Nearly two decades after Madeleine McCann vanished from a Portuguese resort, a second woman has come forward, claiming she might be the missing girl. Madeleine was just three years old when she disappeared in 2007, and her case remains one of the most high-profile missing-persons mysteries in history. While many believe she was abducted, others cling to the hope that she may still be alive.
Julia Wandelt, a 22-year-old Polish woman, recently made waves by claiming to be Madeleine. She was detained in the UK for allegedly stalking Madeleine’s parents after asserting that DNA tests supported her connection to Gerry McCann. Now, Eugenia Collins, a 22-year-old from Arkansas, has stepped forward with similar claims.
Collins told MailOnline that her doubts about her identity began when she struggled to obtain proper identification. “I can’t get any kind of ID,” she said. “When my house burned down, I couldn’t get help from the Red Cross because I had no identification. I’ve never seen my original birth certificate. The only one I’ve seen had someone else’s name on it, with mine written over it.”
Her claims have sparked skepticism, particularly because Collins lacks coloboma, a distinctive birthmark in Madeleine’s eye. Critics on Reddit pointed out, “She has photos from when she was one or two years old, and there’s no sign of an eye mark.” Additionally, her DNA results, which show British and Northwestern European ancestry, don’t directly link her to the McCann family.
Collins also mentioned her belief that Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance, could be her biological father. While her story has reignited interest in the case, many remain doubtful due to the lack of concrete evidence.
As the search for Madeleine McCann continues, these claims highlight the enduring fascination and hope surrounding her disappearance. Whether Collins’ story holds any truth remains to be seen, but it adds another layer to this decades-long enigma.