In 2007, a family was vacationing from the UK in Praia da Luz, Portugal when their child disappeared. They were never able to find the child, but there have been some recent developments.
A woman who lives in the United States in Arkansas has made the shocking statement that she is Madeleine McCann, the missing child from 2007. In addition, she says that she has the ‘DNA proof’ that supports what she says.
22-year-old Eugenea Collins is the American woman who says that she is the missing Madeleine from so many years ago. She has even started a social media campaign to get attention, saying that she is that person.
Collins, who has blonde hair and blue eyes spoke with the media and said that she had watched a Polish woman, Julia Wandelt on the Dr. Phil show and then started feeling as if she may be the missing girl. Wandelt also claimed to be the missing Madeleine McCann but was never able to prove it.
When Collins began noticing similarities between images of the missing girl and herself, she got even more suspicious. She said: “If it wasn’t for me seeing her on the Dr. Phil show, I would’ve never known. In a way, her stupidity actually helped me find my family.
“I saw the age progressions, and it was like I was looking in a mirror. I just know I saw pictures of myself online, and it says I’m missing.”
Collins was born on October 23, 2002, which is not far off from the birth date of the missing girl, who was born on May 12, 2003.
The ‘DNA proof’ that Collins has is a DNA test that reveals she is 68% English and northwestern European. She feels that is enough to support her claim but she acknowledges that there is no direct DNA link to the McCann family that has been found as of yet.
Despite the assertion she has made, Collins is frustrated that the law enforcement officers in Arkansas are not taking her seriously. She had also tried to contact Operation Grange, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the unit specific to the McCann case.
Since she has been posting online, there are many who are critical of what she claims. This includes the lack of a defect in the eye that Madeleine had.
Collins spoke about the differences in the eye and the shape of the ear, and said it is explained by the scar she has on her ears. She said: “People keep saying something about [my] ears not being a match, but I have scars on mine.
“Never noticed them until they pointed out they were different. I had my boyfriend look at the back of them, and they have scars on them.”
Collins also says that the man who raised her, Eugene Collins, looks a lot like a convicted pedophile, who is the primary suspect in the little girl’s disappearance.
She said: “I saw pictures of the suspect, and he looks like my biological father or who I’ve been told is my biological father my whole life.
“I never had any relationship with this man whatsoever, and I was always told he was a little off in the head. When I first saw the photos of Christian Brueckner, I instantly recognized that man.”
Brueckner had been convicted of a number of unrelated crimes and was identified as a suspect in 2020. He is serving a prison sentence in Germany and is expected to soon be released.
Collins was also critical of Wandelt, who had harassed the McCann family and was arrested. She had appeared on Dr. Phil in 2023, claiming to be the missing girl.
Colin said: “I just know that my mom is looking for me, and I always had this feeling of longing and loneliness my whole life, and I finally figured out why I felt that way.
“Especially after hearing that Julia stalker making her cry, saying she was her daughter. I heard that and it broke my heart because I’m right here.”
Wandelt’s DNA results were analyzed by a private investigator who confirmed she was not connected to the McCann family. That investigator said: “At first, she didn’t want to believe the DNA results. She was saying, ‘What if someone changed the results?’ but I told her, ‘Stop this now.’”
For now, Collins believes that she is the missing Madeleine McCann but experts are not taking her claim seriously because there is no substantial evidence.
