California cops seized phone of Polish woman who claimed to be missing Madeleine McCann as part of a global probe into her case as it emerges she plans a second DNA test after the first one proved she is not the missing British toddler
California police have seized the phone of a Polish woman who had claimed to be the missing Madeleine McCann as part of a global probe into her case.
The probe comes after it has emerged that the woman, Julia Wendell, 21, is planning a second DNA test after the first one proved she is not the missing British toddler who vanished while on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.
Orange County Sheriff’s Department reportedly contacted police in the Polish city of Wroclaw to tell them they had seized a phone believed to be Wendell’s, who is now living in California after allegedly receiving death threats in Poland, according to RadarOnline.
While the Sheriff’s Department confirmed that they seized the phone, they decline to provide more details about the investigation.
The phone was reportedly handed over to police voluntarily during a search and seizure.
The probe comes after it has emerged that the woman, Julia Wendell, 21 (pictured), is planning a second DNA test after the first one proved she is not the missing British toddler who vanished while on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007
Madeleine went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007 and has not been seen since
Department spokesperson Sgt. Mike Woodroof told RadarOnline: ‘We are not going to make any comments about the case.
‘Our investigation is taking a deep look into it and we’re going to let them do their investigative duties and then from that point let the judicial system take over – if it needs to.’
Wendell made headlines around the world earlier this year after she uploaded her spurious theories on social media with the username ‘@IamMadeleineMcCann’.
Her claims led to Wendell even appearing on talk show Dr Phil after being flown across the Atlantic by American media personality Dr Fia Johansson to discuss the far-fetched possibility.
But finally she was persuaded to take a DNA test and the results proved conclusively that she had no relation to Madeleine – before a MailOnline investigation earlier this month revealed that Wendell had previously claimed to be three other missing girls.
Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal in 2007, during an interview with the BBC’s Fiona Bruce in 2017
Last week she said in a statement: ‘It wasn’t my intention to bring sadness or any other negative emotion to anyone, especially to McCann’s family.’
Wendell also issued a 17-page statement in which she apologised for the ‘sadness’ she caused the McCanns, of Rothley, Leicestershire – but then bizarrely denied that she had ever claimed she was Madeleine.
Despite her apology, Wendell has now doubled down on her claims and said on Instagram: ‘I want to do this because I just want to do this and I don’t even have to explain why but I think everyone knows why I want to do this.
‘When the results come I will let you know everything.’
She also claimed she is being ‘supported’ by officials and people in law enforcement.
