The head in Interpol has criticised the investigator who claimed the missing youngster has been living in the city of Aregua 'in the custody of a woman'

The investigator who claimed missing Madeleine McCann had been smuggled into Paraquay has been accused of making a "grave error".

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.

He told how he believed the pair arrived in the area 'a month or two ago'.

However, his claims caused huge confusion with local police saying they had no information about any sightings of Maddie.

Today, his actions have been criticised by experts, including the chief of Interpol Victor Tandi.

He said: “He committed a grave error if his information was right because he’s alerting the kidnapper that he’s looking for them. It’s very strange.”

The mystery private eye is believed to have left the country on Monday afternoon after a stay of only three days.

Jorge Kronawetter, Director of Immigrations, said Ali flew into Silvio Pettirossi International Airport last Friday with Brazilian carrier TAM claiming to be a tourist and left with the same airline at 4.34pm local time on Monday for an unknown final destination.

Ali, who is thought to be based in Britain, said his mission was to see Aregua for himself and publish an appeal for information in a local paper.

But he sparked the fury of police and government officials after failing to alert the authorities before going public with his appeal.

Paraguay's Vice interior minister Jalil Rachid told a radio interviewer: “I think what this supposed investigator did was very foolish.

“He’s saying missing Madeleine is in Aregua and he goes there to take some pictures and then returns. Obviously he left empty-handed.

“I believe he’s been very irresponsible and committed a grave error in the way he’s acted.

“This man has now left Paraguay and is back in London as far as I know."

He added: “We sent personnel to Aregua but didn’t obtain any information pointing towards Madeleine being there.

“That’s not to say we won’t in the future but at the moment we’ve got nothing.”

The parents of Madeleine McCann yesterday said they had been made aware of claims that the youngster is currently in Paraguay.

A spokesman for the missing youngster's parents Kate and Gerry today said they were aware of the reports and encouraged people to contact police if they had any information.

Speaking to The Sun, the family spokesman 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."

The spokesman added that the family had never heard of the investigator who has made the claims.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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’.

“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.