Intrepid Sunday Express reporter Jim Murray and photographer Mike Gunnill found themselves let down by the bean-counters at head office when they retraced the route the possible abductors of youngster Madeleine McCann may have taken.
The duo drove from Portugal to the southern Spanish port of Tarifa, across to Tangiers then boarded the train to Marrakech via Casablanca ‒ the train journey itself taking 10 hours.
After a quick check with contacts at locations in Marrakech the pair arrived at the local airport to find their seats
cancelled. According to the check-in desk, the bookings had been cancelled that morning due to non-payment of the booked flights, made by the Express travel company back in London.
Thinking a fraud had been committed, local police, who thought the pair were trying to leave the country illegally, took them away for questioning. They apparently won their freedom after explaining that the person responsible was an “idiot and didn’t leave the office often, so they didn’t understandâ€. This seemed to strike a chord with the Morocco officials, who replied they have “idiots as well and could well understandâ€. With
handshakes all around the duo made the flight with minutes to spare.
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