Full Name: Angela Celentano

Alternative Name: Angelita

Case Status: Missing

Record ID#: 0294

*The names “Jane Doe”  and “John Doe” are English names used when the person’s true name is not known. If used above, the name refers to a person of unknown identity.

Date of Birth*: June 11, 1993
Birthplace: Naples Region of Italy
Age at the Time: 3
Age Group: Toddler (2 to 5 Years Old)
Biological Sex: Female
Hair: Dark Brown Hair
Eyes: Dark Brown Eyes
Skin Complexion: Olive
Shoe Size:
Ethnicity: Caucasian or White
Nationality: Italy
Languages Spoken: Italian

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build: Medium

Height:

Weight

Distinguishing Marks:

• Birthmark

Medical Condition:
Physical Abnormality:
Dental Condition:
Scars & Other Marks: Dark coffee-bean shaped birthmark on the right side of her back or lower shoulder
Piercings:
Tattoos:

Other Descriptors:

Clothing

• White T-Shirt
• Light Pink Shorts
• White Sneakers

Possessions:

Date of the Disappearance*: August 10, 1996

Description: Angela Celentano, a three-year-old girl with curly brown hair and inquisitive brown eyes, vanished without a trace from Monte Faito, a picturesque mountain near Vico Equense in southern Italy. Often referred to as “Italy’s Madeleine McCann” due to the similarities in the high-profile child abductions, Angela’s case has captivated the public, baffled investigators, and left her family in perpetual hope and anguish. As of February 2026, nearly 30 years later, the mystery remains unsolved, with ongoing investigations into international leads that continue to spark glimmers of possibility.

Born on June 11, 1993, Angela was the middle child of Catello Celentano, a worker, and Maria Staiano, a housewife. She had an older sister, Rosanna (then 6), and a younger sister, Naomi (then 1). The Celentano family, devout members of the Evangelical Community of Vico Equense, attended an annual end-of-year picnic for the children’s Sunday School graduation. This event, attended by about 40 people, was meant to be a celebration filled with games, laughter, and outdoor fun in the scenic forests of Monte Faito. The mountain is a popular spot for hikers and tourists offering stunning views and a respite from city life.

The family left their home around 10:00-10:30 AM on August 10, 1996, arriving at Monte Faito to find their usual spot near the equestrian center occupied. They relocated to a clearing near the sports center, which seemed safe and open for the children to play. Video footage from the picnic, later aired on the Italian TV show Chi l’ha Visto?, shows Angela happily playing with other children throughout the morning.

The group broke for lunch around noon, and all children, including Angela, were accounted for. By approximately 1:00 PM, Angela had finished eating and approached her father, Catello, asking to play on a hammock. He told her to wait, turning briefly to speak with Maria about the food. He asked if there was anything else to eat and whether Angela had eaten yet, to which Maria replied that there was more food coming. She said Angela had already eaten but that he could ask if she was still hungry. Catello turned around and called out to Angela expecting her to be right behind him as he had spoken to her only a couple minutes earlier. Almost no time had passed, but Angela had suddenly disappeared.

Immediately searching for her, the family’s calls quickly attracted the attention of the other party attendees. Everyone jumped into helping them comb the area, but upon failing to locate her they quickly called the police. A police patrol was less than 500 meters away and joined the search, calling in reinforcements. Within two hours, the mountain was swarming with police, volunteers, the army, canine units (including dogs capable of detecting scents 2 meters underground), military helicopters equipped with infrared and night-vision technology, horseback riders, rock climbers, and cave explorers. Despite the rapid and thorough response, no trace of Angela was found, not a footprint, a piece of clothing, or any sign of struggle.

Given Angela’s young age, experts believed she couldn’t have wandered far in such a short time. After four days of exhaustive searches covering every inch of the mountain, many concluded she must have been abducted and carried away. The area was crowded with hikers that day, yet no one reported seeing anything suspicious at the time.

Nine days later, on August 19, her family received an anonymous phone call at home. The only sound was a child’s wailing cries before the line went dead. This chilling event deepened the family’s despair and fueled speculation about her fate.

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Early inquiries focused on witness accounts from the picnic. An 11-year-old boy named Renato came forward, stating he had walked down a path toward the parking lot with Angela to drop off his ball in his parents’ car. Angela followed him despite his attempts to send her back. At a fork in the trail (one path leading to the parking lot, the other into a busier park area) Renato left her and continued alone. He returned shortly after but didn’t see her, assuming she’d gone back to her family. It remains unclear if this occurred before or after Angela’s interaction with her father about the hammock.

Renato’s story conflicted with that of his 12-year-old friend, Luca. Luca claimed he encountered Renato and Angela on the path and urged Renato to return her to her mother, even offering to do it himself. Renato allegedly ignored him and continued down with Angela. The boys were interrogated separately by magistrates, but their accounts never reconciled. In 2017, Chi l’ha Visto revealed Luca had once testified to seeing two men grab Angela from Renato, one with a ponytail and a snake-like tattoo on his hand, the other large with an oval face and freckles. They allegedly covered her mouth and dragged her into a black Fiat Uno with a partial license plate EN85430 (possibly including a 9). Luca later recanted this detail.

This abduction description partially aligned with a 1999 witness statement: A driver reported being sideswiped by a metallic gold Lancia Prisma with Perugia plates speeding toward Castellammare di Stabia around 1:00 PM. The driver had a ponytail, and a passenger in the back appeared to have a hand under the seat, possibly restraining something or someone. They broke the witness’ left rear-view mirror but only paused briefly before fleeing the scene.

