22 September 2007
Daily Express
Martin Evans and David Pilditch in Praia da Luz
Madeleine's father is convinced she was abducted by someone hiding in the apartment when he checked on his children, he claimed last night.
Gerry McCann told friends he is sure the kidnapper was already inside the property when he last saw his daughter alive at 9.05pm on May 3.
He believes the intruder had broken in through the unlocked patio doors and was lying in wait.
The McCanns, who remain suspects, think he carried Madeleine through a bedroom window at the front of Ocean Club apartment 5A.
Gerry's suspicions were raised when he remembered the door to the bedroom where twins Sean and Amelie were also sleeping was ajar.
At the time he thought nothing of it. But now he has said he is convinced he had previously shut the door.
He has concluded the abductor must have opened it and hidden in the bathroom or the McCanns' bedroom when he heard Gerry approaching through the doors.
A source close to the family said:
"When Gerry went to check on Madeleine at 9.05pm he realised the bedroom door was open.
Gerry is firmly of the view the abductor was already in the apartment.
"When he went in he saw Madeleine was asleep but the bedroom door was slightly open.
"He thought, 'That's odd' because he had left it firmly closed.
But all the children were asleep.
So he just went in and closed the door again and came out about 9.10pm.
"Gerry is convinced the man must have been hiding, and once Gerry went through the patio doors the only way out was through the window.
The front door was locked so the kidnapper took Madeleine and climbed out the window.
"The theory is the man came in through the patio doors, knowing he has a few minutes until the McCanns' next check.
"The rear doors are out of sight from the tapas bar where the McCanns and their friends are eating."
The source went on:
"The abductor goes in and he hides and when Gerry goes into the bedroom he just thinks he didn't close the bedroom door properly.
When Gerry leaves, the man realises he only has a few minutes.
He thinks that the only way to get out without being seen is through the window."
Gerry and Kate believe that Madeleine was being watched by the abductor during their week-long holiday and that she was stolen to order.
They had checked on their children every half an hour but at 9.30pm one of their dining companions, Matthew Oldfield, offered to look in on them.
However, rather than going into the bedroom, he listened at the door and on hearing nothing assumed all was well.
The McCanns are convinced that Madeleine had been taken by then.
Just 30 minutes later Kate discovered her daughter was missing.
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