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A bizarre new theory has emerged that Jeffrey Epstein's alleged madam could be hiding in a submarine.

Ghislaine Maxwell was last photographed at a restaurant in Los Angeles in August and has not been spotted in public since.

The 58-year-old, who is also friends with Prince Andrew, is facing growing pressure to talk to the FBI about claims she procured underage girls for Epstein.

Now it has emerged that the British former socialite has a licence to pilot "submersible vehicles".

Investigators believe Epstein had a submarine dock built under a temple at his Little St James island in the Caribbean, reports the Daily Star.

(Image: Getty Images)

A forum on the Epstein scandal has revealed a diagram of his Little St James temple accompanied by the message: "Ghislaine had a submarine licence. Coincidence, or is she hiding underwater, right under Jeff’s temple?”

Others say she could be in any ocean, given her lifelong passion for sea exploration.

The theory has prompted speculation she may be underwater, with one Twitter user posting: “I’ve heard Ghislaine has a sub licence and there were many levels under Epstein’s temple… what a perfect place to hide.”

Maxwell has been accused in several lawsuits of procuring underage girls for Epstein to traffic among his wealthy and powerful friends. She has also strenously denied any wrongdoing. But since the accusations emerged in 2015 she has become a recluse, shunning the parties she was once a staple of.

And, after Epstein’s August jail suicide, sources close to her claim she being protected.