Mr.Gordon was very helpful to the police, which was no help at all to the McCanns.This statement was dated 24th April 2008.
The week was quiet, the children went to kindergarten either in the morning or in part of the afternoon and there was a day that I think they went all day - but I cannot state this with exactitude.
The children always returned to the apartment at lunchtime for a nap that usually occurred between 13.00 and 15.00. The children were always in our company when they were not at the nursery, and frequently we took them to the beach for an ice cream.On Wednesday or Thursday the children were sleeping in the apartment and Sal also was inside - reading a book if I am not mistaken. I was seated in the paved garden that is facing the area of the pool, when I heard a male voice say "Hello". The voice came from the gate that leads to the road on the corner of the apartment and connects to the main reception area.
that he had what seemed to me to be a book of receipts.
I thought that either he was genuine or a professional "cheat". It was then that I entered the apartment and asked Sal where was the money, and returned with a 10 euro note that I gave to him.
I cannot say exactly where he put the money and I think that he gave me a receipt, which I imagine that I threw away or left in Portugal.
At the time I thought the individual aggressive or having a persistent manner.
I felt he was genuine and it appeared to be for a good cause.I would describe the man as educated, with good appearance and brought with him a pamphlet.
He had dark hair with slight tendency to gray, his skin seemed to be tanned [by the sun]. I would say that he was more than forty years old and 1.77 - 1.80cm in height - that is hard to say with certainty since I was looking down at him from a higher position.
I would add that the man was robustly built but was not fat. Wearing a light green polo, trousers and shoes.After all this time I do not know if he had a slight goatee on the picture of the identification badge [card] or in person.
But in one way or another I remember him as being clean and shaven and with light facial hair. I would say that I was with this man 2-3 minutes. The individual was not seen by the children since they were in bed asleep, nor seen by Sal since she remained inside while I spoke with him.
I had never seen this man before and saw him no more after that. Apart from mentioning him to Sal I did not speak again about this man while I was in Portugal.
While we were in Portugal there were no incidents worthy of record, beyond this man that I have described, however there was a time when I cut myself shaving in the bathroom of the apartment.
I would say that the cut bled for about a 45 minutes and that it took some time until the cut stopped bleeding, during which period I walked around the apartment with paper tissues trying to stop the blood. Aside from this, to the best of my knowledge no one else cut themselves nor did anyone die in
the apartment.Blood found in the apartment as Martin Grimes explained could have been old or fresh, the dog picked up on this and Dr.Mccann would have also claimed the blood found was that of Mr.Gordons. But this would have proved the dog was correct. Sadly, for Dr.McCann he could not claim only one dog was reliable, the dog that picked up on the blood. To then suggest the cadaver was unreliable would have made Dr.McCann look rather foolish.
The man calling for donations would have also been a great help to the McCanns, much closer to match with the day of Madeleines alleged abduction. But Mr.Gordon refused to be pressured by the McCanns and their backer Kennedy , he went to the police and made an official complaint. The McCanns backed off.
