Two weeks after disappearance, Abruzzo sisters still missing: Lake Barrea searched, three phones tracked, and mystery men reported

The disappearance

On the night of 6-7 June, Sarah (12) and Alisya (16) Di Giacinto vanished from the family home in Civitella Alfedena, a small village in Abruzzo’s L’Aquila province. The girls had been living in the community since 2023, having entered social services in 2020. Two weeks later, searches have yielded no confirmed trace. Prosecutor Luciano D’Angelo, who opened a file for consensual subtraction of minors, said he is considering “illegal adoption, minor prostitution, kidnapping, organ trafficking, or a parental conflict” as possible scenarios. “I have been a prosecutor since 1987 and I have never seen a case like this,” he told Corriere della Sera.

“We found three cars on the cameras that night, but the plates are not visible — the image quality is poor, it was not a full moon, and the cars are not Ferraris or Bugattis. It complicates everything.”

Phone records and technology

Investigators are tracing three SIM cards that activated in the area after the disappearance. One belongs to the mother’s companion, another to a person linked to Alisya’s boyfriend Yussef, and a third to a man of Kosovar origin. All three phones fell silent days later. On 19 June, a helicopter equipped with IMSI-catcher technology, a device that mimics a cell tower to force phones to connect, flew over the region. Meanwhile, fire service divers from Ancona began scanning three points in Lake Barrea, near the road bridge, based on leads from the Carabinieri.

“The SIM traffic is certainly being watched by the police; the hope is to find messages that help us understand what happened that night. The departure was surely voluntary, but it was not organised by the girls alone.”

Suspicious men in the village

A shopkeeper in Civitella Alfedena told police that on 17 May, three weeks before the disappearance, she saw two men loitering nervously. When she approached, they said they were doing an “inspection” of the territory. The report is being checked against vehicle movements on the night the sisters vanished, a night when a local party celebrated Inter Milan’s 2026 victory.

Hair clip and other objects

Searchers have recovered a red hair clip with a floral pattern from a trail in the Camosciara nature reserve, about 400 metres from the home. An acquaintance of Sarah said it looked like hers, but the father, Stefano Di Giacinto, did not recognise it. The Penelope association, which supports missing persons’ families, urged caution. “It’s an extremely common object, used by many little girls, and the trail is frequented by hikers,” the group said. A technical shirt and a black lace were also collected, but their relevance is unconfirmed.

Family and legal background

Less than a week before the disappearance, a juvenile court recognised the father’s parental competence, overturning the previous arrangement with the mother, Valentina D’Acunto. The father, through lawyer Francesco Riccardi, filed a complaint that led the Sulmona prosecutor to open a second file for abandonment of minors against those responsible for the facility. Penelope has appealed to local supermarkets and pharmacies to report any shopping for gluten-free products, because one of the sisters is coeliac. “Sarah and Alisya, if you can hear us, let us know you are safe,” Zuccagnoli said in a video message.