The Polish government has dismissed a woman's claims that she is Madeleine McCann, the British girl who went missing while on vacation in Portugal back in 2007. Julia Faustyna, who also goes by the names Julia Wandelt and Julia Wendell, has amassed more than a million followers on Instagram with a wild story that she believes proves she is Madeleine.
On the other hand, her family released a statement last week pointing at alleged mental illness possibly contributing to Faustyna's delusions that she is Madeleine. Faustyna has gone through a lot of effort to point out what she sees as similarities in her and Madeleine's physical appearances, and she has made claims about her childhood that she thinks make a connection.
Faustyna says she has very little evidence that those who call themselves her family are actually her biological parents and pleaded with the Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, for a DNA test. According to multiple reports, the McCanns agreed to the test last month, but there has been no further information on when it will occur. Police now say Faustyna is nothing but a storyteller.
Faustyna first appeared on social media on February 14.
Faustyna quietly came on the scene on Instagram under the handle iammadeleinemccann in mid-February. Because the girl has been missing for nearly 16 years, it can be surmised that Faustyna gained followers quickly by making such a big claim about a high-profile case.
In a series of posts on February 14, Faustyna began to explain why she believes she's Madeleine McCann. Her first photo is just of her as an adult, with another person's face scribbled out. The following image has similar markings, but she is just a child in the photo. In this post, she claimed to have very few memories of her childhood, but one evening sticks out in her mind that she thinks supports the idea she is the missing Madeleine.
"First reason..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 couloured buildings with apartaments," she wrote in the post. "I remember that I saw turttles on the beach it was little Bay as I can remember I saw turttles then and there were another children and they tried to touch small turttles. I don't see my family in this memory."
She is assimilating limited evidence from Madeleine's case and weaving it into her story.
Faustyna posted a police sketch of a man on the @officialfindmadeleine Instagram account and said she recognized him. She also claims to have been sexually abused as a child and that this sketch resembles her abuser. According to Faustyna, the abuse led to memory repression, yet her few memories seem to align with Madeleine's case and her disappearance.
Soon after starting the account, Faustyna began her quest for help from the police.
Faustyna, originally from Poland but now living in Germany, posted several photos and videos tagging @metpolice_uk. On February 16, she began pleading with the police to contact her.
"Thank you for sending me this one! I see the same expression too! ❤️ @metpolice_uk are you going to help me????" she wrote.
It is unclear if law enforcement in the United Kingdom has been in contact with Faustyna, but Polish law enforcement officials have now debunked her claims.
Polish police spoke with Faustyna's parents and determined she is not Madeleine.
Faustyna believes that she is Madeleine, but her case is closed as far as the Polish police are concerned. According to the Mirror, Pawel Noga of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wroclaw, Poland, has confirmed that Faustyna's family are who they claim to be and that the 21-year-old woman is not Madeleine. This comes after her family's statement discrediting Faustyna's claims last week.
The family says this is a ploy for Faustyna to gain popularity. They say they have tried to help her several times, but she does not accept the help. The family is afraid this story will not have a happy ending.
"We're afraid Julia will carry the inevitable. The internet won't forget, and it's obvious that Julia isn't Maddie," her family shared.
Faustyna still has some supporters.
In videos posted to iammadeleinemccan on Instagram, Faustyna talks with Dr. Fia Johansson, persianmedium on Instagram, who has defended Faustyna and said that her background is "messy" and that she is mentally fragile. In a video posted March 1, Johansson alleges that the story that Polish police have closed Faustyna's case is false.
Johansson said no law officer has made a statement or signed off on the fact that Faustyna is not Madeleine, and she is continuing to work with law enforcement for closure in the case. She fiercely supports and defends Faustyna. Johansson called out Faustyna's biological family on Instagram, asking them to settle the whole argument with a DNA test.
The lengthy post read in part, "Now, in front of everyone, I'm typing this to you and people watching this video — I urge you and your spokesman, to communicate with me directly, to exchange DNA or the evidence to prove that Julia is your real daughter. So far, you've denied doing a DNA test, and the world is more suspicious about your behavior as a mom."
The family has not responded.
Many people across social media are calling for DNA testing.
Although the general opinion seems to be that Faustyna is not Maddie, many on social media are suspicious of the fact that her biological parents have not agreed to DNA testing and are suggesting that testing could provide closure for Faustyna.
