OFFICIAL INQUIRY FILES and DOCUMENTS
SANDRO MIGUEL MOREIRA SAMPAIO DA 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

RECEPTIONIST 07 MAY 07

420 to 422 Witness statement of Sandro Miguel Moreria Sampaio da Silva 2007.05.07
2-Processos Volume II Pages 420 - 422

TRANSLATION BY INES

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Sandro Miguel Moreira Sampaio da Silva
Date/Time: 2007/05/07 18H45
Receptionist

Concerning the issue of the process said;
. The deponent affirms that he exercises his functions as receptionist in the establishment, for about eight years;
. In that which concerns the facts that are now being investigated, the current witness affirms that, as is normal, they received the family of Madeleine McCann, with importance to note that their stay was made b intermediary of the Mark Warner agency, who is represented by John Hill;
. States that this business has as its policy to cater to all needs of the clients, which means that there is practically no contact between the clients and the reception;
. Further adds that this family, like all the Mark Warner clients, are placed into a half-pension regime? breakfast and dinner. For diner, the clients can opt for two restaurants, the Tapas of the Millennium, with the first being ?service a la carte? and the second ?buffet? with the clients choosing not just for food, but for questions of proximity in relation to their living quarters. However, the current witness states that the guests have informed him that the Tapas restaurant is of better quality but is much more difficult to arrange a reservation as it has fewer places;
. In this case, the rationale choice for a family to dine is the Tapas, since it is 40 metres in distance from the apartment, as opposed to the Millennium which is around 200 metres from the same;
. The current deponent does not know the room location where the three children slept, however, at being informed that they stayed in the side opposite the apartment, the deponent affirms that this division is completely outside the direct line of sight from the Tapas restaurant;
. Because the solution most acceptable would have been to leave the children with a 'baby sitter' or take them to a small childrens playground that exists in front of the restaurant ?Tapas? where one could easily watch the area from where they were sitting;
. In regards to the question of an available service of ?Baby Sitting?, between 19H30 and 23H30, he affirms that he knows of the existence of this service and that it is free;
. Questioned, the current deponent responds that he does not understand why Madeleine McCanns parent never used this service, given that it was free;
. The question made affirms that before the disappearance of the child, he had no type of contact with this family and that only as clients as is the case with hundreds of others who frequent the establishment;
. He only remembers one situation where Madeleine McCann's father came to the reception in order to solicit a service maintenance request where he asked someone from maintenance to come to his apartment to explain how to turn on the cooker, and to effect repairs on a blind in the room in which he stayed as it was damaged;
. Referring to the date of the disappearance, the 3rd of May, 2007, he remembers that on this day he worked from 08H00 to 16H00, and only returned to work the next morning;
. Just on this day, when he arrived, is when he became aware of what had occurred, having been informed by neighbours and colleagues;
. For this fact, he had little direct awareness, and only knows what was transmitted to him through third parties, and through the media;
. He affirms that at no moment, did not notice the presence of anyone with an abnormal comportment, in that which concerns the children, or other that seemed to be of a suspicious nature;
. The current deponent affirms that he does not know of any element that may help reveal itself useful to the discourse of the investigation;
. And nothing more said, having read the statement, finds it in conformity and signs it;
. The document is duly signed by me ?

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