A former Italian model who was one of the first women to accuse Jeffrey Epstein of sexual misconduct has mysteriously vanished in New York.
Elisabetta Tai Ferretto, 50, originally from Montagnana in northern Italy, has not been heard from since April 22 after returning to the US.
Ferretto, who has lived in New York since 2001, had travelled back to the Veneto region at the beginning of April to visit her parents and brother.
But after returning to Manhattan, her daily contact with her family suddenly stopped.
The former model’s loved ones said phone calls are going unanswered, and her social media profiles appear to have been deactivated or deleted.
Her family reported her missing to prosecutors in Rovigo, who opened a case as she is an Italian citizen abroad.
The case has also been passed to Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has activated diplomatic channels with US authorities.
American officials are now understood to be investigating, but Ferretto has yet to be found safe and well.
The former model worked in fashion after moving to the United States and later moved into the New York real estate sector.
Her name emerged publicly in 2019 when she spoke about an alleged encounter with Epstein that she said took place in 2004.
Ferretto said she had been introduced to Epstein through her agent in the fashion world after being told he could help her work with major brands.
Her agent proposed that she meet a man ‘who would change her life,’ allowing her to begin modelling for the famous Victoria’s Secret brand.
That man was none other than Epstein himself, a trusted friend and financial advisor to Leslie Wexner, the owner of Victoria’s Secret.
She said she went to what she believed would be a professional meeting or audition at Epstein’s home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
But Ferretto later told investigators and media outlets that she was greeted in the New York mansion by Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and taken to his office.
There, she claimed the disgraced financier did not look at her portfolio or CV and instead undressed and lay down on a massage table.
She said she rejected him and fled from the property.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Ferretto’s family said she had remained in regular contact with them until the day she disappeared.
They said the silence was completely out of character.
No confirmed sightings or official explanation for her disappearance have yet been made public.
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