Julia Wandelt takes DNA test to see if she is missing Swiss girl instead of Madeleine McCann

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By Kim Novak

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The girl claiming she believes she may be Madeleine McCann is set to have a DNA test to check whether she is a missing Swiss girl instead.

Julia Wandelt, 21, has been making headlines in recent weeks after going viral for her claims that she may be Madeleine, who has been missing since 2007.

Madeleine vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007 while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were at a nearby restaurant, from which they were regularly returning to check on their children, who were sleeping.

Despite extensive searches and appeal in the following years, no trace has been found of Maddie's whereabouts.

Julia, who is from Poland, went viral on social media after pointing out similar characteristics she shares with Madeleine, including an apparent coloboma in the same eye, which is a condition that causes a gap in the iris.

Despite her claims that she believes she may be Madeleine, Julia has undergone a DNA test to rule out whether she is in fact another missing girl.

Online detectives have suggested that Julia might in fact be Livia Schepp, a Swiss girl who disappeared at the age of six in 2011 along with her twin Alessia.

Livia and Alessia have not been seen since their father, Matthias Schepp, picked them up from his ex-wife's house in a suburb of Lausanne in Switzerland, and never returned.

Matthias's body was found in Italy after he reportedly took his own life days later, however the fate of the two girls remains a mystery despite searches across Switzerland, France, and Italy.

Dr. Fia Johansson, a psychic and private detective who has been helping Julia to investigate her claims about her childhood, has revealed that Julia is open to the possibility she may be another missing girl.

She told The Sun: "Julia is very open to the idea that she may be Livia Schepp and we are investigating this possibility.

"I've spoken to her about this and she is open to the fact she could be any missing child out there - not just Madeleine. Julia just wants to know the truth about who she is."

Dr. Fia added that Julia had believed she was Maddie due to one of the suspects in her disappearance looking a lot like a German man who abused her when she was a child.

She added: "But the same man could be connected to Madeleine and other missing children - this is how predators and traffickers work.

"Julia has taken a DNA test and we are investigating if it's possible to check her DNA with that of missing Livia. We are investigating all possibilities at this stage."

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One of Madeleine McCann's most unique features is the coloboma in her eye. Credit: James Boardman Archive / Alamy

Her quest to find out whether she is Madeleine or another missing child was sparked after Julia claimed a comment from her grandmother made her suspect the parents who brought her up might not be her biological parents, and claims she has never seen a photo of her mother pregnant with her.

However, her family has denied the accusations, saying in a statement via Polish missing persons organization Missing Years Ago on Facebook: "For us as a family it is obvious that Julia is our daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin and step-niece. We have memories, we have pictures.

"Julia also has these photos, because she took them from the family home with the birth certificate, as well as numerous hospital discharges.

"We always tried to understand all situations that happened with Julia. Numerous therapies, medicines, psychologists, and psychiatrists - Julia had it all guaranteed. She wasn't left alone.

"Threats to our address from Julia, her lies and manipulations, activity on the internet. We've seen it all and we've tried to prevent it, to explain, we've asked her to stop."

The family also claimed that Julia has always wanted to be "popular", having wanted to pursue a career as a singer or a model, adding: "What's happening now she got one million followers."

Dr. Fia urged the family to agree to provide a DNA test - which would end the case immediately if they are proven to be biologically related - rather than release statements online.

She added: "Some of the information Julia has told us and the evidence we've seen doesn't match what the family are saying so we would like to talk about it directly with them.

"It seems suspicious to me that Julia's family will not take a test, which could clear these claims up very quickly."

Featured image credit: cello / Alamy