FALL OUT FROM THE CRIMEWATCH PROGRAM

http://news.sky.com/story/1154564/madeleine-mccann-appeal-parents-delighted

Madeleine McCann Appeal: Parents 'Delighted'
Investigators sift through information provided by nearly 1,000 people after a new appeal over the missing three-year-old.

Madeleine McCann's parents have said they are "absolutely delighted" with the "overwhelming" response to a new appeal for information about her disappearance.

Police have received more than 730 calls and 212 emails following Monday night's televised reconstruction and release of previously unseen evidence. Detectives are now working through them.

Kate and Gerry McCann said they are "genuinely hopeful" that one or more of the responses would lead to a major breakthrough in the investigation.

During the Crimewatch show, two new e-fits were broadcast of a man, who may have been Madeleine's kidnapper, seen carrying a child a few hundred yards from the family's apartment at around 10pm.

Viewers were shown two images of a dark-haired man, based on descriptions from two witnesses who were staying in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when the three-year-old went missing.

The sighting - which came at around the same time Mrs McCann checked on her three children - had previously been considered of less significance than an earlier, now-discounted sighting around 9.15pm.

When asked how convinced he was that the later sighting was of Madeleine, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood told Sky News: "The timing and location speak for themselves."

He said two independent callers had put forward the same name for the man for the 10pm sighting and another caller gave a name of a man who was known to be in Portugal at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

In a statement the McCanns said: "We know that the public desperately want to help the search for Madeleine.

"If anyone was in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine's abduction and has not spoken to the Metropolitan Police, or if they know who any of the e-fits might be, please have the courage to come forward and speak to the police in confidence."

For six years, detectives believed a man seen by one of the McCanns' friends, Jane Tanner, carrying a child close to the apartment in the Algarve tourist resort of Praia da Luz at around 9.15pm was their key suspect.

But a review of the evidence under the Metropolitan Police's Operation Grange concluded that it was an innocent British holidaymaker carrying his daughter home from a creche.

DCI Redwood said he realised that the man seen later could also be entirely innocent, but appealed for help from the public in identifying him.

"This child is described as being about three to four with blonde hair, possibly wearing pyjamas, and the man is white with dark hair," he said.

"If this is you, and you are nothing to do with Madeleine's disappearance, then we really need to speak to you. It's so important for us to eliminate innocent sightings."

Investigators are also trying to identify mysterious fair-haired men seen "lurking around" the apartment at the time who could be Dutch or German.

Two e-fits of the fair-haired men have been released. One is of a man seen twice by the same witness near the flat where the McCanns were staying.

He was 30 to 35, thin, with short hair, shaving spots on his face and was wearing a black leather jacket. Another witness saw a similar-looking man in the resort.

Police are also looking at a spate of break-ins in the area, one of which happened in the same week a year before Madeleine went missing, where a man got into a flat where young children were sleeping.

:: Sky News will show a special investigation tonight at 8.30pm on Sky Channel 501, Virgin Media 602 and Freeview 82

Official Find Madeleine Campaign
I'm unpublishing the page for a couple of hours. It's just to clean-up the hateful comments and ban those making them. Another Admin and I have literally spent hours cleaning up the crap from these horrible people. The page will be turned back on. Don't worry. We will not let Madeleine down that way. ~FM Webmaster

Sykes wrote:

 Official Find Madeleine Campaign
I'm unpublishing the page for a couple of hours. It's just to clean-up the hateful comments and ban those making them. Another Admin and I have literally spent hours cleaning up the crap from these horrible people. The page will be turned back on. Don't worry. We will not let Madeleine down that way. ~FM Webmaster

Jerry Lawton ‏@JerryLawton 8h
Crimewatch say response to Madeleine #McCann special "unprecedented"

Jerry Lawton ‏@JerryLawton 53m
#McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell says Amaral's remarks `nonsense' - `will not dignify this latest insult with any comment'

Jason Farrell ‏@JasonFarrellSky 23h
@auldcrip @xklamation crimewatch was embargoed. The smith interview is old but it was clear he didn't get a good view of the suspect's face

Joana Morais ‏@xklamation 23h
@JasonFarrellSky «I would be 60-80% sure that it was Gerald McCann that I met that night carrying a child» Mr.Smith http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/MARTIN_SMITH.htm …

Jason Farrell ‏@JasonFarrellSky 23h
@xklamation it was Peter Smith who I spoke to, who was in the group. That wasn't his take on it.

