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A major search for Madeleine McCann in
South America was initiated by bizarre
claims in a local newspaper that she had
been ‘spotted’ in Paraguay, it was
revealed today.
Miraz Ullah Ali Isa, who claims to be a
private eye from London, had said the
missing girl from Leicestershire was
living 'in the custody of a woman' in
the southern city of Aregua.
And an advert by Mr Ali which appeared
in Aregua this week is believed to have
triggered a major search involving four
local police stations, an
anti-kidnapping division and Interpol.
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Appeal: A
newspaper advert by a
private eye which appeared
in Aregua this week is
believed to have triggered a
major search involving four
local police stations, an
anti-kidnapping division and
Interpol |
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Translated into English, it said: ‘My
name is Miraz Ali, a private
investigator from London. We have been
informed that Madeleine McCann has been
found living in Aregua, possibly with a
woman.
‘She was kidnapped from her hotel on May
3 2007 aged three at the Praia da Luz
complex in the Algarve, Portugal. Please
look at the photo above.
She is now 12 years old and a photograph
has been produced of how she would look
when she was nine years old. We believe
two men were involved and left the
country using a boat.’
According to the Daily Mirror, the
advert told how Madeleine had ‘suffered
in an indescribable manner’ and said
there is a €2million (£1.6million)
reward for information leading to her
safe return.
Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry
McCann, were informed of the reports and
appealed for more details, but
investigators have now debunked the
alleged sighting and questioned Mr Isa’s
credibility.
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'Investigator':
Miraz Ullah Ali Isa (left),
who claims to be a private
eye from London, had said
missing Madeleine McCann
(right) from Leicestershire
was living 'in the custody
of a woman' in the southern
city of Aregua |
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Over the weekend, Mr Isa told local
newspaper ABC Color: 'My team and I
received the information that Madeleine
arrived in Paraguay a month or two ago.'
He claimed that Madeleine was 'in the
custody of a woman' in Aregua, about 17
miles from the capital of Asunción, but
refused to reveal the name of his firm
and could not offer any documentation to
support his claims.
The newspaper also discredited his
investigation by noting that he 'only
stayed (in the country) a couple of days
and didn’t speak with anyone'. But the
report is still understood to have
sparked in investigation.
Commissioner Sanny Amarilla, a deputy
chief involved in the search, said four
police stations, intelligence personnel
from the Interior Ministry and Interpol
divisions were involved in the search.
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Mystery: Madeleine
(pictured, left, aged three
and, right, in a police
computer generated image
showing what she may look
like aged nine) went missing
from a holiday flat in the
Algarve resort of Praia de
Luz in 2007 |
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Heartache: The young girl's
parents, Kate and Gerry
McCann, had been informed of
the reported sighting |
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He said: 'We are investigating
neighbourhoods where there are foreign
citizens, villas, condos, to see if
there is someone with a similar
description that corresponds to the
newspaper clipping.
'This news stretches across the globe,
it is very important. So if they are in
the area we need to find this girl and
return her to her family.'
But the allegations have now been
dismissed by inspector Luis Ignacio
Arias of Interpol in Paraguay, who said
that his office had 'nothing concrete'
about Mr Isa's identity.
He told EFE that the researcher had
never contacted the National Police or
the Foreign Ministry with his reported
sighting. Mr and Mrs McCann said they
had never heard of Mr Isa.
Arias Paraguay’s National Police said it
will investigate his story and identity.
The country’s vice minister of interior
security, Jalil Rachid, told Radio
Monumental that he also had no details
on the missing girl in Aregua. |
