Another theory explored in the Netflix doc is that she was taken by a childless couple, and raised as their own. In 2017, The Telegraph reported it had long been suggested she may have been stolen to order, by criminals acting on behalf of a wealthy childless couple.
Witnesses claimed to have seen suspicious characters around the resort in the days before her disappearance, who could have been acting as spotters, searching for a child that fitted the requirements. There were reports of suspicious men hanging around the Ocean Club resort, where the McCanns were staying, days before Madeleine went missing.