Lindsey Sankey I have been banned from commenting on the official page because I asked them to explain why they thought the cadaver dog could be wrong.

Mona Maisie Lawrence They did the same to me awhile ago, they didn't like what I said, so sent me an email saying I can read their page but not allowed to comment...... Corrupt the lot of them!!!

Shoota! ‏@CaroleShooter 3h
@Dantew28 6725 now #mccann

Gi' O'er ‏@MrsMLouis 3h
@CaroleShooter LOL. The OFM FB page gained over one hundred thousand new members in the last 24 hours, a few more than Contronumpty. #McCann

Gi' O'er ‏@MrsMLouis 3h
over 412,000 people on FB support the #McCann s campaign to find Madeleine. Proves there are more decent ppl in world than there are haters

Claire Edwards This is not from the official site! The official site is callled findmadeleine.com the page mentioned in the status here is a FORUM run by a member of the public who have been going for years! They were around when I was moderator of the anti-mccann site MissingMadeleine. Do not confuse the official site with a discussion forum!

JillyCL ‏@JillyCL 3h
Amaral on TVE: Smith sighting was identified as Gerry #McCann carrying a child. McCanns are trying to wash their names & their conscience

London Evening Standard

Madeleine McCann: police receive 1,000 calls and emails after fresh Crimewatch appeal

JUSTIN DAVENPORT, CRIME EDITOR
Published: 15 October 2013 Updated: 15:23, 15 October 2013

Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have received nearly 1,000 calls and emails from the public in an “overwhelming” response to a new TV appeal.

More than 730 people called appeal numbers and more than 212 people emailed information after police released new e-fit images of possible suspects.

Several people have given the same name for an image of a man seen carrying a child in pyjamas at the time Madeleine vanished.

The BBC Crimewatch appeal last night came as police revealed they believe her disappearance has all the hallmarks of a "pre-planned abduction".

Madeleine, from Leicestershire, was nearly four years old when she disappeared from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007.

The new appeal features two e-fits of a man seen carrying a child towards the beach at 10pm on the night Madeleine disappeared, just moments before her mother returned to the apartment to check on her children.

In a significant development police say they have now ruled out a sighting of a man carrying a child who was once considered a key suspect in the original Portugese inquiry.

He has been identified as a holidaymaker who was picking up his two-year-old child from a night creche at the Ocean Club complex.

The development has shifted the inquiry’s focus to a later sighting at 10pm when an Irish family reported seeing a man walking towards the beach carrying a blonde girl in pyjamas who appeared to be in an uncomfortable position with her head slumped against him.

Police say that among those to call the hotline were several British holidaymakers who were in the resort of Praia da Luz at the time who have not yet spoken to the Met.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said he was "extremely pleased" with the response to the programme.

He said: "We will now take the time to follow up these lines of enquiry.”

Detectives believe the three-year-old may have been abducted by an organised crime group who checked out the apartments at the resort in the days before she went missing.

Mr Redwood said one reading of the evidence is that the kidnapping had "the hallmarks of a pre-planned abduction that would undoubtedly have involved reconnaissance".

Scotland Yard said it was also looking into possible links to burglaries and bogus charity collections in the area.

Witnesses described the man in the new e-fits as white, aged between 20-40, with short brown hair, of medium build, medium height and clean-shaven.

