A woman claiming to be Madeline McCann has shared a video of her smile, which she said is proof she is the missing girl. Julia Wandelt, 21, says she is Madeline, who went missing in 2007 Praia da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal, and, in an attempt to prove it, shared a video of Madeline which transitioned into her own face.
Julia created an Instagram account titled @iammadelinemccan where she posts dozens of pictures compares herself to the missing youngster. The Instagram account has 800,000 followers and a TikTok account with the same title has over 180,000 followers.
The Daily Express reports this account has since been replicated by a number of other fake Instagram accounts, which have also gained thousands of followers. In the bio of her Instagram and TikTok account, she stated: "Thank you for support! Kate and Gerry McCann agreed for DNA test!"
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Julie cites a freckle on her leg and a speck in her eye in the same places as the missing girl as 'proof' she is Madeline. She has also compared her eye colours, which appear to be similar in both girls.
However, despite public skepticism, BirminghamLive reported a source close to the McCanns said the family is "taking no chances". They said: "They are willing to look at all leads. It is important they look at all of the factors, the girl does look similar. There’s no disputing that."
Last Friday (February 17) Julia said she had spoken to a person claiming to be Madeline's cousin who said there was a "possibility" to talk to the McCanns about taking a DNA test.
Social media users have, naturally, questioned Julia on her past, asking how she taken. The 21-year-old claimed she did not remember her childhood, or being taken, but said in an earlier post she recognised one of the people wanted by police who she said looked like her "abuser".
The most recent breakthrough in the McCann case came in 2020 when a German suspect publicly labelled Christian B was named by investigators. Clarence Mitchell, Maddie's parents' spokesman, said at the time: "Kate and Gerry do feel it’s potentially very significant. They have welcomed the appeal; they’re not doing any interviews themselves about it because they wish the focus to remain on the police request rather than they themselves."
He said it was the first time in over 13 years police had focused on a specific individual. He added: "There have there been countless sightings, tipoffs, rumours, assumptions made largely by the media about A or B, which have all suddenly come to nothing.
"Nor would I want to talk about any sense of hope or optimism around this one, given the circumstances. But, as I say, in my memory of being involved in the case, the police have never been quite so specific about an individual, as they have been in this appeal."
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