Name: Stefania Puglisi
Case Classification: Missing
Missing Since: December 6, 1981
Location Last Seen: San Giovanni Galerno, Catania, Italy.
Date of Birth: Circa 1975
Age: 6 years old
Race: Unknown
Gender: Female
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Nickname/Alias: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown
Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
At 19.00 the evening of December 6, 1981, Stefania Puglisi disappeared from San Giovanni Galermo, a suburb of Catania on the lower slopes of Mt. Etna. She left her grandmother’s house to look for a cardboard box to put Christmas decorations in. She thought she could find a box at her house or perhaps at the dump adjacent to the working-class houses. Puglisi headed toward her house, which was only about fifty yards away. She walked the short distance carrying a little Pinocchio doll, her favorite toy.
In front of her doorstep she met a girlfriend; the two girls chatted a bit, but at a certain point their attention was attracted by something. They turned to look toward the darkness, near some houses under construction. There was a parked car, a light-colored Fiat 500, with a man in it.
According to an eyewitness, the man called Puglisi and she went toward the car, while the other girl turned and went home carrying her friend’s Pinocchio doll. Stefania was allegedly forcefully pushed into the car. Her mother arrived a few minutes later, and tried calling her in a loud voice, but to no avail. The girl has never been seen since. The eyewitness of the kidnapping allegedly received various threats, but it is not known from whom.
After Stefania’s disappearance, the Puglisi family received anonymous phone calls that reported Stefania’s presence in various apartments in the city. But when the police would arrive at the places indicated, they would find, instead of the little girl, weapons, drugs, and various stolen goods.
On January 23, 1993, twelve years after Stefania’s disappearance, Samuele Ventura was shot to death in the Picanello quarter, as he was returning to the Bronte prison. A year later a repentant Mafia man stated that the homicide had been committed to punish the person who had killed Stefania Puglisi. The Mafia had “executed” him. This claim has never been verified.
Stefania’s parents are convinced that it was a relative who kidnapped Stefania. The man had allegedly threatened their children a few days before Stefania’s disappearance. But the police have never given credence to this theory.
Agency Name: Chi L'Ha Visto
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: N/A
Agency E-Mail: 8262@rai.it
Agency Case Number: N/A
Added: Prior to 2011; Last Updated: 08-23-2021 - By: Htmlcnvtr
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.
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