In February of this year, a woman claiming to be missing British child Madeleine McCann made headlines across the world. The 21-year-old woman, who goes by various names including Julia Wendell, Julia Faustyna, and Julia Wandelt, constructed an Instagram account with the handle “Help me, I need to talk with Kate and Gerry McCann” and posted “proof” of her claim, such as photos of herself next to Madeleine and a list of similarities between the two.
The woman, who is Polish, fled her home country due to death threats she received in response to her claim. Her loved ones have criticized her story, stating that she is their daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, and step niece. They have memories and pictures to prove it, and she took these photos from the family home with the birth certificate, as well as numerous hospital discharges. Despite the criticism, the woman insists that she is telling the truth. She went on Dr. Phil to get more people talking about her issue and even took a DNA test to establish her family’s relationship to the McCanns.
However, a recent facial recognition test by Swiss AI firm Ava-X has cast serious doubt on her story. The computer analysis concluded that the possibility of the young woman being missing Madeleine was “practically impossible.” The firm allegedly submitted the woman’s and Madeleine’s mugshots into the Iris facial recognition system. While the technology successfully matched the woman’s childhood and adult images, it was unable to do so with Madeleine’s photos.
The woman settled in the United States, where she allegedly took the DNA test. Speaking to RadarOnline, her legal counsel, Dr. Fia Johansson, stated that the test results indicate that she is not Madeleine. “She is absolutely 100 percent from Poland. She is a small percentage of Lithuanian and Russian but the test results show she is Polish.”
Dr. Johansson also indicated that she has a “gut feeling” that her client isn’t Madeleine, despite the fact that the test results haven’t yet been made public. “We learned a few things, one being that Julia’s mum is in fact now believed to be her mum, so she is not Madeleine McCann,” Dr. Johansson said. “They’re not 100% but they believe that Julia’s mum is in fact her mum. They’re questioning her father’s side. They’re checking into that, that’s part of what they’re doing with the DNA. But Julia’s mum is in fact her mum is what they’re believing and she is not in fact Madeleine McCann.”
British sources say that the government will be allocated hundreds of thousands of pounds to continue the search for Madeleine. A source close to the investigation said: “This is excellent news. Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry will be delighted. It gives fresh hope.”
For the sake of Madeleine McCann’s tortured parents, we can only hope that this matter is resolved soon. While it is important to investigate all claims, false claims can be distressing for families who have already suffered so much.