The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi in Vatican City

Written by: Kenzie Desrosiers

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On the morning of June 22, 1984, Emanuela Orlandi, 15, asked her brother, Pietro, to accompany her on the bus to her music session but he had other commitments. Emanuela left her home in Vatican City, slamming the door behind her.

On her way to her music lesson at the Ludovico Da Victoria music school, she was stopped by a man in a green BMW, who offered her a job to sell Avon Cosmetics.

After her music lesson, she called home and spoke with one of her sisters. Emanuela mentioned the job offer she had received and her sister suggested she speak with their parents before making any decisions.

Emanuela was last seen around 7 p.m. at a bus stop near the famous Piazza Navona in central Rome. One of her friends recalled seeing her at the bus stop with an unknown woman. One witness claimed to see Emanuela get into a large, dark-colored car. She has not be seen or heard from since.

On July 5, Emanuela's father, Ercole, claimed that he had received a call weeks earlier from a man claiming to be the kidnapper. The man played a tape that sounded like Emanuela talking, but he hung up without making any demands.

The following day, the man called the Italian news agency, ANSA, and directed them to a message left at Rome's Leonardo de Vinci Airport. According to Paese Sera, they found a photocopy of a message written on a school document belonging to Emanuela that said, "Dear Mama and Papa, don't worry about me. I am fine."

The man claimed that Emanuela had been kidnapped by a Turkish organization nd that she would be freed upon the release of Mehmet Ali Agca, who was serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, three years earlier.

The kidnappers arranged a direct line to the office of Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli. The Vatican never disclosed the details of the conversation. However, on July 8, Mehmet denied any involvement in the kidnapping. At the time, Mehmet claimed that Bulgarian diplomats were behind the assassination plot, and he feared the kidnappers wanted to silence him. Two weeks later, the kidnappers claimed Emanuela would be "suppressed" at midnight unless Mehmet was released; however, they never provided proof of her death.

In September, a caller claimed to speak on behalf of the "Turkish Anti-Christian Liberation Front" said that Emanuela "has been judged" and her body left on a barren Adriatic Island. But when authorities searched the island, they found no trace of Emanuela.

After Emanuela's disappearance, witnesses claimed to have seen her. On June 25, a caller named Pierluigi told authorities he had seen Orlandi in Rome. He provided details about her flute and her clothing that made investigators believe it was a solid lead. He claimed the girl, who went by the name "Barbarella" had run away from home to sell Avon products.

Three days later, another caller told authorities that he met a young girl named "Barbara" who ran away from home. She was seen at a bar near the music school, giving the tip some credibility.

The Orlandi family lawyer Laura Sgro received a note in early 2019 with a photograph of a tomb beneath the Vatican - and directions to “look where the angel is pointing,” in reference to the marble angel guarding the crypt. Tests suggested that the tomb had been opened at least once recently enough for her remains to have been stashed there. However, a search of the tomb turned up no evidence.

The Vatican City State's promoter of justice authorized last year the opening of the tombs of two noblewomen after Orlandi's family received an anonymous note alleging a clue to the girl's disappearance could be found in the tombs next to a statue of an angel in the Teutonic College cemetery.

The tombs were found to be empty of any human remains when opened on July 11, 2019. Two ossuaries filled with partial bones and bone fragments were subsequently found under the pavement of a room in the college adjacent to the tombs.

The bone fragments were analyzed by forensic anthropologist Giovanni Arcudi and his staff in the presence of an expert appointed by the Orlandi family.

On July 29, 2019 the Vatican communicated that the bones were all found to pre-date the 20th century -- and therefore could not be from the missing teen.

Over the years, Emanuela's disappearance has been linked to the Sicilian Mafia, a notorious Roman crime gang, Bulgarian agents, assassination plot, and the Vatican banking scandal. Till this day, Emanuela whereabouts remain unknown. What happened to her?