Metodo 3- "Home For Christmas" Rash Statement? Or Not?

On December 13 2007 Francisco Marco, the director general of Metodo 3, a private detective agency who was then being paid by the Find Madeleine Fund, claims he knows who took Madeleine and that he could have her back with her family before Christmas, like most people I thought this was a rash statement.

However, in view of what has transpired just recently, I am now beginning to wonder, if the statement of Fransico Marco, was rash, or perhaps he knew something we did not and this was part of a plan to try and unsettle those people who are holding Madeleine?

There is just something about this statement lately that keeps making it pop into my mind.

Francisco Marco is obviously not an idiot, so why would he make a statement such as this? The McCanns are not idiots, so why would they have gone on to retain the services of M3 for as long as they did?
Brian Kennedy is no one's fool, so why would he have continued with this agency?

Then there was the deliberate setting up and framing of the detective who worked for Metodo 3 on trumped up drug charges.

Joao Grade, Leonor Cipriano's former lawyer, was searched as he visited a client in prison and drugs were found on him? As a lawyer visiting prison many times, he knew of course he would be searched for drugs, yet we are asked to believe he still carried them into that prison.

Who used to be head of the drug squad in Portugal? No other than Goncalo Amaral.

Strange how all roads seem to lead to Goncalo Amaral isn't it?

There is a serious game of cat and mouse being played here. medeto 3, I think, were onto something, but were scuppered by the actions of the PJ, who didn't want to be shown up. Madeleine was moved, possibly right on the brink of being found. It WAS a brash statement to make, but I feel it wasn't made without good foundation. Before very long, we will be popping the Champagne corks, mark my words!

Hmm, some good thinking - that never occured to me.

Apart from the possible fixing up (we do not know!) of the Metodo guy and Leonors first solicitor, there is another peculiarity.

There definitely seems to have been manipulation by some unseen hand. Just look at the photos that have been in the papers and in general release of Marcos. He is actually a good looking guy with an intelligent face, but they have kept publishing a photo of him that makes him look like an idiot. Now they have a new one that doesn't do him any favours either.

What's it all about? Looks DO matter. People unfortunately judge you on them


Who, just who, is behind all this deliberate degrading of him and the others involved in this case?

Yes, good thinking indeed Rosiepops, and I agree with you, with Vee, with Sadie, and the living proof about Método 3, how reliable and how good they are, can be seen at the paedophile network dismantled in Spain by the Spanish police with the help and tips of Método 3, while investigating our sweet Madeleine´s abduction.

Its a shame M3 made that statement because I do think it harmed their credibility.

I certainly think they were on the trail of someone and imo that "someone" still resides in PDL!

I wonder if that was made by the press, with speculation.

My way of thinking is that Metodo 3 were deliberately discredited, they too were the victims of slurs, innuendos and leaks. One M 3 investigator was actually thrown out of Portugal when he was trailing a suspect who was a known paedophile, apparently, this person complained to the police and the investigator was deported.
I thought this was another lie and yet another slur, this was a private investigator tailing someone, so how did the person know he was being tailed? In my opinion he did not know, but it is my betting that Goncalo Amaral did know, and had the investigator thrown out of Portugal before he could discover anything.

As I said all roads appear to lead back to Goncalo Amaral.

There was also a photograph of little Joana Cipriano that was more representative of how she looked when she vanished, it showed her the age she was and how pretty the little girl actually was, yet Amaral did NOT use the photo, despite being asked by her family to use that photo, the family's request was refused. Instead Amaral used a photograph of Joana that was taken when she was much younger and still looking like a toddler.

Question people should be asking is why did he insist on using a photograph that did not accurately portray the way Joana looked when she disappeared, especially when he had a better alternative?

More controversy and yet again it involves Goncalo Amaral!

(This photograph is actually published in the book written by members of this forum)

I wouldn't call it 'vivid', Amaral's imagination. If we think through other angles, like the pretense modus operandi of people making young girls disappearing in Algarve, it is actually a quite narrow one: the mother will be to blame so do whatever you can/know to make it look so. Torture the mother and father if need be, do it according to her psychological knowledge and strength, if you don't have a victim's body, point/sugest one or a roundabout of fridgefreezers. Nah, not that vivid, Sadie.

So true, Maria. No room for real investigation when it's always the weak-willed woman who did it. No need for a real understanding of criminology when it's the weak-willed woman's fault for allowing her child to go missing. That's his incredibly misogynistic thinking.

Hi Alroy, I dont remember any connection between Metodo 3 and any of the McCanns.

I am not sure about the cost. If my company hires me out, (Software Architect) the charge out rate is $1500 AUD a day plus expenses and travelling. Our programmers are around $900 a day plus expenses and travelling. So you can see how quickly that would add up. If I have to be on site for 4 weeks, it will cost the client a minimum of $30,000 plus expenses. That is a lot of money. For most projects there are architects, programmers, consultants, project manager etc, so the costs are enormous.

I imagine running an investigation is also expensive because it is not just a single person on it, and the company has overheads which must be included in their charge out rates. it is impossible to know if they were overcharging the McCanns or not. And TBH, I doubt it, because Brian Kennedy kept a close watch on it. We dont know whether he sacked them because of non performance and cost, or because he found someone better to run his investigation.

Private investigative work is dangerous and quasi-legal; it is very expensive.

Sorry Alroy, I have never heard of anything like this at all. In any case, I believe it was Brian Kennedy who was keen to retain Metodo 3 and that he paid a lot of their expenses, it was just last year when they decided to cut back on all the agencies they were using and then Brian Kennedy interviewed recently retired top detectives with a view to hiring a small team, hence why they have the two they have now and I believe a number of other operatives too, but they all work out of the same team.
yes I think Metodo 3 were expensive, but they were hiring out several men undertaking international travel, so that kind of thing is never going to come cheap. Besides that, i am not so sure that M3 were not on to something, they made one rash statement which was probably taken out of context and that was it, poor Madeleine and her parents suffered again.

I suppose it is all very well for us who know absolutely nothing about anything, or what was being done and how many people it took to do it, we can judge, but we are not forming the conclusion on the full facts. Also, I understand that Metodo 3 still undertake work for the investigation from time to time, maybe when they are needed to speak different languages. This was a big plus at the time, as although M3 were a Spanish based company, they also spoke and could read and write Portuguese and French. So I expect their fees for professional services were in line with others.

Rosie

On M3, they may have been onto something. we have discussed previously the M3 detective that was arrested (detained and deported I think) for questioning a local paedophile.

Why not just caution him, and leave it at that? IMO, there was more to it.

In my honest opinion, M3 has done a good job, the evidence of that was the paedophile network, which was dismantled by Spanish police, followed a tip-off from M3, while they were investigating our sweet Madeleine´s abduction.

Pedro, that is a good point, and one that barely got a mention at the time.

Rosie, as usual, you are right!

Yes Vee, Rosie is always right

dianeh wrote:Yes Vee, Rosie is always right

I find it odd that I am being referred to as 'right', I don't think I have ever been referred to as 'right' in my life!

Sorry about that. Let me rephrase that.

Rosie is always not wrong.

Fork Off to the right

(Say it fast and out loud)

Once again Rosie is quite correct!