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Processo Volume 9...Pages
2224-2234
Page 2224 :
National Policing Improvement Agency
Wyboston Lakes, Great North Road,
Wybmion, Bedfordshire,
MK44 3BY,
United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 (0)87XX XXXXXX
Web:
http://www.npia.police.uk
Mark Harrison MBE
National Search Adviser
Homicide, Missing Persons, Mass Fatality Disasters
Email:
markha&n@npia.pnn.police.uk
Dlrect dlal: +44797XXXXXXX
23/07/2007
Madeleine McCann Search Decision Support Document
The reconnaissance undertaken and this report has been
completed at the direct request and benefit of Guillhemino
Encamacao the Algarve Regional Director of the Portuguese
Judicial Police
Personal Profile
I am the National Adviser in relation to Search for all
Police agencies within the United Kingdom for Missing
persons, Abduction and Homicide. My role involves advising
on searching for persons that are missing, abducted or
murdered, using enhanced search techniques and technologies.
I attend and review cases providing advice and support on
search plans, strategies and resources. I have extensive
national and international experience in such casework. I am
a visiting Professor of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the
University of Southampton.
In compiling this report I have driven and walked around the
relevant areas of Praia Da Luz during the hours of darkness
and then during daylight hours. I have conducted
reconnaissance flights using the Civil defence helicopter.
Consultation has been made with various colleagues and
subject matter experts in the development of this report.
This report considers solely the possibility that Madeleine
McCann has been murdered and her body is concealed within
the areas previously searched by Police in Zone 1 around
Praia Da Luz. Other scenarios or possibilities may on
request be considered and be subject of a further report. I
also make comment on the recent claims made by a
Mr Krugel
as to the whereabouts of the missing child.
Page 2225 :
Initial Action
On Friday 20.07.2007 a request was made by the Portuguese
Judicial Police to the NPIA for search advisory assistance. As a
result of this the following terms of reference were produced.
Terms of reference to provide assistance to the Portuguese
Judicial Police.
1. Assist the Judicial Police and GNR in assessing new or
previous areas searched and give opinion on the best methods and
assets to provide assurance as to the absence or presence of M
McCann's concealed remains.
2. Act as a "critical friend" to the officer in charge of search
planning and management and offer immediate and enduring peer
review until case resolution or search suspension.
3. Assist in the development of framework models such as
scenario based searching to aid homicide disposal searching.
4. Consider further opportunities or areas for search in order
to locate M McCann as applicable to the latest intelligence and
inform tion provided.
5. Where appropriate, provide independent and impartial advice
on the enabling and disabling factors of specialist resources
available either within Portugal or elsewhere in body detection.
6. To assist in decision support where requested by testing and
challenging claims made by persons offering unorthodox search
methods or devices to aid locating M McCann.
7. Where appropriate and requested, assist in advising on
procedures to procure any non Portuguese specialist assets that
are deemed to be relevant and useful.
Mr Krugel's Claims Regarding the Location of Madeleine McCann
A Mr Krugel, at the McCann's request, attended Praia Da Luz last
week from South Africa alleging he could assist in locating
Madeleine McCann. I have spoken with the Police officers that
accompanied him and viewed the documentation Krugel has supplied
to the PJ.
The limiting factor in coming to a view is that Krugel did not
allow anyone to view the handheld device he had with him or
observe him using it. He was unable to provide any validating
scientific data or documents to support the claims he made or
the device he alleged to have with him.
In short he would appear to claim he has uniquely developed a
handheld device that can find a missing person alive or dead in
any given terrain over any elapsed time period.
In debriefing the officers who accompanied Krugel it is possible
to hypothesise what he may have been doing and using.
In consultation with a colleague Dr Wolfram Meier-Augenstein we
feel he may have been attempting to give the impression he had
developed and was using
Page 2226 :
a "Remote Laser based gas sensing device". However his claims
regarding the distance of detection, up to 20km and the use of a
hair sample are highly unlikely and would be a great innovation
in the scientific world. Further provenance of this technique
could be sought from Prof. Miles Padgett who is a Professor of
optics in physics at the University of Glasgow (m.
padgett@phvsics.nla.ac.uk
tel +44 141 XXXXXXX)
One obvious challenge to the claims of the device capability is
that if Krugel claims that by taking 3 separate location
readings he is able to triangulate to an area then one would
assume that as an area was identified further reading and
triangulation inside that area could be conducted repeatedly
until an "X marked the spot?
