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Search for Girl Missing for Three Decades Leads to Empty Vatican Tombs In Search for Missing Girl, Italy Finds Vatican Tombs Missing Their Occupants
(about 5 hours later)
ROME — The disappearance 36 years ago of a Vatican City employee’s teenage daughter, who vanished off a Rome street after attending a music lesson, has given rise to one of Italy’s most enduring mysteries, fueled by false leads, red herrings and continual media attention. ROME — Thirty-six years ago, the teenage daughter of a Vatican City employee vanished off a Rome street on her way home, beginning one of Italy’s most enduring mysteries: Over the years, reports have variously linked her fate to the Sicilian Mafia, the K.G.B. and the plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II.
The latest installment of the drawn-out drama came Thursday morning, when, acting on a series of tips to the family, a Vatican-appointed forensic anthropologist exhumed two tombs in a cemetery inside the Vatican walls to analyze their contents. On Thursday, the latest trail led her family and a Vatican-appointed forensic scientist to two tombs inside the Vatican walls, the burial places of princesses well over a century dead.
His team found nothing. The team only found another mystery: The tombs were empty. Even the bodies of the dead princesses were missing.
It was yet another blow to the family of the girl, Emanuela Orlandi, who was 15 at the time of her disappearance. Their quest to discover her fate has taken them down various tortuous paths, following up on tips, anonymous letters and reports of sightings. It was yet another strange turn for a family that has suffered false leads, red herrings and intense media attention since the girl, Emanuela Orlandi, disappeared at age 15 on June 22, 1983. Their quest to discover her fate has taken them down many tortuous paths, following up on tips, anonymous letters and reports of sightings.
After the tombs were found empty, Emanuela’s brother, Pietro Orlandi, who has led the family’s decades-long efforts, told the Italian affiliate of Sky News that “part of me was relieved that Emanuela was not there.” Like other well-scrutinized cold cases around the world, Emanuela’s disappearance has inspired many conspiracy theories. She has been linked to the C.I.A., as well as the K.G.B.; to Bulgarian agents and the 1981 plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II; to the Mafia and a Roman crime gang; and to an American archbishop involved in a major Italian banking scandal.
Mr. Orlandi added in a separate interview on Thursday that his family had become used to “illusions and disillusions,” and that they had known that the exhumation could have been a further waste of time. “Still,” he said, “I was surprised that there was nothing at all.” But clues in the case have been scanty, despite investigators’ efforts. This was not the first exhumation in search of her remains.
The most recent twist in the family’s search began at the end of 2017, when Mr. Orlandi was approached by the first of several people working inside the Vatican who suggested that Emanuela might be buried in the Teutonic Cemetery, which for centuries was a final resting place for people of Germanic origin. The path to the tombs began in late 2017, when Emanuela’s brother, Pietro Orlandi, was approached by the first of several people working inside the Vatican who suggested that Emanuela might be buried in the Teutonic Cemetery, which for centuries was a final resting place for people of Germanic origin.
His sources told him to seek the place in the cemetery, which is between St. Peter’s Basilica and the Paul VI Audience Hall, where an angel was pointing. His sources told him to seek the place where an angel was pointing in the cemetery, which is between St. Peter’s Basilica and the Paul VI Audience Hall.
That led Mr. Orlandi to the tomb of Princess Sophie of Hohenlohe, who died in the 18th century. Giovanni Arcudi, a professor of forensic medicine at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, began the exhumation of the tomb on Thursday. That led Mr. Orlandi to the tomb of Princess Sophie of Hohenlohe, who died in 1836. Giovanni Arcudi, a professor of forensic medicine at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, began the exhumation of the tomb on Thursday.
Mr. Arcudi was authorized by the Vatican’s chief prosecutor to analyze the contents of the tomb — as well as the adjacent tomb of Princess Carlotta Frederica of Mecklenburg, who died in 1840 — and take samples for DNA testing. The theory was that Emanuela’s body was inside one of the tombs.Mr. Arcudi was authorized by the Vatican’s chief prosecutor to analyze the contents of the tomb — as well as the adjacent tomb of Princess Carlotta Frederica of Mecklenburg, who died in 1840 — and take samples for DNA testing. The theory was that Emanuela’s body was inside one of the tombs.
