New DNA Claims Reignite Controversy Over Missing Girl Madeleine McCann

LONDON, England — Julia Wandelt, a 23-year-old Polish woman, has resurfaced in the media spotlight with fresh claims that she might be the missing British girl, Madeleine McCann, who disappeared during a family vacation in Portugal in 2007.

Wandelt, who also uses the names Julia Wendell and Julia Faustyna, previously gained notoriety in 2023 through her Instagram account @IamMadeleineMcCann, where she questioned her identity and her possible connection to the McCann family. However, earlier DNA tests revealed that she was not biologically related to Kate and Gerry McCann and identified her ancestry as Polish, Lithuanian, and Romanian.

After a hiatus, Wandelt recently announced new DNA test results on her new account, @AmIJuliaWandelt, claiming that these new results “strongly support” her theory of being related to Gerry McCann. In several social media posts, she referred to the McCanns as “my parents” and asserted that her latest results show she is “part British, part Irish.”

“Genetic evidence strongly supports that Gerry McCann could be Julia Wandelt’s biological father,” she claimed, although the McCanns have declined to participate in any DNA testing to verify her allegations.

Wandelt stated that an unnamed genetic expert analyzed hair and saliva samples purported to be from the crime scene in Portugal, allegedly yielding a 69.23% match. She claimed her source indicated that this analysis suggests a biological connection consistent with a parent-child relationship.

“If this analysis is accurate and properly derived from their DNA samples, the relationship between McCann and Julia Wandelt is biologically consistent with that of a father and daughter,” the source claimed.

This latest round of allegations comes after a tumultuous journey for Wandelt, who publicly apologized to the McCanns last year during an interview following her initial claims. In that interview, she expressed regret for the distress her insinuations caused.

Wandelt’s media representative, Surjit Singh Clair, reiterated that both Gerry and Kate McCann have refused to take a DNA test despite Wandelt’s assertions. “Police have denied organizing a DNA test after hearing Julia was Polish, but how can they explain her DNA being linked to the crime scene?” Clair questioned, referencing the substantial financial resources allocated to the investigation over the years.

According to reports, the Metropolitan Police continue to receive funding from the Home Office for Operation Grange, established to find new leads in the McCann case nearly 18 years ago.

Madeleine McCann was three years old when she disappeared from her family’s apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007. Her parents left the children sleeping while dining nearby and found her missing upon checking on them later that evening.

As the investigation continues, Wandelt’s claims remain unverified and controversial, sparking further debate and media attention surrounding the long-unsolved case.