.
Of most concern is the poor quality of his report which merely
shows a google earth image of an area to the east of Praia Da
Luz and includes open scrub land, beach and sea. As Krugel was
not prepared to allow the device to be viewed or provide any
specification data of readings or equipment and the fact that no
known device currently exists commercially or academically then
I can only conclude that the information he has provided is
likely to be of low value.
GNR Searches Conducted within 7 days of Madeleine McCann's
Disappearance.
On Saturday 21.07.2007 I met with Major Luis Seqeuira, GNR
Portimao who was the search coordinator for all search activity
that was under taken in the physical search for Madeleine
McCann.
Major Seqeuira has not benefited from any formal training or
accreditation in the management of searching for missing
persons. The search officers with the exception of the search
and rescue team dispatched from Lisbon had not benefited from
any formal training in search procedures. The teams available
and deployed by Major Seqeuira were drawn from unit of the GNR,
Civil Protection, Fire Brigade, Red Cross and Urban Police. Each
team numbered
around 10 and between 80 to 100 personnel were involved in
search activity.
The searches were based on a strategy of searching in "rescue
and recovery mode? to locate the missing girl alive or if dead,
not as a victim of crime. This search phase lasted for 7 days
from the date M McCann went missing.
The search was split into 3 zones radiating out from Praia Da
Luz in a northward direction. The first zone extended 3km to the
EN125 road at Espiche. W?hin this zone, sectors were drawn
using the natural boundaries that exist and included the entire
village. Officers were briefed and debriefed before and after
deployments and records of activity collected. Each sector was
repeatedly searched on 3 separate occasions over the 7 days
using officers conducting line searches and supported by air
scenting dogs.
The next Zone 2 was extended out to a radius of 7km to the
boundary of the N120 road at Bensafrim. As the sectors were
larger and in order to support the line searches 2 GNR officers
on motorcycles and 6 GNR officers on horse
Page 2227 :
-back were deployed. These sectors were all searched on 2
separate occasions over the 7 day period.
The outer zone 3 was extended to 15km at Barragem de Odiaxere a
dammed lake. This zone is in a mountainous region subject to
flash forest fires.
Therefore Fire officers who routinely patrol and have local
knowledge of the area were tasked to drive the tracks, visit
empty properties to look for the missing girl. Additionally the
fire brigade used a boat to visually inspect the surface water
of the lake.
Re Visiting Previously Searched Areas.
In considering the two scenarios that Madeleine McCann has been
murdered and her body disposed of by a person on foot or in a
vehicle, I have reflected on the areas within zone 1 that have
been previously searched or subject to forensic examination.
Mark Warner Creche at Praia Da Luz.
This is the location of the last confirmed sighting by a person
independent of family members of Madeleine McCann. Although this
location was within the original search area it may well benefit
from a further search using enhanced detecting methods for human
remains. This will depend on the size of any outside grounds and
concealed areas inside the building.
McCann's Apartment.
The apartment in which the McCann's had stayed may present
further
opportunities to search. The use of a specialist EVRD (Enhanced
Victim
Recovery Dog) and CSI dog (human blood detecting dog) could
potentially indicate on whether Madeline's blood is in the
property or the scent of a dead body is present. In relation to
the dead body scent if such a scent is indicated by the EVRD and
no body is located it may suggest that a body has been in the
property but removed. This search process could be repeated in
all the apartments that were occupied by the friends holidaying
with the McCann's.
Murat's House and Garden.
The property has been forensically examined to recover any
surface trace evidence however the house and gardens may benefit
from a fully invasive specialist search to preclude the presence
of Madeleine McCann.
A method previously employed on similar cases has been to use
the below assets.
Deploy the EVRD to search the house and garden to ensure
Madeleine McCann's remains are not present. The dog may also
indicate if a body has been stored in the recent past and then
moved off the property, though this is not evidential merely
intelligence.
Deploy the CSI dog to search the house to locate any human
blood.
This will act in support of the forensic examination already
completed.
An inhibiting factor will be on areas where Luminol has been
used.
Page 2228 :
Deploy geophysical instruments in the house and garden to detect
any burial of a body or concealment in voids.
These specialists should be supported by physical search teams
exploring and accessing all areas where concealment of a child's
body could be made typically 0.5m.
