Julia Wandelt: Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann had humble upbringing and grew up in 'tiny town', says PI
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: An investigator believes that new information about the upbringing of the Polish woman who claims she is Madeleine McCann explains how she might have escaped detection for over 15 years.
Julia Wandelt (also Julia Wendell/ Julia Faustyna), 21, has ignited social media and mainstream outlets with her assertion that she is Madeleine McCann, the British girl from Leicestershire who vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. She has gained more than a million Instagram followers in a matter of days thanks to her claims, which include having a speck in her eye as Madeleine did at the time of her abduction and the fact that she doesn't remember significant portions of her childhood.
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'A puzzle that is not really connecting'
Julia also alleges that a German pedophile who resembles a former suspect in Madeleine's disappearance abused her. Her primary means of connecting with the public have been Instagram and Dr Fia Johansson, a private investigator who is looking into her statements.
Dr Johansson has now provided some insight into the girl's early years. She spoke to the Fitzy and Wippa radio show podcast in Australia about the case, albeit some important information, like the name of Julia's hometown was omitted, probably out of legal and safety concerns. She said, “They are living in a very small town where they wouldn't have had TV or news going on. It is not like other places that are big cities, it was a very, very, very small town. We are investigating right now her teachers, her school, friends and also close family members to figure out what exactly is going on."
“There's a lot of people who say 'oh she's 21, she shouldn't be 21', but...a fake birth certificate could be two years younger or two years older, especially when you're talking about that town, and that place. My sense is that something is missing – there is a puzzle that is not really connecting with each other.”
'I think I can be Madeleine'
In addition to offering to undergo a DNA test for Madeleine's biological parents, Gerry and Kate, Julia has asked the woman who raised her to do likewise. The 21-year-old has also revealed other instances when it appears that she is the missing child on the Instagram page @iammadeleinemcann, which has the following bio, “I think I can be Madeleine. I need DNA test. Police investigators from UK and Poland try to ignore me. I will tell my story in posts here. Help me. POSTS REELS.”
She mentioned a "hot place" and "beach" in one of her posts. When McCann vanished, she was on vacation with her family in Portugal. The post stated, “I don't remember most of my childhood but my earliest memory is very strong and It's about holidays in hot place where was beach and White or very light colored buildings with apartments. I remember that I saw turtles on the beach it was little Bav as I can remember I saw turtles then and there were another children and they tried to touch small turtles. I don't see my family in this memory..”
