MYSTERY surrounds the identity of a woman reported to have been seen wandering the streets of Rome for weeks speaking only English.
Internet sleuths have made the extraordinary claim the woman, who looks to be in her teens or early 20s, could be missing British youngster Madeleine McCann.
FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK
It is thought the girl – who answers to the name Maria – could be from Britain, the US or eastern Europe as she speaks no Italian and responds to questions only in English.
Some online say she could be Madeleine McCann, who was abducted on a family holiday in the Algarve in May 2007. However, photographs of the unidentified woman show she is likely much older than Maddie, who would now only be aged 13.
The Missing Persons of America website stated: “There have been several people that think it may be Madeline McCann who would be 13 now.
“Madeline had a distinctive mark on her eye and it would be easy to tell if it was her by that identification.”
This distinctive mark was a fact widely publicised at the time of Maddie’s disappearance – no such mark is visible on the unidentified woman in Rome.
She has also been linked to a number of other high-profile missing persons cases, including Amanda Adlai, who was abducted in Michigan in 2008, and Maria-Brigitte Henselmann, who disappeared from Germany in 2008.
HAND OUT
The girl’s plight was highlighted on the Italian TV show Chi l’ha Visto, which features unsolved mysteries and missing persons cases.
After it aired, a number of people came forward to describe instances they have seen her in the Italian capital.
One wrote: “I saw her two Saturdays ago. She was sitting in front of the Pantheon.
“Her clothes were dirty and she was already a bit cold (and) had a skirt with no socks.”
Another said: “I’ve crossed (paths with her) more than once. Has light clothing and is very dirty. It is obvious that she sleeps on the street.”
A photograph of the girl – who reportedly responds to the name Maria – was originally sent to a missing persons website in America.
Lorena Kollobani originally wrote: “Hi. I don’t know if she is even American. I’ve seen her in Rome streets.
FACEBOOK
"She doesn't accept money and she is very careful and well behaved. I think she is a foreign student because she doesn't know any Italian. If somebody know her please write."
Several missing person campaign groups have now joined the cause, with readers hoping she can be reunited with her family in time for Christmas.
According to lobby group Houston's Voice for the Missing, a concerned local was able to take her to a police station.
There she was fingerprinted and photographed, though she gave officers different names when questioned.
Post a Comment