There were children in the party who would not have been expected to corroborate a sighting to which the adults hardly paid attention.
There are three witness statements in the files.
Aoife paid attention and I have no doubt that the yard have talked to all of them including Mrs Smith "Oh is she asleep" Rude Man?
Regarding the 3rd of May, 2007, she went, with all her family, to
eat at the Dolphin restaurant, which is close to Kelly's Bar. When
they left the restaurant, around 21H30,
they headed toward Kelly's Bar. They stayed there for about 30 minutes.
—
Around 22H00, they left Kelly's Bar. The group headed, on foot, for their apartment.
— Questioned,
she responds that she knows the time that they left because her father and her brother decided to leave early that night.
— The deponent remembers that upon reaching the top of the stairs, she looked to her left and saw a man (1) with a female child (2) in his arms, walking along the pavement of Rua 25 de Abril. He was walking in her direction at a distance of, give or take, two metres.
— The deponent crossed to the other side of Rua 25 de Abril and began walking up Rua da Escola Primária in the direction of the Estrela da Luz apartment complex.
Personal Description:
— (1) the individual was male, Caucasian, light-skinned, between 20/30 years of age, of
normal physical build, around 1,70/1,75 metres in height. At the time she saw his face but now cannot remember it. She thinks that he had a
clean-shaven face. She does not remember seeing tattoos, scars or earrings. She did not notice his ears. His
hair was thick-ish, light brown in colour, short at the back (normal) and a bit longer on the top.
—
His trousers were smooth "rights" along the legs, beige in colour, cotton fabric, thicker than linen, possibly with buttons, and without any other decoration.
— She did not see what he was wearing above his trousers as the child covered him almost completely at the top.
— She did not see what shoes he was wearing.
—
The individual's gait was normal, between a fast walk and a run. He did not look tired, moving in a manner usual when one carries a child.
— (2) the child was female because she had straight long hair to the neck. The colour was fair/light brown.
—
She is certain that the child was about four years old because her niece (who was in the group) is of the same age and they were the same size.
—
She did not see the child's face because she was lying against the individual's left shoulder in a vertical position against the individual. She appeared to be sleeping. Her arms were suspended along her body and were not around the individual's neck. She did not look at the child's hands and cannot state the colour of her skin. She believes she was white.
—
There was nothing covering the child, a comforter/blanket or any other piece of clothing but she only saw her back.
—
She was wearing light trousers, white or light pink, that may have been pyjamas. She does not remember if they were patterned as it was dark. The material was lightweight/thin and could have been cotton.
—
She also had a light top, with long sleeves. She did not see it well because the individual had his arms around the child. She is not sure if the child's top was the same colour as her trousers, saying only that it was very light. The fabric was the same as the trousers.
