'Madeleine McCann Is Alive': Longtime Private Eye Vows To Continue The Hunt For 3-Year-Old Toddler Who Vanished In 2007
The private investigator who has spent nearly two decades searching for Madeleine McCann thinks the missing 3-year-old is still ALIVE and has vowed to continue the hunt until his dying breath, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.
Dogged gumshoe Julian Peribanez made the bombshell declaration after revealing to this outlet that he is actively pursuing a viable lead in the cold case but refused to reveal the details because he doesn’t want to give grieving parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, “false hopes.”
“I will always believe Madeleine is alive – until proven wrong,” the Barcelona-based private eye told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview.
“You must understand this is very personal case for me,” he added. “I worked 24/7 for 2 years trying to find Madeleine. And even afterward — I continued. It has marked me as a person and as a private detective.”
“That is why I will continue to follow leads and keep working the case for free. I will search for Madeleine for the rest of my life.”
Peribanez was one of the lead “on-the-ground” investigators in the search for Madeleine after the toddler was abducted from her hotel room in May 2007 while on vacation with her parents and younger twin siblings in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
Madeleine had been left with her 2-year-old twin siblings in the unlocked rental while Kate and Gerry enjoyed a meal with friends at a nearby restaurant just 130 feet away. After checking on the kids every so often, Kate was shocked to discover that Madeleine was gone, noticing there was an open window.
Peribanez got involved in the search when the McCann family hired the investigative firm, Metodo 3, to probe leads that were not being pursued by the police in Portugal.
Peribanez, who tailed potential suspects, tracked down all the known pedophiles in the area and delved into the dangerous sex trafficking world during the probe. He told RadarOnline.com the massive hunt for Madeleine was extremely hectic – especially after the case gained worldwide attention.
- Longtime Madeleine McCann Investigator Says Julia Wendell's Claim Should NOT Be Discounted Until Probe Proves Otherwise
- Private Investigator Hired By McCann Family REJECTS German Woman's Sensational Claim She's 'Missing Maddie'
- Madeleine McCann's Parents Say They're 'Still Looking' for Their Missing Daughter in Heartfelt Birthday Post
“You have to understand when we created the hotline there were a lot of people that wanted to help… but it created a lot of chaos because Madeleine McCann was seen all around the world, at different places at the same time,” said Peribanez who now runs his own detective agency. “So, it was a little bit crazy.”
As RadarOnline.com reported, Peribanez is trying to speak with Julia Wendell, the Polish woman who recently became viral on the internet after claiming she was Madeleine.
Wendell, 21, said she had freckles on her leg and cheek as well as a coloboma in her right eye in the same places as the missing toddler. She also claimed to have found a family portrait of the man who raped her as a child that looked exactly like the composite sketch of the suspected wanted for kidnapping Madeleine.
“I’m leaving no stone unturned,” Peribanez told RadarOnline.com about Wendell’s claim.
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
Peribanez said he constantly fielding fresh tips on the case and is working on new potential leads – but for now, he refused to reveal the details.
“I’ve have working on things – as I’ve always done – but I’m not going to talk about it until I find something that’s worth it,” he said. “And the first person I’m going to tell is the McCann family.”
“I know the pain that they’ve been suffering for all these years, I have kids, so I know how painful it is and I don’t want to give them false hopes.”
Powered by RedCircle