A former top cop has revealed his explosive new theory about what happened to missing toddler Madeleine McCann.
David Edgar was hired by Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry to investigate her disappearance three years before British police launched their own investigation, Operation Grange.
Madeleine, who would now be 15, has been missing for 11 years since she disappeared from her family's holiday villa in Portugal in May 2007. Mr Edgar believes she is still alive.
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"The chance that she may have been smuggled out of the country without being detected is highly unlikely. There is someone in Portugal with an open knowledge of where she is and what happened," he told The Sun.
His theory echoes her parents' view that she is still alive and may not be aware the world is searching for her.
"There is every possibility that Madeleine is still alive and could be being hidden somewhere and have no idea that she is at the centre of a worldwide hunt for her," Mr Edgar says, adding that he thinks she was snatched by a child sex gang.
"It's a baffling case, but I think it's solvable."
Mr Edgar says British police are doing a decent job in their efforts to find Madeleine despite failing to find any significant leads.
So far, around NZ$22 million has been spent on the British investigation, with police last month requesting an additional NZ$290,000 to continue the investigation.
Since Madeleine went missing, there have been more than 8000 reported potential sightings across the globe.
Newshub.
