The young Polish woman who think she could be missing British girl Madeleine McCann has shared her goal by going public in her search for answers on her identity.
Julia Wendell, 21, went viral last month when she emerged on social media claiming to be Maddie who went missing on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007. She pointed to similarities like an eye defect and other body markings but thus far, her claims have been unproven pending DNA test results.
Julia has now also revealed her ultimate goal is to help people who have "experienced trauma" like her. She claims she looks similar to e-fits of the missing girl, who would now be 19, and has a colombola – a rare eye condition that makes the pupil appear misshapen – in her right eye, much like Madeleine.
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She also says she remembers very little of her childhood but has early memories of "white buildings" and a beach similar to those at Praia da Luz, where Madeleine's family was staying when she went missing.
"Before eight I have only this one early memory with beach and water, like sea or ocean and there were turtles and children try[ing] to catch turtles and take them [in] their hands," she said.
"And I remember light-coloured buildings, like white or a very light colour... sunlight on this building."
Her quest to uncover her true identity has seen her travel to the US to work with private investigator and self-proclaimed psychic Dr Fia Johansson and even appear on American chat show Dr Phil. Speaking to the renowned TV host, Dr Johansson told viewers across the US she believed Julia "isn't lying" about her mysterious past.
“I tried to ask her certain questions in a different way. Every single answer came back exactly the same," the psychologist said.
"When we [make] up stories normally we may have some changes in the middle of it because that’s not a true story.
"All these stories that she said about those memories, those thoughts, those images, those visions, it was exactly the same. So to me, I don’t believe that she’s lying about the memories or visions.
"I believe she remembers things, she’s trying to connect with those thoughts, and she’s trying to navigate them, that, 'is it really possible that I was there at that time'."
Julia is now awaiting the results of three DNA samples and a genetics test, which will be the first step in determining whether or not she is the missing child.
In a live video on Instagram last week, Dr Johansson explained that if Julia's genetics test shows she is British, they'll compare her DNA sample to one from Madeleine McCann.
"I am really badly waiting for and checking every day the status of it," the private investigator said of the test results.
Last month, Julia's family issued a plea for her to "stop", saying it was "obvious" she wasn't Madeleine. In a statement published on behalf of the family by the Polish missing persons' organisation Missing Years Ago, they said: "The internet won't forget, and it's obvious that Julia isn't [Madeleine]. We are devastated at this current situation."
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