LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE SQUAD
WITNESS TESTIMONY OF CATRIONA SISILE BAKER
Occupation: Childcare worker
This statement, consisting of four pages, each signed by me, is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that, if it is tendered in evidence, I shall be liable to prosecution if I have wilfully states in it anything I know to be false or do not believe to be true.
Date: 18 of April, 2008
Signature:
I am the above referenced person and live in the address previously given to the police.
I offer this testimony in relation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. I would like to clarify that I am not totally aware of the events as so much time has passed since the incident.
I work in childcare - I was contracted by Mark Warner in June of 2006. The first time I went to Portugal was the 21st of March 2006 where I worked as a childcare worker in the Ocean Club Village, Praia da Luz.
I went to a work interview and was contracted for one year by Mark Warner in June of 2006. There are a number of infant clubs in the Ocean Club resort, where the children are grouped together by age.
The work in the clubs is rotated and the functionaries are changed over weekly. If a family is staying for a period longer than one week, I would stay at the same club to continue taking care of their children. The child is delivered in the morning by one of the parents who also picks him or her up at lunch time. Some of the children return for the afternoon session which includes accompanying them to "high tea" at around 5H in the afternoon.
The age requirements of the various clubs are 3-11 months (baby Club), 12-23 months (Toddler Club), 24 months to 3 years (Toddler 2 Club), 3 to 5 years of age (Mini Club), 6 years to 9 years of age (Juniors Club), 10 years to 15 years of age (Kids Club) and from 14 to 17 years of age (Indies Club). The Baby Club and the Mini Club are situated directly on top of the 24-hour reception. The Toddler Club is located close to the tapas Bar and the others close to the "Millenium" Restaurant.
There were about 16 childcare workers during my stay at the club. I was lodged in the white and blue building, about 10 minutes on foot from the Mark Warner village and my place of work.
I got to know Gerry and Kate McCann on the Sunday morning, 29.04.2007, in the Minis Club.
They brought the children and as it was their first day of holidays the normal procedure was that they were allocated a childcare worker.
I had previously written the children's bracelets which included their name, allergies and relevant information. I stayed with Madeleine, 3 years old, in my group (Minis Club that week) together with E***, daughter of Jane Tanner.
Either Kate or Gerry would accompany Madeleine every day in the morning and would return at lunch hour to take her back. I met Gerry more often as he would drop Madeleine off with greater frequency than Kate. I also remember that Kate was present for High Tea accompanied by the twins between 5H and 5H30 in the afternoon.
Most of the time in which I saw the family together, the children would be eating. The twins appeared tired at lunch, after a long day and also perhaps due to the heat, but I never became preoccupied by the children of by the comportment of the McCanns.
I never saw Kate or Gerry in a car in Portugal. I visited the family in their home at their invitation to see how they were getting along in November of 2007. That was the first time I saw them in a car. On Thursday the 3rd of May 2007, I remember Gerry having accompanied Madeleine to the club between 9h15 and 9h20 in the morning.
I do not remember who came to pick her up for lunch but after she returned in the afternoon for a dive/swim.
These activities were realized with the other children.
On this day I remember that we sailed and I saw friends of the McCanns on the beach, David and Jane.
Around 14h45 Madeleine returned to the Minis Club on top of the reception but I do not remember who accompanied her.
This afternoon we went swimming. Kate went to get Madeleine from the Tapas Bar area and according to what I remember she was wearing sporting clothes and I assumed that she was practicing some form of athletics. It was around 15h25/18h00. I think that Gerry was playing tennis.
On the 3rd of May, 2007, Kate and Gerry did not demonstrate any unusual comportment - they seemed friendly and happy.
When I finished work that day, I headed for home.
Some of my colleagues were going out but I was very tired and did not accompany them. I stayed in the apartment with my friend Rhiannon Fretter and we went to sleep.
Two colleagues later returned to the apartment. I was confused and did not understand was happening. They eventually explained to me what had occurred around 22h30-22h35. Emma Wilding told me that Madeleine has disappeared. Leanne Wagstaff also was present.
I helped in the searches near the beach and after returned to the meeting point in the Tapas bar. The director indicated to us where to search; we looked in all areas. I searched on foot the majority of streets where Madeleine had passed and may have been familiar to her. I also searched the streets of the Tapas Bar, to the Minis Club, and of the Minis toward the beach looking between zones in the beach where she may have had access. All seemed to be concentrated on searches on the beach.
I did not see Kate or Gerry that night.
The next time I saw them was on Saturday at breakfast, as on Friday I spent most of the morning with the Portuguese police giving a statement. On Saturday I was next to the tapas Bar zone when Gerry and Kate appeared. They were still agitated and anxious for news.
I never noted anything strange in Madeleine's comportment during the time I stayed with her.
There was one occasion, on Thursday, 3rd of May 2007, around 10H30 in the morning, where she cried at the launch of the yellow safety boat in the ocean where all the children were sailing. She was scared and fearful and cried on my lap "I am scared, I am scared."
We only used the launches to transport the children to the small yellow boats. When we returned to the other boat she was happy again. She sailed in the small boat and even though some children had the opportunity to return to the port, she stayed for a second time as she appeared to be having a good time.
