Why new Madeleine McCann update could give ‘fresh hopes’ to her parents

The case of Madeleine McCann has shaken not only the country but the entire world and although it has been years since then 4-year-old Madeleine went missing from an apartment in Praia da Luz, in Portugal, while her parents were out having dinner, her case is still considered to be “the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history.”

Sadly, 15 years later, no one knows where Madeleine could be or whether she’s still alive, although her parents and her family never lost hope of ever seeing her again.

On May 12, 2022, what would have been her 18th birthday, her devastated parents shared a heart-wrenching message. “We love you and we’re waiting for you and we’re never going to give up.”

After that many years of searching, the police was ready to close the case, but recently, the search has been extended to 12 more months and £302,470 funding has been approved. In a time of squeezed police budgets, the funding decision could raise some eyebrows, according to former Metropolitan Police detective Peter Bleksley who also said, “as long as there are unanswered questions I can see why there is a case.”

“I understand the frustrations of families that have missing children who do not have the luxury of such ongoing funding,” he added.

So far, around £13 million have been spent in efforts of finding Madeleine, and her parents are ‘delighted’ the funding of the search has been extended. “This is excellent news. Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry will be delighted. It gives fresh hope,” a source close to the family said.

The prime suspect in the case, German pedophile Christian Brueckner, 44, is currently serving a seven-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old American in Praia da Luz in 2005. At the same time, he’s awaiting a trial for a separate case in which he’s charged for raping an Irish tour rep in 2004. According to investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas, who did deep and extensive dive on the suspect, there is no link between Brueckner and the missing girl.

The case has seen a dramatic revival in the last few days as everyone has been taken aback by a 21-year-old Polish woman named Julia Wendell who has gone viral after sensationally claiming that she is Madeleine McCann. Julia gathered over a million followers on Instagram where she shares ‘evidence’ of her claims.

On her Instagram account named “Help me, I need to talk with Kate and Gerry McCann” with the username “iammadeleinemccan,” Julia shares evidence of her claims such as certain physical similarities with the missing Madeleine, like the famous rare eye defect and other facial features. As of her childhood, Julia says she remembers little to nothing.

Allegedly, as reported by media outlets, Julia’s story reached Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, who are willing to follow up on the lead. They could also go ahead with Julia’s offer to do a DNA test.

The latest information, however, casts a huge shadow of doubt over the 21-year-old’s claim after a Swiss artificial intelligence company ran an extensive facial recognition test to determine if what she’s said might be true.

As reported by Sky, Ava-X submitted photos of Julia and Madeleine into the Iris facial recognition software owned by a Swiss artificial intelligence company. The software determined it was “practically impossible” for the young woman to be the missing Madeleine.

We truly hope the case of Madeleine McCann will eventually be solve and her parents will finally get some peace.

Please SHARE this story with your family and friends on Facebook.