Julia Wandelt, a Polish woman who has publicly claimed to be Madeleine McCann, was arrested upon arriving in the UK.
Authorities apprehended Wandelt at Bristol Airport shortly after she landed from Wroclaw, Poland. She was taken into custody on suspicion of stalking and harassing Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s parents.
Wandelt, 23, had reportedly planned to meet a friend in Cardiff when police intervened, surprising fellow passengers. The friend, believed to be in her 60s, was also arrested and taken away by authorities.
Her Claims and DNA Testing
Wandelt has maintained that she is Madeleine McCann and has stated that a DNA test conducted by a specialist in the United States links her to Kate and Gerry McCann.
Previously known as Julia Wendell, she gained widespread attention in February 2023 when she launched an Instagram account under the name ‘@IAmMadeleineMcCann’. Her claims led her to appear on the U.S. talk show Dr. Phil, where she discussed the possibility of being Madeleine, who disappeared at age three in 2007 after being abducted from her family’s holiday villa in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
Earlier this week, Wandelt posted to her new social media account, ‘@AmIJuliaWandelt’, sharing what she described as the results of a fresh DNA test. She claimed that Kate and Gerry McCann had “refused” to participate in the process.
According to her, the test results were analyzed by a “world expert” who compared them to DNA evidence from the crime scene linked to Madeleine’s disappearance. She also alleged that experts had matched her eyes, teeth, and voice to those of the missing child.
Confirmation of Arrest
Wandelt’s representative, Surjit Singh Clair, confirmed the arrest, stating, “I’m trying to find out what’s happened, but it appears Julia has been arrested at Bristol Airport this evening just after she got off the plane. The police have reportedly arrested her on an allegation of stalking and harassing the McCanns.”
In a series of Instagram posts last week, Wandelt claimed that a “source” suggested her genetic evidence “strongly supports that Gerry McCann could be her biological father.”
Supported by analysis experts, she released the first part of the DNA results, which allegedly showed she was “part British and part Irish” rather than being entirely Polish. This contradicts findings from private investigator Dr. Fia Johansson, who in 2023 shared DNA results proving Wandelt was fully Polish.
Wandelt expressed doubts over those previous findings, stating she had struggled to understand the results. She also accused Dr. Johansson of being untruthful—an allegation the investigator firmly denied.
DNA Analysis and Expert Findings
The second part of Wandelt’s DNA results was reportedly examined by Dr. Monte Miller, a forensic expert with a PhD in Biochemistry from Loma Linda University in California.
In an email to Wandelt, Miller explained: “The simple answer is that the suspect is not the source of the DNA on the evidence, because their DNA is not fully established everywhere. However, they do match fairly well, more than I would expect at random, and a specific pattern emerges that looks like an almost certain family connection.”
Her Personal Story and Suspicions
Wandelt previously told BBC journalist Marianna Spring that she had been sexually abused as a child. She claimed she first began suspecting she was Madeleine McCann after noticing similarities between police sketches of suspects and her own abuser.
She further alleged that gaps in her memory made her question her upbringing. According to her, her parents dismissed her inquiries about being adopted, which deepened her suspicions.
Additionally, she stated she was never shown childhood photos or a birth certificate. However, her parents refuted these claims, providing evidence to disprove them.
Her arrest adds another chapter to the ongoing controversy surrounding her claims and the continuing mystery of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.