Madeleine McCann, a three-year-old British girl, vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007, triggering worldwide media coverage. Nearly two decades later, her case is back in the headlines, this time linking it to Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate of the late Jeffrey Epstein.
McCann’s name appears in U.S. Department of Justice files on Epstein released between 2025 and 2026. A witness statement in the dossier alleges Maxwell was seen with a girl resembling Madeleine years after the disappearance.
Highlights
- Madeleine McCann’s name resurfaces nearly two decades after her disappearance, following references in newly released files tied to the Epstein investigation.
- A witness statement alleges that Ghislaine Maxwell was seen years later with a girl resembling Madeleine, fueling social media debate.
- Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted of s** trafficking of minors and related conspiracy charges.
The claim has fueled intense internet debate, with social media users circulating an old collage comparing Maxwell to a sketch of a person of interest in the case.
“Literally identical,” concluded a netizen about the similarities between the two women, while another argued, “It’s creepily similar, but why on earth would she [Maxwell] do it herself? She had people working for her.”
Witness statement referencing Madeleine McCann and Ghislaine Maxwell renews interest in forgotten case
Image credits: Getty/Patrick McMullan
A document labeled EFTA01249618 in the Epstein files references Madeleine McCann in a witness statement dated 2009.
According to the testimony, a UK-based individual was walking along a road when they found themselves behind a woman and a little girl. A middle-aged man was also present but was walking several meters ahead of the pair.
Image credits: Getty/Oli Scarff
The witness states that when they got closer to the child, they noticed she resembled Madeleine McCann.
Per the statement, the woman appeared to be attempting to rush the girl and seemed agitated by the witness’s presence.
Image credits: Getty/Peter Macdiarmid
The account further details that the child repeatedly turned around to look at the witness.
She also had her hand placed on her right eye the whole time, which has drawn attention because of Madeleine’s distinctive coloboma — a rare eye condition visible as a dark mark on the iris of her right eye.
In 2009, Madeleine would have been six years old. The witness stated that the girl they saw appeared to be around that age.
Image credits: Getty/Sonia Moskowitz
According to the witness, they eventually turned off the road and gave little thought to the encounter for years, until they saw a post about Maxwell and theories linking her to Madeleine's vanishing.
The post in question includes an e-fit image issued by private investigators hired by Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, alongside a photo of Maxwell.
Image credits: TennisPuneet
Image credits: DOJ
The woman in the sketch was described by British media as “a bit of a Victoria Beckham lookalike” and was estimated to be between 30 and 35 years old and approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall.
She became a person of interest in Madeleine’s case after private investigators received a tip about a conversation she allegedly had with a British man in Barcelona approximately 72 hours after the girl’s disappearance.
Image credits: Getty/Sylvain Gaboury
According to reports, the woman allegedly asked the witness: “Are you here to deliver my new daughter?”
The witness described her as having an Australian or New Zealand accent.
Several online commenters believe she looks almost identical to Maxwell
Image credits: The Mega Agency
“Not similar. It is her,” wrote one social media user, while another advised the FBI to conduct “a lie detector test on Maxwell for that event.”
“Wow, uncanny resemblance,” observed a third, while a fourth remarked, “That’s her. No way that isn’t her.”
Image credits: SallySweetly89
Image credits: Channel 4 News
“What’s there to talk about? It’s her,” asserted a fifth.
A person frustrated with conspiracy theories surrounding the Epstein files, however, commented, “You think she was out there doing the dirty work herself? This whole story is insane.”
Image credits: DOJ
“Breaking into a hotel room and kidnapping a child herself? That seems way below her pay grade,” another added.
Maxwell is currently incarcerated at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas
Image credits: TawhakiTheGod
In 2022, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a federal court.
She was convicted of s** trafficking of minors, grooming teenage girls for Epstein, conspiring to entice a minor to travel for illegal s** acts, conspiring to transport a minor for criminal s**ual activity, and more.
Image credits: Find Madeleine
On Monday, February 9, Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions about Epstein from the House Oversight Committee, according to a video released by Chairman James Comer.
“I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to silence,” Maxwell stated multiple times during her closed-door virtual deposition from prison.
Image credits: DOJ
“This is obviously very disappointing,” Comer told reporters following the deposition, according to ABC News. “We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators.”
Image credits: DOJ
Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, meanwhile, said she will “speak fully and honestly” if President Donald Trump grants her clemency.
Epstein took his own life while in federal custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in 2019.
"Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction," a netizen expressed
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