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Fears Madeleine McCann was 'snatched for rich family' after reports of Morocco sightings

Madeleine McCann vanished in Portugal in May 2007 - PA
Madeleine McCann vanished in Portugal in May 2007 - PA

Madeleine McCann may have been abducted by slave traders and sold to a rich family, a former policeman has claimed, amid reports of a possible sighting.

Almost 10 years after the three-year-old girl vanished while the family were on holiday in Portugal, private detectives hired by the McCanns reportedly believe she may have been smuggled by ferry into Africa.

Gangs in Mauritania, West Africa, are known to sell youngsters to wealthy Middle Eastern families.

Colin Sutton, a former Scotland Yard detective, told the Mirror: “The Mauritania line is certainly a possibility and needs to be looked at.

“If someone wanted to get a three-year-old child into Africa it’s the obvious route. The infrastructure and contacts for people smuggling are clearly there.”

Gerry and Kate McCann, the parents of Madeleine - Credit: Eddie Mulholland
Gerry and Kate McCann, the parents of Madeleine Credit: Eddie Mulholland

Private detectives reportedly believe she was snatched and taken to the country via Morocco, where there have been alleged sightings. 

It is not known if police have investigated the Mauritania theory as part of their investigations. 

Shortly after Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007, a traveller reportedly told Crimestoppers they saw a girl that looked like Madeleine on the Tarifa-Tangier ferry, four days after she vanished.

Two days later, a tourist reported seeing a girl “identical” to Madeleine with a man at a petrol station next to an Ibis hotel in Marrakech, the Mirror reported.

According to the newspaper, Mari Olli and British husband Ray Pollard, who live in Spain, said they had not heard of Madeleine’s disappearance when they made the possible sighting and only made the connection when they returned home.

Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

She said the youngster she saw was wearing blue pyjamas, looked “sad” and asked: “Can we see Mummy soon?”

Ms Olli said she alerted Portuguese and UK authorities and gave a statement to Scotland Yard detectives. She followed it up by emailing Leicestershire Police. 

Portuguese police files made public a year after Madeleine's disappearance show British police passed on the email to their Portuguese counterparts but Ms Olli says she was never contacted by officers there.

"I try not to think about what I could have done. The one thing I’m still convinced about is that it was Madeleine," she told the Mirror. 

Madeleine vanished from Praia da Luz in May 2007 when the three-year-old was sleeping in the family's apartment with her siblings, twins Amelie and Sean.

At the time, her parents, Gerry and Kate, were eating dinner with friends at a restaurant around 40 yards away.

Search for Madeleine McCann in pictures

 

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