Investigators are also trying to identify mysterious fair-haired men seen "lurking around" the apartment at the time who could be Dutch or German, and TV appeals will be run in Holland and Germany.

Two e-fits of the fair-haired men have been released.

One is of a man who was seen twice by the same witness near the flat where the McCanns were staying. He was 30 to 35, thin, with short hair, shaving spots on his face and was wearing a black leather jacket. Another witness saw a similar-looking man in the resort.

Crimewatch editor Joe Mather said several callers had given the same name for the man spotted carrying a child towards the beach.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "It's been a truly unprecedented response.

“Significantly there were lots of calls from British people who were in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine's disappearance who had never previously spoken to the Met so there's lots of information coming through there.

"They received several names for the key 10pm sighting, the sighting of a man carrying a child towards the beach. Several different names but also several callers mentioned the same name for that man."

Mr Mather said there were "inevitably a fair few calls" which were not helpful but said there were "genuinely calls that were helpful" after last night's broadcast.

"I think the police are very, very pleased with how it went. I think it went better than they potentially expected."

Police also announced a £20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for Madeleine's disappearance.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/madeleine-mccann-police-receive-1000-calls-and-emails-after-fresh-crimewatch-appeal-8880623.html

The Daily Mirror

Madeleine McCann key witness accuses Portuguese police of not taking his vital prime suspect evidence seriously

16 Oct 2013

Retired businessman Martin Smith provided details for an e-fit of the prime suspect after spotting the mystery man close to where Maddie vanished more than six years ago

A key witness in the Madeleine McCann case claimed yesterday that Portuguese police failed to take his evidence seriously.

Retired businessman Martin Smith, 64, provided details for an e-fit of the prime suspect after spotting the mystery man carrying a child at 10pm close to where the three-year-old vanished more than six years ago.

But he said his information was virtually ignored by local officers because they were too busy chasing up another sighting of a man near Kate and Gerry McCann’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz 45 minutes earlier.

Scotland Yard detectives reinvestigating the case after six years have now established that the suspect Portuguese police were so keen to trace – spotted by holidaymaker Jane Tanner at 9.20pm – was just an innocent British tourist returning his own child from a crèche.

Mr Smith, a former Unilever executive, made a statement along with his wife Aolfe and son Peter soon after Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007.

He helped compile e-fits a year later – but the images were not released at the time and were only made public for the first time earlier this week.

Speaking from his home in Drogheda, Co Louth, Mr Smith said that the Portuguese police did not seem to think his sighting was significant.

He added: “It looked as if they put 90% credence on the Jane Tanner sighting, maybe that wrong-footed them and they didn’t take our sighting as seriously. I was surprised it took six years to rule out the other sighting.”

He said he has met with Scotland Yard detectives twice over the past 18 months to help them with the new probe. He added: “We‘d all love to see the police get to the bottom of what happened.”

“We think about Madeleine a lot and we would love to see a conclusion to this case.

Mr Smith was with his wife, daughter, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren on the night that the three year old vanished.

The family described the man they saw as white, with short brown hair and of average build and height, aged between 20 and 40.

Commenting on the Crimewatch documentary which was broadcast on Monday night he added: “The only new thing in the investigation is the elimination of Jane Tanner’s sighting.

“Apart from that from our point of view everything else remains the same in relation to what we said to the police and the media at the time. We have nothing more to add.”

At least two callers who responded to the TV appeal gave the same name for the two e-fits provided by the Smiths.

Finding the man and determining whether he was in Praia da Luz on the night the three-year-old vanished is a top priority of Scotland Yard detectives.

Around 1,000 people have contacted police as a result of the appeal.

They include a number of British people who were in the Algarve resort at the time. At least one ex-pat called from the town on Monday night.

Senior investigating officer Det Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said his team are working through the calls and material generated by the appeal.

A total of 330 calls were made to the Operation Grange incident room and 400 to BBC1 Crimewatch as well as 220 emails.

