A Polish woman who made headlines after claiming she was Madeleine McCann has been denied bail after she was arrested.
Julia Wandelt, 23, was charged with stalking the McCann family - including Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, and their twins, Sean and Amelie.
Wandelt, also known as Julia Wandel, was arrested at Bristol Airport on February 19, 2025, after flying in from Wroclaw, Poland.
Authorities confirmed that she’s facing four separate counts of stalking, following a year-long campaign of alleged contact and in-person visits to the McCanns’ Leicestershire home.
Wandelt gained international notoriety in early 2023 when she launched an Instagram account under the name @iammadeleinemccan.
She claimed she could be the British toddler who vanished from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. Madeleine was just three years old at the time.
Wandelt pointed to vague childhood memories, similar facial features, and a shared eye defect called coloboma of the iris as reasons for her claim.
Despite a DNA test on Dr. Phil proving she was “absolutely 100 percent from Poland,” Wandelt continued to assert she might be Madeleine - even as her own family publicly refuted her story.
“For us as a family, it is obvious that Julia is our daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, and step-niece,” her relatives said in a statement to BBC News.
“Threats to our address from Julia, her lies and manipulations, activity on the internet... It’s obvious that Julia isn’t Maddie. We are devastated at this current situation.”
Authorities now allege Wandelt contacted the McCann family through multiple channels - including letters, voicemails, phone calls, WhatsApp messages, and even Instagram DMs - between January and December 2024.
Leicestershire Police stated: “A woman has been charged with stalking offences following her arrest at Bristol Airport on Wednesday (19 February).”
Two of the charges relate to incidents between May 2, 2024, and February 15, 2025.
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A third charge covers the period between January 3 and April 21, 2024, and a fourth covers alleged actions between November 27 and December 29, 2024.
Officials also allege that Wandelt physically visited the McCann family’s Leicestershire home on May 2 and again on December 7, 2024.
On March 28, Wandelt appeared before a Crown Court judge via video link from prison. Her lawyer submitted a 15-minute bail application, which was denied by Judge Timothy Spencer KC.
The details of the application are under reporting restrictions until her plea and trial preparation hearing on April 22, per the Mirror.
She has been remanded in custody.
A second woman, 60-year-old Karen Spragg from Caerau, Cardiff, was arrested alongside Wandelt at Bristol Airport.
Leicestershire Police later confirmed Spragg has also been charged with one count of stalking involving serious alarm or distress, between May 3, 2024, and February 21, 2025. She appeared in court the same day as Wandelt.
Kate and Gerry McCann have lived under an intense spotlight since their daughter’s disappearance nearly 18 years ago. Over the years, they’ve faced numerous false claims, conspiracy theories, and unsolicited contact from strangers.