Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann kept in custody after appearing in court

A woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann is being held on remand after appearing in court accused stalking the missing Brit's family

Julia Wandel, 23, has been remanded into custody at Leicester Magistrates’ Court, where she was said to have stalked Madeleine's mum and dad, Kate and Gerry, and their children Sean and Amelie McCann for the past year.

Wandel, also known as Julia Wandelt, was arrested at Bristol Airport on Wednesday, Leicestershire Police said.

Charges on the the court list state that she is accused of stalking Kate, Gerry, Sean and Amelie McCann between January 3 2024 and February 15 2025.

And Wandel is alleged to have attended the family home on May 2 and December 7 last year.

She is also accused of sending a letter, calls, voicemails and WhatsApp messages to Kate and Gerry McCann.

The defendant is alleged to have sent Amelie and Sean McCann Instagram messages between January 3 and December 29 last year.

The charges state the alleged context “had a substantial adverse effect” on the family’s day-to-day activities “when you knew or ought to have known that your course of conduct would cause alarm or distress”.

All four stalking offences carry a maximum penalty of 12 months in custody and/or an unlimited fine.

Wandel, who is originally from Poland, has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Leicester Crown Court on April 7.

A second woman, aged 60 and from Wales, who was also arrested at the airport on suspicion of stalking, has been released on bail, police added.

Madeleine was just three vanished without trace while on holiday with her parents Gerry and Kate in Portugal. Her disappearance sparked a global manhunt and left her distraught parents and detectives baffled for 18 years.

Wandel hit global headlines in 2023 after making a bombshell claim that she was in fact Madeleine, which later turned out to be false.