A Swiss company has used facial recognition software to reach a near-conclusive verdict on whether Polish woman Julia Wendell really is Madeleine McCann.
Julia is awaiting results from three DNA samples and a genetic test after she made headlines for her claims.
Her @IamMadeleineMcCann Instagram account amassed over one million followers with people captivated by her supposed evidence.
READ MORE: 'Madeleine McCann' Google search now shows photo of Polish woman rather than Brit girl
There has now been so much media coverage around her wild story, that Google now displays a photo of Wendell instead of Madeleine when the latter's name is searched.
When searched, a headshot of Julia appears, alongside the words “Gerry McCann's daughter”.
Julia also claims she has the same rare eye condition as missing Madeleine – a coloboma in her right eye. The condition occurs when part of the eye tissue is missing, and leads to a misshapen pupil.
Julia also pointed to freckles she had on her leg and cheek that appeared to be in the same place as the missing toddler.
Dr Fia Johansson, a private investigator working on the case, travelled to Poland to dig deeper into Julia's claims and found there were no hospital records in Wroclaw – the city she supposedly grew up in – relating to the first five years of her life.
This only reaffirmed Julia's suspicion that her age isn't accurate, given that Madeleine would be 19 rather than 21.
Dr Johansson said she is absolutely convinced Julia was trafficked into Poland as a child, regardless of whether or not she's Madeleine.
However, a company in Switzerland has used facial recognition software to dispute the claim.
Ava-X studied photos of both girls in detail, reports blick.ch, using a “face matching” program.
The technology, developed to help police identify offenders and reunite missing people with their families, failed to provide a match between Julia and Maddie.
"It's practically impossible for the young Pole to be Maddie," Ava-X boss Christian Fehrlin told Blick.
A comparison of a childhood image of the Pole with one of her as an adult provided a match, but the result was negative when a photo of Madeleine was used.
Asked about the chances of Julia being Maddie, Fehrlin said he was 90% sure that the two were different people.
Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry McCann have not commented on Julia's claims.
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