Psychologist Mario Rampelli, consulted in 2001, suggested one of the boys might have withheld information due to fear, group pressure, or intimidation, noting that memory recall becomes unreliable over time.

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In 1999, a 100-page investigative report shifted focus to the family and community. One fact that caught people’s attention was the fact that Angela’s cousin (13) the night before had made an odd comment to Angela’s mother along the lines of “What if tomorrow Angela disappears in the woods?” Initially ignored, it later created the suspicion that perhaps she overheard plans to kidnap or attack Angela during the picnic. The cousin later rejected the accusations claiming her statement meant nothing- rather she had been telling Angela the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” and was simply replacing Riding Hood’s name with Angela’s in the story. She claimed it was all made up, but psychologists who interviewed her were nonetheless concerned.

This led to suspicions against Angela’s uncle, Gennaro Celentano, who had debts at the time, and seven others (four friends and three minors) in a potential blackmail scheme. The case was dropped for lack of evidence, and by 2000, the Torre Annunziata Prosecutor requested archiving, affirming their innocence.

The family faced isolation from their community after these suspicions, but they persisted. Catello staged a hunger strike on Monte Faito in 1997 to protest inadequate investigations into their private lives.

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Multiple Victims?: No

Rumored or Actual Sightings: Over the years, numerous leads emerged, often leading to heartbreak:

• Rome Sighting (1996/1997): A woman reported seeing a girl resembling Angela boarding a bus in Rome with a “scruffy” South American man (about 5’9″, dark skin) speaking Spanish, calling her “Angelita.” The child with him was in a printed dress with white sandals. They got off the bus (558 from Casilina to Tuscolana) and left along the street that passed by the nearby gypsy camp and Centocelle airport. She recalled it was either the summer Angela disappeared or the summer after – the photos of Angela were still being shown everywhere.
• Roma Girl (2001): A beggar girl among Roma gypsies in Salerno resembled Angela, but DNA tests proved otherwise
• Romanian Pedophile (2009): In March 2009, a man came forward testifying that he had seen something unusual in the area where Angela disappeared. He was driving towards Sorrento when he was passed by a Brown Fiat 131 that he recognized as belonging to Nicolae Ion, a Romanian store owner from his town of Gragnano. The Fiat 131 was being driven rapidly, passing between cars and seemed in a hurry. The witness visited the man’s store a couple days later but found it closed. He later was informed that the man had been arrested for sexually assaulting a girl (10) and investigations uncovered many images of children, toys, and clothes in his home. It appears that man later returned to Romania after serving his time in prison. No proven connection to Angela was ever uncovered.

• FBI Involvement (2000-2004): Italian police enlisted the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. The FBI sent five specialists from the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, an organization specializing in crimes like serial killers and child abductions. According to a report filed with the prosecutor’s office on July 30, 2004, the FBI claimed to have a relatively clear understanding of what had occurred and a preliminary suspect. The report when on to hypothesize that Angela had been killed accidentally the day of the picnic and her body hidden on the mountain by a man who lived in a cottage on Monte Faito. The police investigated the man’s home and found what appeared to be a memorial or altar with photos of Angela and newspaper clippings of her story amongst other items. They also found a hat that was identical to the one she was wearing at the picnic. Unfortunately, the evidence was not sufficient to justify an arrest and the story remains unresolved.
• Celeste Ruiz Hoax (2010-2012): A Mexican woman claiming to be Angela contacted the family via email, providing photos and details. Correspondence lasted two years, but Mexican police traced it to a hoax by a Ruiz family member’s stepson. DNA confirmed the woman in the photo wasn’t Angela
• In 2023, hope flickered when a young woman from Argentina contacted the family’s attorney, Luigi Ferrandino, claiming she might be Angela. She shared memories of being in a forest, taken in a white car to a cave with other children (possibly for trafficking), and adopted by her current family. She had a matching birthmark on her right back and resembled age-progressed images. DNA tests, however, returned negative in February 2023. The family expressed disappointment but resolve: “We don’t give up hope.”
• The most recent twist involves the “Turkish track,” reopened in 2022-2025. In 2009, Italian woman Vincenza Trentinella reported a deceased priest’s confession that Angela was kidnapped and taken to Turkey, living on Buyukada island near Istanbul with a man she believes is her father (marked by a neck scar). Trentinella provided a video from which a photo of a resembling woman was extracted. In June 2025, Judge Federica Colucci rejected the prosecution’s archiving request and ordered further investigations, including DNA testing on the woman, witness interviews in Turkey (including a lawyer), and identification efforts. By December 2024, investigations were extended another 120 days, reflecting ongoing complexity. As of early 2026, the case remains active, with the family opposing closure in February 2025.

Other rumors included Angela in Bulgaria as “Anna,” in Germany, or as a victim of traffickers. One theory suggested mistaken identity with a Venezuelan family’s daughter in the area. An unknown vehicle with foreigners was reported on Monte Faito that day, but nothing solidified.

In March-April 2020, the prosecutor’s office closed the case, but the family refused to give up.

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered:

Description: Unknown

Time of Death:

Cause of Death:

Recovered Remains (if partial):

Suspected Homicide?: No

Multiple Victims?: No

DNA Tested (No Match):

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

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License Plate:

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