GUILTY PORTUGAL - Valentina Fonseca, 9, found deceased, Peniche, 7 May 2020 *father, stepmother arrested*

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There’s no reason to believe that just because she was last seen at 1:30am she went missing/walkabouts at night, especially if she was scared of the dark.

In all probability, if she did a runner then she did so at daybreak, before the adults were up and about. It’s Spring now in Portugal and the sun was up in Peniche at 6:30am that morning, a fine, calm and mild day according to weather logs. So not particularly challenging conditions for an unhappy 9yo to attempt a runaway for a second time. Let’s hope she is holed up safely nearby.
 
GNR will continue to search overnight to find the 9-year-old child, who has disappeared in the municipality of Peniche since Thursday morning, an official source from the Leiria Territorial Command said today.

So far, "there has been no evidence" of the child's whereabouts, the same source said.

The last quote sounds, to me, like "we can't find a trace of the child". They have been using dogs all day. The quote in portuguese makes me believe it even more, that they can't find her scent... which is not good.

GNR em buscas ininterruptas para encontrar menina desaparecida em Peniche / GNR in uninterrupted searches to find missing girl in Peniche
 
It seems to me that she must’ve been afraid of being at her dads house when she ran away before and was crying for her mother.
Playing devil's advocate here, but she could just be a sensitive kid that got really homesick. I was like that, I couldn't even sleep over at my aunt's without becoming hysterical at night until I was well into my teens. I can't remember how many sleepovers at friends I failed where they had to call my mom to come get me at night. MOO.
 
I have a bad feeling about it as well. Due to the details of being tucked in. That narrows the time of possible abduction considerably also weird to have that much detail........tucked in, door unlocked, sleep walking, took her jacket, afraid of the dark. etc etc.

I am only just reading this thread now so please forgive me if this has been covered further down,but reading this synopsis made me think immediately of the Alesha Macphail case in Scotland,it almost sounds like someone is repeating the things they heard reported on this case and is using them as a cover story.
Alesha was last seen in her bed with a very specific description, her grandmother forget to lock the door that night and there were reports that Alesha was a sleepwalker( I dont think she was).
Obviously we know Alesha was taken from her bed and murdered but the story I have just read here seems suspiciously the same. MOO
 
How likely would it be that they didn't have a phone to call police? Or was the station very close?
Regarding the phone, I would have to say that it's very unlikely that there was not a phone in that home. Pretty much everyone in Portugal have a phone, and if they don't have a phone, they have a land line. I'm assuming they went to the closeste station, and that would be 10 minutes by car. I can understand them panicking and just going directly there instead of calling, but I believe it would make more sense to call and be like "my daughter is missing, can you please come and take a look at my home and surrounding areas?". She went missing from that house so, the search had to start at the house (which it did). I guess I wouldn't go, specially because of this COVID-19 situation and having a very new baby at home.
 
Endless pain: The missing girl's mother in Peniche is desperate without any news. The police has no evidence regarding the child's whereabouts

Valentina, the girl who disappeared from her father's house on thursday, is still missing.
The locals joined the search to find the 9-year-old girl who has been missing since the early hours of thursday.
LE continues to search with drones and dogs on the ground. So far, "there has been no evidence" of the child's whereabouts.
On Facebook, Valentina's mother wrote an emotional message. "My love, where are you my princess? My God, bring my girl back to me. My angel, please come back to us," said Sónia Fonseca.
 
Children's clothes found in wasteland in Peniche during searches for girl

LE continues the search efforts to find the 9-year-old child who has disappeared in Peniche on thursday morning, an official source from the Leiria Territorial Command said today. The locals joined the authorities today, May 9, to help look for Valentina.
This saturday, a man who was horseback riding and helping search for the missing child, found childen's clothes - a blue jacket and a yellow t-shirt - in a field 500 meters away from her father's house. The authorities went to the area where the clothes were found immediately, collected it and are investigating wether it belongs to Valentina or not.

img_900x509$2020_05_09_16_26_26_941684.jpg

img_900x509$2020_05_09_16_27_37_941685.jpg
 
Children's clothes found in wasteland in Peniche during searches for girl

LE continues the search efforts to find the 9-year-old child who has disappeared in Peniche on thursday morning, an official source from the Leiria Territorial Command said today. The locals joined the authorities today, May 9, to help look for Valentina.
This saturday, a man who was horseback riding and helping search for the missing child, found childen's clothes - a blue jacket and a yellow t-shirt - in a field 500 meters away from her father's house. The authorities went to the area where the clothes were found immediately, collected it and are investigating wether it belongs to Valentina or not.

img_900x509$2020_05_09_16_26_26_941684.jpg

img_900x509$2020_05_09_16_27_37_941685.jpg


oh dear. not good. not good at all.

(and thank you @Lusitana for all the updates. i searched for more info about this yesterday but didn't find too much).
 
The man that found the clothing items talked to the media. I tried my best to translate everything. You can watch the video anyways to get a feel for it. I is for interviewer and M is for the man. I bolded what I thought are the most relevant bits of information. Hope this helps.

