A Woman Claims She's Missing Girl Madeleine McCann & Her Photos Raise Some Big Questions
It's been over 15 years since U.K. girl Madeleine McCann went missing while on vacation with her parents in Portugal, and a woman has now come forward to claim that she is the long-lost girl.
The 21-year-old Polish woman, who has been identified by several names by different outlets, including Julia Wendell, Julia Wandelt and Julia Faustyna, has been posting her claims online, comparing herself to McCann in a series of photos. She also claims that she's been in contact with the McCann family to get a DNA test.
Social media accounts, including TikTok and Instagram, have popped up over the past few days with the handles @iammadeleinemccann, which may have been created by Julia.
The Instagram account with nearly 1 million followers says that Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, have agreed to a DNA test.
One of the posts shows a side-by-side photo of Julia and McCann.
In another Instagram post, the woman writes why she believes she may be the missing girl.
"First reason...I don’t remember most of my childhood but my earliest memory is very strong and it’s about holidays in [a] hot place where [there] was [a] beach and White or very light-coloured buildings with apartments," her post caption reads.
"I remember that I saw turtles on the beach it was little Bay as I can remember I saw turtles then and there were [other] children and they tried to touch small turtles. I don’t see my family in this memory."
In a TikTok video, the woman lists her similarities to the McCann family, including a mark on her eye just like Madeleine's, similar facial shapes to the missing girl and similarities in features to Madeleine's parents.
@iammadeleinemccannc Visit TikTok to discover videos!
McCann was just 3 years old when she went missing from an apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007. The U.K. girl was sleeping in the apartment at the time while her parents were having dinner at a nearby restaurant.
The case was followed closely for years by the media and in 2019 Netflix released a documentary titled The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
In April 2022, Portuguese prosecutors declared that German native Christian Brueckner was an official suspect in Madeleine's disappearance, as reported by the BBC.
The Independent reports that German authorities linked a phone call the man received in May 2007 near the Portuguese holiday apartment where the three-year-old went missing, but Brueckner claimed he was elsewhere at the time.
The outlet also says the German man has been linked to other missing children's cases in the past and in April 2022 was arrested in Germany for the rape and murder of a 72-year-old woman in the same resort where Madeleine went missing.
The McCann family has not released a statement's on Julia's latest claims. A spokesperson for the family told The Daily Beast that they will not comment. However, a "friend close to the family" told the outlet that they are willing to follow up.
The McCanns have a website called "Find Madeleine" which is dedicated to their daughter's case and they post any updates on the investigation as well as messages of thanks for all the support over the years.
Since the new claims have been made by Julia, people have been taking to social media to express their thoughts.
A Reddit thread has been created titled “Thoughts on Julia Faustyna," which asks people what they think about the claims.
Many people have expressed on the thread that they don't believe Julia is in fact Madeleine.
"It's definitely not Madeleine, she looks nothing like her," one person wrote, while another said Julia is Slavic, while McCann was British.
Others have been posting videos on TikTok to outline the latest on the case.
A video created by the TikTok account @peoplearetheworst_pod already has 12 million views.
@peoplearetheworst_pod Could it be Madeleine McCann? #greenscreenvideo #madeleinemccann #truecrimecommunity #fyp #truecrimetiktok #truecrimepodcasts #truecrime #madeleinemccanncase #madeleinemccannfound #viraltiktok
With over 10,000 comments, viewers are mixed on who they believe Julia really is.
The case has also stirred up a lot of conversation on Twitter.
One Twitter user writes it's difficult for her to see the resemblance, but says "anything is possible."
\u201cIt is difficult for me to see how this could be Madeleine McCann, but I suppose anything is possible. The McCann family has agreed to a DNA test. Julia Wendell seems rather convinced. #MissingChild\u201d— Rose (@Rose) 1676837253
The same Twitter user followed up that tweet with another pointing out that Julia is not sure of her exact birthdate and "definitely has a story to tell."
This is seemingly referencing the fact that Julia says she is 21-years-old and McCann would currently be 19-years-old.
\u201cFor reference here are some more comparison pictures. Julia Faustyna, also identified as Julia Wendell or Julia Wandelt, is from Poland. She is not sure of her exact birthdate and definitely has a story to tell. Whether she is Madeleine McCann or not, Julia deserves some answers\u2026\u201d— Rose (@Rose) 1676913910
It's unknown when the DNA test Julia mentioned in her videos will take place, or if the family has truly committed to doing it.
It's also unclear when and if the family and police will release a statement on the matter.
