A woman who went viral on social media after claiming to be Madeleine McCann has received DNA results disproving this.
Julia Wendell made headlines earlier this year over claims on social media – and later on popular TV shows including Dr Phil – that she was the missing British toddler, who disappeared from a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.
Across a number of posts, Wendell detailed all the reasons she believed she could be McCann, including that she has the same mark in her eye. Wendell also alleged that unsettling things her family had told her had contributed to her suspicions. As her claims mounted, Wendell went on to attract worldwide attention, and racked up over a million followers on Instagram.
But this week the claim was shutdown when DNA results revealed her to be "100 per cent" Polish. On Tuesday, private detective and celebrity medium Dr Fia Johansson, who was granted power of attorney over Wendell after she took her plea to the US, said in a post on Instagram: "Although it is impossible to tell for sure without the parents DNA results on either side, the test results speak to the origins of Julia’s roots."
"The test results revealed that she is a 100 per cent Polish," she went on. "The DNA test results did not show any connection to British or even German roots."
Elsewhere in the post, Dr Johansson defended Wendell's claim, stressing that she "truly believed what she was saying".
"With so many questions about her childhood, it is easy to understand where she was coming from," the expert added. "This story is much more complicated than a simple girl from a small town in Poland making a claim to get attention."
Following the DNA results, Dr Johansson confirmed that Wendell has made the decision to return to Poland, where she is now living with her father. Wendell's Instagram account, @iammadeleinemccan, has also been deactivated.
Jade Biggs (she/her) is Cosmopolitan UK's Features Writer, covering everything from breaking news and latest royal gossip, to the health and fitness trends taking over your TikTok feed. She also works on first-person features and investigative long-reads, taking a deep-dive into mental health, celebrity culture and women's rights. Jade has been a journalist and content writer for ten years, and has interviewed leading researchers and doctors, high-profile influencers and fitness experts. She is a cat mum to four fur babies and is obsessed with Drag Race, bottomless brunches and wearing clothes only suitable for Bratz dolls. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
