Active Search for Evidence taking Place Around Portugese Resort

[carbuff]

What struck me about their ID was that they said that the reason they thought the man was Gerry was by the way that he walked as he carried a child. To me, body language and "carriage" are much better in terms of identifying someone than their vague appearance in the dark. Gerry looks like a lot of men from the British Isles - he is 5'10", 170 pounds, brown hair, medium build, etc. But the way a person walks and carries himself is much more unique.

That's a good point. There are three different men in our neighborhood who could be mistaken for GM facially, and by overall size and build, but they all walk differently.

Eyewitness identifications are always iffy, though. Hundreds of cases where a witness was convinced a certain person committed the crime have been overturned by later DNA evidence.

 

[Linda7NJ]

That's a good point. There are three different men in our neighborhood who could be mistaken for GM facially, and by overall size and build, but they all walk differently.



Eyewitness identifications are always iffy, though. Hundreds of cases where a witness was convinced a certain person committed the crime have been overturned by later DNA evidence.

Agree

Some people are exceptionally gifted that way. My son is one of them. He can describe someone he saw right down to the shoes...height, weight, facial construction, clothing ...we were robbed once on vacation & he gave law enforcement a description. They caught the guy in about 25 minutes and remarked how detailed his description was.
Me? All I remembered was the color of his beady shifty eyes.



He certainly didn't get it from me!


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[ScarlettScarpetta]

Does McCann have a really unique walk?

I don't know.. But I do know that eye witness identification is very flawed and often not reliable.

 

[Linda7NJ]

I don't know.. But I do know that eye witness identification is very flawed and often not reliable.

I'm terrible at it.


Only way I'm even decent is if the person looks very similar to someone I actually know.


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[sistersleuth]

Not exactly a positive ID.

Eyewitness accounts are notoriously flawed

 

[Fireweed]

Though I agree that eyewitness accounts can be flawed, they can also lead the capture of a killer, and have in many, many cases. I would never discount them outright. What always made Mr. Smith much more credible to me is that (assuming he is telling the truth) he himself was instantly hit with a feeling of recognition when he saw Gerry carry the child down the stairs. Now I know people say well "everyone carries a child the same way" but that is not entirely true. There are small details in the way a person walks and positions their arms and hands that someone else might subconsciously pick up on.

And really thought not everyone carries a child the same way. I have noticed for instance, that men will carry a 3-4 year old child with one arm, whereas women may do so with two arms.

 

[carbuff]

Though I agree that eyewitness accounts can be flawed, they can also lead the capture of a killer, and have in many, many cases. I would never discount them outright. What always made Mr. Smith much more credible to me is that (assuming he is telling the truth) he himself was instantly hit with a feeling of recognition when he saw Gerry carry the child down the stairs. Now I know people say well "everyone carries a child the same way" but that is not entirely true. There are small details in the way a person walks and positions their arms and hands that someone else might subconsciously pick up on.

And really thought not everyone carries a child the same way. I have noticed for instance, that men will carry a 3-4 year old child with one arm, whereas women may do so with two arms.

Yes, and men tend to carry a child that size up against their chest or shoulder, while a woman usually tries to get some of the weight onto her hips. Not always, of course, but it seems to tend that direction.

And yes, eyewitness accounts can be right and are often helpful. I don't discount this sighting and identification at all. It seems pretty clear Mr. Smith saw something important.

 

[ThoughtFox]

Wow - searching the sewers! This is amazing! They really must have gotten some new information.

I know that people wonder why this type of search didn't happen back in the day, but let's not forget the pressure the Portuguese authorities were under from the British government.

[modsnip]

No doubt the original investigation was run on a shoestring and not the way Americans would have run it, but in America the McCanns would have been arrested for child endangerment just for leaving their babies alone for hours in a hotel room. Even today on Twitter I saw someone talking about leaving their kids alone in Portugal and taking a baby monitor with them to a restaurant, so things haven't changed much at all.

 

[Supernovae]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...in-digging-Portuguese-resort-disappeared.html

The search site...

Snipped for the pictures. Clearly this isn't one of the sites that was mooted before. The distinctive shape of the original "search site one" makes it all relatively easy to orient.

Image taken from "The McCann Files." The latest search site appears to be along a long stretch of road that intersects with the road that Smithman was seen on. This road, in the other direction leads to the church, the area around which, was one of the other mooted search sites (the main artery roads in the village seem to form an arrow pointing to this area).

