by Chi Ibe

Stephen Birch, a South African property developer has released a statement that Madeleine McCann’s body was buried near the site of her disappearance and that he has found her grave.

Birch said ground radar scans he made with specialist equipment have been passed to Scotland Yard, who are conducting an investigative review of the case, the Huffington Post reports.

In an interview with Sky News, Birch said: “All I want to do is solve the mystery and bring closure to Madeleine’s family. I am convinced she lies where I have scanned.  I’ve had the scans analysed and they show digging, a void and what could be human bones.”

Madeleine was nearly four years old when she vanished in 2007 from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz as her parents dined with friends at a tapas bar nearby.

Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann have not commented on Birch’s claims and continue their search, claiming: “There is absolutely nothing to suggest that Madeleine has been harmed.”

A spokesman for Scotland Yard told Huffington Post UK he was “not prepared to discuss specific lines of inquiry.”