California police officers have seized phone from Polish woman who claimed to be missing Madeleine McCann as part of a global investigation into her case as she appears to be planning a second DNA test after the first proved she is not the missing British toddler
California police seized the phone of a Polish woman who claimed to be the missing Madeleine McCann as part of a global investigation into her case.
The probe comes after it was revealed that the woman, Julia Wendell, 21, is planning a second DNA test after the first proved she is not the missing British toddler who disappeared while on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department reportedly contacted police in the Polish city of Wroclaw to tell them they seized a phone believed to belong to Wendell, who now lives in California after he reportedly received death threats had received in Poland, according to Radar Online.
While the sheriff’s department has confirmed that they seized the phone, they are refusing to provide more details about the investigation.
The phone would have been voluntarily handed over to the police during a search and seizure.
The probe comes after it’s revealed the woman, Julia Wendell, 21 (pictured), is planning a second DNA test after the first proved she’s not the missing British toddler who disappeared 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 spokesman Sgt. Mike Woodroof told RadarOnline: “We’re not going to comment on the case.
“Our investigation is going to take a thorough look at it and we’ll let them do their investigative duties and from then on we’ll let the judicial system take over — if they need to.”
Wendell made headlines around the world earlier this year after she uploaded her bogus theories to social media using the username “@IamMadeleineMcCann.”
Her claims led to Wendell even appearing on talk show Dr. Phil appeared after being beaten by American media personality Dr. Fia Johansson flew across the Atlantic to discuss the far-fetched possibility.
But she was eventually persuaded to take a DNA test and the results conclusively proved she had no relationship with Madeleine – before a MailOnline investigation earlier this month revealed that Wendell had previously claimed to be three other missing girls.
In a statement last week, she said: “It was not my intention to cause anyone grief or any other negative emotion, especially not McCann’s family.”
Wendell also issued a 17-page statement apologizing for the “sadness” she caused to the McCanns in Rothley, Leicestershire – but then bizarrely denied ever claiming to be Madeleine.
Despite her apology, Wendell has now doubled down on her claims, saying on Instagram that she wanted to do a second DNA test: “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 are out, I’ll let you know everything.”
She also claimed she is “supported” by officials and law enforcement.
