Polish woman who believed she was Madeleine McCann has been claiming to be a missing child since she was a teenager.
Julia Wendell, 21, recently discovered she is not the British toddler after taking a genetic test that revealed she is almost entirely Polish.
She amassed a sizable Instagram following after launching the “I am Madeleine McCann” account, and even received approval from Maddie’s parents, Kate and Gerry, to undergo a DNA test.
Julia’s mother, Dorota Wandelt-Cholewinski, is “beyond herself,” according to a family friend, and she and her father, Piotr Cholewinski, want to get their daughter “the help she requires.”
She is also disturbed by the role of US media personality and psychic Dr Fia Johansson in the situation.
Dr. Fia Johansson, a self-proclaimed psychic, became involved in the case as her spokesperson and flew her to the United States for her “safety.”
Julia’s former friend, on the other hand, claims she has been questioning her identity since she was a teenager.
“What is happening now isn’t exactly new,” the former friend told MailOnline. When she was in her twenties, she began to claim that Dorota [Julia’s mother] was not her mother and that she was a child who had gone missing in Poland a few years before.
“It was so sad to see because you could tell Dorota loved her and just wanted the best for her – she rebelled and left home and started dating a drug addict, which didn’t help her.”
“I hadn’t seen her in a year or so, and then I heard from friends a few months ago that Julia was back at it, claiming to be Madeleine McCann, which everyone knew was ridiculous because Maddie is younger.”
Julia, according to her friend, moved to Wroclaw with her mother when she was seven years old and had to change schools after struggling to fit in.
Julia gained attention online when she claimed to be the missing Madeleine and even shared her alleged evidence.
She claimed she resembled e-fits and predicted what she would look like today.
Julia is believed to have returned to Poland in the aftermath of the definitive DNA results ruling her out as Madeleine, but she has not returned to her home with Dorota and Piotr.
Another family member said Julia should seek help for her mental health problems and stop claiming she isn’t related to them.
Gerry and Kate issued a statement after learning about Julia and her claims to be Madeleine.
“There isn’t anything to report at this time,” Kate and Gerry’s representatives said. If and when there is one, it will be provided by The Metropolitan Police.”
Madeleine McCann went missing on 3 May 2007 in Praia da Luz, Algarve, and has never been found. Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, have spent over 15 years trying to figure out what happened to their daughter and where she might be.