Woman charged for stalking Madeleine McCann's family

In the United Kingdom, two women have been charged as part of an investigation into the alleged stalking of Madeleine McCann's family. Karen Spragg, a 60-year-old woman from Caerau, Cardiff, was arrested on Thursday and is facing charges related to stalking that reportedly took place between May 3, 2024, and February 21, 2025. She is scheduled to appear at Leicester Magistrates' Court on the following Friday. This incident follows another charge against a younger woman, Julia Wandel, a 23-year-old from Lubin, Poland. Wandel was arrested at Bristol Airport in February for four counts of stalking the McCann family and has also been remanded in custody, with her court appearance on the same day as Spragg's. Allegations against Wandel include directly visiting the McCann's home, making phone calls, sending letters, and messaging through platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp, indicating that the alleged incidents were both extensive and persistent. The investigation highlights the ongoing challenges faced by high-profile families, particularly in the case of Madeleine McCann, whose disappearance during a family vacation in Portugal in May 2007 is one of the most enduring and widely covered missing person cases worldwide. Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, have expressed frustrations regarding the investigation into their daughter's abduction in Portugal, emphasizing how the ongoing interest in their family can sometimes manifest in troubling ways, such as stalking. As these cases proceed through the legal system, they underscore the need for protections against intrusion and distress experienced by families affected by such tragedies, reiterating the impact of crime on personal lives even years after the original incident.