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Witness statement
2007.11.21 (in English)
Statement of Carolyn Kish
Statement date 21.11.07
I am a British national, and
I live in a house in the
village in Portugal having
lived there for 9 years.
I used to live in Worcester
and my family still live
there.
I came back to UK on 23rd
April 07 to Coventry. I
believe with Fly Thomson and
was travelling alone.
I flew back with the same
airline on 30th April from
Coventry to Faro.
I had booked my travel
arrangements through a
company in Lagos. Part of
the package included
collecting me from faro and
taking me home.
I didn't see any news as my
T.V. was not working.
On the afternoon of
Monday 7.5.07 I was in Lagos
as I needed to do some
banking. My car is xxxx
coloured and has an English
Registration.
Near to the main road in
Lagos is a pedestrian area.
There are parking spaces at
the side and I parked in one
of those spaces. There are
ATMS near there and I went
to the one on the left hand.
I don't know what the bank
is called but it is about 3
doors away from the Banco
Espirito Santos.
On walking towards the ATM I
was aware of a man in the
pedestrian area. He was
holding something to his ear
which I thought might be a
Dictaphone but later assumed
it was a mobile phone.
I noticed him as he was
talking very loudly. I
remember him saying 'PLEASE
DO NOT HURT MADELEINE' There
was a lot of other speech,
but I can only remember that
phrase.
I think he had a notebook in
his left hand and I think he
was holding the phone in his
right hand. The notebook
seemed to be the type that
journalists use. He seemed
very upset and the way he
was acting and with the
notebook I assumed he was an
actor or journalist.
It was very quiet and no-one
else was around.
He was pacing up and down,
being 10 metres away from me
at the furthest, and the
closest he was just a few
feet away as he walked past
me at the back while I was
using the ATM.
I would describe him as a
white male about 5.6' with
pale mousey coloured hair.
It think he was wearing an
overcoat or raincoat of dark
coloured with grey being the
main colour I remember. I
thought he was talking with
a slight Irish accent.
I withdrew 150 Euros at the
bank and I also withdraw
some cash from my fathers
account. I was at the
machine for a couple of
minutes and when I left the
man was still there walking
and pacing up and down. I
thought to myself 'who's
Madeleine'. When I got back
into my car the man was
still there as I drove away.
I had a lot of chances to
see the man's face during
that time, and I had never
seen him before.
The account the card
services is xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
in my name at the xxxxx
branch. The sort code
xxxxxxxx and the account no.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. The card
has now been replaced with
another sand I don't have
the old card number.
I was then going to xxxxxx
(a two minute drive away. I
was going to do some
insurance paperwork.
I have been a member of this
bank for many years and am
known by staff there. There
were 3 staff working and I
know that lunch is between
1pm and 2pm, so I think my
visit was before that. One
of the staff was xxxxx, one
was xxx. I was talking to
the one of the staff xxxxx.
She has a daughter called
xxxxx and she always chats
when I visit.
She asked me if I heard
about the missing English
girl. I said I hadn't seen
any news. She told me the
missing child was called
Madeleine and had gone
missing from a resort along
the coast. I told her that
the man I had just heard
must have been the father of
the child. I only assumed
this by logic and from the
conversation AFTER the fact.
In relation to the identity
of the man I saw I thought
initially that he must be
the father based on what he
said and what the staff had
said about the missing girl.
I went to the third local
bank to do some more
banking.
I don't usually watch or
follow news. But months
after this saw a news report
on the local TV station at
home. The footage showed the
father of the missing girl.
At that point I realised it
was the man I had seen on
the occasion above. I had
not seen this picture
before, but I am as sure as
can be that he is the
person.
I have been asked whether I
have made this assumption
but I do not believe I have.
I am 99.99% sure if shown
his photograph with lots of
others I would have picked
him out as the man.
I have heard GM on t.v. And
my interpretation of his
accent is that it's slight
Scottish or Irish.
I am more interested in the
case and have been following
it since this event.
In September 2007, I was at
a health club of xxxx. There
was a kid's party.
Some of the children were
walking off and I was
worried because of what
happened to Madeleine. I
kept a watch on them
returning them to the group
when they walked off. There
was also a large t.v. Which
showed news about the case.
I started talking about it
to a man known as xxxxxx I
told him what I had seen
previously in Lagos. When I
told him he said I should go
to the police.
I asked him to come with me
and he did. We went to the
local station, they referred
me to the GNR. We went there
and they gave an email
address for the PJ at
Portimao. He then sent them
an email and an officer made
contact with me.
In relation to the times and
dates I can add the
following.
I keep a diary which I
record a lot of detail in,
in particular appointments
and finance matters. It is
kept up to date and I am not
aware of any errors. It
shows that 150 euros was
withdrawn on 7th may, to
cover my phone bill.
I authorise the British or
Portuguese police to make
any enquiries in relation to
these financial
transactions.
When I first spoke to the
British police about this, I
was under the impression
that the events happened on
the 2nd May. This was before
the girl went missing and
therefore not correct. I
examined my bank statements
and found the withdrawal
from the ATM, my visit to
sort out my insurance and
the deposit to the third
bank took place in the
afternoon of 7th May. My
bank have advised me that
the cash withdrawal took
place at 2.26pm.