Someone is protecting Madeleine McCann's kidnappers, says a detective who hunted for her for three years.
As Kate McCann went through yet another Mother's Day without Madeleine yesterday, retired Detective Inspector Dave Edgar broke his silence for the first time.
Madeleine, from Rothley, went missing in May 2007 during a family holiday in Portugal with her siblings and parents Kate and Gerry.
Revealing findings, that a child-sex gang most likely took the three-year-old, he told the Mirror: "Someone knows what happened and it's time they came forward."
Mr Edgar believes an abductor has secretly confessed to the crime and, speaking for the first time since his three-year private investigation into the 2007 disappearance, he said one of those involved will have opened up to a friend or relative.
Calling for an end to the agony of Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry, he pleaded: "If anyone confided in you, now is the time to come forward."
When the Metropolitan Police took over the search in 2011, Mr Edgar handed his files to the force.
But he has kept in contact with the probe and believes a new appeal could finally solve it.
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He said: "Someone knows, it must be on someone's conscience, please come forward."
During his probe, paid for by the Find Madeleine Fund, Mr Edgar's small team of investigators examined a number of potential suspects,
Mr Edgar had a 30-year career with the RUC and Cheshire police and worked on high profile murder cases.
He believes it was a planned operation by a lone kidnapper or a gang.
He said: "If the motive was gang-related child prostitution, there might have been more than one involved."
And that's where a breakthrough may come.
He said: "They can't keep it to themselves and research has shown they always confide in someone else.
"I think that someone else apart from the perpetrator knows and that is one of the best hopes of getting to the truth, that someone comes forward and says what they know."
Mr Edgar wants a police-backed European campaign.
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He said: "I'm talking about TV, posters, letters, text messages, new technology. We're talking Europe. Get the message out there."
The retired detective clings to the hope that Madeleine is still alive, possibly being held prisoner and potentially still in Portugal.
There have been a number of cases where victims have emerged after being held in captivity for years.
"Until such time that a body is found it is a live investigation and there is always hope," he said.