An Arkansas woman, Eugenea Collins, has made a surprising claim that she is the real Madeleine McCann. Despite her insistence, her claims have been widely dismissed. She even says she has “DNA proof,” but experts and authorities have not supported her statements.
Collins, 22, started her campaign on social media, saying she believes she is the British child who went missing in Portugal in 2007. She said she first had doubts about her identity after watching Polish woman Julia Wandelt on Dr. Phil. Wandelt had previously claimed to be Madeleine but was later proven wrong through DNA testing.
Seeing the show, Collins noticed similarities between herself and the missing girl. “I saw the age progression photos, and it felt like looking in a mirror,” she said. She also claims to have seen photos of herself online with information saying she was missing.
Her birthdate is October 23, 2002, which makes her close in age to Madeleine, born in May 2003. Collins took a DNA test that showed she is 68 percent English and Northwestern European. She believes this supports her claim but admits she has no direct DNA connection to the McCann family.
Despite her limited evidence, Collins says she is frustrated that local police in Arkansas have not taken her seriously. She claims she tried to contact Operation Grange, the UK’s police investigation into the case. She also became suspicious of her background when she couldn’t obtain an official birth certificate while applying for an ID.
Collins said, “I have never seen my original birth certificate. The only document I saw had a different name, which was crossed out and replaced with mine.”
Many social media users doubt her claims, pointing out that she lacks the unique eye condition Madeleine had. Some also mentioned her ears are shaped differently. Collins responded by saying she has scars on her ears, which she believes could explain the differences.
Adding to her theory, Collins claims that the man she thought was her father, Eugene Collins, could actually be Christian Brueckner, a German suspect in Madeleine’s case. She insists Brueckner “looks like the man I was told was my father.”
Meanwhile, Julia Wandelt, the Polish woman who previously made similar claims, was recently arrested for stalking Madeleine’s parents. A private investigator later confirmed Wandelt was fully Polish through a DNA test.
