A woman who claims she is missing toddler Madeleine McCann says she has been contacted by the girl's family to take her up on the offer of a DNA test.
Julia Wandelt, who is from Poland despite previous reports suggesting she was German, has been posting on social media this week claiming she has reason to believe she is the youngster who disappeared from a holiday resort in Portugal in May 2007. Wandelt also claims she is the victim of sexual abuse and a German paedophile who was a key suspect in the case was responsible.
The Daily Star reports the 22-year-old purports to have the same unique eye defect as Madeleine, and believes she bears a resemblance to parents Kate and Gerry. The family are reportedly considering asking her to take a DNA test to prove or disprove once and for all whether she could be related.
A source close to the McCanns told the paper: "The family are taking no chances, 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.
"If what she says is true, there is every chance it could be her. It all adds up."
Posting on an Instagram account named @iammadeleinemccann, Wandelt said she had suffered "a lot of trauma" as a child and had scarce recollections of her early childhood. She believes her parents are evasive on the subject of her early years.
In one post, she said: "I had not heard of this case until I started asking my parents questions about my childhood as I have little to no memory of it. The memories are all very blurry and when I have had conversations with my parents, things don't seem to add up and they always try to change the subject."
It is believed a family member of the McCanns has come forward to offer a DNA test, and Julia is hoping to be in direct contact with Gerry and Kate in the coming days.
She added: "I have asked for pictures of when my mum was pregnant with me, other medical records and any pictures from my childhood and she never shows them, she just always tells me I'm crazy.
"My school teacher when I was very young said that I wasn't there from the start but my parents insist I was. After all this confusion I began to do my own research I discovered what had happened to Madeleine McCann and started to piece together the similarities we shared.
"It has been so stressful trying to get people to listen to me."
Julia hopes to make direct contact with the parents of Maddie, who vanished age three, in the coming days.
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