Murat's Vehicles.
All vehicles Murat has had access to have been forensically
examined to recover any surface trace evidence however they may
all benefit from a full search by the EVRD and CSI dogs. They
may be able to detect whether a dead body has been transported
in one of the vehicles for intelligence purposes or detect human
blood deposits that can be recovered and
examined in a laboratory for Madeleine McCann's blood.
Open Area to East of Praia Da Luz.
This open area between the village urban limits and the Boavista
golf club to the east and includes a plateau on which sits a
trig point and mobile phone mast.
This area has been previously searched by officers and dogs
walking through the area to check for Madeleine McCann's visible
remains. However considering the new scenario of Homicide and
concealed deposition this area affords many opportunities to
dispose of a body. Within this area there are old empty
properties, wells, thick vegetation, pockets of soft sand and
natural fissures in the cliffs. Whilst there is no intelligence
she is buried or concealed in this land it would be a natural
place an offender may choose dose to the Village using the least
effort principle. A proportionate response may therefore be
considered to conduct a search of this area using a team of
Victim Recovery Dogs (VRD) that are specifically trained to
located concealed human remains.
Prior to undertaking this task it would be beneficial to consult
with a Forensic Anthropologist with knowledge of this region of
Portugal to give opinion as to the likely state of any remains
to be found. Further research could also be conducted with
regards to the natural scavenging predators in the area.
An inhibiting factor is that since the disappearance of the
child an old empty house adjacent to the Trig Point on the Rocha
Negra has been demolished and all rubble removed, If she was
concealed within this property the search would be unlikely to
detect her now.
Praia Da Luz Beach and Shoreline.
The beach and shoreline are bounded by high cliffs and shallow
waters. The beach has fine granular sand and provides easy
digging. However the beach is extensively used by tourists and
locals and af?rds minimal areas of cover from view for
concealment. It may be considered appropriate to use the VRD dog
team supported by geophysical GPR to sweep the beach. This would
be
Page 2229 :
a considerable time and cost undertaking and should be weighed
in the absence of specific intelligence.
Search Duration.
If all the described assets were deployed it would be likely all
assets would complete their searches within one week.
Costs.
Currently only costs for the EVRD and CSI are available.
The daily rate for this dog team is 1000 Euros. Flight travel
costs for handler and dogs could be 2750 Euros. Veterinary
costs: U.K. and Portugal to comply with Pet Passports scheme 450
Euros. Accommodation, subsistence and vehicle transportation
would incur extra charge.
Costs for a VRD dog team to conduct the open area search are not
available at the time of writing. Such a team could be sourced
from several countries within Europe or USA that have this
capability including the UK. However the UK is limited to those
teams whose dogs have "pet passports" due to UK quarantine
restrictions.
Costs for a geophysical search team to conduct the search of
Murat's house and garden are not available at the time of
writing. These could be sourced from a commercial surveying
company, a university or military within Portugal. Alternatively
enquires could be made within the UK.
Offshore.
The sea in general circumstances would be immediately attractive
to an offender as an easy way of body disposal and so must be
considered.
The searches of the coastline was conducted by the Maritime
Police and Coastguard. They searched the sea for any body
buoyant on the surface and checked the coves and caves.
It could be considered appropriate to conduct research into the
tidal flows and movement of the sea in this region and
hypothesise where a body may travel if entered at certain
points. It has been observed the depth of the sea appears
shallow at the relevant area of coastline and this may become an
inhibiting factor for any offender wishing to dispose of a body
in it.
Overall Summary.
This report has highlighted the extensive and professional
efforts made by the Portuguese authorities regarding the search
to locate Madeleine McCann alive. It has now begun to consider
further opportunities to re search locations in order to address
the possibility that she has been murdered and concealed nearby.
This would be a proportionate and appropriate response given the
elapsed time since her disappearance and previous experience in
such similar cases. Should the investigators wish to discuss and
develop the issues raised
Page 2230 :
in this initial assessment I would be happy to do so. Should
further advisory ?in country? support be required of the
National Search Advisor following this initial assessment phase
formal approval must be sought from the NPIA.
Page 2231 :
APPENDIX VICTIM RECOVERY DOGS & GPR
This section describes the training and abilities of victim
recovery dogs (VRD), the enhanced victim recovery dog (EVRD) and
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).
