Denise Pipitone, 4 years old, missing from Mazaro de Vallo (Sicile)
Denise was born on October 26, 2000.
Disappeared on September 1, 2004 in MAZARA DEL VALLO (TRAPANI) Sicily at the age of 4.
Brown eyes.
Brown hair.
Scar on left cheek, under eye.
Denise PIPITONE disappeared on September 1, 2004 while playing in front of her home in MAZARA DEL VALLO (TRAPANI) Sicily.
In the space of a few seconds, barely enough time to set the lunch table, Denise had disappeared from the step in front of the door of the house where she was playing.
The disappearance took place around noon on September 1, 2004 in Mazara del Vallo (Trapani) at the corner of Domenico La Bruna Street and Castagnola Street, which leads directly to the highway.
Running after a little cousin, Denise turned the corner of the street, where an aunt of the child lives who reported seeing her for the last time around 11:45 a.m. walking past her house then turning around towards the house, where she never returned...
(Denise’s mom) “On the morning of September 1, 2004, at 8:30 a.m., I was ready to leave the house because at the time, I was attending computer classes that I had started in March 2004.
This training provided for a month of vacation during the month of August, with classes scheduled to resume on September 1st. This explains the reason for my exit.
On the morning of September 1 precisely, I had entrusted my two children to my mother and left my house.
Around 12:30 p.m., I received a phone call telling me that they had been looking for my daughter for half an hour with no results.
I rushed home, so worried and anxious that I no longer remembered how fast I could have driven the car.
Instinctively, knowing my little girl well, the only thing I was sure of was that something serious had happened since she had not been found.
When I arrived home, I saw a disturbing scene. There were a lot of people, police patrols and carabinieri and that's when my fears were confirmed.
I started by searching inside the apartment and inspected everything, the cabinets, drawers, bedrooms, garage and even the surroundings of the house in case Denise had moved alone.
I was certain, knowing my daughter, that she would never have moved away since she was too small to move around and I continued to repeat this to the authorities.
At the same time, she never moved without being accompanied, never alone in the street.
I add that she didn't like walking. She was a lazy child and was afraid of cars and street vendors who shouted to sell their wares like they are used to doing back home.
I learned that Denise was kidnapped around 11:45 a.m.
Three hours later the authorities really considered that the matter had taken a worrying turn.
I can say with certainty that Denise was at home with her grandmother until at least 11:35 a.m. The little one was playing in the kitchen garage with the door open, with her grandmother looking on. who was at the stove preparing the meal.
It should be noted that a year earlier, my mother had been the victim on the ground floor and in broad daylight of a theft committed by a young man who had entered through the window, so that we were never too cautious and even the children were afraid of this story.
I would like to point out at the same time that we live not far from the cemetery. Every Wednesday morning at a distance of 500 meters from us, the local market is held. Our house is on the corner and consists of four apartments, all inhabited by my family with a ground floor and a first floor. The door to my house faces Domenico la Bruna street, while the house of Denise's aunt, my brother's wife, and the last person who saw her, is on the corner of Castagnola street.
I repeat, Denise was never alone, in the same building three of her cousins live, including a little girl her age.
That morning, Denise was with her grandmother playing in the kitchen garage. The testimony of his cousin confirms this since the latter, leaving his house on rue Castagno, approached the garage-kitchen and saw Denise playing who, noticing his presence, started running after him.
But the cousin didn't notice anything and returned home to Castagnola street.
Through the glass door, Denise's aunt saw the face of Denise, who had approached for a moment, after which the little one walked away, returning towards her grandmother's house, on the side of rue Domenico la Bruna where we lost track of him.
Denise was kidnapped in a matter of minutes. This is where our drama began.
In Domenico la Bruna street, part of the neighborhood is made up of members of our family. The most used rooms, such as the kitchen, are opposite the street.
In Castagnola Street in the summer, part of the neighborhood is made up of vacationers and all along the street there are houses with kitchens located inside, which makes it difficult to notice anything happening. 'unnatural. We can add that the time when Denise was kidnapped coincides with the time the meal was being prepared, which implies that everyone was cooking.
No one actually says they saw or noticed anything strange that morning or at that particular time.
But until now, we still haven't been able to find my little girl who was barely 4 years old and we have no news of her."
