Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.



Missing Person Photos

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Photos

Ylenia Maria Sole Carrisi
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
missing person case update January 2023 found new details posted
Carrisi, date, approximate 1994
Date Missing 01/06/1994
Missing From
New Orleans, Louisiana
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/26/1970 (52)
Age 23 years old
Height and Weight 5'9, 120 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A floral-print dress and a waist-length white jacket.
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, green eyes. Carrisi is an Italian citizen. She of American, Italian and Mexican descent.
Details of Disappearance Carrisi was touring Central America and North America when she arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1993. She had gone with her parents on a trip to the city then decided to stay after the vacation was over and her parents returned to Italy.
At first she traveled to Florida, left a few days later, after telling her parents she feared two men in Florida were trying to drug and kill her. She traveled to Belize and Mexico before going back to New Orleans.
Carrisi, who speaks fluent English, immersed herself in the street culture there and kept company with street musicians and homeless people. She painted and took notes about the people she met, stating she planned to write a book, possibly a novel, about her experiences. Her father believes she may have been using drugs during this period.
At the time of her disappearance, Carrisi was staying in the LeDale, a cheap hotel in the 700 block of St. Charles Avenue, five blocks from the French Quarter, with 54-year-old Alexander Masakela (often spelled "Maskela"), a street musician who had performed in several countries in Europe. She checked in on December 31, the week before she disappeared.
Masakela said they slept in separate beds during the time they shared the hotel room and she refused to have a sexual relationship with him in spite of his urgings. He had a history of drug use and sexual violence as well as a reputation as a guru. Carrisi seemed fascinated by him. She referred to him as "my master" and said he had opened "completely new intellectual horizons" for her.
Carrisi was last seen in the city's French Quarter area on January 6, 1994. Her parents, who last heard from her on New Years' Day, reported her missing on January 18. They traveled to Louisiana shortly afterwards to assist in the search efforts.
No evidence regarding Carrisi's whereabouts was discovered. Most of her personal belongings, including her passport, backpack, clothing, camera, luggage and notebooks, were left behind at the hotel.
Masakela showed Carrisi's passport to the hotel staff after her disappearance and attempted to use her traveler's checks to pay the bill from their room, but the checks were refused because they were unsigned, and he was evicted. He told police he did not know Carrisi's whereabouts, but believed she was all right. He was arrested on January 31 after a former girlfriend claimed he had raped her, but released for lack of evidence after less than two weeks.
The only other possible lead was a security guard who saw a woman jump into the Mississippi River near the Aquarium of the Americas at 11:30 p.m. on January 6, the day Carrisi was last seen.
Prior to jumping, the woman was acting strangely and said, "I belong in the water." She swam for approximately 100 yards, began to struggle against the current and the wake from a passing boat, screamed for help, and then sank. She fit Carrisi's general physical description and was wearing similar, but not identical, clothing. It has never been established that the person was in fact Carrisi, but many authorities in New Orleans believe it was her.
Not everyone believes Carrisi is dead, however. No trace of her remains were found in the river, but it's possible she was washed into the Gulf of Mexico and out to sea. Since January 1994 there have been many reported sightings of her in the United States, Italy and elsewhere in Europe, even more than a decade after her disappearance. None of the sightings have been confirmed and Carrisi continues to be listed as a missing person.
Carrisi studied literature at King's College in London and earned excellent grades before she took a break from her studies to travel. She played a role in an Italian film in 1983, and in 1989 she was the letter-turner on the television show La Ruota de Fortuna, the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune. As a result, she was something of a celebrity in her native country.
She was born in rural Cellino San Marco in the region of Apulia in southeast Italy and comes from a performing family: her parents were popular entertainers in Italy in 1994, her maternal grandparents and maternal aunt were all film actors, and her two younger sisters have both appeared on Italian reality television. She also a younger brother.
Carrisi's American-born mother has since returned to the United States, but her father still lives in Italy. Members of her family are divided in their opinions to whether she is still alive. Her remains unsolved.
Investigating Agency
New Orleans Police Department
504-826-1302
Other
Missing Persons Throughout The World
Cheddar Bay
The Dallas Morning News
The Doe Network
The Times-Picayune
Ylenia Carrisi
Wikipedia
Louisiana Repository for Unidentified & Missing People
Ellee Seymour Blog
WWLTV
La Perfecta Letizia (The Perfect Joy)
Vanity Fair (Italian Edition)
Affari Italian
New York Times
The Examiner
New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writings from the City
NamUs

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.



Missing Person Photos

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Photos