 

[SapphireSteel]

[modsnip]

***For the record, I believe the sewer searches at the OC means someone is talking.

One of the Tapas crew has blabbed.

:moo:

 

[Linda7NJ]

[modsnip]

***For the record, I believe the sewer searches at the OC means someone is talking.

One of the Tapas crew has blabbed.

:moo:

I agree..someone talked


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[IHAVENOCLUE]

They thought the M's disposed of her very early in the investigation, that place should have Been search throughly. This just makes the PJ look more incompetent if that's possible.

I think Anthony Woodward confessed in March and its taken this long to follow up because of Portugel laws. I can't find a pic. of him online. But he was a child rapist, and in the area. I think he called his employees for help and that's how he was busted. I think the M's know all of this and are laying low because of the media circus that will no doubt erupt. Moo

I have not been following this case closely...

Is Anthony Woodward a viable suspect?

could he hal plead LE to Madeleine?

TIA...:seeya:

 

[chlban]

[modsnip]

***For the record, I believe the sewer searches at the OC means someone is talking.

One of the Tapas crew has blabbed.

:moo:

I have never beleived any of the Tapas crew was in on it. I must have really superficial friendships, but I cannot imagine covering for a friend that I thought was responsible for the death of their child. Even if it was an accident, the best I could do was offer to support the fact that I beleived it was an accident (assuming I did believe it) but otherwise? Sorry, no friends I am that close to.

 

[carbuff]

CB............THANK YOU< THANK YOU< THANK YOU!!! As I stated before, it will depend on the science. I have been hanging in the IUD forum too much!! :loveyou:

Me too....

 

[ThoughtFox]

This new article has a video with a good view of that hole they were inspecting yesterday. It looks quite deep.

http://news.sky.com/story/1275873/sniffer-dogs-resume-madeleine-mccann-search



Also they've announced that the search won't stop on Friday, but will continue next week in the same area:

Officers had planned to search the area only until Friday but have asked authorities in Portugal for an extra week.

They have been using ground-penetrating radar to discover what lies beneath the surface and have also searched drains close to the Ocean Club resort.

Tents have been put up at several locations, including one above a hole concealed by corrugated iron which was exposed on Tuesday when trees and shrubs were cut down.

Forensics officers dressed in white overalls were seen coming and going from the tents, pushing wheelbarrows around the site and using large sieves to sift through soil for clues.

 

[ThoughtFox]

Reporter for The Guardian UK:

Josh Halliday &#8207;@JoshHalliday 50m
Madeleine McCann search: two police sniffer dogs who searched for April Jones returned this morn to Praia da Luz scrubland

BBC Reporter:

Duncan Crawford &#8207;@_DuncanC 36s
Day 4 of Madeleine #McCann search. Police continue to look through scrubland in Praia da Luz.

 

[ThoughtFox]

Sky News Reporter:

Michelle Clifford &#8207;@skynewsmichelle 48s
Police again seem to be marking out search areas within scrubland in Praia Da Luz. #mccann

Michelle Clifford @skynewsmichelle · 17m
Portugese papers carry picture of police looking at sewer pipe on land that has been searched for last few days #mccann

Hmm - are they calling the hole on the scrubland a "sewer pipe"? Maybe it was for rain drainage of some kind.

 

[ThoughtFox]

Josh Halliday @JoshHalliday · 52m
DCI Andy Redwood, the officer leading the Madeleine McCann search, has arrived. Said "bom dia" to local cops but no word to media :-(

Josh Halliday @JoshHalliday · 1m
DCI Redwood just visited a third site where five officers are clearing undergrowth using pickaxe, shovels and rakes

Josh Halliday @JoshHalliday · 57s
This is separate to two key sites where Madeleine McCann police have been focusing work in past four days

 

[jay-jay]

They will probably put it up online at some point tomorrow .. I'll have a look out for it (want to watch it myself, but have already missed half of it), so I will post a link here if I can find it/remember to do so!

I remembered .. just! Here is the programme from last night http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-man-who-conned-the-mccanns/episodes/the-man-who-conned-the-mccanns (I've not got round to watching it myself yet)

 

[ThoughtFox]

Reporter from the Daily Mirror:

Tony Stewart &#8207;@TellyTone
Forensic team prepare to go back into the tents covering the pit
#praiadaluz #mccann. pic.twitter.com/kcN6W26Gol