Taxi driver's Madeleine McCann 'sighting' ignored

AnnaEsse wrote:

Chris wrote:It says much for the quality of newspaper reporting in this country that this story is being flaunted as another failure by the PJ to follow up matters and a significant new lead. Despite most papers reporting the story back in 2008 not one has questioned the change of date or the fact it ain't new.

That just amazes me. All those newspapers and not one recalling that they covered this 4 years ago. And what of Clarence? Has he forgotten what he said 4 years ago? Why are all the papers bringing this up again? It just does not make sense. Next we'll have the child seen in a Belgian town by a security guard outside a bank with CCTV images reproduced in all the main dailies!

Chris wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

Chris wrote:It says much for the quality of newspaper reporting in this country that this story is being flaunted as another failure by the PJ to follow up matters and a significant new lead. Despite most papers reporting the story back in 2008 not one has questioned the change of date or the fact it ain't new.

That just amazes me. All those newspapers and not one recalling that they covered this 4 years ago. And what of Clarence? Has he forgotten what he said 4 years ago? Why are all the papers bringing this up again? It just does not make sense. Next we'll have the child seen in a Belgian town by a security guard outside a bank with CCTV images reproduced in all the main dailies!

En route to Sweden?

AnnaEsse wrote:

wjk wrote:Confused here again!
Is it SY saying this is 'new evidence'? Or is it KM saying she read this whilst going through the files?

princess_leia wrote:I'm confused, not difficult like

Is the taxi driver saying he saw Madeleine in his taxi on the 3rd May or the 4th May? I'm seeing both dates being referred to.

Edit - I think I see now, the taxi driver is saying 3rd May at 8.10pm but Clarence Mitchell is saying 4th May?

Kate McCann, Robert Murat and Madeleine in the same taxi?

Ten months after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the taxi driver's story hit the international press. It has been reported widely in the UK press, but I don't think I have seen reports that the story had been investigated and rejected after verification. Here is an article from the Belgian site, Enfants Kidnappés, dated February 28th.

Ten months after the fact, a taxi driver from Vila Real de Santo Antonio, went public with his witness statement to the PJ. According to reports in the Portuguese press, the taxi driver made his statement to the PJ two days after Maddie's disappearance. "I don't have a lot to say, but what I have to say, I can state with certainty. On the 3rd of May at 8.10pm, the evening of Madeleine's disappearance, three men, a woman and a little girl entered my taxi. Sitting beside me was seated a man who resembled Robert Murat and whom I recognised later in the press. There was also a little girl in pink pyjamas with that distinctive mark in her eye and her mother, of that there is no doubt."
I noticed her because there was a nervous tic to her chin and my son had the same tic when he was small. I asked myself why they had not dressed the little girl instead of leaving her in pyjamas. She was awake but she was not talking. The other men were aged between 40 and 50 years. The mother, who looked amazingly like Kate McCann, was dressed in a yellow coat and had her hair in a pony tail. She asked me to drive them to the Apolo Hotel five kilometres from there in a village close to Faro. They asked me in English how much the fare would be and I told them just over three Euros. The man next to me, the one who resembled Robert Murat, gave me a 5 Euro note. They did not take themselves towards the hotel, but to a 4x4, a big dark coloured car, which looked to me like a BMW, with a foreign registration.

Mr Castela, the taxi driver, is used to remembering people's faces. He is 67 years old and has been doing his job for 17 years. Fixing faces in one's mind allows better identification of people. And if he is sure about the time in his story it is, he says, because, "I know they got into my taxi at that time because I usually watch the television news. I was thinking at that moment to return home. I took that fare and I returned home for 8.30pm where I could carry on watching the television news.

"He did not place any importance on his clients until two days later when the media took up the case, "Then I spoke to my son who is an officer with the GNR and he decided to put me in contact with the PJ. I told them exactly what I have just said and the inspector asked me if I knew if the hotel had surveillance cameras. I told him that in theory, yes. Out of curiosity, two days later, I returned to the hotel and asked them if the PJ had contacted them. They told me no. I tried to find out if they had surveillance cameras but they told me that they had been out of order for two years."

The PJ confirmed having been contacted by the taxi driver and his witness statement taken at the time. But these claims had been rejected after verification.

AnnaEsse wrote:

princess_leia wrote:I'm confused, not difficult like

Is the taxi driver saying he saw Madeleine in his taxi on the 3rd May or the 4th May? I'm seeing both dates being referred to.

Edit - I think I see now, the taxi driver is saying 3rd May at 8.10pm but Clarence Mitchell is saying 4th May?

I posted this on page 2 of this thread. It's a post from the blog "Enfants Kidnappés," dated Febrruary 28th 2008.

Kate McCann, Robert Murat and Madeleine in the same taxi?

