'We've seen it all and we've tried to prevent it, to explain, we've asked her to stop'
The family of a woman claiming to be
Madeleine McCann have spoken of their "devastation" over their daughter's quest to prove she is the missing Brit and the growing social media following that has garnered her.
Julia Wendell went viral earlier this month after sharing what she claimed is "evidence" on Instagram that she is the girl who went missing in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. The evidence included two freckles on her leg and an
eye defect.
The 21-year-old, who would be two years older than Maddie who would turn 19 in April, has said she does not remember large chunks of her childhood, or the moment she was supposedly
taken, but does remember overhearing her mum say she
"took her". She also claimed she was abused by a German paedophile who looks like someone who was once a suspect in Maddie's disappearance and now has a
medium who helps police crack cold cases investigating her story.
In a statement released via Polish missing persons organisation, Missing Years Ago, Julia's family said: "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."
The family said Julia also has these, "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," the statement explained, before continuing, "Numerous therapies, medicines, psychologists and psychiatrists - were all provided to Julia. 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 said it has always tried to "help her get back on her feet".
“Julia has been of age for several years. She moved out of the house. She refuses treatment, does not take medication regularly. She also did not take advantage of the possibility of treatment at a very good centre in Poland, which agreed to accept her."
The family said Julia once wanted to be a singer and a model and had "always wanted to be popular.
Her Instagram page,
@iammadeleinemccan, has amassed 1.1m followers, something the family noted in its statement.
"What's happening now she got one million followers. We're afraid Julia will carry the inevitable. The internet won't forget, and it's obvious that Julia isn't Maddie."
The family said it was "devastated by the current situation" and made clear they will not give interviews or provide photos or comments: "Any inquiries or comments should be sent to the Ombudsman of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław, who is conducting the investigation on Julia and to whom we have provided all the necessary documentary evidence in this case.”
Maddie was just four years old when she disappeared from her holiday apartment. No trace of her has ever been found and no one has been arrested. The prime suspect in the disappearance, convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, has been charged in Germany with unrelated sexual offences. He is accused of five offences between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal. German prosecutors say the investigation into Maddie's disappearance is ongoing separately.
Sources have suggested Maddie's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, are opened to having Julia take a DNA test.
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