Madeleine McCann has been spotted in Paraguay, a private investigator has claimed, reportedly sparking a huge search operation for the missing youngster.

Maddie, who was three years old when she vanished in 2007, has been living in the city of Aregua 'in the custody of a woman', according to researcher Miraz Ullah Ali.

The pair are thought to have arrived in the area 'a month or two ago', although police in the area say they have no information that the alleged sighting relates to Maddie.

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."

The claims, made last week, have reportedly prompted an anti-kidnapping division, Interpol and four police stations to carry out a hunt for the little girl.

Commissioner Sanny Amarilla, deputy chief of one of the stations, told local media that officers are scouring the city to see if there is someone 'with a similar description' to the 'sighted' child.

Investigator: Miraz Ullah Ali claims Maddie has been living in Aregua 'in the custody of a woman'
Investigator: Miraz Ullah Ali claims Maddie has been living in Aregua 'in the custody of a woman'
Possible whereabouts? Maddie is said to have arrived in Paraguay 'a month or two ago'
Possible whereabouts? Maddie is said to have arrived in Paraguay 'a month or two ago'

He told Big Bang News: "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."

However, Inspector Luis Ignacio Arias, of Interpol in Paraguay, told EFE that his office has no 'concrete' information on the investigator behind the claims.

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"There's nothing concrete about that person," Arias said of Ali.

He added that the researcher has not even contacted the National Police or the Foreign Ministry about the alleged sighting of Maddie, Fox News reports.

Another local police officer suggested that Ali - who has reportedly not been seen in the area - is only 'getting involved' in high-profile case for the publicity.

A spokesman for Maddie's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, told The Sun that the family is aware of the latest reported sighting.

Location: Police are allegedly scouring the city to see if there is someone 'with a similar description' to the 'sighted' child
Location: Police are allegedly scouring the city to see if there is someone 'with a similar description' to the 'sighted' child
Missing: However, local police say they have no information that the child reportedly spotted was Maddie
Missing: However, local police say they have no information that the child reportedly spotted was Maddie

They are appealing for anyone with information about their daughter - who would now be 12 years old - to come forward, they said.

The Metropolitan Police told the Mirror Online they are aware of the reports and will be making enquiries.

Maddie vanished from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia de Luz, Algarve, on the evening of May 3, 2007.

Read more:Kate and Gerry to launch new appeal to find daughter

Her disappearance made - and continues to make - headlines across the world.

Despite the length of time that has passed, Kate and Gerry, both 47, of Rothley, Leicestershire, refuse to give up hope of ever finding their daughter alive.

Last month, Kate revealed she gets the strength to carry on searching for her daughter from messages of support from people who 'haven’t forgotten' her missing daughter.

She told the Sun she and her heart doctor husband were amazed by the continuing support from total strangers — and that it kept them going.

Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry
Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry

She said: “This Christmas we got hundreds of cards saying, ‘We haven’t forgotten her’, ‘We’re still looking’. It's staggering.

“They were from America, Russia, Japan — there was even one from Trinidad and Tobago.”

Kate had previously said she was convinced the tot never went far from the Praia da Luz resort where she was snatched on May 3 2007.

This is despite thousands of reported sightings of her around the world.

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The distraught mother was speaking at the launch of two-week drive to get a million people in the UK to register for free Child Rescue Alerts (CRAs).

The scheme, funded by the Royal Mail, sends appeals to phones, computers, and tablets when a child vanishes.

Kate said that if the scheme had been around back in 2007 then Maddie, aged three at the time, may have been found within hours.

“It’s nearly nine years and that’s so ridiculous and so unbelievable,” she said.

“You think ‘gosh that could have been hours, or a day’.

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“If enough people had been mobilised and galvanised early then who knows what the outcome would have been.”

With Maddie’s 13th birthday approaching in May, Kate said: “Nine years. Time just goes too quickly. It’s the quiet times that are tough.

“Times when you are thinking about her - or something related to her.”

Despite Scotland Yard’s probe into Madeleine’s abduction being scaled down, her parents insist they will continue to search for her.

Kate said: “The urge to look for Madeleine absolutely hasn’t changed at all.

“You hear all the time about people who have been missing for years being found.

“We will never give up. You couldn’t settle if you thought about giving up.

“I want an end, an answer. Whatever that is.”

Mirror Online has contacted the McCann family's spokesperson for comment.