'That wasn't Maddie... it was my daughter':/Dailymail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2141774/Madeleine-McCann-sighting-Swiss-father-says-mystery-man-seen-driving-blonde-girl.html#ixzz1uNYPHP8P

'That wasn't Maddie... it was my daughter': Swiss father says he was mystery man seen driving blonde girl identical to Madeleine days after she vanished

- Karsten Mayer was spotted by British holidaymaker with girl who looked 'groggy'

- But Swiss native insists girl with him was his own daughter

By Allan Hall
PUBLISHED: 11:31, 9 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:19, 9 May 2012


A Swiss father-of-three is being interviewed by police today after it emerged he was the mystery man seen driving from the camping ground with a girl who looked like Maddie McCann days after she vanished in 2007.

Karsten Mayer, 41, is a German-speaking Swiss native who lives near the capital Bern whose own daughter was in the family car and who, he says, was mistaken for the missing toddler by a British eyewitness.

The potential sighting came three days after Madeleine was abducted from Praia da Luz in Portugal, a few hours drive away.

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Sighting: A blonde girl identical to Madeleine McCann was seen with a German family at the Cabopino campsite on Spain's Costa del Sol (pictured) just three days after the British toddler went missing five years ago

It emerged yesterday that British detectives investigating her disappearance have been told the German family paid extra after arriving at the campsite with one more child than expected on May 6, 2007, according to The Sun.

But Mr Mayer, who was spotted with the blonde girl, has since insisted the youngster was not Madeleine, and was infact his own daughter.

Mr Mayer also pledged to speak to police to clear himself of any connection to missing Madeleine following the media reports yesterday.

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Missing: Madeleine was abducted from Praia da Luz in Portugal, a few hours drive away from the Spanish campsite, in May 2007

'I am turning myself over to police,' said Mr Mayer, a self employed businessman, 'before these media reports get me arrested.'

He told Blick, Switzerland's biggest daily paper; 'I did have a girl around about Maddie's age in the car - she was my own daughter who also happens to have blonde coloured hair and was about the same age as Maddie at the time.'

Karen Sisson, 49, the British woman who reported the sighting to police, said the girl 'looked groggy' and seemingly 'alienated' from the family she was with. She said the car had German plates that began with BE.

But the BE registration for the town and district of Beckum in western Germany went out of use 38 years ago.

Journalists in Switzerland used the number of the car to trace Mr Mayer to his home near Bern - BE standing for cars registered to the city and surrounding area.

Mr Mayer added; 'I was at the camping ground with my family. It is really unbelievable that I am some kind of suspect because we read about Maddie's disappearance on a notice at the campsite. We were shocked and we felt for the parents.

'It is quite possible that my daughter appeared distant. She was tired after a very long road trip.

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The blonde girl was with a German family driving a Mercedes Vito people carrier (pictured) that was first manufactured in 1996

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Parents: Kate and Gerry McCann pose with an artist's impression of how their daughter might look now at the age of nine

'We spent 12 days at the camping ground we journeyed further around Portugal. I don't think a kidnapper would have done that.

'I find these media reports about me unbelievable and am reporting to police immediately before I am arrested!'

CID officers in Bern say that he has already 'all but' been ruled out of enquiries.

oh dear the mcanns have upset the wrong person this time!!!

The damage goes on & on...as long as those responsible can evade justice...it will go...on & on

And yet another innocent family dragged kicking and screaming into the madness of McCann land by these silly but dangerous Madeleine spotters , and whats worse is the Mcs condone it.

Some of the comments are astonishing. One praises the efficient police investigation despite the fact Mayer was contacted by the German and Swiss press and approached the police himself. Another says a picture of his daughter should be published. Unbelievable!

Perhaps it's now time for the media to keep quiet unless something of substance (and beyond all reasonable doubt) comes to light...better still...perhaps shut up altogether until Madeleine (or sadly her body) is located and/or the person(s) responsible for Madeleine's disappearance is/are arrested.

Annabel wrote:



Perhaps it's now time for the media to keep quiet unless something of substance (and beyond all reasonable doubt) comes to light...better still...perhaps shut up altogether until Madeleine (or sadly her body) is located and/or the person(s) responsible for Madeleine's disappearance is/are arrested.

