Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: News, Madeleine McCann
Gregory Robinson
The woman who once claimed to be missing British toddler Madeleine McCann spoke about her ‘regret’ before revealing an unexpected update this week.
Julia Wandelt, 23, posted a statement on Instagram on Tuesday (11 February) in which she claimed she was awaiting further DNA results.
She previously set up several online profiles on which she would share regular posts comparing her appearance to that of Madeleine.
The three-year-old went missing whilst on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.
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Julia, who is based in Poland, made an appearance on an episode of Dr Phil in 2023 after gaining attention online. She revealed she was waiting the results of a DNA test to confirm her identity, seemingly convinced she’s the real Madeleine.
However the results later confirmed that she is not Madeleine — the test showed that she has Polish, Lithuanian and Romanian heritage.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 podcast Why Do You Hate Me? last year, Julia surprised her online followers, insisting she 'regrets' the ordeal and saying she 'never meant to hurt anyone – including the McCanns'.
"I really wanted to know who I am," she continued.
According to Julia, memories from her childhood were 'patchy', leading her to believe they could be part of a big secret - like a possible adoption.
She asked her family to show her pictures of her mother pregnant, but they dismissed her concerns.
This dismissal led to her googling missing person cases and discovering McCann's case.
After finding some similarities, like both girls having coloboma of the iris, which affects one in every 10,000 babies, she turned to social media as she 'wanted to know the truth'.
She also revealed that if she could go back, she would never have made the profile, saying: "I would never go on social media. It can destroy you.
"I knew that there will be people who will not believe me or hate me, but I didn't expect that I will get death threats, for example.
"I apologised to the McCanns because I don't know them personally," she added. "I don't know if they were watching this journey, if they were sad or whatever.
"And I just wanted to say sorry. Because every person can react in a different way and maybe it brought them more sadness," Julia says.
"I didn't want them to feel sad. I really wanted to know who I am, and I knew that it could make them feel sad."
However, Julia updated her Instagram followers on Tuesday (11 February) with an unexpected post.
"Since my parents in Poland and Kate and Gerry McCann have refused to take a DNA test, my DNA results were submitted to a world expert who compared them to the DNA found at the Madeleine McCann crime scene in Portugal."
She then added a message, asking anyone interested in 'further information and all media inquiries' to contact a Mr Surjit Singh Clair via an email or telephone number supplied.
Upon contact, Mr Surjit Singh confirmed that Julia Wandelt had been undergoing DNA tests with his firm, Effective Media, and that the McCanns had declined involvement.
Social media commenters were divided by the update, some encouraged Julia to ‘move on’ while others expressed support as she awaits the latest test results.