Luxury Yacht Pair 'Can't Help' Madeleine Case

12:26pm UK, Thursday August 13, 2009
An Australian socialite and her daughter say they are unable to provide any "relevant assistance" to investigators searching for Madeleine McCann.





Theories linking the yacht to Madeleine's disappearance were denied

The luxury yacht owned by Rhonda Wyllie and Melissa Karlson, the widow and daughter of the late Perth property tycoon Bill Wyllie, was linked to the inquiry in reports.
The boat, named WillPower, was moored at a marina in Barcelona, Spain, where a woman with an Australian accent reportedly asked a bystander if he was there to deliver her "new daughter" days after Madeleine disappeared.
Private detectives working for the girl's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, launched an appeal for information last week about the mysterious woman, described as a Victoria Beckham lookalike.

The Wyllie family is perplexed with these media reports.

Statement released by the Wyllie family


But Mrs Wyllie and Ms Karlson said they were in Antibes, France, on the night in question.
The pair said they could not help the investigators with the investigation but would co-operate with police to confirm the facts.
A statement released through their company said: "The Wyllie Group today confirmed that the Wyllie family were unable to provide any relevant assistance to authorities investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007.
"British media reports on Sunday August 9, 2009, raised suggestions that Wyllie family members may be able to assist investigators in relation to an incident at Port Olympia, Barcelona, on the night of May 6, 2007.
"The Wyllie family is perplexed with these media reports. In fact, members of the Wyllie family were in Antibes, France, that evening, not in Barcelona.



Mother and daughter Rhonda Wyllie, left, and Melissa Karlsson


"The Wyllie yacht WillPower was docked in Port Olympia on May 6, 2007, crewed by American and English personnel.
"The Wyllie family appreciates that the McCann family needs to pursue every possible inquiry and will co-operate with police investigators to confirm any facts."
There is no suggestion that Mrs Wyllie, Ms Karlson or any of their yacht's crew had anything to do with the Madeleine's disappearance.
The youngster was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, while her parents dined with friends nearby.
Just over 72 hours later, in the early hours of May 7, two British men saw the woman while on a night out in the popular Port Olimpic Marina in Barcelona.


An e-fit of the mystery woman


After speaking to the witness, the woman went into a bar next door, where she had a heated conversation with a local in what seemed to be fluent Spanish.
McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We are grateful to the Wyllie family for clarifying their position.
"Our investigators have spoken to some of the crew members at the time, and we are very grateful to them for their assistance in this matter."
There have now been more than 800 responses to the appeal for information about the woman seen in Barcelona and it is understood the McCanns' private detectives are pursuing lines of inquiry within Europe.

Interesting that they blame "British media reports" for the untoward speculation...and from where do the British media usually get their unsubstantiated claims?

I think they were blaming the spin on the reports which suggested more than the PI's had said.

ModNrodder wrote:I think they were blaming the spin on the reports which suggested more than the PI's had said.

The PI's aren't daft are they Mod?
Reading that report and this part "Our investigators have spoken to some of the crew members at the time, and we are very grateful to them for their assistance in this matter".
After all it isn't their fault what the press make up. The main thing is the family have tried to help and not hinder!

ModNrodder wrote:I think they were blaming the spin on the reports which suggested more than the PI's had said.

Yes, agreed.

Yep Chris, the main thing is the family did help and for the right reasons. They also distinguished between the papers and the McCanns.

I suppose it is a nessessary evil. The papers are needed to help get something like the efit out there. But they always have to make a sensation to sell.