“I’m Madeleine McCann,” says Julia Faustyna, a young Polish woman who says she has “two pieces of evidence” for what she says. Taking to an Instagram account called @iammadeleincann, she said she wondered if she was the missing British girl nicknamed ‘Maddie’ a few months ago after hearing some things from her grandmother’s mouth.
The 21-year-old – while Maddie, who was born in May 2003, would only be 19 – admits her age could be inaccurate and took photos of the little girl to show their resemblance. So she claims to have the same eyespot and birthmark on her leg as Maddie. To confirm her statements, she asks for help with a DNA test.
“I think I could be Madeleine. I need a DNA test. The police in the UK and the police in Poland are ignoring me. I will tell my story here in the news. Help me,” we might read in the Instagram bio the @iammadelemcann account, which now has 200,000 subscribers.
In a recent post published over the weekend, the young woman claimed to have spoken to someone claiming to be Madeleine’s cousin. This would have let him know that she could speak to Kate and Gerry McCann, Maddie’s parents, to organize a DNA test. The missing girl’s family has not yet commented on the Polish girl’s allegations.
In response to questions from her followers on the social network, the girl replied that she remembered very little about her childhood and had no memory of being kidnapped. She also claims that whenever she asked her parents questions about her childhood, they either gave her evasive answers or quickly changed the subject.
“I once asked my mother for a picture of her pregnant with me and she couldn’t find any. There aren’t even any pictures of me with her as a baby or any documentation to prove she was pregnant. Every time I bring up the subject, she calls me crazy,” says Julia Faustyna.
The disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a nearly four-year-old British girl, occurred on the evening of May 3, 2007 in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve region of Portugal, where her family was on holiday. His disappearance sparked significant media coverage in Europe, but following investigations by the Portuguese and British police and many leads, this disappearance has still not been solved.
German authorities say they are convinced Christian Brueckner, a 46-year-old pedophile, kidnapped and murdered Maddie in Portugal in 2007 while he was staying near the hotel where the McCann family was staying at the time. But more than three years after the man was named as the prime suspect, police have still not charged him due to a lack of sufficient evidence.