Diane Webster Statement 4th May 2007

Volume I, pages 77 - 79

Diane Webster

The interview begins at 8.50pm on May 4th 2007.

On the matter in hand, we note that:

The deponent is interviewed as a witness, as she is part of the group that traveled to Portugal with the parents of the minor, Madeleine. She is FIONA's mother, and she traveled in the company of her [Fiona's] husband and the two granddaughters.

She has known the parents of the missing child, Kate and Gerald, for three or four years, through her daughter, as they are friends.

She knows that the [McCann] couple have three children, twins aged two and Madeleine, aged three nearly four.

She thinks the idea of coming to Portugal came from her daughter, she presumes that she already knew Portugal.

The deponent arrived in Portugal on April 28th at around 12.20/12.30 from Leicestershire to Faro and then to Praia da Luz. From Faro to the Ocean Club they used the airport's shuttle service. After checking in, she was placed in apartment G5H with her family (her daughter, her son-in-law and their two small children).

Concerning the usual routines, the deponent states that she only spent the afternoons with her family, and that not always, because she read, she went shopping or did other things. In the morning, she only had breakfast with her family on one day, the Wednesday, because it was raining. On the other days, she spent the mornings playing tennis.

Concerning the day yesterday, she went to the beach with her granddaughters, her son-in-law and her daughter. They arrived there at around 3.45pm and left at around 6.15pm to go to the tennis courts where she stayed until 7pm. The deponent then went to the apartment with the granddaughters and ten minutes later, her son-in-law, David, joined them. With her son-in-law's help, they bathed the children.

They left the apartment at around 8.45 and accompanied by her son-in-law and her daughter, they went to join the rest of the group at the "TAPAS" restaurant.

The McCann couple were amongst the other friends at dinner.

To our question, the deponent told us she never went to the club to check on the grandchildren because her daughter possessed an intercom on which the children's cries would be heard.

However, she reported that both Gerard and Kate went several times, regularly, just like other couples, to the club to check on their children's wellbeing. During one of those checks, Kate came back to the restaurant, frightened and nervous, even panicked, saying that Madeleine had disappeared, crying out in terror.

They immediately organised search parties, both in the apartment, thinking that she could be hiding in there, and on the outside. In spite of help from the Ocean Club's employees, the searches were fruitless.

The informant does not know Madeleine well, because she lives a long way from the McCanns, and she cannot say very much about Madeleine's personality. Nevertheless, she reports that Madeleine was calm but active and energetic and good mannered. She was a beautiful and attractive child.

During this holiday, she has noticed nothing unusual or which could be linked to the investigation.

She has no other details to add. Reads, ratifies and signs, as does the interpreter.

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