What a good idea perhaps the Mcs would like to endorse it.

halfamo wrote:

Annabel wrote:



Perhaps it's now time for the media to keep quiet unless something of substance (and beyond all reasonable doubt) comes to light...better still...perhaps shut up altogether until Madeleine (or sadly her body) is located and/or the person(s) responsible for Madeleine's disappearance is/are arrested.

What a good idea perhaps the Mcs would like to endorse it.

Copyright the design, register a domain name and sell them, more like.

How can anyone praise this as an "efficient police investigation" when yet another innocent family have been persecuted and hounded by the good old British press? Is this man going to recieve a very public apology? I doubt it very much. This whole matter has turned the UK into the joke of the world, the British police are being made to look more stupid than the Keystone cops. It appears that the Mccanns really do run the UK, evidently Cameron and the government are simply more of their lackies. They'll probably bring in a Mccann tax soon. Isn't there anyone at all who can put a stop to this charade?

I've got a good idea who's putting out these rididulous stories but have faith, as they are always debunked within 24 hours!!!

NEXT!!!

I agree it's disgusting that innocent families are accused in this way, but at least these "sightings" are making people (who perhaps once supported the Mccanns) start to realise what a farce the whole thing is, so they are shooting themselves in the foot.

http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=24782

New Madeline probe considers Gib witness report

by Eyleen Sheil

Three days after Madeline McCann went missing in Praia da Luz in Portugal, on May 3 in 2007, Gibraltarian Karen Sisson potentially saw the little girl at the Cabopino campsite near Fuengirola. Following her recent contact with the UK’s Daily Mail, detectives there are now investigating Karen’s potential sighting.

• Karen explains that she had been going to this campsite for many years and it was the long bank holiday weekend, before she left for her camping trip she had seen on GBC news about Madeline’s disappearance, but once she was in Spain, she noted that the media wasn’t giving the story much coverage.

• At the campsite, Karen describes what she saw, “I was going to the bungalow at the end

• of the site, and to get there you had to go down a lane by the pool. I saw a little girl sitting there and it gave me a bit of a shock as she looked like Madeline, but she was on her own sitting outside a touring caravan.”

• Going back to her family at their campsite plot, she told them of what she saw, her family tried to convince her that she was mistaken and that the girl might have looked similar. However, the next day Karen and her family members saw the little girl again, this time with two little ‘siblings’. “She was wearing the same clothes as the day before, a bucket hat with heavy thick shorts and t-shirt, just sitting there on a stool by the caravan. With the temperatures about 26degrees, I thought it was odd she was wearing such heavy clothes”, said Karen.

At one point Karen spotted the little girl make a break for the pool, only to be grabbed back by who she assumes to be the girls ‘mother’, she found that incident to be strange and unusual.

Some time later another car arrived at the campsite, this time with three or four youngsters; all appearing old enough to drive, arrived with a caravan. Karen realised shortly afterwards that she could longer see the little girl and she had scenarios running through her head like, is she in the boot or hidden in different parts of the caravan.

Feeling that reporting the incident to the Spanish police would not be effective, she returned to Gibraltar to try and contact authorities here. Not having any luck in finding an authority to help, she called the BBC, where an editor called the police in Portugal on her behalf. Only to be told, “We have had loads of sightings and we will bear yours in mind.” She has yet to hear back from them.

When she contacted the police in Gibraltar, she was advised that Spain were dealing with it and that they have been to the campsite and checked it out.

It wasn’t until the editor of a Costa del Sol English language newspaper; The Olive Press, contacted Karen that matters were investigated further. Finding that no police investigation went on at the campsite and in fact the campsite hadn’t been contacted at all, no police had visited and nothing was reported. The same newspaper have told Karen they plan on tracking down the German couple who were booked in as the renters of that caravan space, the presumed parents of the little girl.

Karen added that for the past five years she has been trying to make her story be heard, but until now it had fallen on deaf ears, she is pleased that finally something is getting done about her potential sighting.

It also emerged yesterday that website VoucherDigg.com has used photos of Madeline, to illustrate deals offered by lowcostholidays.com for Portugal. The travel firm are reported to think this illustration is vile and have said it has no advertising contract with VoucherDigg. They are also reported to be in the process of getting the picture removed.