Ten months after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the taxi driver's story hit the international press. It has been reported widely in the UK press, but I don't think I have seen reports that the story had been investigated and rejected after verification. Here is an article from the Belgian site, Enfants Kidnappés, dated February 28th.

Ten months after the fact, a taxi driver from Vila Real de Santo Antonio, went public with his witness statement to the PJ. According to reports in the Portuguese press, the taxi driver made his statement to the PJ two days after Maddie's disappearance. "I don't have a lot to say, but what I have to say, I can state with certainty. On the 3rd of May at 8.10pm, the evening of Madeleine's disappearance, three men, a woman and a little girl entered my taxi. Sitting beside me was seated a man who resembled Robert Murat and whom I recognised later in the press. There was also a little girl in pink pyjamas with that distinctive mark in her eye and her mother, of that there is no doubt."
I noticed her because there was a nervous tic to her chin and my son had the same tic when he was small. I asked myself why they had not dressed the little girl instead of leaving her in pyjamas. She was awake but she was not talking. The other men were aged between 40 and 50 years. The mother, who looked amazingly like Kate McCann, was dressed in a yellow coat and had her hair in a pony tail. She asked me to drive them to the Apolo Hotel five kilometres from there in a village close to Faro. They asked me in English how much the fare would be and I told them just over three Euros. The man next to me, the one who resembled Robert Murat, gave me a 5 Euro note. They did not take themselves towards the hotel, but to a 4x4, a big dark coloured car, which looked to me like a BMW, with a foreign registration.

Mr Castela, the taxi driver, is used to remembering people's faces. He is 67 years old and has been doing his job for 17 years. Fixing faces in one's mind allows better identification of people. And if he is sure about the time in his story it is, he says, because, "I know they got into my taxi at that time because I usually watch the television news. I was thinking at that moment to return home. I took that fare and I returned home for 8.30pm where I could carry on watching the television news.

"He did not place any importance on his clients until two days later when the media took up the case, "Then I spoke to my son who is an officer with the GNR and he decided to put me in contact with the PJ. I told them exactly what I have just said and the inspector asked me if I knew if the hotel had surveillance cameras. I told him that in theory, yes. Out of curiosity, two days later, I returned to the hotel and asked them if the PJ had contacted them. They told me no. I tried to find out if they had surveillance cameras but they told me that they had been out of order for two years."

The PJ confirmed having been contacted by the taxi driver and his witness statement taken at the time. But these claims had been rejected after verification.

princess_leia wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

princess_leia wrote:I'm confused, not difficult like

Is the taxi driver saying he saw Madeleine in his taxi on the 3rd May or the 4th May? I'm seeing both dates being referred to.

Edit - I think I see now, the taxi driver is saying 3rd May at 8.10pm but Clarence Mitchell is saying 4th May?

I posted this on page 2 of this thread. It's a post from the blog "Enfants Kidnappés," dated Febrruary 28th 2008.

Kate McCann, Robert Murat and Madeleine in the same taxi?

Ten months after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the taxi driver's story hit the international press. It has been reported widely in the UK press, but I don't think I have seen reports that the story had been investigated and rejected after verification. Here is an article from the Belgian site, Enfants Kidnappés, dated February 28th.

Ten months after the fact, a taxi driver from Vila Real de Santo Antonio, went public with his witness statement to the PJ. According to reports in the Portuguese press, the taxi driver made his statement to the PJ two days after Maddie's disappearance. "I don't have a lot to say, but what I have to say, I can state with certainty. On the 3rd of May at 8.10pm, the evening of Madeleine's disappearance, three men, a woman and a little girl entered my taxi. Sitting beside me was seated a man who resembled Robert Murat and whom I recognised later in the press. There was also a little girl in pink pyjamas with that distinctive mark in her eye and her mother, of that there is no doubt."
I noticed her because there was a nervous tic to her chin and my son had the same tic when he was small. I asked myself why they had not dressed the little girl instead of leaving her in pyjamas. She was awake but she was not talking. The other men were aged between 40 and 50 years. The mother, who looked amazingly like Kate McCann, was dressed in a yellow coat and had her hair in a pony tail. She asked me to drive them to the Apolo Hotel five kilometres from there in a village close to Faro. They asked me in English how much the fare would be and I told them just over three Euros. The man next to me, the one who resembled Robert Murat, gave me a 5 Euro note. They did not take themselves towards the hotel, but to a 4x4, a big dark coloured car, which looked to me like a BMW, with a foreign registration.

Mr Castela, the taxi driver, is used to remembering people's faces. He is 67 years old and has been doing his job for 17 years. Fixing faces in one's mind allows better identification of people. And if he is sure about the time in his story it is, he says, because, "I know they got into my taxi at that time because I usually watch the television news. I was thinking at that moment to return home. I took that fare and I returned home for 8.30pm where I could carry on watching the television news.

