A woman who has claimed to be Madeleine McCann has been charged with four counts of stalking after being arrested at Bristol Airport this week.
Julia Wandel, 23, also known as Julia Wandelt, was arrested after her arrival on February 19, Surjit Singh Clair, her PR representative confirmed. Wandel, 23, has been remanded into custody at Leicester Magistrates’ Court after being charged with stalking the parents and two siblings of Madeleine McCann.
Two of the counts relate to alleged offences between May 2, last year and February 15 this year. Wandel has also been charged with a further count of stalking between January 3 and April 21, last year and a fourth count relates to alleged offences between November 27 and December 29 last year.
A second woman, a 60-year-old from Wales, also arrested on suspicion of stalking, was released on bail.
Leicestershire Police said in an earlier statement: “Last night two women were arrested at Bristol Airport as part of an ongoing investigation. A 23-year-old woman from Poland and a 60-year-old woman from Wales were arrested on suspicion of stalking involving serious alarm/distress.”
Ms Wandelt hit the headlines when she claimed to be missing Maddie in February 2023. She made several media appearances and underwent a DNA test to prove she was telling the truth which confirmed she is not the missing girl, instead showing she is from Poland, with some Lithuanian and Romanian heritage.
Maddie was three when she vanished during a holiday to Portugal in 2007. She and her twin sisters were left alone in their rental apartment in Praia Da Luz while their parents went out for dinner nearby – and when they returned, she was gone. Her loved ones have since campaigned to find her and the Metropolitan Police has spent over £13million on her case, dubbed Operation Grange.
Last month it was revealed the main main person of interest behind Maddie’s disappearance, Christian Brueckner, could soon walk free. The convicted sex offender, 48, was cleared in October last year of a string of unrelated sex charges, and prosecutors are now working to appeal the verdicts – but German legal observers believe they are unlikely to succeed.
If they are unable to charge him in Madeleine’s case soon, he will be released in September. He has never been charged and has denied any involvement.
Discussion about this post