Madeleine McCann: Woman claiming to be the missing girl arrested on stalking charges

The media went into a frenzy in 2007 when three-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing from the hotel in Praia da Luz, Portugal, where she was staying with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and her two other siblings.

Since her disappearance, Madeleine’s parents have not given up hope of finding their daughter and have continued searching. As time has passed, there have been a number of suspects; however, so far, nothing has come from it.

Following Madeleine’s disappearance, several young women have come forward, claiming to be her. One of them is Polish 23-year-old Julia Wendall, who made her first claim in 2023 and has been fighting to prove what she believes to be true. She has been trying to get a DNA test from Kate and Gerry McCann, but her attempts have so far been futile.

However, it seems the Polish woman has not given up on her quest to prove her so-called identity.

Julia Wendell arrested on stalking charges

Indeed, on 19 February 2025, Wendall, also known as Julia Wandelt or Julia Faustyna,was arrested at Bristol Airport, mere moments after she flew into the UK from Poland. She was arrested alongside a 60-year-old woman on suspicion of stalking and harrassing the McCanns. Her representative Surjit Singh Clair said, as quoted by Mail Online:

I'm trying to find out what's happened but it appears Julia has been arrested at Bristol Airport this evening just after she got off the plane.

The police have reportedly arrested her on an allegation of stalking and harassing the McCanns.

On 21 February, it was revealed that the young woman has been charged with four counts of stalking that occurred throughout 2024 and again on February 2025.

This comes only a few days after Julia Wendell published a series of Instagram posts displaying the results of a DNA test that allegedly proves her connection to Madeleine McCann.

Julia Wendell has ‘new evidence’ she is Madeleine McCann

The results of the test includes findings on her ethnicity, comparisons between Julia and Madeleine's teeth, eyes, and voice, and an analysis of DNA samples allegedly taken from the crime scene in Portugal.

When she first made her claim in 2023, she took a DNA test that confirmed that Julia is from Poland, which discredited her claims that she is Kate and Gerry’s daughter. However, Julia now claims that the new DNA results show that she is actually 'part British, part Irish.'

She also has findings from a ‘world expert’ – who has not been named – that claims they compared her DNA with the samples from the crime scene where Madeleine disappeared.

The unnamed expert believes the genetic evidence ‘strongly supports that Gerry McCann could be Julia Wandelt’s biological father’, as shown by the following post on Julia's Instagram account:

In an attempt to add credibility to her claims, she included insights from a Forensic DNA expert, Dr. Monte Miller, who said in an email:

The simple answer is that the suspect [Julia Wendell] is not the source of the DNA on the evidence, because their DNA is not fully established everywhere.

However, they do match fairly well, more than I would expect at random, and a specific pattern emerges that look like an almost certain family connection.

It is uncertain how the tests were conducted, leaving many questions that are yet to be answered. Julia's spokesperson Surjit Singh Clair isurging Madeleine's parents to take a DNA test to get to the bottom of this whole situation. He said:

Despite indicators she is related to Gerry McCann, neither he nor Kate will take a DNA test.

Police have denied organising a DNA test after hearing Julia was Polish on the BBC, but even if she was just "a random Polish person" how can they possibly explain her DNA being linked to the crime scene.

They have spent £20million on this investigation and now won't spend £60 on a DNA test, even though she offered to pay for it.

Julia Wendell claims to be Madeleine McCann

As mentioned above, Julia Wendell first claimed to be Madeleine McCann back in 2023. She shared her thoughts on Instagram, creating an account with the handle @IamMadeleineMcCann.

Naturally, Julia was thrust into the media spotlight. Following her claim, Wendell was a guest on Dr Phil, where she discussed why she believed she was Madeleine.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Julia claimed that her Polish health pass, which is used to track various health issues, including vaccinations, has six blank pages at the start. She also explained that she had never seen photos from her early childhood or her birth certificate. Julia’s Polish parents have denied these claims and explained that Julia had taken her photo albums to her own home since moving out.

Julia Wendell went on to claim that when she asked her mother for photos of her pregnancy and to take a DNA test, she refused.

When I asked her for DNA before this whole situation, when I asked her for some pictures from her pregnancy, some childhood pictures… she refused.

However, it appears this is not the first missing girl that Julia Wendall saw herself in.

Julia Wendell has claimed to be other missing girls

Daily Mail has uncovered that Julia has claimed to be three other missing girls, including German schoolgirl Inga Gehricke, who disappeared from Stendal, Germany in 2015, American toddler Acacia Bishop, who went missing as a 19-month-old in 2003 in Utah, and a missing Polish girl. Each time her claims were dismissed, as the ages did not match with those who had gone missing. This is also the case when it comes to Madeleine, as the girl would now be around 20 years old, whereas Julia is 23.

A spokesperson for Zaginieni przed Laty, a Polish charity that helps families find their loved ones, said:

Julia has messaged us twice to say she is a missing person, once to say she was German and once to say she was American.

Adding:

Neither were correct, and we have been helping Julia’s family as best we can because it’s quite clear she is not very well and is constantly claiming to be people she isn’t.

It should also be noted that, as per Metro, Julia Wendell previously apologised to Kate and Gerry McCann for claiming she is their daughter, and said she ‘regretted’ the whole thing after she received death threats.

Read more:

Maddie McCann: 10 key dates to understand one of the most mysterious disappearances of our time

Madeleine McCann: Police raid home of man with connections to Christian B

Maddie McCann: The main suspect on trial for five other cases in Europe

Sources used:

Metro: ‘Woman who claims to be Madeleine McCann releases latest DNA test results’

Daily Mail: ‘Why does this woman insist she is Madeleine McCann? Her parents say it is nonsense, she claimed to be three other missing girls and has even apologised to the McCanns... but now the 'Maddie faker' is back’

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