Claim there was as a previous attempt at an abduction from 5a.

[Robittybob1]

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MARGARET_HALL.htm

"1. Facts that preceded the incident

A witness called Margaret Hall who worked at the OC was located and tells us that six months before the incident with Maddie there could have been an abduction attempt from the same apartment that was let to the McCann family. On the 1st November 2007 she makes a statement in full honour that refers to the following:

Margaret Hall was employed by the Mark Warner resort in P da L for six months from October 2006 as a baby sitter for the clients.

She says that in August/September 2006 she was working as a babysitter in the same apartment that the girl was abducted from. She confirms that the events occurred on a Thursday night. Thursday nights were known as the "tennis nights" and on that night the girl's parents were out playing tennis.

Given that there were problems with rodents in the apartments she went out to have a look in the area at about 00.30. She left by the front door and in the darkness, by the movement sensitive lights, she saw something move and thought its was a rat. To her surprise, when she examined it closely, she saw that it was a brown shoe of a man who was watching the dark zone outside the apartments. She shouted and the man came out of the darkness, the lights were activated at which point he came towards her and said "No, no".

She said the man was aged between 25 - 35 years, with a Mediterranean aspect with tight black curly hair. She is certain that he had a Mediterranean accent, surely Portuguese. From the only two words he said. He wore light coloured trousers and a blue checked shirt.

After this she returned to the apartment in a state of shock, it was obvious that there was no good reason for him to be hiding in the darkness outside the apartment. She said that the front door was the main door to enter the apartment, situated at the back.

When asked if she could make a sketch of the area she said she would do so.

The next day she told her superior about the incident, who in turn informed the resort manager, J.H.

She said that they appeared to be more worried about the subject of the rodents than about the man.

She did not have any contact with the Portuguese police, neither was she interviewed by them about this matter.

She makes her statement under compromise of honour."



What are the chances of that happening?  I see Margret Hall has been discussed some 10 times on the forum  but not in a thread dedicated to her statement.

[John]

Anything is possible really but it is a giant leap from seeing someone lurking in the dark outside the apartments to establishing that there had been a previous attempt at an abduction.  What concerns me most is that there was no effort apparently to follow this up, bad publicity is the last thing a resort manager wants.

[Robittybob1]

I see I made an error in the OP when I said "I see Margret Hall has been discussed some 10 times on the forum  but not in a thread dedicated to her statement", that is incorrect in the thread http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=3140.msg115271#msg115271 "Suspects / Prowler (Margaret Hall)" is a single post thread discussing Margaret's testimony in depth. 
Interesting thing was the sketch of the person lurking outside apartment 5A  

[Eleanor]

So the end of the previous Season.  It will be interesting to see where this Thread leads.  Lurking about in the dark after midnight is suspicious.

[Robittybob1]

Anything is possible really but it is a giant leap from seeing someone lurking in the dark outside the apartments to establishing that there had been a previous attempt at an abduction.  What concerns me most is that there was no effort apparently to follow this up, bad publicity is the last thing a resort manager wants.

What I find odd also is the parents telling the babysitter about the rodents and then the babysitter going outside and finding the man.  Were there rodents or was it a peeping tom lurking in the undergrowth?  The site doesn't look like a place that would be infested by rodents.
Quote http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=3140.msg115271#msg115271: "Parents of the youngster she was looking after were out for the night and had warned her about rodents in Apartment 5A at Praia da Luz's Ocean Club complex.

Margaret encountered the prowler as she went to check for rats at about 12.30am."

In another version "It reported: “During the night she received a call from her bosses warning her there was a problem with rats in the apartments.” "  So was it the parents or the boss who told her about the rodents?

I have yet to meet a woman who goes outside to investigate rodents in the middle of the night, and then to just go back inside after being approached by a man who had been lurking in the bushes.  She has a particularly high degree of courage if I may say so.

One night I heard a noise down the back of my section and I went to explore the unusual noise and came across a man in the orchard sound asleep but snoring loudly.  Now by the time I had gone the distance and stumbled upon him my fear level had risen to the maximum. 

And then later "she reported the sighting to her boss – but he “seemed more worried about the rats”"  That makes me think it was a setup to scare her out of the job!  Did they not like her for some reason?

