"The McCann case, well,well, well" 16/07/2014. Len Port. ( that's journalism!)

http://algarvenewswatch.blogspot.com.es/2014/07/the-mccann-case-well-well-well.html?spref=tw



Portugal Newswatch


Reflections on current affairs in Portugal by journalist and author Len Port.


Wednesday, July 16, 2014




The McCann case: Well, well, well.....




With two futile weeks of ground searching and the questioning of four unlikely suspects still fresh in the memory, a former Scotland Yard commander had a new idea. In a report in the Mail on Sunday he urged detectives to examine an abandoned well “just 875 yards from the apartment where Madeleine McCann vanished.”

The newspaper carried an aerial view of the location and also a close-up photo of the supposed well.

“The Mail on Sunday has established that the uncovered shaft is on scrubland used as a campsite by Roma Gypsies – and has been overlooked by Portuguese police,” according to the paper.

The aerial view indicated that the well was located on land behind the property of a well-known resident of Praia da Luz. He told us that in his 28 years of living there he had never seen Roma Gypsies camping in the area.

But the Mail on Sunday’s claim could not be lightly dismissed because the former commander had served 27 years with the Metropolitan Police and as Commander of Specialist Operations had dealt with serious crime, from murder to rape and human trafficking.

“It [the well] is clearly known to locals and possibly to local criminals as a place to discard evidence from petty crime, such as handbags and other unwanted stolen items,” said the ex-commander.

The local homeowner was bemused by this. “Before they tossed the handbags into the well, I hope the Roma Gypsies checked to see if they were Gucci,” he said.

Of course the ex-commander was not just talking about petty crime. He quickly came to his main point: “Whoever abducted Madeleine knew the local streets, alleyways and scrubland and used that knowledge to avoid detection.”

Not one to shirk a challenge even on a formidably hot summer’s day, our source in Luz went to check out the ex-commander’s hunch.

The first problem was a two-metre high fence. With difficulty he managed to find a hole in the wire only to be confronted by a six-metre wide boundary of thick vegetation. Eventually he emerged prickled, sweating and swearing into a recently mowed hay field.

“I felt relieved that if I were now to be attacked by irate Roma bandits, at least I could see them coming and hopefully make a hasty retreat,” said our intrepid explorer.

“I walked all over the hay field but was not able to discover a well. I was relieved to be able to return to the gap in the fence and depart with no loss of either wallet or handbag.”

Asked about a circular object that can be seen in the middle of the area on Google Earth, our source in Luz said, “it could be an alien landing pad, but more likely a flat round area for threshing corn. It’s certainly not the well shown in the paper.”

He concluded with dismay that tourism-dependent Luz had once again been portrayed as a lawless place – and certainly not the sort of place to go on holiday.

If Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood and his team decide to take the ex-commander’s advice and go searching wells, they had better come prepared for a long stay. There are many hundreds of wells dotted all over the Algarve. Fortunately, most of the others are fairly easy to find.

Meanwhile, the “Stop McCann Circus” street signs are still in place in Luz."

I find the very last sentence verry reassuring!!!   

I think I like Len!   

I like Len and his thinking.

fred wrote:I think I like Len!   

I definitely do! He is the only journalist putting pen to paper who write it as it is. No afraid to say what he thinks.

id love to send the article or a link to the author of the Mail on Sunday article and the Commander or ex Inspector. not got the skills im afraid.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2681763/875-yards-Maddie-disappeared-abandoned-police-failed-search.html

Just 875 yards from where Madeleine McCann disappeared – an abandoned well that police failed to search
Ex-Scotland Yard detective urges police to search scrubland used by gypsies
Hidden from the nearby road, the well drops 30ft down to 12ft-deep water
Mail on Sunday revealed a prime suspect may have worked at a water treatment plant just 220 yards from the well
By ANDREW YOUNG IN PRAIA DA LUZ, PORTUGAL
PUBLISHED: 22:01, 5 July 2014 | UPDATED: 15:21, 6 July 2014

A former Scotland Yard commander has urged British police to search an abandoned well just 875 yards from the apartment where Madeleine McCann vanished.
The Mail on Sunday has established that the uncovered shaft is on scrubland used as a campsite by Roma gipsies – and has been overlooked by Portuguese police.
Hidden from the nearby road, the well drops 30ft down to 12ft-deep water.
‘It is clearly known to locals and possibly to local criminals as a place to discard evidence from petty crime, such as handbags and other unwanted stolen items,’ said Roy Ramm, who served 27 years with the Metropolitan Police force and, as Commander of Specialist Operations, dealt with serious crime, from murder to rape and human trafficking.
He added: ‘Whoever abducted Madeleine knew the local streets, alleyways and scrubland and used that knowledge to avoid detection.’
Three years ago British police began a new investigation into the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine – the daughter of Kate and Gerry McCann – who vanished from their holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Met officers recently searched scrubland near the resort, but they have not examined the well.

