By Duarte Levy with H.C. and P.R.
At what time did Madeleine disappear?
After nearly 18 months have passed since Madeleine McCann's disappearance, it seems that still no one knows exactly at what time the little British girl disappeared or even left the Ocean Club crèche and the police have to content themselves with several witness statements, often vague and clashing, but also with pages of the register of the children's arrivals and departures, a document maintained by the "nannies" employed by Mark Warner, often young people without any previous reference, except for the fact that they are British.
Catriona Baker, the "nanny" responsible for Maddie, was questioned several times by the Portuguese and British authorities, but, by coincidence, she was the only one not to have gone out with her coleagues on the night of the little girl's disappearance. She participated in the search on the night of the disappearance, but - still according to her statements - she never saw Kate of Gerry McCann while she was looking for Maddie.
Re-interviewed at the request of the Portiguese authorities in April 2008, and after having consulted her previous statements - which the British police gave her to refresh her memory - the "nanny" explains that the normal procedure adopted by Mark Warner was for parents to sign the attendance log when the children arrived and left. "The log includes space for the name of the child, the time and the parents' signature," Catriona Baker stresses.
According to a preliminary report prepared by experts, several documents contained in the investigation's records merit further detailed analysis, amongst them the pages of the Kids Club's register where, to give an example, there is the signature of a "nanny" in the space provided for that of parents. According to this report, a handwriting expert would even be necessary.
(Images of pages from the attendance register can be found on the SOS Madeleine McCann web site)
