Graves Dug In Missing Teen Search Empty: Vatican
The mystery surrounding the disappearance of an Italian teenager 36 years ago deepened Thursday after two graves at the Vatican thought to possibly hold her remains were discovered to be empty.
The Vatican said no human findings or funeral urns were found in the tombs VATICAN MEDIA/AFP
Vatican City: The mystery surrounding the disappearance of an Italian teenager 36 years ago deepened Thursday after two graves at the Vatican thought to possibly hold her remains were discovered to be empty.
Not only was Emanuela Orlandi's remains not found, but the tombs also did not even hold the remains of the two princesses supposed to be buried there in the Teutonic Cemetery in the tiny city-state, the Vatican said in a statement.
"No human findings or funeral urns were found," it said.
The Vatican dig followed an anonymous tip-off that the cemetery may be the last resting place of Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican employee, who was last seen leaving a music class aged 15.
Theories have circulated for decades about who took her and where her body may lie.
The family had been sent a picture of an angel-topped grave in the cemetery, and a message which simply read: "Look where the angel is pointing".
A second, similar grave alongside the first was also opened to rule out any misunderstandings over which grave was meant.
The tombs belonged to two princesses, buried in 1836 and 1840.
The Vatican said it had informed their descendants of Thursday's discovery that their remains were missing.
It said it would look into when work was done on the tombs in a bid to find out what happened to them.
"Documentary checks are underway on the structural interventions that took place in the area... in a first phase at the end of the 19th century, and in a second more recent phase between the 60s and 70s of the last century," the Vatican said.
The Holy See expressed its "attention and closeness to the suffering of the Orlandi Family and in particular to Emanuela's mother," who still lives inside the Vatican.
-
What do scientists hope to learn from total solar eclipse in US?
2024-03-28 -
Song lyrics are getting simpler, more repetitive: study
2024-03-28 -
German court rules against Mercedes in emissions case
2024-03-28 -
UK greenhouse gas emissions fell 5.4 percent in 2023: data
2024-03-28 -
French film grooming claims puts focus on child coaches
2024-03-28 -
George Washington University faces $10mn disinformation lawsuit
2024-03-28 -
Climate change is messing with how we measure time: study
2024-03-28 -
Struggling for a can of food: starving Gazans scramble for aid drops
2024-03-26 -
Pandemic accord talks at loggerheads as time ticks away
2024-03-26 -
Racism reducing my desire to play football: Brazil's Vinicius
2024-03-25