McCann’s private detective dies at 56

A PRIVATE detective accused of exploiting the hunt for Madeleine McCann to fund his lavish lifestyle has been found dead.

Kevin Halligen, 56, gained notoriety when his firm Oakley International was used by Kate and Gerry McCann to help search for their missing daughter.

His Washington-based company received about £300,000 of cash donated by the public after Madeleine vanished from an Algarve resort in May 2007 at the age of three.

He was later forced to deny claims the money was actually siphoned off to pay for first-class travel, luxury hotel suites, a chauffeur and a mansion in Virginia, US.

Adrian Gatton, a TV director and investigative journalist, who made a documentary with Mr Halligen in 2014, said he died last Monday, having sunk into alcohol addiction.

He said: “My understanding is that he was found dead on Monday night. There was blood around the house, probably caused by previous falls when he was either drunk or blacking out.

“His house was full of empty drink bottles. A lot of people wished him ill but his death is almost certainly related to alcoholism.”

Surrey Police said the death was currently being treated as “unexplained”.

A spokesman said: “A file will be passed to the coroner’s office in due course.”

The McCanns used the Irish national’s firm for around six months to look for their missing daughter.

They terminated the arrangement without paying the full fees because Mr Halligen, from Surrey, apparently failed to fulfil certain agreements.