The Paternity Case of the so-called Madeline McCann

This paternity case involves a Polish young woman named Julia Wandelt who claims to be the missing three year old Madeline McCann, a British girl who disappeared in 2007 and wants to reunite with her family. The McCann family doesn't believe her however Julia claims to have "proof" that she is the missing girl. Wandelt or Wandell spent years giving the McCanns hell until DNA proof showed who she truly is.

Let's start from the beginning....

Madeline McCann was born on May 12, 2003 to her parents Kate and Gerry McCann. Madeleine's parents are both physicians and practising Roman Catholics. Madeline has twin siblings. According to her parents, they describe Madeleine as very loving, caring, very funny, very chatty, very engaging.

On May 2007, the McCann family decided to go to Portugal for a vacation. The McCann children had been left asleep at 20:30 in the ground-floor apartment while their parents dined with friends in a restaurant 55 metres (180 ft) away. The parents checked on the children about every 30-40 minutes throughout the evening, until Kate discovered Madeleine was missing at 22:00.

Once they realized she was missing, the resort acted quickly. The reception and emergency services were alerted; a search was launched involving resort staff and guests, initially under the assumption she might have wandered off. The search lasted through much of the night and into the early hours. Her disappearance spawn national media attention launching a cross-country investigation and resulted in an international media frenzy.

There was a suspect (Robert Murat) early on, but that side of investigation was dropped when evidence proved insufficient. For over a decade, Portuguese, English and German police forces have collaborated in an attempt to locate McCann and her kidnapper. Last year, German authorities said “new evidence” connected German native Christian Brückner to McCann’s murder. Brückner is a convicted rapist, but he has yet to be charged in this case. He lived in the Praia da Luz area from 1995 to 2007.

Brückner is serving a seven-year prison sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in 2005 in the same area where Madeleine went missing. He has also been convicted of drug charges.

It was the first time a formal suspect had been named in the McCann case since Madeleine’s parents were declared such in 2007. They were later cleared of suspicion in 2008. With no proof of her remains, McCann's disappearance has remained unsolved.

"I Am Madeleine"

Years since McCann's disappearance, a Polish woman named Julia Wandelt living in south Portugal. Wandelt shared on TikTok and Instagram that she is Madeleine McCann. Wandelt claimed she “remembered” being the missing child: she described memories of playing with Madeleine’s family. She also said she recollected being abducted and abused. She repeatedly contacted Madeleine’s parents (Kate McCann and Gerry McCann) and siblings via emails, WhatsApp and other messages, voicemails, and even appeared at their home address between 2022 and 2025. Wendelt has demanded a DNA test to prove she is Madeleine McCann.

Wandelt has appear on the Dr. Phil Show which is not a surprise because all the crazy people go there. A private investigator who worked on the McCann case believed Julia might be the missing child. Julia's mother refused a DNA test and refused to cooperate. At trial, A forensic DNA test demonstrated that Wandelt has shown no match link to the McCanns.

SHE IS NOT MADELEINE !!!!!

Wendlt still sticks by her story by claiming she is Madeleine McCann. She claimed that due to trauma and time, and tried to use supposed childhood photos and hypnosis-induced “memories” to support her claims. In 2025, Wendelt was charged for stalking and harassment after making repeated claims that she was Madeleine McCann. Wendelt had contacted the McCann family by sending emails, leaving voicemails, and turning up at their home in Rothley in Leicestershire, between June 2022 and February this year. Some observers (including from a missing-persons charity involved in the case) suspect that her claims were driven by a desire for attention or “fame” rather than genuine belief. The court and prosecutors concluded that her behavior (harassing messages, visits, pressure for DNA tests) caused distress to the McCanns and their family, and the lack of scientific basis ended the possibility she was ever Madeleine. That same year, jury found Wendelt guilty of harassment and stalking.

She was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment (already served on remand), issued a restraining order, had her mobile devices destroyed, and was served with a deportation order. The McCann parents were distraught and felt sorry for Julia.

Another One?

If you thought Julia is the only one, there's another claim from another young woman who claims to Madeline McCann.

An American woman from Arkansas is claiming that she is the real Madeleine McCann, a British girl who disappeared in 2007 while on a family vacation in Portugal. Eugenea Collins, 22, began posting her claims on Instagram in September 2024 with the username TheOfficialMadeleineMcCann, and the account features numerous side-by-side photos of Collins and McCann. In her most recent post, Collins shared an ancestry DNA test that shows she is 68 per cent English and northwestern European, which she believes supports her claims. Unlike Wendelt, Collins claims she has struggled to obtain official identification, including her birth certificate in an Instagram post from November 2024. Collins said she has tried to contact police in Arkansas about her claims but they have not taken her seriously. She even shared a side by side photo of herself and McCann in an TikTok video. Though Collins looks striking like the missing child, I wouldn't be surprised if this is another attempt to use the missing child's name to glamorize her name.

Honestly, this is all mind games that these women are playing mind games with McCann's family and the media for attention. This is mental especially for a missing child that has never been found or will ever be found.

Source

YouTube

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cvgm6d68n86t

https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-11-07/woman-who-claimed-to-be-missing-madeleine-mccann-found-guilty-of-harassment?utm_source