Gerry
McCann organised a game of tennis in the days after
his daughter
Madeleine disappeared, it has
been claimed.
In an allegation likely to infuriate the
McCanns, a waiter at the
Ocean Club
resort in
Praia da Laz
said Gerry and
Kate were 'very cool' after she vanished and seemed less upset
than their friends
The waiter said: "What we found really strange was Gerry, days
after the little girl disappeared, calmly playing
tennis.
He played with an old couple from England.
|
Gerry and Kate McCann: Their lawyers will soon see
police files on the case |
"I thought that everybody else in the group seemed more upset
and stressed and bothered than the parents.
|
Madeleine: 'There's been a disaster', her father
said |
"They were so cool about it. I never saw them cry or anything.
They played tennis and went jogging. They didn't seem as
distraught as their
friends. If my kid disappeared
I'd go insane. I wouldn't be able to function. They'd have to
lock me away."
The claims come as the McCanns launch a new 24-hour phoneline
manned by
private detectives in a fresh
bid to find their daughter.
Portuguese police have given Gerry and Kate their full backing
in setting up the confidential number, according to the couple's
spokesman,
Clarence Mitchell.
It's also been reported Madeleine's hair and
body fluids
were found in the
apartment of the first offical
suspect in her disappearance,
Robert Murat.
Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas said detectives are now sure she
was in his apartment at some stage, but are not sure if she was
dead or alive.
The waiter's description of the McCanns was in sharp contrast to
one given by Mrs McCann's mother
Susan
Healy. She told of a hysterical telephone call home
that Mr McCann made on the night Madeleine disappeared from
their Portuguese holiday apartment.
"There's been a disaster, it's a disaster," he told his
mother-in-law. "Madeleine has been abducted from her bed."
Madeleine's mother added: "She's gone mum, she's gone." Speaking
for the first time about the emotional call, Mrs Healy said her
son-in-law was so hysterical on the phone that she was unsure
what he was saying.
"I thought he was talking about a car accident," she said. "It
took me a while because he was hysterical. And then he just said
'Madeleine has been abducted from her bed'."
Speaking from their Liverpool home, Mrs Healy, 61, and her
husband Brian described how they tried to comfort the McCanns.
"I was able to say to her [Kate], 'We'll be able to get her
back'," said Mrs Healy.
"I'm finding it harder to say that. But we're not going to
acknowledge she's gone from our life altogether."
|
Grandparents: Susan and Brian Healy used their
interview on Spanish TV to send a message to
Madeleine to 'stay strong - we'll get you back' |
Mrs McCann's parents spoke about the call during an interview
they gave on Spanish TV to try to refute claims that their
daughter was involved in Madeleine's disappearance on May 3. Mrs
Healy said that seeing Mrs McCann named as an official suspect
was not as bad as the fear that Madeleine, four, could be dead.
Lawyers
for the McCanns - who are both official
suspects
- will soon be allowed to see the
police files
on the case. Under Portugal's new penal
code the secrecy laws covering the investigation will be lifted
on November 14.
This morning the McCanns' official spokesman Clarence Mitchell
dismissed reports that Mr McCann had "stunned" hotel staff by
organising a game of tennis while the hunt for Madeleine was
under way.
He told GMTV: "For nearly six months now, we have had this
stream of unwarranted speculation, in many cases ill-informed
rumour and downright misinterpretation of events.
"Kate and Gerry did nothing wrong in the immediate aftermath of
Madeleine going missing. The only thing they did do was fight
for their daughter's return and that is what they have continued
to do ever since."
The McCanns, who are both 39-year-old doctors, are back home in
Rothley, Leicestershire, with their two-year-old
twins. |