OFFICIAL INQUIRY FILES and DOCUMENTS
RUI SEGIO LOPES SILVA

This information belongs to the Ministério Público in Portimão, Portugal.
It was released to the public on 4 August 2008 in accordance with Portuguese Law

GNR

1342 to 1343 Witness statement of Rui Ségio Lopes Silva 2007.05.16

TRANSLATION BY INES

5-Processos Vol V Pages 1342-1343
05_VOLUME_Va_Page_1342
05_VOLUME_Va_Page_1343
Witness Statement
Date: 2007/05/16
Hours: 15h25m

Rui Segio Lopes Silva

Occupation: GNR Officer


He has been a GNR officer since 2004. He is a soldier and currently works at the Lagos post.

On 3rd May it was his day off, however he was drinking coffee at the Lagos GNR bar. He does not know exactly what time this was but he was when he was in the bar with other colleagues that he heard about the events.

Together with his colleague, Santos, he immediately offered to do all that was necessary to help.

After having helped his previously mentioned colleague prepare a message to distribute the news, he left for the OC in his own car. He arrived with his colleague Santos between 00.00 and 00.01 and presented himself to the GNR post commander, Duarte.

He was immediately sent to one of the search zones, initially accompanied by the post commander.

He never entered the McCann apartment the girl disappeared from.

He only had direct contact with the couple and their friends at about 04.00 when Gerry McCann approached the GNR group of which he was a member to ask whether there was a church close by. He replied to him in English, giving the directions to a nearby church.

During the searches that he carried out on the scene until 05.00, he saw many people searching and he especially remembers two large groups of 10-15 people. One close to the beach and the other near to the McCann apartment block in Rua Agostinho da Silva.

He never spoke to any unknown person not was he approached by any unknown individual.

When asked about Robert Murat, he said that he did not see him on that night nor on other days when he went to the scene.

Reads, ratifies, signs.

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