Woman who claims she’s Madeleine McCann is charged with ‘year-long stalking campaign against missing girl’s parents’

A POLISH woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann has been charged with stalking the missing toddler's parents. Julia Wandelt, 23, was arrested as she touched down at Bristol Airport at around 8pm on Wednesday night. She had travelled from Wroclaw in Poland, and was due to meet with a friend who lives in Cardiff when she was detained.

Now, Leicestershire Police have now confirmed the 23-year-old has been charged with four counts of stalking. Two of the counts relate to alleged offences between May 2, 2024, and February 15, 2025. A third count allegedly took place between January 3 and April 21 last year, while the fourth was between November 27, 2024, and December 29, 2024.

Wandelt, also known as Julia Wandel, has been remanded in custody to appear at Leicester Magistrates’ Court today. Her friend - who is thought to be in her 60s - has been released on police bail after also being arrested on suspicion of stalking. Julia's representative Surjit Singh Clair confirmed to The Sun that she was arrested after arriving in the UK.

Madeline McCann vanished while on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, with her parents Gerry and Kate. There has been no trace of the three-year-old since the 2007 horror. German police have repeatedly insisted Christian Brueckner is the prime suspect but so far have been unable to bring any other charges against him.

Julia became an internet sensation in February 2023 after claiming to be the missing toddler on Instagram under the handle, @IAmMadeleineMcCann. She had previously shared DNA test results which concluded she is 100 per cent Polish, and therefore could not be missing Madeleine.

But this week, Julia posted "new" DNA results which she claimed revealed she is related to Gerry McCann. She alleged the results were submitted to a "world expert" who compared them to DNA found at the crime scene in 2007 when Madeleine disappeared.

Julia also claimed so-called experts also matched her eyes, teeth and voice with the missing girl. She added that her "source" believes the evidence "strongly supports that Gerry McCann could be Julia's biological father". But private investigator Dr Fia Johansson shared shared Wandelt's DNA results that said she was, in fact, fully Polish in 2023.

Julia said she had previously been "struggling to understand" those results and claimed Dr Johansson was not telling the truth, which the investigator categorically denied. Earlier this week, Julia shared an audio clip on her Instagram account in which she claims to have tried to speak with Gerry McCann on the phone.

The man hung up on her a few seconds in to the call, saying she must have the wrong number. MADELEINE McCann vanished on May 3, 2007 - and cops believe Brueckner could have been behind her disappearance. Almost 17 years on, no one has been charged in connection. These are the key dates.

May 3, 2007 - Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10pm. May 14, 2007 - Property developer Robert Murat is named an "arguido" or formal suspect. August 31, 2007 - The McCanns launch libel action against Tal e Qual - a newspaper that claimed the couple killed Madeleine.

September 7, 2007 - Kate and Gerry McCann are made "arguidos". September 9, 2007- Madeleine's parents return to England with their two-year-old twins. October 2, 2007- Lead detective Goncalo Amaral is taken off the case after criticising British police in a newspaper interview.

July 21, 2009 - Portuguese police lift the "arguido" status of  both Robert Murat and the McCanns. May 12, 2011 - On Madeleine's eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches a review into the case. April 25, 2012 - Scotland Yard officers say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive.

July 4, 2013 - Two years into a review of the case, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. October 24, 2013- Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of inquiry are found. November 27, 2013 - Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for British and Portuguese police to work together.

October 28, 2015 - Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine's disappearance. March 11, 2017  - The Home Office grants Operation Grange an extra £85,000 to continue from April until September. September 28, 2017 -  British police are granted £154,000 to keep the probe going until March 2018.

November 2017 - Cops moved the search to Bulgaria. May 2018 - Another round of funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted. September 2018 - An extra six months of funding is requested from the Home Office. November 2018 - More funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted.

November 2018 - UK police re-examine a theory Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents. June 2019 - Another round of funding, believed to be £300,000 of government cash is granted. June 2019 - Portuguese police are probing a “new clue and suspect” after talks with British officers.