Julia Faustyna.Photo: Instagram
The Polish woman who made headlines earlier this year afterclaiming to be Madeleine McCannis not, in fact, the girl who disappeared on a family vacation in 2007 at 3 years old.
Julia Wendell, 21, thought there was a chance that she was McCann — who was kidnapped from a vacation rental nearly 16 years ago. However, a DNA test showed that Wendell is not McCann, Wendell’s spokeswoman, Dr. Fia Johansson, confirmed onInstagram.
“We finally know the reality,” Johansson wrote. “Although it is impossible to tell for sure without the parent’s DNA results on either side, the test results speak to the origins of Julia’s root. The test results revealed that she is 100 percent of Polish heart, with negligible influence from Lithuania, and Russia.”
Later in the lengthy post, Johansson wrote, “This story is much more complicated than a simple girl from a small town in Poland making a claim to get attention. She truly believed what she was saying, and with so many questions about her childhood it is easy to understand where she was coming [from].”
Madeleine McCann.METROPOLITAN POLICE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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According toThe Jerusalem Post, Wendell’s parents released a statement after their daughter’s initial claims and said they were her parents and her claims were false.
Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of Madeleine McCann.LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty
In mid-2020, German authorities identifiedChristian Brueckneras a suspect, but he was never charged. Then in 2022, Portuguese prosecutors said there was anofficial suspectin the case in a statement, according toReuters. It is still unclear who that suspect is. The search for Madeleine continues.
source: people.com
