Sunday Express: "Madeleine Exclusive: All Three Children Drugged."

Sunday Express 11/10/09

Now, reading that headline, you'd think that some kind of official report had reached this conclusion. Not so. This is the latest theory put forward by the McCanns' private investigators, Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley. Last I heard the intrepid two were investigating the "lawless villages," around Praia da Luz where the "lone prowler," was reckoned to be hanging out with Madeleine in a, "secret lair."

According to today's Sunday Express, the tireless twosome, who didn't actually check out the Barcelona sighting of the Victoria Beckham looky-likey before they announced their breakthrough to the world, are working on a new theory. I guess they could eventually come up with some kind of contorted version that might explain the evidence or lack of evidence of an abduction.

By James Murray

" The kidnapper of Madeleine McCann drugged her and her twin brother and sister so they would all be quiet while she was snatched.

A duplicate key may also have been used to gain entrance to the holiday apartment where the children were sleeping, say investigators."

Yes, this looks like some kind of official report and some people are going to think that investigators means police rather than a couple of PIs sitting in a house in Knutsford, Cheshire.

How to make the theory fit the established facts. There was no evidence of a break-in. So, a duplicate key must have been used.

"It means the monster is still a threat to children living or holidaying on Portugal’s Algarve and must be caught urgently as he is highly likely to reoffend."

Urgently? It's been two years and five months already!

"They are convinced the ­abductor went to the family’s apartment on May 3 2007 fully prepared with sufficient drugs, probably ­chloroform, to knock out all three children.

The fact that Sean and Amelie, then just 18 months old, failed to wake when the alarm was raised, nor even as they were taken to another apartment in the cold night air, has persuaded the detectives that they, too, must have been drugged."

Probably chloroform? Style gurus Trinny and Susannah were drugged with chloroform in their apartment in Cannes while on an assignment. As reported by the Daily Mail:

"Another friend of Miss Constantine, who is married to Danish businessman Sten Bertelsen, said of the attack: 'They woke up one morning and their hands felt sticky, there was a funny smell in the room and they both felt hungover."

The following morning in that case, there was a funny smell and the women felt hungover, yet just immediately after Madeleine's disappearance, neither the police nor any witness who entered the McCanns' holiday apartment, mentioned a funny smell. Also, the twins were fit to be placed in the creche the following day as usual.

We do have what might be an indication of the twins having been drugged in Fiona Payne's statement to the police about the evening of May 3rd:

"Asked if the twins had not woken up at all, Fiona said no, adding that Kate kept on going to the twins, placing her hands on them to check if they were still breathing, because she seemed to be much more interested in making sure they were alright."

So, why would Kate be so concerned about whether the twins were still breathing? Looks like even then she was worried about the effect of something, perhaps drugs. However, if someone, especially a qualified doctor were to suspect that a stranger might have drugged her children, wouldn't she be likely to keep those children under surveillance for a while and to request testing? Kate McCann did neither.

"Had the twins been tested for drugs immediately, any ­medication used could have been established, making it easier to identify the kidnapper, but vital time was lost."

Dave, I think you'll find that the McCanns refused to have the twins tested. So, vital time was lost by whom? You make it sound like the police were responsible for this lost time by making this vague statement. And if the twins had been tested and the presence of drugs to make them sleep had been found, how useful would that have been? There would still be no witnesses other than Jane Tanner. There would still be no vehicle sighting. So, what might it have revealed? For me, all it would have revealed would have been the nature of the drug, which may, yes, have led to some serious questions being asked at the time.

"Even now, however, experts say there may be forensic clues on clothing or bedding which could yield a breakthrough."

Experts? Another vague statement. What experts? And if those forensic clues are still there on clothing and bedding two years and five months later, wouldn't there have been a significant smell of chloroform at the time? Yet, no one mentioned it.

"The Sunday Express can further reveal that the McCanns’ private detectives are working on a solid theory about exactly how Madeleine was abducted."

Wowee! The Sunday Express can reveal!! What the pretendy cops are thinking now is a revelation? They think that the abductor had done a "dummy run," the night before, and decided to come back with suitable drugs because Sean woke up and woke Madeleine. Well, that's another part of the story explained. I think we're heading for something like the elusive "Theory of everything," in physics.

"Mr Edgar and Mr Cowley do not believe Madeleine was taken through an open window as it would have been awkward, time consuming and there were no forensic clues left behind."

Right! So, why did this abductor open the window? He tried the window, even though he had a duplicate key, but found it too awkward? And why did Kate and Gerry tell all the friends and relies that the shutters had been jemmied and the window left open? What about that cold draft Kate felt as she opened the door and observed those fluttering curtains? I guess you'll come up with an additional element to your theory to cover that! Just to pre-empt the obvious one, Dave, if the window had been opened to disperse the smell of chloroform, then since the breeze was blowing into the apartment, and was strong enough to blow the door closed, it would have been dispersing the smell through the rest of the apartment and surely Kate would have detected it as she approached the bedroom door? Did she mention this? Nope!

OK, Dave, does the Smith sighting of a man who looked like Gerry McCann come into your, "solid theory"? No one seems to have come forward to say it was him carrying a child. So, will your theory of everything include an explanation? I can hardly wait.