Local authorities only allowed British police to check areas where ground anomalies picked up by aerial surveys might indicate a grave site.

Mr Ramm said: ‘If this had been a Yard-led inquiry from the outset, there is no doubt that the search would have been wider and more effective than that conducted by the Portuguese police.
'The well would have been searched thoroughly at the time, probably by using divers to get to the bottom of this very difficult and dangerous shaft.’
Mr Ramm added: ‘The Portuguese authorities have come a long way in letting the Yard conduct any inquiries, but they need now to take the final step and ensure the Yard team can conduct a really thorough search wherever they want. And in my experience that should include the well.’
Both Scotland Yard and the Portuguese police declined to discuss whether the well had featured in their investigations. Local residents said they could not recall ever seeing any police activity in its vicinity.
From where Madeleine was snatched, her abductor could reach the well by walking 400 yards through empty back streets, climbing a low metal gate and continuing the rest of the way over scrubland.
The Mail on Sunday revealed last month that a prime suspect may have worked at a water treatment plant just 220 yards from the well.
Heroin addict Euclides Monteiro, who died in 2009, was suspected of kidnapping Madeleine in a botched burglary after mobile phone records placed him near the McCanns’ apartment when she disappeared.
Last Tuesday, at the request of British officers, local police quizzed four Portuguese suspects – including Russian-born Sergey Malinka, 29, who was questioned as a witness in 2007. British police sat in on interviews, but sources suggest they led to no new developments.

The area is used as a campsite by gypsies and has been overlooked by Portuguese police
The well is on land owned by two wealthy British property developers, who were unaware of its existence until The Mail on Sunday contacted them last week.
The plot includes a derelict farmhouse surrounded by rubble and litter, including a pile of English paperback novels. An old mattress inside the tumbledown building suggests someone once slept there.
One of the owners, who asked not to be identified, said: ‘If they want to search on the land we have got no problem with it. We are not going to stand in anyone’s way, but no one has contacted us.’
The McCanns’ spokesman said yesterday: ‘Kate and Gerry continue to have full confidence in the work being carried out by the Met Police but will not comment on it.’



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2681763/875-yards-Maddie-disappeared-abandoned-police-failed-search.html#ixzz37ddAxfvy
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I think Len Port's article says it all.

All I can say is if this is an ex Met Detective who did 27 years, that alone raises a red flag for me. 30 years is the usual required service before retirement, unless this guy served in the armed forces or something which I believe I am right in saying, at one time, counted towards Police service as well.

However, lets remember, its easy money to become a pundit on a case in which you are not involved in and its our press that seem to encourage retired coppers.

Also, the two accounts, by Len Port and by The Mail differ quite a bit, and Len Port does admit there are loads of wells dotted about, so highly probable that not all of them have been searched.

If they have I am sure one of our Portuguese posters will correct me, and I do hope I am wrong on this point. However, if there is a chance that any well has been left out, that again raises a red flag.

So this man this 27 years in the MET and has since lives in Portugal for 28 years, thus he must be 70+ years old right now. Perhaps the retirement age was different so many years ago, or perhaps he had a service related disability and got an early retirement. This is not uncommon for police officers. I would not be surprised at all is said well is not where the Mail says it is.

I maybe picked it up wrong, but I think it's the ex-cop who has done 27 years, and the ex-pat in PdL who has been there 28 years, it's not the same person!

Also, if the "well" is hidden from the road, and surrounded by bushes and scrub, and the people who own it don't even know about it, how did the Daily Mail manage to find out about it?   

Iris wrote:I maybe picked it up wrong, but I think it's the ex-cop who has done 27 years, and the ex-pat in PdL who has been there 28 years, it's not the same person!

Also, if the "well" is hidden from the road, and surrounded by bushes and scrub, and the people who own it don't even know about it, how did the Daily Mail manage to find out about it?   

No, you are correct! I was just confusing the two articles. Wasn't it Gerry who said "Confusion is good."? This makes no sense in the context of a missing child, especially one's own.

It is ridiculous for the Mail to be claiming that Montero was a "prime suspect." The only "prime suspects" in the true investigation have been the McCanns themselves. SY cannot determine whom is a "prime suspect," and just because someone is granted arguido status in Portugal does not necessarily mean that they were even a suspect, only that they had certain rights.