VICTIM RECOVERY DOGS
Search Asset Profile
Victim recovery dogs (VRDs) are also known as body or cadaver
dogs. They are used in many countries to assist the police in
locating concealed human remains. In the UK, police dogs are
used that are trained and licensed to a national standard.
Pig carcasses are used to train the dogs in the UK as it is not
legal to use human cadavers. This is an established training
method and enables the dogs to successfully detect human remains
in operational case work.
Enhanced training to produce a EVRD.
The training of a VRD provides an alert response using Ivan
Pavlov's theory of producing a conditioned reflex, in this case
barking, to the presence of detected decomposing human/pig
flesh, bone, body fluid and blood. The dog will bark, whether or
not it is able to get to the source of the scent. The benefit of
this reflex is that the dog will respond whenever the target
scent is present.
This enables the dog to be used in an investigative role,
assisting experts in other fields, such as, geophysics.
An EVRD dog received additional training on human cadavers which
were buried on land and submerged underwater. This took place in
America and facilitated by the FBI at the University of
Tennessee.
The scent detection threshold of the dog is greatly enhanced. In
operational deployment and in training, the dog is successful in
detecting human remains, body fluids and blood, to cellular
levels that can be recovered by low copy
analysis at forensic laboratories.
The proven capability of the EVRD is to :
Search to locate very small samples of human remains, body
fluids and blood in any environment or terrain.
Identify sub-surface depositions to a depth of approximately one
metre below the surface of the ground, depending on the scent
permeability of the ground.
This depth is increased substantially when the ground is
'vented' prior to deployment.
Page 2232
Locate and give an alert to cross contamination by a cadaver.
This is particularly valuable when the dog is used to assist in
searches where the discovery of a body has prompted the
investigation. The dog may locate secondary deposition sites and
any areas of contamination, e.g., items of vehicles used to
transport the body.
The generation, storage and migration of natural gases and body
scent.
Gases from decomposing human remains may be dissolved in
groundwater depending on the pressure, temperature or
concentration of other gases or minerals in water. Dissolved
gases may be advected by groundwater, and only when the pressure
is reduced and the solubility limit of the gas in groundwater
exceeded, do they come out of solution and form a separate
gaseous phase.
'Scent', (cocktail mixtures of gases), from organic decaying
remains can move through bedrock by diffusion, which is
relatively slow, but if the bedrock is fractured, (eg, by
bedding planes, joints and faults), the diffusion rate is
increased. Gas and scent from organic decaying remains also
migrate through rocks via intergranular permeability or, more
particularly, along discontinuities. The hydrostatic head
imposed by groundwater flows may also influence gas/organic
scent emissions.
Determination of the migration pathway of gas/body scent depends
on the geological, geomorphological and hydrogeological
conditions and an understanding of the victim deposition site.
Factors such as the surface and
groundwater flow paths, drainage, topography, runoff,
precipitation rates, permeability of the soil and bedrock and
hydrogeological domains, location of seeps and springs need to
be determined if gases/human remains migration
pathways are to be determined.
The age of the source does not affect the process of scent
movement but it will effect the concentration, as will the rate
of decomposition. Body scent may be transported by 'leachate
plumes' to emerge at the ground surface.
Page 2233
Figure 61 : Schematic illustration to show the influence of
groundwater flows and the migration of body scent, which may be
carried away from the grave site, as a lecahate plume, to emerge
on the flanks.
(Note (by me) : Diagram and explanatory indicators shown here
but I cannot capture it as a screenshot)
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
This consists of a radar antenna transmitting electromagnetic
energy in pulse form at frequencies between 25 MHz and 1 GHz.
The pulses are partially reflected by the sub-surface geological
structures, picked up by a receiving antenna and plotted as a
continuous two-way travel time record, which is displayed as a
pseudo-geological record section. The vertical depth scale of
this section can be calibrated from the measured two-way travel
times of the reflected events either by the use of the
appropriate velocity values of electromagnetic pulse through the
ground.
The depth of penetration achieved by the radar pulse is a
function of both it's frequency and the conductivity of the
ground.
Page 2234
The equipment benefits in use by detecting anomalies in the
ground and is particularly effective through sand and concrete.
However it is limited in undulating terrain or areas where it is
an anomaly rich environment such as a
wooded area.
This equipment whilst readily available in the Commercial
Surveying Industry and University Geophysics Departments
requires expert interpretation of the imagery for grave
detection. |
