The woman who believes that she may be the missing Madeleine McCann has appeared in her first TV interview with Dr. Phil.
As previously reported, 21-year-old Julia Wendell - who is also being referred to as Julia Faustyna or Julia Wandelt in media reports - earned social media fame after repeatedly claiming she could be the missing British girl.
On May 3, 2007, three-year-old Madeleine mysteriously disappeared from a holiday apartment in Portugal while her parents, Kate, and Gerry McCann, were at a nearby restaurant.
Despite expansive searches from Portuguese law enforcement and appeals in the following years, there has been no trace of Maddie's whereabouts.
Before shutting down her social media accounts, Julia made some bold claims, writing that she has specific features that link her to Maddie such as a speck on her eye. The claims led to Julia amassing tens of thousands of followers on social media.
Due to her claims, she underwent a DNA test to rule out whether she is another missing girl - Livia Schepp, a Swiss girl who vanished at the age of six in 2011 along with her twin Alessia.
In addition to this, the young woman - who has since traveled from Poland to the US for "safety" - also submitted samples for three separate forensic tests that will establish her DNA sequence with the help of Dr. Fia Johansson - a private investigator and self-professed psychic.
Now, while Julia is waiting for the results, she appeared in her first TV appearance with Dr. Phil, where she discussed her physical likeness to the missing child, as well as her mother's alleged refusal to discuss her childhood.
Watch Julia's appearance on Dr. Phil below:In an exclusive interview, she explained to the 72-year-old TV personality why she started to believe that she could be the missing British girl.
"About a year ago, I started to make research on the Internet because I started to think that maybe I'm missing child," she said. "I felt in my life that something is wrong here because my mother didn't hug me, didn't say 'I love you', so, it was a little suspicious to me."
"I started to ask my mother some questions about pictures from being pregnant and some documents, like birth certificate. She always changed the subject," she continued. "Every child in my country, in Poland, should have [as] child health book. And my pages 0-6 they're blank."
"When I started to think that I could be Madeleine, I called to the Polish Embassy. I called to the English Embassy. Nobody listened. I decided to create this Instagram and try to use the power of social media. I want to know who I am. And I want to know if I'm Madeleine McCann," she said.
Dr. Fia Johansson also shared her reason for working with Julia, saying: "After I spoke to Julia, I knew I had to fly to Poland. It was back in 2018 and 19 that I got involved in the Madeleine McCann case. I was involved as a psychic police. [...] I believe she is alive."
Johansson spoke about the polish woman's body and noted: "I started to investigate Julia's body, to figure out if she has [Madeleine's] birthmarks. And for me, yes... she had."
"Julia's mom refused to do the DNA test and she refused to answer any calls, texts, or communication," she added. "At this moment, I kinda know the truth. But until I get an answer, it's hard to saw 100% - but it's also hard to deny it 100%".
Back at the live studio, Dr. Phil asked Julia when she first thought that she could be Maddie and she stated that it began on June 2022. He then asked her to take a look at the claims she made - including the spec in her eyes - and marks on her face.
Dr.Phil then went on to discuss her parents and asked: "Your mother - the people that raised you - maintains that she is your biological mother, that she gave birth to you, right?"
"She said [that] but she didn't want to show me any proof," Julia responded, to which Phil interjected: "But she said that she went to the hospital and give birth to you."
"She said, yes. My mother, when I asked her for DNA [test] - before this whole situation - when I asked her for some pictures from her pregnancy, some childhood pictures, like me at three or four, she refused and didn't want to," she answered.
Julia's full episode on Dr.Phil will air on March 27.
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