Any hope that the tombs would provide answers to the family were quickly dashed when the Vatican issued a statement hours after the operation began. Through the family’s lawyer, Laura Sgro, in February, Mr. Orlandi formally asked the Vatican to open the tomb of Princess Sophie. The family received approval last month to have open both tombs opened.
But any hope that the tombs would provide answers to the family were quickly dashed when the Vatican issued a statement hours after the operation began.
“There were no human remains nor funerary urns,” the Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said in the statement.“There were no human remains nor funerary urns,” the Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said in the statement.
Princess Sophie von Hohenlohe’s tomb led to a large underground space that was “completely empty,” the statement said, while the tomb of Princess Carlotta Frederica of Mecklenburg “had no human remains.”Princess Sophie von Hohenlohe’s tomb led to a large underground space that was “completely empty,” the statement said, while the tomb of Princess Carlotta Frederica of Mecklenburg “had no human remains.”
The Vatican added that the cemetery had undergone work during the first part of the 19th century, and again in the 1960s and 1970s, and that it would examine the documentation regarding these interventions.The Vatican added that the cemetery had undergone work during the first part of the 19th century, and again in the 1960s and 1970s, and that it would examine the documentation regarding these interventions.
If Emanuela’s remains had been in one of the tombs, one of Italy’s most notorious cold cases could have been closer to being solved. Her fate has been linked to Bulgarian agents, the K.G.B., the Sicilian Mafia, an American archbishop involved in a Vatican bank scandal, to the plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II and to Rome’s most nefarious criminal gang. This is not the first exhumation in search of her remains. On Thursday, Ms. Sgro said the family was trying to understand why they had been sent on yet another fruitless search.
Through the family’s lawyer, Laura Sgro, in February, Mr. Orlandi formally asked the Vatican to open the tomb of Princess Sophie. The family received approval last month to have open both tombs opened. On Thursday, Ms. Sgro said the family was trying to understand why they had been sent on yet another fruitless search.
“We expected everything today, but not to find two empty tombs,” she said on the Italian affiliate of Sky News. “We want to know why we were sent there, and why there was nothing.”“We expected everything today, but not to find two empty tombs,” she said on the Italian affiliate of Sky News. “We want to know why we were sent there, and why there was nothing.”
After the tombs were found empty, Mr. Orlandi, Emanuela’s brother and the leader of the family’s decades-long efforts, told the Italian affiliate of Sky News, “Part of me was relieved that Emanuela was not there.”
He added in a separate interview on Thursday that his family had become used to “illusions and disillusions,” and that they had known that the exhumation could have been a further waste of time. “Still,” he said, “I was surprised that there was nothing at all.”
Mr. Orlandi said he had called on the Vatican to investigate after receiving several tips from people working in the Vatican, though none of them were there at the time of his sister’s disappearance.Mr. Orlandi said he had called on the Vatican to investigate after receiving several tips from people working in the Vatican, though none of them were there at the time of his sister’s disappearance.
He said that he had been “positively surprised” by the Vatican’s assistance. “For the first time in 36 years, the Vatican has concretely done something important” in the case, he said.He said that he had been “positively surprised” by the Vatican’s assistance. “For the first time in 36 years, the Vatican has concretely done something important” in the case, he said.
Opening the tomb “signals a change of position,” he said, noting that when he met Pope Francis in 2013, the pope told him that his sister was “in heaven” and left it at that.Opening the tomb “signals a change of position,” he said, noting that when he met Pope Francis in 2013, the pope told him that his sister was “in heaven” and left it at that.
Mr. Orlandi said the Vatican’s overture had been important, because after decades of denying any links with the case, there was “an admission that there is a possibility of internal responsibility.”Mr. Orlandi said the Vatican’s overture had been important, because after decades of denying any links with the case, there was “an admission that there is a possibility of internal responsibility.”
Now the exhumation has created another mystery. Even the sarcophagus in Princess Charlotte’s tomb was empty, Mr. Orlandi said. “Now, even the heirs don’t know where they’ve gone,” he said. “I think this is a problem for the Vatican that will have to be justified.” But he said the missing princesses — even the sarcophagus in Princess Charlotte’s tomb was empty — posed a new dilemma for the Vatican. “Now, even the heirs don’t know where they’ve gone,” he said. “I think this is a problem for the Vatican that will have to be justified.”