Processos Vol III

Pages 642 – 643

Witness Statement

David Miguel Marino Barroso


Date: 2007/05/08

Occupation: Apprentice waiter

Place of Work: Ocean Club


He has been employed as an apprentice waiter at the OC since April this year. Within the resort he works at the Tapas restaurant from 09.30 to 17.00 and has Mondays and Tuesdays off. His functions within the resort are limited to the Tapas Restaurant, including the esplanade and the pool.

When questioned, he says that he has heard about the disappearance, he heard about it on Friday 4th May in the morning, when he arrived at the resort to start work. On 3rd May he worked until 17.00 when he left for home.

When questioned, the witness says that he has the impression that he saw Madeleine’s father at the bar in the Tapas restaurant during the days before her disappearance. With regard to the girl and the rest of her family he does not remember having seen them before, and thinks he only saw them on press reports following the disappearance.

He says that he did not hear of any strange conversations related to tourists or their children during the days prior to the disappearance or concerning the functioning of the resort.

He did not notice any strange behaviour from people in the resort and nothing drew his attention to the cars in the resort.

He has no information relevant to the investigation.

Reads, ratifies, signs.

Processos Vol III

Pages 644 – 645

Witness Statement

Aritson Henrique Soares Santos Lúcio


Date: 2007/05/08


Occupation: Restaurant employee

Place of Work: Ocean Club


He works as a waiter/kitchen helper in the Tapas restaurant in the OC resort. He has worked there since the 19th March 2007.

He says that in the exercise of his functions within the kitchen he doe not come into contact with clients.

His hours are from 10.00 to 18.00 without a lunch break, every day except for Wednesdays and Saturdays which are his days off.

He has nothing to add regarding the events being investigated.

But he says that until the press released information and pictures he had never seen the McCann family before.

On the day of the events, he worked as usual and at about 18.00 returned to his home where he stayed with his girlfriends Catia Costa.

He found out about the events when he arrived at work the following day.

He saw nothing strange and has nothing to add.

Reads, ratifies, signs.

Processos Vol III

Pages 646 647

Witness Statement

Antonio Manuel Ginjeira

Date: 2007/05/08

Occupation: Chef

Place of Work: Ocean Club

He has worked as a chef at the OC for two months and has a 9 month work contract. He returned to work after having spent one month in Portimao hospital with health problems.


With regard to his functions his hours are flexible taking into account its characteristics and the days off of the rest of the team, his place of work is essentially in the central kitchen of the resort, situated next to the Mirage restaurant. He does not carry out activities in any of the other kitchens in the resort, although he has perhaps entered them on occasions.

On the day of the events he was working and left between 21.00 and 22.00, he does not know precisely at what time. When he left, in a dark blue Volkswagen Golf, he does not remember the number plate, but from the year 1999, which was parked next to the reception of the same restaurant, he drove down the road, taking the first left in the direction of Odiaxere. When he arrived there, he did what he always does after work and entered a café, he does not remember its name, but the owner is Mr Angostinho, where he had a few drinks. At about 23.00/23.30 he left the café and went home where he stayed with his girlfriend.

He only heard about the disappearance the following day from the media.

Given the nature of his work and that this takes place in a restricted area, not having contact with clients, he says that he has never seen the family before.

When he began work on Friday at about 11.00, the disappearance was the theme of conversations.

He saw nobody suspicious.


Reads, ratifies, signs.

Processos Vol III

Pages 648 – 649

Witness Statement

David José Araújo Veloso dos Santos

Date: 2007/05/08

Occupation: Restaurant employee

Place of Work: Millenium Restaurant


He has worked as a waiter in the Millenium Restaurant since 12th March of this year.

The establishment is used by guests staying at the OC resort particularly at breakfast and dinner times.

When questioned he says he remembers the family of Madeleine McCann, who used the restaurant where he works once on Saturday 28th April, but he adds that he did not have any conversation with them.

When questioned about the relationship between the parents and the children, he says that he did not really notice, but that he was given to believe that there was nothing strange about it.

He says that at no moment did he notice anyone with strange behaviour as regards the children or anything that appeared suspicious to him.

Concerning the events being investigated, when he was working his normal shift from 16.00 to 24.00 an individual, tall and of British nationality, appeared in the restaurant at about 22.30/22.45, who asked him whether he had seen a little girl who had disappeared, describing her as blonde and three years old and that she was probably wearing pyjamas.

