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Is Julia Wandelt Madeleine McCann? Swiss facial recognition firm is '90% certain' of the answer

Ava-X created the facial recognition software to assist law enforcement in locating criminals and missing persons years after they disappeared
UPDATED MAR 18, 2023
Julia asserts that she has a coloboma in her right eye, the same rare eye ailment as the missing Madeleine McCann (Instagram/@persianmedium, Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
Julia asserts that she has a coloboma in her right eye, the same rare eye ailment as the missing Madeleine McCann (Instagram/@persianmedium, Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A Swiss company has utilized facial recognition software to figure out if Madeleine McCann and  the Polish woman Julia are the same individuals. Wandelt, also known as Julia Faustyna, after garnering media attention for her assertions, is awaiting the results of three DNA tests and a genetic test.

About a million people followed her @IamMadeleineMcCann Instagram account because they were fascinated by her purported evidence for claiming she was the missing child who vanished in May 2007, 15 years ago. As Madeleine's amazing tale has received so much media attention, Google now shows a picture of Wandelt instead of Madeleine when the latter's name is searched, as reported by MEAWW. When Julia is searched, the words "Gerry McCann's daughter" are displayed next to a headshot of her, as per reports.

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Julia's assertions 

Julia asserts that she has a coloboma in her right eye, the same rare eye ailment as the missing Madeleine. The ailment results in a distorted pupil when a piece of the eye's tissue is absent. Julia also spoke about the freckles on her leg and cheek that match the toddler's freckles when she went missing, as per reports. Private eye Dr. Fia Johansson, who was assigned to the case, visited Poland to further investigate Julia's claims and discovered there were no medical records for the first five years of her existence in Wroclaw, the place where she claimed to have grown up, as reported by Edinburghlive.

Julia's assumption that her age isn't accurate was only confirmed by the fact that Madeleine would be 19 rather than 21. Dr. Johansson stated that regardless of whether Julia is Madeleine or not, she is positive that she was trafficked into Poland as a youngster.

'Practically impossible for the young Pole to be Maddie'

A Swiss company has employed facial recognition technology to refute the allegation, though. According to blick.ch, Ava-X thoroughly examined both girls' photographs using "face matching" technology.

The system, created to assist law enforcement in locating criminals and reuniting missing persons with their families, was unable to connect Julia and Maddie's facial features. Ava-X boss Christian Fehrlin told Blick, "It's practically impossible for the young Pole to be Maddie," as reported by Dailystar.

When the Pole's childhood photo was compared to one of her as an adult, a match was discovered, but Madeleine's photo generated a negative result. When questioned about the likelihood that Julia was Maddie, Fehrlin replied that he was 90% certain the two were different people.

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