Jane Tanner's daughter also took part in my group and together they would play. Apart from being a happy child in the club, she always seemed very content when she saw her parents. Madeleine did not demonstrate any fear with the return launch to land.
Madeleine never mentioned that she had cried in the absence of her parents nor did she tell me anything of significance relating to feeling sad or something relevant that would cause me to worry.
Mark Warner has a standard procedure, the signature on a page when a parent leaves or checks-in a child.
There is a separate page for the morning and one for the afternoon.
The page contains the name of the child, the hour of sign-in and the hour of pick-up for the afternoon. Only the parents have authority to take the children, except when there is some other agreement. When Gerry and Kate came to pick up Madeleine there were loving and the child would run into their arms.
Mark Warner maintained a register to all the activities in which the children participated. It functioned as a calendar, referring hour by hour, to what the children were doing. I believe that the Portuguese police collected the sign-in/out sheets and the registry of activities immediately on the day following the disappearance. I would say that Madeleine adored her family; she seemed happy as they did in the club.
During the week which Madeleine stayed in the club there were three events organized that included a trip to the beach.
One of these events took place on Thursday in the morning, as referred to previously.
Another of these events consisted of a trip to the beach with "hula hoops", shovels and buckets, etc, and the other trip to the beach was in order to eat ice cream.
Together, the trips to the beach took place in the afternoon but I cannot state precisely which days. There should be a recording of this in the Mark Warner registers.
During these trips to the beach I never noticed anything untoward given that my attention was on the children in my charge.
Mark Warner moved me from the Ocean Club about one week after - 13th of May, I believe.
I was interviewed on DVD, by DC GIERC of the Leicestershire Police between 10h09 and 10h54 on Monday, 14th of April of 2008 in the Leicestershire police headquarters. I can affirm that my statement on DVD is truthful and in accord with my understanding.
Between 11h57 and 12h12 of the same day I was again interviewed on DVD by DC GIERC. During this interview I was permitted to refresh my memory after reading my translated original statement made to the Portuguese police.
There are two facts that I would like to clarify: "dining out service" which is mentioned is available for the adults, being that the children would be left under the care of a childcare worker during dinner.
My original deposition also mentioned that Madeleine offered more attention to the boys in the club.
I do not remember having made such an affirmation given that Madeleine passed the majority of time playing with Jane Tanner's daughter. I confirm that the deposition in this second DVD is truthful and in accord with my knowledge and that it will be registered.
Between 13h35 and 13h45 of the same day I was once again interviewed by DC GIERC. One more time I confirm that my statement is true and in accord with my understanding.
This statement is truthful and in accord with my understanding.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/CATRIONA-TREASA-B.htm
TRANSLATION BY ALBYM | |||||||||
| 04-Processos, volume IV . Pgs. 870 to 873 | |||||||||
Date: 2007.05.10 Place: Praia da Luz, Lagos Officer responsible: Manuel Pinho, Inspector Description and result of diligence Today (10 May 07), accompanied by Joao Barreiras and Catriona Baker, the 'nanny' responsible for the missing minor, retraced the places and times at which they left the resort area to go to Praia da Luz. A photographic report [of this journey] is attached: The route taken was as follows:1. The parents left the children at "Baby Club", Mark Warner, situated next to the principal reception and which is open 24 hours; - We were told by Catriona that the only days they went to the beach were Tuesday afternoon (1 May 2007) between 15:30 and 16:30, on Wednesday (the next day) at the same time and on Thursday between 10 and 11 o'clock (see attached table [of creche activities]). - 2. then Catriona, with Madeleine and 4 or 5 more children, walked toward the beach. The distance is about 100 metres but not in a straight line; 3. she was always in front with the children behind linked together in a "summy snake" (the object being to form a snake so that the children stayed together in Indian file); 4. leaving the "Baby Club" they descended the stairs to the principal reception, through the front-entrance and crossed Rua Direita (the main street in Praia da Luz) heading for Beco das Palmeiras [passageway: called 'alley of palm trees']; 5. then they made a right towards Beco do Nordeste [passageway: called 'northeast alley'] after which they made a left and went down a stairway next to a property called "Casa Ortiga", that has the number 17; 6. at the bottom of the steps is Travessa das Redes [another street]; 7. crossing this they descended alongside the parking lot towards the esplanade that runs the length of the beach; 8. after reaching the beach they went along the boardwalk to an area where there was a red awning and several thatched sunshades; - On the first two days the children played and did activities in the sand. On the Thursday they went sailing next to the beach. - On that day they sailed in a small yellow "catamaran"; - Alice Standley accompanied the children on the route and on the boat. Three children sailed with her at one time; - Chris Unswork transported the children in a red amphibious boat (life-saving boat) until the boat reached the open sea, and, a few minutes later, returned them to the beach to pick up three other children from the group; - All said that the children did not meet anyone else during their time at the beach, nor during the trip to it. - All said that they saw no-one suspicious watching the children nor in the vicinity. - Catriona said she noticed nothing abnormal [unusual] along the route either when going to the beach or when returning to the resort area. |
