London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Feb 02, 2026

Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann receives DNA test results

Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann receives DNA test results

A woman who went viral after she claimed to be Madeleine McCann has carried out a DNA test.

Julia Wendell, 21, is convinced she is the missing child who vanished from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal in May 2007.

She took to Instagram and Tiktok saying she could be the missing Brit due to similarities in their age and appearance.

Julia, from Poland, recently was interviewed on the Dr Phil show to expand on her claims.

Medical records, accessed by private investigator Dr Fia Johansson, were brought to light ahead of the segment.

She said that Julie had reportedly suffered a skull fracture as a child which had erased part of her memory.

The brain injury – which happened when she was eight – had initially left her unable to speak or walk.

Julia told Dr Phil: ‘I have some single memories since eight, nine years old.

Dr Fia Johansson (left) has been granted power of attorney over Julia Wendell

The 21-year-old believes she is Madeleine McCann


‘And before eight, I have only this one memory with beach and water, like sea or ocean, and there were turtles and children trying to catch the turtles and take them in their hands.

‘And I remembered light-coloured buildings, like white or very light colours, sunlight on this building.’

Dr Johansson, who is also a medium, has been granted power of attorney over Julia, the show was told.

She has dispelled any possibility Julia could be missing Maddie.

Madeleine McCann vanished from an apartment in Portugal as her parents ate in a nearby restaurant

Julia claims she has a similar mark on her eye


She told RadarOnline.com: ‘She is absolutely 100 percent from Poland. She is a small percentage of Lithuanian and Russian but the test results show she is Polish.

‘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.’

DNA testing into who Julia’s father is is still ongoing.

Relatives of Maddie previously insisted ‘it’s obvious Julia isn’t Maddie’ and blamed mental health issues and a lust for attention after gaining more than a million followers under the handle @iammadeleinemccann.

Detectives have similarly ‘ruled out’ her account, with Pawel Noga, a spokesman for the police in Wroclaw telling Gazeta the investigation ‘contradicts the version presented by this woman’.

Julia’s account started posting content in February. In one video she points out how she supposedly bears a distinctive spot in her right eye and beauty mark on her cheek which resemble Maddie’s.

The clip has now been viewed over 1.3 million times.

A description below the video read: ‘Help me, I need to talk with Kate and Gerry McCann.

‘I think I can be Madeleine. I need DNA test.

Madeleine McCann disappeared while on a family holiday in Portugal


‘Police investigators from UK and Poland try to ignore me.

‘I will tell my story in posts here. Help me.’

Met Police has spent over £13 million on Operation Grange in a desperate bid to find her, alongside international searches.

Christian Brueckner, who is currently in a German prison for a number of sex and drug offences, was named by prosecutors in the country as a chief suspect in June 2020.

However investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas found that there was no solid evidence linking the 45-year-old to the disappearance as he researched a documentary that was broadcast in May last year.

Brueckner denies any involvement.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Starmer Arrives in Shanghai to Promote British Trade and Investment
Harry Styles, Anthony Joshua and Premier League Stars Among UK’s Top Taxpayers
New Epstein Files Include Images of Former Prince Andrew Kneeling Over Unidentified Woman
Starmer Urges Former Prince Andrew to Testify Before US Congress About Epstein Ties
Starmer Extends Invitation to Japan’s Prime Minister After Strategic Tokyo Talks
Skupski and Harrison Clinch Australian Open Men’s Doubles Title in Melbourne
DOJ Unveils Millions of Epstein Files, Fueling Global Scrutiny of Elite Networks
France Begins Phasing Out Zoom and Microsoft Teams to Advance Digital Sovereignty
China Lifts Sanctions on British MPs and Peers After Starmer Xi Talks in Beijing
Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair to Reorient U.S. Monetary Policy Toward Pro-Growth Interest Rates
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
Michael Schumacher Shows Significant Improvement in Health Status
Greenland’s NATO Stress Test: Coercion, Credibility, and the New Arctic Bargaining Game
Diego Garcia and the Chagos Dispute: When Decolonization Collides With Alliance Power
Trump Claims “Total” U.S. Access to Greenland as NATO Weighs Arctic Basing Rights and Deterrence
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
×