Millions of people around the world have been riveted by the unexplained disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann ever since she went missing from her vacation villa in Portugal in May 2007. Now that a woman has stepped forward claiming she could be the lost little girl, there is a renewed interest in the case and in who this woman might be.
Julia Faustyna, who has alternately gone by Julia Wendell and Julia Wandelt, claims to be 21 years old but allows that she is not entirely sure of her real age. Madeleine would be 19 years old if alive now.
Julia has explained that she doesn't remember much of her childhood because of early childhood trauma. She's said, "I don’t remember most of my childhood but my earliest memory is very strong and it’s about holidays in hot place where there was a beach and white or very light colored buildings with apartments. I don’t see my family in this memory."
Many experts widely agree that early childhood trauma can absolutely lead to memory loss. The Integrative Life Center writes, "Memory loss from childhood trauma can affect your life in many ways. Your memory loss may even make you believe that you were never a victim of childhood trauma.
"Physical, emotional, and psychological trauma can all play a factor with memory loss. You can experience permanent or temporary memory loss depending on the type of trauma."
Julia has not been able to offer a lot of evidence that she is Madeleine but has requested a DNA test from Kate and Gerry McCann, who have reportedly agreed. Julia does believe she shares physical traits with Madeleine and has explained, "I have similar eyes, shape of face, ears, lips, I had the gap between the teeths [as Madeleine]."
There are plenty who are not convinced by Julia's story. Private detective Francisco Marco, who has worked on Madeleine's case, told a Spanish newspaper, "Without knowing the details in depth, it does not add up to me. I don’t think it’s her."
Julia has appeared to claim that she only became aware of Madeleine's story relatively recently. She wrote in one post on social media, "I started doing my own research, I discovered what happened to Madeleine McCann and I connected the dots. I need to know the truth. I need [a] dna test and I need to talk with Madeleine’s parents. Help me!"
It remains unclear what the next steps are, and Kate and Gerry McCann have not issued a comment on Julia or her claims.
Madeleine's case was most recently updated in October 2022 when suspect Christian Brückner was arrested and charged with several sexual crimes in Germany.
Prosecutors in Braunschweig, Germany, explained at the time, "The accused is the same person against whom charges were brought in connection with the disappearance of the then three-year-old British girl Madeleine Beth McCann. Specifically, the accused is charged with three offences of aggravated rape and two offences of sexual abuse of children."
It's unclear what Christian Brückner's situation is now.
