Madeleine McCann 'faker' travels from Poland to attend vigil marking 17 years since toddler's disappearance
4 May 2024, 07:52 | Updated: 4 May 2024, 10:25
A woman who has claimed to be Madeleine McCann travelled from Poland to the UK to attend a vigil marking 17 years since the young girl's disappearance.
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Julia Wendell has repeatedly claimed she is Madeleine, despite a DNA test insisting otherwise.
Maddie's parents, Kate and Gerry, did not attend the vigil as they were on a "much needed" weekend away, Mail Online reports.
However, a statement from the McCanns was read out by Rev. Robert Gladstone from the local parish church.
"Good evening, we are sorry that we cannot be with you tonight but we thank you for coming together and wanting to share your hope for Madeleine and other missing children," the message read.
"It's 17 years since Madeleine was taken from us. It's hard to even say that number without shaking our heads in disbelief."
Kate and Gerry added that it remains "very unsettling" as they continue to "live in limbo", not knowing what happened to their daughter.
"The absence still aches," they added.
Wendell, meanwhile, was accompanied by her friend Robert Zyla, as she made an unexpected appearance at the vigil.
Read More: Madeleine McCann’s parents share heartbreaking update 17 years after she vanished
She reportedly brought a letter to the vigil as she hoped to speak to the McCanns.
Speaking after the service, Wendell insisted: "I am Madeleine McCann. I have never stopped believing it and I have come here because I want to ask Kate and Gerry to do a DNA test.
"They haven't done one to prove I am not their daughter."
She added: "No I am not crazy. I am not a liar."
It comes more than a year after Wendell received a full DNA test, which showed she is not Maddie.
Her social media following grew rapidly online, which eventually meant she was forced to flee her native Poland for the United states after receiving death threats.
While there, Julia took a DNA test to learn more about her identity, in the unlikely event that she could be Madeleine.
Her DNA test results have now confirmed that she is not the missing British girl, instead showing that she is from Poland, with some Lithuanian and Romanian heritage.