The editor of the Olive Press, commenting on a previous 'sighting':
(Scroll down - Sisson's comment on there too)

Jon says:
May 8, 2012 at 10:14 pm

Dave, she came forward after she read that portugese police have been looking into links in the Nerja area.
Thank god some people kept their eyes open and have open minds
Pls contact us at the Olive Press with any more sightings… We have had around a dozen so far and have investigated all, with around half knocked down…
as it happens we found Madeleine in An Axarquia village last week… Same age, looking similar, but NOT her!
For a moment our hearts missed a beat
Jon
http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2012/05/03/i-saw-maddie-at-costa-del-sol-beach-restaurant/

Such fervour, such quasi-religious zeal!
So pleased with himself that he's disrupted people's lives or holidays!

Tell you what though Mr Editor.
I'll be giving Spain a miss for the foreseeable future.
I have a few young blonde relatives too. And they'd probably be better off in Cleethorpes.
You are not going to do to me and mine what you and that silly woman have just done to Mr Mayer.

saloongirl wrote:I agree it's disgusting that innocent families are accused in this way, but at least these "sightings" are making people (who perhaps once supported the Mccanns) start to realise what a farce the whole thing is, so they are shooting themselves in the foot.

I think you are right SG, more and more people seem to be sick and tired of these 'sightings' and the
ensuing farce that goes with it, so yes, I think this is working against them with members of the public.

...Cant we just have the whole worlds male population in a line up & let Jane Tanner decide who it is,we can rule out a few million through colour & height

matthew wrote:...Cant we just have the whole worlds male population in a line up & let Jane Tanner decide who it is,we can rule out a few million through colour & height

I RECKON THAT 4/5 MEN CAN BE RULED ON THE BASIS OF COLOUR,BECAUSE WASN;T THE PERSON SHE SAW WHITE,AT LEAST THAT WHAT I UNDERSTAND(APPROXIATELY 500 MILLION MEN TO GO)

We all have to bend over backwards for the mcs imo, but it doesn't matter how many lives they disrupt. Absolutely disgusting. It just sickens me and the gullible and deluded who comment in the Sun and Daily Wail make me so angry.

Why should this man have to go to the police to exonerate himself? Ms Sissons according to MCF has roots in Leicester, but hush my mouth I couldn't possibly say she was embellishing the truth.

Today I went to see my cousin who buried her son last week. She and her husband are distraught - the light has gone out of their life. I could weep at their despair - their lives are so empty. Their eyes show their true feelings. I pray they will be strong and somehow cope with this tragedy. I've never seen anything like this from the other parents who left their daughter alone at night.

My cousin's boy was severely handicapped and they devoted their lives to caring for him. So unselfish and full of love, when I spoke to them a couple of years ago about the mcann case they couldn't believe the things about the dogs etc. Truly devoted parents cannot understand why the mcs didn't want their kids with them in the day and deserted them at night.

I'm saddened and angry tonight and seeing my cousin's raw pain for these last couple of weeks makes me so, so cross. How they'll cope with their loss I don't know.

so sorry to hear about the loss of your cousin's son, no parent expects to have to
bury their child, so very sad, and I hope that they will have the strength they will
need to go on living their everyday lives without him, may he rest in peace.

A child is so very precious and should always be treasured, that you would like to
think is a natural thing, but sadly not always the case with so much neglect and abuse
of one's own children which takes place in society on a regular basis. If people cant
put their child first then they shouldnt be having a child in the first place.

Whatever has happened in the Mccann case, we have all seen without a doubt the
wicked commercialisation of a little girl and the never ending quest to make money
out of her name and that is so very shameful.

Thanks for your kind words Cherry - it breaks my heart to see them.

You're welcome jay2001 and Im sure your support is a great comfort to them x

Oh I am so sorry to hear about your families loss. I sincerely hope that you can help your cousins get through this very difficult time and the pain lessens eventually.

Kind words and thanks Gilly.

Keep up your great work on Twitter!

jay sorry to hear of your families very sad loss x

I'm so sorry to hear of your families loss, jay.

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your cousin's son Jay, my heart goes out to you all and I'm sending you all lots of hugs and love. xxxx