http://www.news.com.au/world/europe/...43cb1e939bea92
UPDATE: Investigators have dismissed reports that Madeleine McCann has been spotted in Paraguay.
It was earlier reported that a huge search operation was underway after claims the missing child was living “in the custody of a woman” in the city of Areguá.
British man Miraz Ullah Ali, a researcher, had said he spotted Maddie, who would now be 12 years old, in Aregua, about 27km from the capital of Asunción, The Sun UK reports.
His claims are believed to have triggered a major search involving four police stations, the anti-kidnapping division, intelligence personnel and Interpol, according to a local news outlet.
Ali told Color ABC: “My team and I received the information that Madeleine arrived in Paraguay a month or two ago and is living in Areguá in the custody of a woman.”
Maddie’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, had been informed of the reports and appealed for anyone with information about their beloved daughter to come forward.
But investigators have now debunked the alleged sighting and questioned the credibility of researcher Miraz Ullah Ali, who refused to reveal who he worked for and wasn’t able to offer documentation to support his claims.
Madeleine disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia de Luz, Algarve in 2007 when she was just three years old. While her family have never given up hope of finding her alive, countless sightings around the world have come to nothing.
Since her apparent abduction, she has been ‘spotted’ in countries including Portugal, Sweden, Belgium, Morocco and The Netherlands.
Despite the latest ‘sighting’ being discredited, it is still understood to have sparked an investigation.
Commissioner Sanny Amarilla, Deputy Chief of one of the police stations hunting for Maddie, confirmed four stations in Areguá, intelligence personnel from the Interior Ministry and local Interpol divisions are looking for the young girl.
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.”
Upon hearing the news of the apparent sighting, Kate and Gerry McCann appealed for anyone with information to come forward but admitted they had never heard of the investigator in question.
A spokesman for the family said: “Kate and Gerry have been made aware of this sighting.
“They would encourage anyone who has any information about Madeleine to get in contact with officers from Operation Grange.”