Major very touching. He obviously did his very best, getting loads of people organised in difficult circumstances. A sweetie in my opinion.

[Luz]

Ferryman, you are right. It was precipitated of me to infer that generic rescue dogs were prepared to search a specif individual. But I know they also used animals trained to search by scent for a specif person, much like they have drug or explosive dogs - those are not GNR dogs.

If I find the source I'll get a link here, but I am very lame at it.

Edit: found one Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grupo-Operacional-Cinot%C3%A9cnico-da-UEPUnidade-Especial-de-Policia/241939415893306

There are dogs used and trained by the military (we had war dogs since the 50s), the GNR and the PSP. Among their many specialties they search for specif persons.

[Admin]

Could I ask something which hasn't been mentioned yet.  There are two maps currently being shown on other sites which show tracker dog trails to Supermercado Baptista in Praia da Luz.  I have attached them for reference below.

Where did these come from because I fail to see any statements to back them up?