[G-Unit]

According to the Mirror, this lady reported her story to her local police, but they didn't come back to her. She then decided to contact Metodo 3. In October 2007 the PJ were contacted by;

the Commissary General, located in Madrid, by the Chief of the Kidnapping Unit, Alberto Carbas, who passed to us the information that the McCann family had contracted a Spanish company known as 'METODO 3', composed of Spanish private detectives. This business, or in other words, the costs of the activities of this business were being covered by a Scottish multi-millionaire whose name is BRIAN KENNEDY and whose objective was to locate the British minor.

They agreed to a request to meet, and were given Ms Hall's statement, taken by Metodo 3. They weren't very interested but had the statement translated and filed it.

Then the Mirror got involved and produced the sketch with Ms Hall two years after she had seen him.

It seems to me to be one of the many probably unimportant pieces of information which emerged due to the publicity of the case.

http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MARGARET_HALL.htm
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-nannys-new-sketch-329189
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/BRIAN-KENNEDY.htm

[misty]

Where were the bushes in 5a in which a grown man could hide?

[sadie]

Where were the bushes in 5a in which a grown man could hide?

Depending on when they were last heavily cut back, there were dense and low hanging trees, which virtually blocked out all the light from the street lamps. 

Remembering that the whole of block 5 was built into a hillside and that the car park at 5A end was considerably raised in comparison to the street outside and to this view, it looks as tho the greenery must have virtually reached the ground in the car park near 5A.   If the trees were like this at the time, then there would be ample greenery to hide a man in the greenery especially as it was so dark there.   

IIRC the trees were a little like willows in as much as they had longish fonds hanging down.  SIL, will you please correct me if i am remembering incorrectly. 

Oh, i have just remembered, they were all ruthlessly cut down in time for Pat Browns visit.


IMO, of course but the pointers are there.

http://gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/PB/back5a10.jpg

[stephen25000]

Depending on when they were last heavily cut back, there were dense and low hanging trees, which virtually blocked out all the light from the street lamps. 

Remembering that the whole of block 5 was built into a hillside and that the car park at 5A end was considerably raised in comparison to the street outside and to this view, it looks as tho the greenery must have virtually reached the ground in the car park near 5A.   If the trees were like this at the time, then there would be ample greenery to hide a man in the greenery especially as it was so dark there.   

IIRC the trees were a little like willows in as much as they had longish fonds hanging down.  SIL, will you please correct me if i am remembering incorrectly. 

Oh, i have just remembered, they were all ruthlessly cut down in time for Pat Browns visit.


IMO, of course but the pointers are there.

http://gerrymccannsblogs.co.uk/PB/back5a10.jpg

Pointers Sadie ?

There are also pointers for other things.

[sadie]

Pointers Sadie ?

There are also pointers for other things.

Do you not agree, stephen, that if the trees had been likie that at the time, there would have been ample opportunity for a man hiding to have hidden in the darkness, in the head of that tree?

[misty]

Do you not agree, stephen, that if the trees had been likie that at the time, there would have been ample opportunity for a man hiding to have hidden in the darkness, in the head of that tree?

Were there movement-sensitive lights by the trees?

[Robittybob1]

Do you not agree, stephen, that if the trees had been likie that at the time, there would have been ample opportunity for a man hiding to have hidden in the darkness, in the head of that tree?

So he was on the car park side of the apartment?  It does really give us an idea or does it? 
In the previous thread it does not define the door but Margaret's statement does: "Given that there were problems with rodents in the apartments she went out to have a look in the area at about 00.30. She left by the front door and in the darkness, by the movement sensitive lights, she saw something move and thought its was a rat.

[misty]

So he was on the car park side of the apartment?  It does really give us an idea or does it?

Where did a man hide so only his feet would be visible from under the foliage?

[attachment deleted by admin]

[stephen25000]

Do you not agree, stephen, that if the trees had been likie that at the time, there would have been ample opportunity for a man hiding to have hidden in the darkness, in the head of that tree?

It seems wishful thinking on your part Sadie.

[Robittybob1]

Were there movement-sensitive lights by the trees?

They used to be triggered by infrared so it could have been anyone's movement that triggered the light going on, but once it was on she saw movement of the guy's shoe.