The testimony of the man who found children's clothing 500 meters away from the missing girl's house

I: What did you bring?
M: It's a jacket, it looks like it's a lady's jacket, it has those little strings, those strings to tie. Blue. A child's t-shirt.
I: What is the color of the t-shirt?
M: The t-shirt is yellow, with some little letters, with some small letters. But it is a child's t-shirt.
I: Is it a child's jacket?
H: No, it's a women's jacket.
I: And where did you find it?
M: About 500 meters away... more than 500 meters, on those lands, here up North.
I: On the way to...?
M: It's a path that goes through the North here in town, around the driving school. In fact, around the treatment plant.

I: Tell me again, please.
M: It is a yellow children's shirt. And a jacket like this, with two strings, one string on each side...
I: It's a knit jacket, isn't it?
M: Uh... yes, something like that, yes. With two strings, one on each side, I believe it's to tie in the front, like this. I believe it's a women's jacket. I was surprised to find it there.

I: Was it about 500 meters away from here [the father's house]?
M: More than 500 meters away.
I: But did you find it on a field, on an agricultural land?
M: No, it is not an agricultural land. It is not an agricultural land. It's a waste land.

I: What is your name?
M: Gentil.
I: So it wasn't on anybody's property?
M: No, no, that's why it caught my attention. I already passed that area yesterday. But today I just thought that I should go further. So I went a little further into that land... and, since I was horseback ridding, and he can walk through the brambles and stuff...

I: I'm just going to ask you to go back and recap what you found and turned in to LE.
M: So, I went on a walk around those lands further away... where people don't normally go. A hilly terrain. And I found a yellow kid's t-shirt on the ground. And, 5 meters away, a lady's jacket. I think it's a lady's jacket. What caught my attention was the fact that the clothes were not dirty, those clothes had to be left there recently.
I: And because of that, immediately think of coming here and bringing into to LE?
M: Well, it could be important.
I: What did LE ask you about?
M: He didn't ask me anything, he just asked me for my identification and asked what was it. And I told him.
I: So, Mr. Gentil you found a blue jacket and a yellow children's t-shirt, and adult sized jacket.
M: Yes. I think the jacket was more of an adult size.
I: Right. On a waste land.
M: On a waste land that nobody really goes to.
I: Where nobody goes to, about 500 meters away from here. It caught your attention, because it could possibly be related to the disappearance of this little girl.
M: I don't know... Everything is possible.
I: And have you been helping with the searches?
M: Yes. I helped yesterday, I was checking all around town all afternoon yesterday. And I've been helping again today. And today I just thought that I should probably check further down that waste land... there, around the water treatment plant. And it caught my attention because I noticed that the clothes were clean.
I: So you picked it up and brought it here to see if LE wanted to check if may have anything to do with the case?
M: Yes. It may not even have anything to do it, it can be nothing. But I found it there, it caught my attention because of where it was placed. And because the clothes were clean. I think the clothes had to be left there recently. I don't know if this can help

I: Let's see, thank you very much.
 
Yes, thank you so much @Lusitana for keeping Valentina’s thread so thoroughly updated, you are a great sleuth!
I wonder when we will find out if those clothes are hers, you’d think it would be a quick tell from her poor mother, can’t imagine what she’s feeling. If they are hers, I hope they decided to put them in evidence bags right away :(
Let’s hope they’re not and that we find out soon!
Sending strength and love to Valentina and her agonizing family
 
Children's clothes found in wasteland in Peniche during searches for girl

LE continues the search efforts to find the 9-year-old child who has disappeared in Peniche on thursday morning, an official source from the Leiria Territorial Command said today. The locals joined the authorities today, May 9, to help look for Valentina.
This saturday, a man who was horseback riding and helping search for the missing child, found childen's clothes - a blue jacket and a yellow t-shirt - in a field 500 meters away from her father's house. The authorities went to the area where the clothes were found immediately, collected it and are investigating wether it belongs to Valentina or not.

img_900x509$2020_05_09_16_26_26_941684.jpg

img_900x509$2020_05_09_16_27_37_941685.jpg

Is it my imagination, or are the items not bagged? Isn’t this how evidence can be argued to be contaminated?
 
Is it my imagination, or are the items not bagged? Isn’t this how evidence can be argued to be contaminated?
That picture is from the moment the clothes were handed from the person who found them to the LE memember. I have no doubts that these clothes were bagged right away. I believe the parents were able to confirm if they belong to the child.
 
Good news and bad news. The yellow t-shirt and the blue jacket were not Valentina's.
The jacket and the t-shirt were shown to the girl's parents who did not recognize it as being Valentina's, so the authoritiesy ruled out these clothing items as a clue.
Early in the evening, another jacket was found. LE is trying to understand if, in this case, there is a connection with the missing girl.
Encontrada nova peça de roupa durante buscas por Valentina. GNR tenta perceber se há ligação com menina desaparecida / New clothing item found while searching for Valentina. LE tries to understand if there is a connection with the missing girl
 
"Another day coming to an end, more hours that seem to have no end... My love, my angel, my life where are you? Oh my God, bring my daughter back into my arms... Please , we are desperate. Come back to us, please".
Another desperate Facebook post from Valentina's mother. It has been reported that Valentina's mother and other family members have been at the father's house, yesterday and today to be close to the searches. I am a little surprised that neither parent has spoken to the press. I guess LE would have them talk if they thought she might be out there, but I don't know... Maybe they don't think it's such a good idea to put them in front of the cameras right now.

"Mais horas que parecem não ter fim": Mãe de menina desaparecida em Peniche desespera por notícias / "More hours that seem to have no end": Mother of missing girl in Peniche is desperate for news
 

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