More than three decades after the mysterious disappearance of the girl Emanuela Orlandi, the Vatican is said to have begun its own investigation into the case. "We expect them to do their work and educate what happened 36 years ago," said the family lawyer, Laura Sgrò. The Vatican has informed them about the investigation, which has not yet been officially confirmed.

The then 15-year-old Emanuela disappeared in 1983. The daughter of a Vatican court servant had come after lessons in a music school no longer home. To this day it is unclear what happened to her. Therefore, rumors and conspiracy theories have been entwining for decades.

Among other things, it was speculated that the girl was kidnapped by a criminal organization to put pressure on Vatican officials to repay borrowed money. According to another theory, Emilia Orlandi was abducted to force a release of the Turkish Mehmet Ali Agcazu, who had assassinated Pope John Paul II in 1981.

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Mafia and Vatican: the case of Emanuela Orlandi

Relatives recently asked the Vatican to open a grave in the German Pilgrim's Cemetery near St. Peter's Basilica. Last summer, there was a clue that the child could have been buried in the Campo Santo Teutonico inside the Vatican walls, lawyer Sgrò had told a newspaper in March.

Last autumn, bones were found in a Vatican building. A connection to the unsolved missing case was quickly established by the Italian media. Investigations showed, however, that these bones were much older.