"He did not place any importance on his clients until two days later when the media took up the case, "Then I spoke to my son who is an officer with the GNR and he decided to put me in contact with the PJ. I told them exactly what I have just said and the inspector asked me if I knew if the hotel had surveillance cameras. I told him that in theory, yes. Out of curiosity, two days later, I returned to the hotel and asked them if the PJ had contacted them. They told me no. I tried to find out if they had surveillance cameras but they told me that they had been out of order for two years."

The PJ confirmed having been contacted by the taxi driver and his witness statement taken at the time. But these claims had been rejected after verification.

As you were posting your reply I was skimming over the last few pages and spotted it, thank you.

I vaguely remember the story and thought it was really strange at the time.

I have a few things going through my mind

How would this taxi drivers version fit in with the timeline of May 3rd, was it possible for Kate to be in that taxi and be back in PDL before the police arrive?
Was Madeleine alive or dead in the taxi, because we have the dogs that alerted in the apt, the taxi driver said he saw her eye but that doesn't mean she was alive does it?
Where could they have taken her, my geography of Portugal is not very good. And the car they got into, does that ring any bells?

Badboy wrote:THEY FOUND IT WAS SOME TOURISTS.

AnnaEsse wrote:

princess_leia wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

princess_leia wrote:I'm confused, not difficult like

Is the taxi driver saying he saw Madeleine in his taxi on the 3rd May or the 4th May? I'm seeing both dates being referred to.

Edit - I think I see now, the taxi driver is saying 3rd May at 8.10pm but Clarence Mitchell is saying 4th May?

I posted this on page 2 of this thread. It's a post from the blog "Enfants Kidnappés," dated Febrruary 28th 2008.

Kate McCann, Robert Murat and Madeleine in the same taxi?

Ten months after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the taxi driver's story hit the international press. It has been reported widely in the UK press, but I don't think I have seen reports that the story had been investigated and rejected after verification. Here is an article from the Belgian site, Enfants Kidnappés, dated February 28th.

Ten months after the fact, a taxi driver from Vila Real de Santo Antonio, went public with his witness statement to the PJ. According to reports in the Portuguese press, the taxi driver made his statement to the PJ two days after Maddie's disappearance. "I don't have a lot to say, but what I have to say, I can state with certainty. On the 3rd of May at 8.10pm, the evening of Madeleine's disappearance, three men, a woman and a little girl entered my taxi. Sitting beside me was seated a man who resembled Robert Murat and whom I recognised later in the press. There was also a little girl in pink pyjamas with that distinctive mark in her eye and her mother, of that there is no doubt."
I noticed her because there was a nervous tic to her chin and my son had the same tic when he was small. I asked myself why they had not dressed the little girl instead of leaving her in pyjamas. She was awake but she was not talking. The other men were aged between 40 and 50 years. The mother, who looked amazingly like Kate McCann, was dressed in a yellow coat and had her hair in a pony tail. She asked me to drive them to the Apolo Hotel five kilometres from there in a village close to Faro. They asked me in English how much the fare would be and I told them just over three Euros. The man next to me, the one who resembled Robert Murat, gave me a 5 Euro note. They did not take themselves towards the hotel, but to a 4x4, a big dark coloured car, which looked to me like a BMW, with a foreign registration.

Mr Castela, the taxi driver, is used to remembering people's faces. He is 67 years old and has been doing his job for 17 years. Fixing faces in one's mind allows better identification of people. And if he is sure about the time in his story it is, he says, because, "I know they got into my taxi at that time because I usually watch the television news. I was thinking at that moment to return home. I took that fare and I returned home for 8.30pm where I could carry on watching the television news.

"He did not place any importance on his clients until two days later when the media took up the case, "Then I spoke to my son who is an officer with the GNR and he decided to put me in contact with the PJ. I told them exactly what I have just said and the inspector asked me if I knew if the hotel had surveillance cameras. I told him that in theory, yes. Out of curiosity, two days later, I returned to the hotel and asked them if the PJ had contacted them. They told me no. I tried to find out if they had surveillance cameras but they told me that they had been out of order for two years."

The PJ confirmed having been contacted by the taxi driver and his witness statement taken at the time. But these claims had been rejected after verification.

As you were posting your reply I was skimming over the last few pages and spotted it, thank you.

I vaguely remember the story and thought it was really strange at the time.

I have a few things going through my mind

How would this taxi drivers version fit in with the timeline of May 3rd, was it possible for Kate to be in that taxi and be back in PDL before the police arrive?
Was Madeleine alive or dead in the taxi, because we have the dogs that alerted in the apt, the taxi driver said he saw her eye but that doesn't mean she was alive does it?
Where could they have taken her, my geography of Portugal is not very good. And the car they got into, does that ring any bells?