In a statement issued through their spokesman, Kate and Gerry McCann said: “We are absolutely delighted with the overwhelming public response to Crimewatch, which was broadcast last night.

“We know that the public desperately want to help the search for Madeleine.

“We are genuinely hopeful that one of more of these responses will lead to a major breakthrough in the investigation.”

They added: “If anyone was in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s abduction and has not spoken to the Metropolitan Police, or if they know who any of the e-fits might be, please have the courage to come forward and speak to the police in confidence.”

DCI Redwood added: “Detectives are now trawling through and prioritising that material. This will take time.”

Mr Redwood, who travelled to Holland yesterday to continue the appeal, said: “I will be repeating similar appeals in Holland this evening and in Germany tomorrow night.”

A reward of up to £20,000 is being offered for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of those responsible for Madeleine’s abduction, he said.

There are 40 people answering calls at any time, and officers waiting to “action the information”.

Crimewatch editor Joe Mather said the response to the programme was “truly unprecedented”.

He said: “They received several names for the key 10pm sighting, the sighting of a man carrying a child towards the beach.

“Several different names but also several callers mentioned the same name for that man.”

Mr Mather said there were “inevitably a fair few calls” which were not helpful but there were “genuinely calls that were helpful” after last night’s broadcast.

During last night’s programme, Mr and Mrs McCann urged people to “rack their brains” and come forward with information.

Kate said: “Please, please have the courage and confidence to come forward now, and share that information with us, and you could unlock this whole case, so please.”

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-key-witness-accuses-2433328#ixzz2hq1tSfSq
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

Ex-Portuguese detective attemps to smear Maddie McCann's father again

THE ex-Portuguese detective who accused the McCanns of covering up their daughter’s death tried to smear them again yesterday.

Published 16th October 2013

Goncalo Amaral, 56, who was sacked from the case, said Scotland Yard’s new chief suspect “may be Gerry McCann”.

He added that Martin Smith, who saw the suspect and a child, was “80% sure” the man was Gerry.

The McCanns are suing Amaral for £1million over his book about the case.

Colette Croft ‏@collywobbles54 4m
one rag saying GA smeared #McCann again last night by mentioning Smith's thoughts re man he saw. NO HE DID NOT.EVERYONE LISTENING KNOWS THAT

I have always thought that 100 was very low for the average IQ, but looking at the trolls here I can see what a massive drag factor they have on the population as a whole. In real life I would never , ever come into close contact with people like this (yes its snobby, but its true), and if I did see people like this I would shuffle away from them quick smart, stick my head in a book and pretend not to see them. But the mccann trolls have real opened my eyes to a whole other segment of the population. Its scary, to them they are normal everyone is like them, they are going around, having children etc and not receiving any help for their mental health issues.

Reginald D Linkin-Park Warren your status says: "Over 700 calls out of the 1,000 received were from people asking the parents to be charged". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24530186 states that there were 730 calls (the rest were emails) which leaves just 30 phone calls not attacking the McCanns. That's quite a claim if you can't provide evidence... "My friend actually works at Ch$ mate will see if i can get a copy of the e mail doing the rounds,with blocked out names of course". When can you upload the photo of the email (with names blurred)? Surely you have access to it already if it's "doing the rounds" and you're quoting it?

Kirsten Fullerton ‏@Carlgd99 3m
#Most pro #McCnn have few followers, they don't want this controversy spreading on social media. #McCann

Madeleine McCann: 150 Calls After Dutch Appeal
Police are investigating dozens of calls from members of the public following a television appeal for new information.
1:11pm UK, Wednesday 16 October 2013
Madeleine McCann missing

Police want to talk to a man matching this photo-fit provided by witnesess

Police say they received 150 phone calls from the public after an appeal about Madeleine McCann was aired on Dutch television.

Officers at Scotland Yard say they received the calls after the appeal was broadcast on the Netherlands crime programme, Opsporing Verzocht on Tuesday evening.

