Madeleine Mccann Found? 'Stalker' Of Missing Child's Parents Claims She Is The Young Brit

The case of Madeleine McCann and the series of people who claim to be her has become a saga that seems to have no end, causing immense emotional distress to her family.

Madeleine McCann was a three-year-old girl who vanished in Portugal in 2007. Decades later, her name still surfaces in shocking claims and conspiracy theories. In Leicester Crown Court this week, jurors heard that a Polish woman has repeatedly claimed to be Madeleine, sparking a court case over stalking and harassment of her parents.

Could there be any truth to this, or is this just another chapter in a long list of delusions tied to a missing child who has captured the world's attention?

The Stalking Case: What the Court Heard

At the heart of the courtroom drama are Julia Wandelt, 24 (Lubin, Poland), and Karen Spragg, 61 (Cardiff). According to reports, both face allegations of stalking that caused serious alarm and distress to Kate and Gerry McCann between June 2022 and February 2025, as presented by the prosecution at Leicester Crown Court.

Wandelt, the prosecution claims, carried out an 'obsessive campaign' over two and a half years. She is said to have claimed she was, that she had been abducted to Poland, and made repeated attempts to contact McCann family members or institutions.

At one point, she wrote emails asserting, 'I could be your daughter, it's possible I'm her.' She also claimed matching scars and memories of life before the abduction. The court was told she even contacted Madeleine's younger sister, Amelie, saying she was her 'only hope.'

Spragg, meanwhile, is accused of coordinating harassment campaigns via calls, emails, and following the parents' addresses. Both defendants deny the charges. Reports from the BBC suggest that, at one point, when the prosecutor, Mr Duck KC, claimed 'Julia Wandelt is not Madeleine McCann', Wandelt began to cry in court.

The court heard that one of Wandelt's efforts included contacting a Polish charity for missing persons, initially claiming she was a different missing child (Inga Gehricke, later Acacia Bishop) before shifting to the Madeleine claim. She also allegedly called the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS switchboard, attempting to reach McCann's parents, and accessed Kate McCann's mobile number on dozens of occasions.

Prosecutor Michael Duck KC told jurors that while the McCanns never responded, 'this did not deter' Wandelt; rather, she ramped up contact attempts — voicemails, texts, social media, and more. One voicemail to Kate McCann began, 'I don't want any money, I just want to talk to you ... prove to you I'm not a liar.'

So, Was Madeleine McCann Found?

No evidence presented in court links Wandelt or Spragg to any verification of Madeleine's identity. According to reports, the prosecution has stressed multiple times that she is not Madeleine McCann, and the burden of proof lies with the defendants to show otherwise.

Until DNA, forensic evidence, or clear sighting proof is introduced (none of which have been disclosed), this remains a legal claim, not a discovery. According to legal critics, the court's role is to determine whether the alleged harassment meets the threshold for a criminal offence, not to settle the decades-long mystery of her disappearance.

As the trial proceeds, jurors will reportedly hear testimony from witnesses, forensic experts, and examine digital evidence. The McCanns, on the other hand, have largely remained in the background of the case, not reacting publicly to every claim.