While it's gone quiet in the press and there seems to be nothing new coming out of Portugal about the Madeleine investigation, apart from news that the rogatory letters have not left Lisbon, I thought I'd have a look back at some interesting news items from earlier in the case. While searching I found an article in SOS Madeleine about the alleged corpse odour on Kate McCann's clothes and how she came up with an explanation. (More about that article later!) So what about those dogs? From Breaking News archives, news about the dogs being flown in to help.
Breaking News archives August 9th, 2007
"A pair of elite police sniffer dogs attached to an English police force has been helping Portuguese police in their hunt for missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann, it has emerged.
The specially-trained English springer spaniels Eddie and Keela were reportedly flown to Praia da Luz in the Algarve last week to take part in the investigation."
Eddie and Keela, those amazing sniffer dogs, trained by South Yorkshire Police were brought into the investigation of Madeleine McCann's disappearance at the beginning of August, 2007. Keela is specially trained to detect traces of blood which are not visible to the human eye, even after items have been washed repeatedly in biological washing powder. She is reported to have found traces of blood in the McCanns' holiday apartment and in the Renault Scenic, rented by the McCanns 25 days after Madeleine disappeared. Eddie is a, "Victim recovery dog," described in the press as a, "cadaver dog," who is trained to detect a specific odour which is given off by a corpse about two hours after death. Eddie is said to have detected the corpse odour in the McCanns' holiday apartment and in the Renault Scenic.
So, how did Kate respond? "Oh my God, how did that get there, if this is true?" Or maybe, "I do not beleive that my daughter is dead and no one who drove that vehicle would have harmed her." Or, when told about the odour on her clothes? "I work one and a half days a week as a GP. How could a death odour get on my clothes?" No, Kate didn't say any of those things. A one and a half days a week GP came across several corpses, six I think, just before going on holiday.
SOS Maddie 7th September, 2007
"Kate McCann justifie l’odeur de cadavre dans ses vêtements
Kate McCann justifie l’odeur de cadavre, détecté par les chiens pisteurs britanniques, dans une paire de jeans, son t-shirt et dans la peluche de Madeleine, affirmant que, comme médecin, elle était présente au moment de plusieurs décès avant son départ en vacances vers le Portugal."
Kate McCann justifies the corpse odour on her clothes.
Kate McCann justifies the corpse odour, detected by the British sniffer dogs on a pair of jeans, her T shirt and on Madeleine's stuffed toy, stating that as a doctor, she was present at the moment of several deaths before her holiday departure to Portugal."La maman de Maddie, travaille deux jours par semaine à Leicester, ou elle aurait – comme l’a affirmé aux enquêteurs de la Police Judiciaire – été présent au moment de la mort de six personnes, jusqu’avant ses vacances. La peluche de Madeleine, affirme Kate McCann, aurais été avec elle, à plusieurs occasions, dans son local de travail (à suivre)
Maddie's mother works two days a week in Leicester, where she had--as she stated to the PJ investigators, been present at the moment of death of six people, just before her holiday. Kate McCann stated that Madeleine's stuffed toy had been with her on lots of occasion at her place of work. (More to follow)
"Un procureur discret
José de Magalhães e Meneses, c’est le Procureur du Ministère Publique qui a la charge de l’enquête à la disparition de Madeleine McCann. Agé de 50 ans il est considéré comme très compétent, pondère et discret."
A discreet prosecutor
José de Magalhães e Meneses is the prosecutor of the Ministère Publique, who is in charge of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Aged 50, he is considered to be very competant, a deep thinker and discreet.
There was a thread in the now vanished Daily Mirror forum, "The hunt for Maddy," which had the title, "April carnage in Rothley...." The discussion on that thread was stimulated by the quote from a retired (I think!) GP who was quoted as saying that in his full-time practice he never came across that number of corpses in a short period of time. So, why all those dead people for Kate McCann, a part-timer, working one and a half days a week as a locum GP? It was suggested by a couple of Daily Mirror posters that surely the regular partners in the GP practice would attend to certify the deaths of patients. Or, since the above quoted article states that Kate was present at the moment of death, maybe she was just very unlucky that they all died just as she was visiting. That doesn't, though, explain the corpse odour, as the odour detected by Eddie is given off only after a couple of hours following death. So, if Kate was present at the moment of death, why would she be hanging about for a couple of hours afterwards, and carrying her daughter's favourite toy, Cuddle Cat, while she was in proximity to the corpses?
Let me get this straight. According to the report in SOS Madeleine, Kate stated that she had been present at the moment of death of six people just before going on holiday, and that she often took Cuddle Cat to work with her. So, each time, she was there for at least two hours after that moment of death and Cuddle Cat was on or about her person while she was near the corpse. Did Kate wear jeans to work as a GP? Was Cuddle Cat stuffed into the pocket of her jeans or being carried? A doctor attending the death of a family member wearing jeans and toting a stuffed toy? I think I'd make a complaint!