Following a similar appeal on Norway's TV2 channel on Monday, a Norwegian woman has claimed to have seen a girl resembling Madeleine with a strange man when she was on holiday in Spain two years ago.
Gerry and Kate McCann interviewed in BBC Crimewatch. Gerry and Kate McCann made a fresh appeal for witnesses on BBC's Crimewatch

The woman contacted former police superintendent Finn Abrahamsen with the tip-off after the ex-policeman appeared on the channel to discuss a new suspect in the case.

Mr Abrahamsen told the programme: "There was a lady who had been on holiday in Spain for a year and a half or two years ago.

"She was at a shopping mall and believed she observed the missing girl with an older man. She's pretty sure this could be Madeleine McCann.

"It is a huge challenge and we should not have too high expectations, but we can't give up until we've tried everything. We have already seen that it flows in tips from throughout Europe, and it becomes even more focused on Germany and Holland.

"We can hope that more people will react to some of the important tips that has come. For example, the observations of a man who has been carrying away a child. If more tips with similar observations comes in, it can be very interesting."

Mr Abrahamsen urged anyone with information to contact their local police who would liaise with their British counterparts.

"For Norwegian citizens who believe they have observed something interesting, they should contact the police. The police in Norway then contact the British police, who has the charge for the case.

"We have a good contact with British police, this good contact has last over the years. It is easy for the police in Norway to pass on tips. So contact the Norwegian police, and ask them to pass it on."

Jerry Lawton ‏@JerryLawton 3h
Police probe new sighting of Madeleine #McCann in Spain following broadcast of new Crimewatch appeal Europe-wide

Sykes wrote:

Jerry Lawton ‏@JerryLawton 3h
Police probe new sighting of Madeleine #McCann in Spain following broadcast of new Crimewatch appeal Europe-wide

Keeley Gazzard I think they paid some1 to kill her but that person couldn't do it so he took her instead I know it sounds horrible but what I've been reading on here tonight I hope she is still alive somewhere with good people who love her n give her the life she deserves cos lets face it what life would she of had with them 2 as her parents

   Mike Spudgun ‏@spudgun01 2h
   Number of notable Journalists that I have spoken to this week who feel the MET is playing a reeling in game with the #McCanns is heartening

Comment:  That gorilla-cuddling zoophile, Sensei Mike Hardy (or should that be Senseless?) who plays at being a photographer and pretends he knows people from the journalist trade once fantasised that he knew who I was before posting disgusting obscenities online. He pretended to the rest of the morons that he had outed me. Of course he was lying. He had apparently phoned a few places in his obsessive need to know who I was and been told I didn't work at the places where his lack of logic had determined I did work. Therefore using standard Hater thought procedures he surmised that he had the facts and lied about knowing who I am. His online activities are a complete disgrace for someone who professes to be responsible for the education (albeit in Martial Arts) of others.

   PAT BROWN ‏@ProfilerPatB 3h
   @captain_clegg_1 I really do hope so. I haven't seen a police department go to such lengths to trap someone, but it's possible. #McCann

Comment: Fake Profiler, Pat Brown has never seen the inside of a police department on a professional basis. The only times she has ever been near one was to beg them to let her practise her fake profiling skills so that she could put her "pro bono" (read that as "completely free and completely ignored) credits on her CV. She has never in all the years she has been tweeting been able to mention a single case on which she worked as a professional.

What she knows about profiling can be summed up in one short phrase, "diddly squat". And what she knows about UK policing can be summed up even more succinctly, "jack sh*t".

 Re: CRIMEWATCH
Post kitti Today

Now this is gonna be a gut buster for them... Why would any man in a Mediterranean holiday resort be wearing swimming shorts? what a joke!!!

Gail Maxwell
This seems really silly, but what I can't get over is Gerry takin a fridge to the dump??? I mean he was on holiday, if it was broken why not report it to the reception! And how the hell did he know where the local rubbish tip in Portugal was, it's the last thing you look for on ure holidays!