Mystery in the province of Piacenza: a woman, Sonia Bottachiari , quit her job, got into a car with her two teenage children and four dogs , and left her home in Castell'Arquato for a vacation in Friuli. This happened on April 20th, and the family has been missing ever since.
The car, a Chevrolet Captiva , was found yesterday in the Tarcento area (Udine), where a vigorous search is underway and alleged sightings and reports have been mounting in the last few hours. But the whereabouts of the 49-year-old woman, her 16-year-old daughter, her 14-year-old son, and the four animals remain a mystery. Their cell phones are reportedly turned off; no one has reportedly had contact with them.
The woman's ex-husband, Yuri Groppi, who filed a missing person report with the Carabinieri, launched an appeal on social media and also reached Friuli. "Sonia had told me she wanted to spend a few days on vacation with our children and four dogs, so I knew they were leaving for Friuli. They were scheduled to return on Friday the 24th, but since Monday the 20th, all three of their cell phones have been unavailable," he told the Gazzetta di Parma (Groppi and his ex-wife are originally from Salsomaggiore in the Parma area). "The hypotheses being considered are that they may still be in this area or have left with someone," he added.
They had loaded tents into the car, and the woman reportedly told her ex-husband, from whom she has been separated for over 12 years, the name of a campsite. But they never arrived there. The tents were no longer in the Chevrolet. A forward command post for the search was activated in Tarcento, with its base camp near the parking lot where the car was found. Coordinated by the prefecture, the search for clues is underway: Carabinieri and firefighters, including drones and a helicopter, are involved, as are volunteers from the Civil Protection and Alpine Rescue teams.
