A woman who spent years claiming to be the missing British child Madeleine McCann has been definitively ruled out by DNA testing.
In a major update to one of the world’s most followed missing-person mysteries, police confirmed that 24-year-old Polish woman Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell told the court that a DNA sample taken from Wandelt during her arrest in February was compared directly with Madeleine’s genetic profile—and the results “conclusively proved” she is not the missing girl.
The Alleged Stalking Campaign Against the McCann Family
Julia Wandelt is currently standing trial alongside her alleged accomplice Karen Spragg, 61, accused of stalking Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, between June 2022 and February 2025.
Prosecutors claim Wandelt carried out a “well-planned campaign of harassment,” bombarding the McCanns with phone calls, letters, and social media messages insisting she was their daughter.
She even turned up at their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, demanding a DNA test.
Spragg, said to be her “supporter and confidante,” allegedly fueled the deception by spreading Wandelt’s claims with what prosecutors called “gusto.” Both women deny the charges.
Police Decided to Take the Risk and Order a DNA Test
Detective Cranwell, who leads Operation Grange—the Metropolitan Police’s ongoing investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance—told the court that by early this year, Wandelt’s behavior had “crossed the line into harassment.”
He admitted that requesting a DNA test went against normal police procedure but said he felt it was the only way to put the matter to rest.
“It weighed heavily on my mind,” he explained, “because this was against policy and procedure.
But I believed it was the right thing to do.”
Cranwell said he feared Wandelt wouldn’t accept the results and might even accuse police of tampering.
“There was a possibility she would never accept she isn’t Madeleine—even with scientific proof,” he said.
Still, he felt compelled to go forward “to prove or disprove” her claims once and for all.
The DNA Results and Police Visit to Prison
The DNA sample was taken voluntarily in February after Wandelt and Spragg were arrested at Bristol Airport.
The analysis confirmed what detectives had already suspected: there was no genetic link between Wandelt and Madeleine McCann.
Cranwell and a colleague visited Wandelt in Peterborough Prison on April 1 to personally deliver the results.
“Your sample was compared to Madeleine McCann’s,” he recalled telling her. “They do not match—you are not Madeleine McCann.”
When confronted with the evidence, Wandelt reportedly asked about a separate test she had taken, which she claimed showed a “70% match” to DNA from the crime scene in Portugal.
Cranwell dismissed her claim, saying he couldn’t comment on “work done by other people.”
He added that she also asked him directly, “Did you really want to find Madeleine?” to which he and his colleague replied simply: “Yes.”
Evidence That Never Added Up
Earlier testimony from Detective Constable Mark Draycott further discredited Wandelt’s story.
He said that photos Julia sent to police were carefully compared with known images of Madeleine, who had a distinctive eye feature—a small mark called a coloboma in her right iris.
Experts confirmed this mark could not fade or change position over time, eliminating any doubt that Wandelt and Madeleine could be the same person.
“We were already aware of the condition in Madeleine’s eye,” Draycott explained.
“It couldn’t move or disappear. That alone ruled her out.”
The Disturbing Messages to Kate McCann
Jurors at Leicester Crown Court also heard voicemail messages Wandelt allegedly sent to Kate McCann.
In them, she insisted Madeleine was alive, saying things like: “You are my mother.
It’s science. No one can deny it.” In another, she declared, “I am not a scammer, I am your daughter.”
She also tried to explain away physical differences between her and Madeleine, claiming medication had made her “ugly and fat.”
Wandelt even described supposed childhood memories of shouting “mummy and daddy” on the night Madeleine vanished in Portugal in 2007.
A Case That Refuses to Fade
More than 18 years after Madeleine McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, the case continues to attract worldwide attention—and people falsely claiming to be her.
Detective Cranwell said one of his biggest fears in ordering the DNA test was that it might encourage others to come forward with similar false claims.
But in the end, he said, “It was the right thing to do.”
The trial of Julia Wandelt and Karen Spragg continues at Leicester Crown Court.