Italy is gripped by hunt for five-year-old girl who was ‘bundled into a suitcase and kidnapped’

A desperate search for a five-year-old girl who has been missing for ten days continued in Florence today, as police took control of the former hotel where she lived.

Kataleya Mia Chicillo Alvarez, five, from Peru, went missing on June 10 from the occupied Astor Hotel in Florence, Italy, where she lived with her family and 140 other people.

There are two ways she could have been taken from the hotel. Cameras captured her playing on a stairway leading to a courtyard at 3:12 p.m. before disappearing completely.

No traces of the five-year-old girl and her captors have been found in the area and the police theory is that she was bundled into a briefcase or briefcase and taken from one of the hotel’s two exits – although one would have demanded the captors to carry her over a wall.

Staff from Italy’s Carabinieri Scientific Investigation Department and local services staff are desperate for the five-year-old and have taken her toothbrush for DNA analysis.

Relatives of the missing five-year-old girl, Kataleya, cry during a religious ceremony at the Baptist church on Sunday

A police officer searches a garbage can for traces of the five-year-old, who went missing more than a week ago

On Sunday, ten police officers began emptying bins outside the occupied hotel where Kataleya lived, while two teams of specialist officers arrived with search equipment.

Eight forensic officers were also on scene when detectives finally cleared the building of all residents to conduct an unimpeded search for the first time.

The Anitmafia police are believed to be involved in the ongoing search.

The difficult inspection of the building will continue tomorrow morning and the building is manned to prevent intruders and disruption of evidence.

A nearby garage and a building in Maragliano were also searched by officers, as they believe the five-year-old was temporarily moved there.

Kataleya’s family lived in a room in the former hotel that opened last September. They moved to Italy when she was six months old.

The building was evacuated on Saturday and it was discovered that 140 people were living illegally there.

There have been several violent incidents at the hotel recently, including an attack on an Ecuadorian man, who reportedly jumped from the third floor to avoid a gang armed with knives.

Kataleya’s parents, Kathrina Alvarez and Miguel Angel Romero, attended a church service in Via Lulli, near the hotel, to pray for their daughter’s safe return.

A letter from the priest of the parish, Father Juan Manuel Núñez Rubio, chaplain of the Latin American community in Florence, announced that Cardinal Giuseppe Betori has asked people to pray for the missing child, La Republic reported.

“This disappearance has mobilized many people of good will – he adds – who, from the first moment they heard about the disappearance, got together and started the search.

“This disappearance saddened not only the Peruvians present in Florence, but also the entire Florentine community, even from abroad, especially from Peru.”

Specialized agents gained access to the entire building for the first time on Sunday after removing 140 illegal residents

The Peruvian community in Florence gathers in the streets with placards to call for the return of the five-year-old

“We welcome once again the invitation that Cardinal Giuseppe Betori has extended to all the parishes of the Diocese of Florence to pray for the return of our Kataleya.”

Miguel was released from prison on Tuesday, where he had been held since March for theft and credit card fraud, on the condition that he visit the local police station twice a week.

He admitted he’s had issues at the former Astor hotel before, but said earlier this week: “I’ve had issues here before but I don’t think it’s this thing, I can’t believe they got a little girl involved .

Miguel confirmed that the family paid rent for their ‘part’ of the hotel, adding: ‘We only bought once, we took two rooms, my brother and my father included. I think it’s a kidnapping.

“Maybe for extortion, I don’t know, I don’t have to judge, God will judge, but my little girl has nothing to do with it. I don’t want any more trouble with anyone, I love my family.’

Kathrina was released from the hospital on Wednesday after desperately taking bleach, saying, “It’ll be fine. Forgive me if I even thought about giving up and losing hope. But now I’m stronger and I won’t rest until I find you.’

The Peruvian community in Florence has repeatedly taken to the streets with placards demanding the girl’s release.