The witness and his colleague, Maria de Fátima, replied that they hadn’t, upon which the individual ran out.

When questioned, the witness said that he did not participate in the searches that took place that night, but went home at about 24.00 when he finished work.

He knew about the investigation from the media. He has nothing else to say.


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Processos Vol III

Pages 650 – 652

Witness Statement


Válter Manuel de Freitas Mendes


Date: 2007/05/08

Occupation: Barman


Place of Work: Millenium Restaurant, Top Bar


He has worked at the OC for almost 3 years. He carries out his activities as Barman in the Top Bar as well as the Millenium restaurant pools that belong to the OC. He has fixed working hours from 10.00 to 18.00. He does not have a defined lunch hour, however when he has the opportunity he takes half an hour's break to eat something, without leaving the site. He has Sundays and Mondays off. Had has observed the photographs of the missing English girl, and says that he saw nothing.

The only time when they could have crossed each other would be at breakfast, however breakfast is served until 10.00, precisely the time when he starts work. He never saw the group that Madeleine belonged to, presuming they never used the pool of the bar where he worked. If this would have happened, he would surely have noticed them as they were a large group.

He heard about Madeleine’s disappearance on the 4th May from colleagues. In spite of the delicate nature of the subject he tries to abstain himself from the numerous comments that curious people offer about the motives associated with Madeleine’s disappearance. When asked whether he knows anything that might help locate the girl, he replies that he does not. When asked if he noticed any strange behaviour on the part of anyone, he replies that he did not.

He does not know exactly where the events occurred, but has the idea that it was near to the Tapas.

Reads, ratifies, signs.

Processos Vol III

Pages 659 – 660


Witness Statement

Antonio Joaquim da Conceicão

Date: 2007/05/08


Occupation: Gardener

Place of Work: Ocean Club

He is a gardener and has worked for the OC for almost 9 years. As regards his functions he works from 08.00 to 17.00, with an hour for lunch at 13.00. Days off are flexible. He adds that the place of his work is essentially the OC reception area, next to the Mirage restaurant. In other words, quite far from the place the girl disappeared from.

He states that the first time he saw the girl’s parents was from the media on 4th May. It was by this means that he found out. He says that on the day of the events, 3rd May he worked until 17.00. He returned home, accompanied as usual by his son Sergio, who works in the same sector and for the same company.

In the days preceding the disappearance he saw nobody/nothing strange that could be related to the events. He did not see anyone with strange behaviour and he has heard nothing in his social sphere that could be of interest to the case.


Reads, ratifies, signs

Processos Vol III

Page 661 – 662

Witness Statement

Jaime Pedro Oliveira Graça

Date: 2007 – 05 –08

Occupation: Maintenance Worker

Place of Work: Ocean Club


He has worked at the OC since 1991. He is responsible for all maintenance and circulates daily around the resort. He works from 09.00 to 13.00 and from 14.000 to 18.00. He was on holiday from 2nd to 11th May 2007 and went to the OC on 2nd May to collect his pay cheque. He heard about the disappearance on 4th May from watching the news.

He never met the girl or her family and did not see anything suspicious during the days before her disappearance. Has no information.


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Processos Vol III

Pages 665 – 666

Witness Statement

Alexandra Nicole de Sousa

Date: 2007 – 05 – 08

Occupation: Waitress

Place of Work: Millenium Restaurant, OC

She works as a waitress in the Millenium restaurant, OC. She says that this place is about 500 metres away from the apartment block where the events occurred.

She works from 16.00 to 24.00 daily with the exception of Mondays and Thursdays which are her days off. Her functions are to attend to clients at their tables and on the balcony.

The clients who frequent the restaurant are mainly foreigners, especially British people, staying at the resort.

When asked, she says she recalls the parents of the girl who disappeared as they dined in the restaurant on the day they arrived in Portugal, on a Saturday, she does not remember the date. She say that she remembers the twins, Madeleine’s siblings, but not Madeleine. although she recognises that she must have seen her in the company of her parents.

When asked she says that she did not see anything on the part of anyone that would indicate the preparation of a criminal act.

She heard about the events on the same day at about 22.30 when she was at the restaurant bar where she works, relaxing with her mother and sister. At that moment, a British individual, a tennis instructor entered the restaurant, and told them what had happened, and headed towards the interior of the space where the pool are, looking for the girl.

She says that because she had had some alcoholic drinks, she was not in a condition to participate in the searches. However, her sister did take part in the searches, together with her boyfriend.

