Conference : Journalists talk about “Maddie”

“The other side of the medal of the Maddie case”, is the theme of the conference organised in Lisbon on 2nd May by a group of journalists, investigators and experts who have accompanied the alleged abduction of Madeleine McCann.

The participation of the public is reserved to the number of places available and by invitation only. On the opening of the conference videos and unpublished documents will be presented.

You can already request your pre-inscription on this blog by leaving a comment indicating the language of your choice (French – Portuguese – Spanish – English) and the number of places required.

Don’t forget to fill in your email contact details (which will be hidden to public view) where we have to send all correspondence regarding your possible participation. The choice of participants is under the responsibility of the organisation. More details will be available in the coming weeks.

Duarte Levy

Filed under: Madeleine McCann, Media, Child Abduction, conference, Duarte Levy, lisbonne, Maddie, Madeleine McCann, Portugal, Praia da Luz, twitter

Update – Sara Sofia is 3 years old and was abducted by her mother more than one month ago

Portimão (Portugal)

According to the latest information from the Judicial Police (PJ), Sara Sofia, aged three, was abducted by her mother, Paula Lopes, supposedly accompanied by two individuals of German nationality.
The group includes another woman and three more children.
At least three people of the group, aged 38 to 62, were previously made arguidos in a breach of trust and falsification case for an estimated amount of 57,600 euros. The three adults were to present themselves regularly at the GNR of Lagoa.
Sara Sofia had left Faro’s Refúgio Aboim Ascensão on 19th December, after the Court in Portimão had given exclusive custody to her father, Manuel Santos, who, on  1st January, entrusted the child to her mother with whom she was to spend the day. After 48 hours without news, Manuel Santos lodged a complaint with the Judicial Police and remains desperate, as, according to him, the child would be in danger in company of the group.
On her escape, the mother of Sara also took her three other children with her: two nine year old twins and a 13 year old girl.
Despite the fact that the Sara Sofia Lopes dos Santos case is a case of parental abduction, it is handled by the Judicial Police (PJ) with the same seriousness as for any other disappearance and the Spanish authorities have been informed.
According to the information from the PJ’s Criminal Investigation Department (DIC) in Portimão, since the couple split in 2007, Sara’s parents have been in conflict concerning the exercise of parental rights over the child, who had been officially entrusted to her father in December last year.
Manuel Santos accuses the mother of having abandoned the child. Sara’s mother and her relatives tell a different version, accusing the father of abusing the child, a fact that was never proven.
Although Sara’s abduction took place on the 1st January 2009, it was not until now that the information was placed on the Judicial Police’s internet site (www.policiajudiciaria.pt), where a recent photograph of the child can be seen.
According to information that has now been publicised by the PJ’s CID in Portimão – the same that was responsible for the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann  –  the last time that Sara Sofia was seen, she was wearing a pink Nike track suit and pink sneakers.
The little girl, of Portuguese nationality, has brown eyes and brown hair, and a red mark on her back as a distinguishing feature.
According to a PJ source in Portimão, there is no connection whatsoever between the disappearance of Sara Sofia and the Madeleine McCann case, yet the investigators fear that their work may be harmed by the intervention of English media, as the fact that both children are of the same age and disappeared from the same relatively close geographical area “will certainly be used to re-launch the media focus on the Maddie case and to concentrate attention on the Algarve, thus diverting suspicions from the McCann couple”.

To be continued

Duarte Levy

Français

Filed under: Child Abduction, Portugal, Sara Sofia, Child Abduction, Duarte Levy, PJ, Policia Judiciaria, Portugal, Sara Sofia

Portugal: Sara Sofia is 3 years old and was abducted by her mother over one month ago

Portuguese Child Abduction Alert System starts only in March and for now the information and communication means that are used by the authorities remain the same as before the Maddie case

Although the case is being handled by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) with the same seriousness as a disappearance, Sara Sofia Lopes dos Santos, aged three, disappeared on the first day of 2009 within the frame of a parental abduction.

According to information from the PJ’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Portimão, Sara was abducted by her mother and has been taken abroad, probably into Spain, where the investigators try to locate her with the cooperation of the Spanish authorities.

According to the same source, since the couple split in 2007, Sara’s parents have been in conflict concerning the exercise of parental rights over the child, that had been officially entrusted to her father, who accuses the mother of abandoning the child. Sara’s mother and her relatives tell a different version, accusing the father of abusing the child, a fact that was never proved.

Although Sara’s abduction took place on the 1st of January 2009, it was not until now that the information was placed on the Polícia Judiciária’s internet site (www.policiajudiciaria.pt), where a recent photograph of the child can be seen.

According to information that was now publicised by the PJ’s CID in Portimão – the same that was responsible for the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann -, the last time that Sara Sofia was seen, she was wearing a pink Nike track suit and pink sneakers.

The little girl, of Portuguese nationality, has brown eyes and brown hair, and a red mark on her back as a distinguishing  feature.

According to a PJ source in Portimão, there is no connection whatsoever between the disappearance of Sara Sofia and the Madeleine McCann case, yet the investigators fear that their work may be harmed by the intervention of English media, as the fact that both children are of the same age and disappeared from the same relatively close geographical area “will certainly be used to re-launch the media focus on the Maddie case and to concentrate attentions on the Algarve, thus diverting suspicions from the McCann couple”.

English press associates disappearance of Sara with the Maddie case

The information about Sara Sofia’s disappearance would have gone completely unnoticed in England if it hadn’t been for the intervention of a source that is close to the British authorities and to the McCann couple, who, unofficially, alerted a few journalists while stressing the fact that the investigation is under the responsibility of the PJ’s CID in Portimão, the same one that investigated the Maddie case.

The information that was forwarded to the journalists doesn’t even contain a single line about the possibility of a parental abduction, and the focus rests on the fact that Sara Sofia is of the same age as Madeleine McCann and disappeared “mysteriously” in the Algarve, the same geographical region where the British child disappeared from in May 2007.

According to the information that was offered to the English journalists, the disappearance of Sara Sofia in Portugal’s Southern region is evidence of the possible existence of a predator, a fact that the Portuguese police had excluded in Madeleine’s case.

Portugal adopts French Alert System model

From March onwards, the disappearance of children in Portugal starts counting on an “Abduction Alert” system which, through messages every 15 minutes, publicise the case and request for information through various platforms, from local radios up to public transportation terminals.

The system that is to be adopted in our country follows the French model, named “Alerte Enlèvement”, which has proved its effectiveness in practice, on several occasions.

The Portuguese version that was studied by the Justice Ministry counts on the media to join the project, and to publicise a common alert message, that can be local, regional or national, during the first three hours after the child’s disappearance.

Just like in France, the decision to launch the alert will be taken by the Attorney General in conjunction with the PJ through a “Crisis Cabinet”, in the case of an abduction or sequestration, and not yet including cases of parental abduction or simple disappearance.

In November last year, the Justice Minister, Alberto Costa, had already assured that the “Abduction Alert” system would soon be available, nevertheless stressing that in order for the system to be able to function, the cooperation between the Public Ministry (PM) and the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) would have to improve.

Duarte Levy

Filed under: Child Abduction, Madeleine McCann, Portugal, Sara Sofia, Child Abduction, Duarte Levy, Maddie, Madeleine McCann, Missing, PJ, police, Policia Judiciaria, Portugal, Sara Sofia