A Polish woman has garnered considerable attention online after claiming she is missing British toddler Madeleine McCann.
Madeleine went missing from her bed at a resort while holidaying with her parents in Portugal on May 3, 2007. The case of the then three-year-old’s disappearance attracted considerable global attention. Despite a long-running investigation, Madeleine’s whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
As questions abound regarding Madeleine’s fate, Julia Faustyna has emerged with claims that she is the missing toddler, taking to social media with photos and recollections of her childhood to substantiate her claims.
In a recent post to Facebook, Faustyna claimed, “I think I can be Madeleine.”
“I don’t remember my childhood practically at all, but I do have a few memories,” she said.
“The earliest of these are vacations – I remember baby turtles (turtles hatch in May/June just from what I’ve read) and white apartment blocks, a bar where there was a performance by some ladies in costumes (folk costumes, I think, I don’t know), but I completely don’t recall my mother being there, for example, or my stepfather, much less my dad.
“I have a defect in my eye, in the same eye, the kind of defect Madeleine had.
“Except that in my case it’s faded more and more every year. I talked to the doctor and there is a possibility that this defect was operable, and so logically it seems to me that if someone kidnaps a child about whom everyone “trumpets” that he has such a defect in the eye, it seems to me that such a kidnapper will do everything he can to remove or cover up such a defect.
“What I really need is the truth.”
Faustyna has also taken to Instagram in order to tell her story, where she spoke of the stress she has experienced while trying to get people to listen to her story.
“Police investigators from UK and Poland try to ignore me. I will tell my story in posts here. Help me,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I have asked for pictures of when my mum was pregnant with me, other medical records and any pictures from my childhood and she never shows them, she just always tells me I’m crazy.
“My school teacher when I was very young said that I wasn’t there from the start but my parents insist I was.
“After all this confusion I began to do my own research I discovered what had happened to Madeleine McCann and started to piece together the similarities we shared.
“It has been so stressful trying to get people to listen to me.”
Whether Faustyna’s claims are true or not hasn’t stopped many from weighing in on the matter, with the Polish woman’s claims dividing opinion.
“I’m sorry but I’m just gonna be completely honest in saying I don’t see any resemblance at all and as much as people are hoping you are Madeline as this is a story that’s affected a lot of people, the outcome of the DNA test, in all honesty, I think is going to be negative, but I do hope that if the DNA is negative that you still get support in finding your biological parents and hopefully find out the truth as too what really happened too you,” one person said.
“Similar, but not the same,” another commented.
“I feel for you and want you to find answers, however as a mum, having two adult children I agree they change in looks but I really can’t see similarities to yours and Maddie’s face,” another person claimed.
For all those who shot down the suggestion that Faustyna is McCann, there were just as many that supported her in her quest for answers.
“It doesn’t matter what y’all think she’s looking for her truth she needs that DNA she contacted the police first not the media that says a lot,” one commenter wrote.
“Jeez some people can be vile on the internet! This girl is just trying to find out her truth. Whether she is Madeline or not, she still is asking for help & clarity after enduring an abusive childhood and her family aren’t helping her.. what is wrong with that?”
“I wish you luck no matter what the outcome. Bless you,” another said.