Italian sisters, 12 and 16, missing from care home for 10 days as investigators trace 300 vehicle passages

The disappearance

Alisya and Sarah Di Giacinto, 16 and 12, have been missing since the night of Saturday 6 June, when they left the "Ofh Hope" community in Civitella Alfedena, a small municipality in the province of L'Aquila, in the heart of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park. The two sisters, originally from Minturno, had been living in the facility for about two years. The last known sighting places them on a surveillance camera in the upper part of a commercial establishment above Santa Lucia. The structure itself has no video surveillance or alarm systems, so investigators are focused on footage from the surrounding municipalities.

The investigation

Prosecutors in Sulmona have opened a file for the subtraction of minors against unknown persons and for abandonment of minors against those responsible for the care home. Carabinieri from the Castel di Sangro company are leading the inquiry. Around 300 vehicle passages were recorded in the nearby village of Alfedena between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. on the night of 6–7 June, and each frame is being examined for licence plates, car models and any other identifying detail. The main theory is a planned escape: the sisters are believed to have taken clothes, makeup and other personal effects with them.

People talk about an organised escape, but the girls never gave us any signals in that sense. If they fled, they did not do it alone.

The phone trail

Three phone numbers are under scrutiny. Two have been inactive for about 72 hours but had connected to the network for at least four days after the disappearance. The girls are thought to have at least two devices, one registered to a family member. The signal, initially localised in the national park area, cut off around Wednesday. Search operations now extend to mountain refuges, isolated farmhouses, caves, abandoned homes and even the cemetery of Civitella Alfedena. About 50 personnel from the fire brigade, alpine and speleological rescue, civil protection and volunteers are on the ground, alongside Guardia di Finanza alpine rescue units with dog teams from Roccaraso.

The boyfriend's account

Youssef, the 18-year-old boyfriend of Alisya, told investigators he is certain the sisters are "with some adult who came to pick them up" and that they are probably somewhere in the mountains. He said Alisya had shown him a letter from their mother stating she would one day come to take them away "even by force." He described Alisya as a very shy girl, afraid of everything, who would never have left on her own. In their room, now under seizure, investigators found notes containing phrases described as a kind of "code", possibly encrypted messages, logistical instructions or personal communications whose meaning is still being deciphered.

If they left the house at night, it is only because they knew someone was waiting for them. Someone they know, someone they trust.

The mother's denial

Valentina D'Acunto, the mother, has threatened legal action and denies knowing where her daughters are. Her lawyer, Enrico Mastantuono, told Fanpage that no letter exists in which the mother said she would take the girls away by night or by force. "If these letters exist, where are they? And even if they did exist, a calligraphic analysis would be needed," he said. The lawyer also stated that searches of the mother's and paternal grandparents' homes in Scauri yielded no evidence of a hidden mountain house. He added that searches began with delay, the homes were not searched until Wednesday 10 June, three days after the disappearance.

The searches for the girls, I believe, started late, not least because the searches of the parents' and grandparents' homes were only carried out on Wednesday.

The family context

By a decree of the Cassino court on 28 May, the parental responsibility of the mother had been revoked and the girls were to return to live with their father, Stefano Di Giacinto, a former army soldier who had regained custody. The sisters entered the social services network in 2020 and were placed in the family-home system in 2023, first in Cassino and then at Civitella Alfedena. The father posted a public message overnight saying he has full confidence in all law enforcement and hopes for good news soon. He was also alerted to a possible sighting of two girls in a TikTok video, flagged by the Penelope association that assists families of missing persons, but checks ruled out that the young women were Alisya and Sarah.