The parents of 21-year-old Julia Wedel, who claims to be missing Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in 2007, are “devastated”, they say.

The 21-year-old from Wroclaw claimed some time ago that she has evidence that she might be the missing girl. On an Instagram account she set up as @iammadeleinemcann, she says she is 21 but believes her age may be wrong and she is 19 – the age Madeleine would be now if she were alive.

So far, the British police have not commented on the case and neither have the parents of little Madeleine who disappeared while on a family holiday in Portugal in the summer of 2007. The first announcement however it came from the parents of the 21-year-old Julia herself who cannot believe what has been happening in the last few days with their daughter as the protagonist.

“It is clear that Julia is our daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin and stepdaughter. We have memories, we have photos,” the announcement reads. The girl’s parents added that Julia, who has moved out of her parental home, has the same photos. The family is devastated by the whole situation.

“We always tried to understand any situations that were happening with Julia. Numerous treatments, drugs, psychologists and psychiatrists – all this was provided to Julia. She was not alone. Julia’s threats against us, her lies and manipulations, her internet activities. We saw all of this and tried to prevent it, to explain it, we asked her to stop,” emphasize the parents of the 21-year-old.

In their opinion, Julia refuses treatment, does not regularly take medication. “He always wanted to be popular. What is happening now has given her 1 million followers. We fear that Julia will do the inevitable. The internet doesn’t forget and it’s obvious that Julia is not Madeleine,” the statement read.

Julia Wedel, who claims to be Madeline, admitted that she was raised by a foster family. The 21-year-old also draws attention to her similarities with the missing British woman. He also claims to be in contact with Madeleine’s cousin.

Madeleine’s parents have already asked for a DNA test to be carried out so that there is no doubt about the 21-year-old.