On the following day she found out from the news that the girl was the daughter of the McCann couple who had dined at the restaurant where she works.

She has nothing to add.

Reads, ratifies, signs.

Processos Vol III

Pages 667 – 669

Witness Statement

Gustavo Cesar Cabral Campos

Date: 2007 – 05 – 08

Occupation: Waiter

Place of Work: Millenium Restaurant, OC


He has worked at the Millenium Restaurant since 9th March 2007, near to the apartment where the events occurred.

He says that as he is a waiter he has direct contact with the clients at the restaurant. He works from 16.00 to 24.00 without interruption every day except for Fridays and Saturdays which are his days off.


The place where he works receives guests staying at the resort, mainly of British nationality.

However, he thinks it is possible that people who are not staying at the resort can frequent the restaurant.

When asked if these people can use the areas adjacent to the restaurant (gardens, pools, tennis courts) he does not know whether this is possible.

It is certain that from 18.30/19.00 onwards these leisure area are closed to the public (guests and others).

For security reasons, and given that the restaurant has a receptionist, the entrances of guests are registered and in order to access the spaces adjacent to the restaurant individuals have to show a member card with their name and the apartment where they are staying as well as the dates of arrival and departure from the resort.

Concerning the facts being investigated he says that he has nothing of interest to add.

When questioned, he says that when the events occurred he was working in the restaurant and heard about the disappearance at about 22.30 – 23.00 from a Mark Warner employee (he doesn’t know his name, but he is of English nationality) who, at that moment asked to use a telephone in the bar to make a call as he had received information about the disappearance of the girl on his mobile.

He does not know the concrete terms of the conversation but he is clear that something had happened.

The employee then left the bar/restaurant.

When his shift ended he joined in the searched with his colleague Nelson. He searched until 03.00 AM.

He says that he has nothing to add, he saw nothing strange during the day or on the previous days.

With regard to the McCann family he has nothing to add as he did not have close contact with them.

He say that without being absolutely sure he thinks he saw the couple with their three children inside the restaurant on Monday or Tuesday night, he supposes they were there to eat.

When questioned he says that he is not sure whether they were accompanied by other individuals.

He says that as was the case on other nights, that night was calm and he did not notice anything strange or anyone approaching the couple or their children or taking photographs.


Reads, ratifies, signs.

Processos, Volume III
Pages 794 to 795

Witness statement

Paula Cristina da Costa Vieira

Date : 2007.05.09
Time: 12H10
Place: Lagos
Name: Paula Cristina da Costa Vieira
Profession: Cleaning Staff

The witness states that she has worked at the OC resort for about a month from this date, exercising her functions in cleaning around the pool and in the reception of this hotel establishment.
Her normal working hours are from 09H00 and 19H00, with about 30 minutes for lunch, between 13H30 and 14H00.
She adds that her days off are Fridays and Saturdays.
That, as she mainly cleans in the above mentioned areas, her contact with the guests is limited to perhaps observing them in the reception or when using the pools. She adds that she does not understand the English language well.
Further adds that she is the only employee who cleans the reception and that there are two other people who help clean the other areas.
When questioned she states that she has no direct knowledge of the facts of the current investigation.
In fact, she adds that she only became aware of the situation on 04.05.07, Friday, at around 11H00 as she was told by the club receptionist whom she knows only as Monica.
This happened because on Thursday the 3rd of May she finished work at her normal time.
This being the case, she left the OC on Thursday the 3rd of May around 19H00 and went towards her residence indicated above. The next day she was off duty.
She further informs that on this same day, Thursday, she had no information from the news.
When asked, she adds that she knows nothing of the details of the disappearance of the child or any other details of the situation other than those gathered from her colleagues and from the news on Friday.
With respect to the child in question, Madeleine, and her family, the witness adds when she did hear about what happened, she was not able to associate the name with the person in question.
When she saw her photograph, and saw the images of the parents, she did remember having seen them, about two times—the child in question and her family when they were leaving the Millenium Club breakfast (around 9h30/10H00) and only because this was her time to the clean the reception of the establishment.
From these fortuitous encounters, the witness adds that they appeared a perfectly normal family.
She reaffirms that she never had any other contact with the family of the missing child or with the child in question.
She adds that in the days preceding the disappearance of the child, she detected no suspicious situation. She states that she is unaware of any detail or information regarding the disappearance of the child, nor does she possess any information that could help locate her or provide such information.
And nothing more was said.

Reads, ratifies, signs.