Hi there, I just remember that Clarence said at the time, when this story first hit the news some time ago, that the taxi driver's sighting did not fit with the timeline. So, at that point he knew the sighting was on May 3rd.

princess_leia wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

princess_leia wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

princess_leia wrote:I'm confused, not difficult like

Is the taxi driver saying he saw Madeleine in his taxi on the 3rd May or the 4th May? I'm seeing both dates being referred to.

Edit - I think I see now, the taxi driver is saying 3rd May at 8.10pm but Clarence Mitchell is saying 4th May?

I posted this on page 2 of this thread. It's a post from the blog "Enfants Kidnappés," dated Febrruary 28th 2008.

Kate McCann, Robert Murat and Madeleine in the same taxi?

Ten months after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the taxi driver's story hit the international press. It has been reported widely in the UK press, but I don't think I have seen reports that the story had been investigated and rejected after verification. Here is an article from the Belgian site, Enfants Kidnappés, dated February 28th.

Ten months after the fact, a taxi driver from Vila Real de Santo Antonio, went public with his witness statement to the PJ. According to reports in the Portuguese press, the taxi driver made his statement to the PJ two days after Maddie's disappearance. "I don't have a lot to say, but what I have to say, I can state with certainty. On the 3rd of May at 8.10pm, the evening of Madeleine's disappearance, three men, a woman and a little girl entered my taxi. Sitting beside me was seated a man who resembled Robert Murat and whom I recognised later in the press. There was also a little girl in pink pyjamas with that distinctive mark in her eye and her mother, of that there is no doubt."
I noticed her because there was a nervous tic to her chin and my son had the same tic when he was small. I asked myself why they had not dressed the little girl instead of leaving her in pyjamas. She was awake but she was not talking. The other men were aged between 40 and 50 years. The mother, who looked amazingly like Kate McCann, was dressed in a yellow coat and had her hair in a pony tail. She asked me to drive them to the Apolo Hotel five kilometres from there in a village close to Faro. They asked me in English how much the fare would be and I told them just over three Euros. The man next to me, the one who resembled Robert Murat, gave me a 5 Euro note. They did not take themselves towards the hotel, but to a 4x4, a big dark coloured car, which looked to me like a BMW, with a foreign registration.

Mr Castela, the taxi driver, is used to remembering people's faces. He is 67 years old and has been doing his job for 17 years. Fixing faces in one's mind allows better identification of people. And if he is sure about the time in his story it is, he says, because, "I know they got into my taxi at that time because I usually watch the television news. I was thinking at that moment to return home. I took that fare and I returned home for 8.30pm where I could carry on watching the television news.

"He did not place any importance on his clients until two days later when the media took up the case, "Then I spoke to my son who is an officer with the GNR and he decided to put me in contact with the PJ. I told them exactly what I have just said and the inspector asked me if I knew if the hotel had surveillance cameras. I told him that in theory, yes. Out of curiosity, two days later, I returned to the hotel and asked them if the PJ had contacted them. They told me no. I tried to find out if they had surveillance cameras but they told me that they had been out of order for two years."

The PJ confirmed having been contacted by the taxi driver and his witness statement taken at the time. But these claims had been rejected after verification.

As you were posting your reply I was skimming over the last few pages and spotted it, thank you.

I vaguely remember the story and thought it was really strange at the time.

I have a few things going through my mind

How would this taxi drivers version fit in with the timeline of May 3rd, was it possible for Kate to be in that taxi and be back in PDL before the police arrive?
Was Madeleine alive or dead in the taxi, because we have the dogs that alerted in the apt, the taxi driver said he saw her eye but that doesn't mean she was alive does it?
Where could they have taken her, my geography of Portugal is not very good. And the car they got into, does that ring any bells?

Hi there, I just remember that Clarence said at the time, when this story first hit the news some time ago, that the taxi driver's sighting did not fit with the timeline. So, at that point he knew the sighting was on May 3rd.

I bet we hear no more about the taxi driver from McCann quarters!

AnnaEsse wrote:
That date was changed by somebody. So, who?

Chris wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:
That date was changed by somebody. So, who?

A good question but it is a bit of a quantum leap to assume it was the pink one. I am more than happy to think the worst of his activities but there doesn't appear to be any direct link apparent. Incidentally do we know why he has been reported to the IPCC - is he working undercover?

princess_leia wrote:

Badboy wrote:THEY FOUND IT WAS SOME TOURISTS.

Please don't take offence, I'm not doubting you but it there a source for that?

Keela wrote:If Clarry is disputing the taxi drivers sighting and changing details to suit, does this mean that he KNOWS what happened?