(Please read to the end of this article for the shocking analysis of her school photos).
BY CRIME DESK INVESTIGATORS
HAMBURG — The world recognizes Heidi, the 21-year-old German girl claiming to be Madeleine McCann, by her striking blonde hair.
It is the same golden shade that became a symbol of the missing British toddler in 2007.
But investigators have just uncovered a disturbing secret about Heidi’s childhood.
For ten years, that blonde hair was forbidden.
Former classmates have come forward with a revelation that suggests her "parents" were terrified of anyone seeing Heidi’s natural color.
THE MONTHLY RITUAL
"I sat next to her in math class for four years," claims a former school friend, who wished to remain anonymous.
"Heidi always had dark, chestnut brown hair. We thought it was natural."
"But one day, during gym class, I saw her roots. They were bright blonde."
The classmate alleges that Heidi was subjected to a strict cosmetic regimen starting from primary school.
"She told me her mother made her dye it every month. She said her mother hated blonde hair."
THE CHEMICAL SMELL
Another witness, a neighbor, recalls seeing Heidi sitting on her back porch with a towel wrapped around her head, crying.
"She complained that the chemicals burned her scalp," the neighbor told The Crime Desk.
"But her mother was obsessive. If a single strand of gold showed through, the dye came out again."
** HIDING THE IDENTIFYING FEATURE**
Why would a mother force a child to dye her hair dark brown for a decade?
Criminal profilers suggest a chilling motive.
Madeleine McCann was the most famous missing child on the planet. Her face—and her blonde hair—was on every news channel in Germany.
"If you have a stolen child who looks exactly like the girl on the news," says expert Dr. Marcus Vance, "the first thing you do is change the contrast."
"You dye the hair. It is the oldest trick in the fugitive handbook."
THE CHANGE AT 16
It wasn't until Heidi turned 16—an age where parental control typically loosens—that she reportedly stopped the treatments.
"I remember when she came to school with her natural hair for the first time," the friend recalled.
"She looked like a completely different person. She looked like... a ghost."
It was only after the dye washed out that the neighbors started whispering.
And it was only after the dye washed out that Heidi looked in the mirror and realized she might be someone else.