Ylenia Carrisi was 23 years old when she left her hotel and never returned
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NEED TO KNOW
- Yelenia Carrisi briefly held a stint as Italy’s answer to Vanna White, turning the letters on La Ruota della Fortuna (Wheel of Fortune)
- Then, she turned to writing, taking a trip to New Orleans in 1994 to gather inspiration for a novel set in Louisiana
- She disappeared and has not been heard from since
A 23-year-old Italian actress-turned-writer who seemed destined for a long career in entertainment saw her dream cut short when, in 1994, she left for a trip to New Orleans and never returned.
Ylenia Carrisi was born into the industry as the daughter of popular Italian singing duo Romina Power and Albano Carrisi and the granddaughter of American actor Tyrone Power. As a 1994 PEOPLE article detailed, she briefly held a stint as Italy's answer to Vanna White, turning the letters on La Ruota della Fortuna (Wheel of Fortune).
At 23, she changed careers — opting to devote herself to writing fiction. Her first book would be set in New Orleans, a city she had visited briefly once prior. In December 1993, she headed back to the Big Easy, checking into a $23-a-night room blocks from the French Quarter.
One week later, she would leave the hotel around 11 a.m. and never return.
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It would be mid-January when Ylenia was finally reported missing to the New Orleans police. Her parents, at that point "frantic," reported PEOPLE, had contacted a family friend who called law enforcement on Jan. 18.
The investigation that ensued would be splashed on the cover of Italian tabloids, though it came up with few leads.
Speaking to PEOPLE at the time, her mother Romina Power said she worried her daughter was "being held somewhere against her will."
Her parents zeroed in one one man they felt might have information: a 54-year-old street musician named Alaxander Masakela.
Masakela — who played cornet for tips on street corners — had reportedly met Carrisi during her earlier trip to New Orleans and when she returned, was with her to check in to her hotel.
As the hotel's night manager told PEOPLE at the time, "They seemed out of place together, but I thought maybe they were just helping each other out. She specifically asked for a room with two beds. I don't believe they were romantically involved."
PEOPLE reported that one week after Carrisi's disappearance, Masakela was evicted after allegedly attempting to pay the room bill with unendorsed traveler's checks. Per the hotel manager, he asked staffers if they could watch some of his things for a few hours, and then never returned. Among the things was Carrisi's backpack.
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In late January, police found Masakela on the street and brought him in for questioning, though he denied knowing anything about Carrisi's whereabouts. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with this case.
But there was another strange incident that allegedly took place around the time of Carrisi's disappearance, with two security guards telling authorities they had seen a woman matching Carrisi's description at a park near the Mississippi river the night she went missing.
When they noticed the woman sitting on a wharf and told her to move along because the park was closed, they recalled her saying, "Well, I belong in the water anyway," before diving headfirst into the river.
While they said she initially seemed to be a strong swimmer, they alleged she went under the water when a tanker came barreling down the river.
"All of a sudden she started screaming for help," security guard Albert Cordova told PEOPLE in its earlier reporting. "Then she went down once, twice, and after the third time she didn't come up again."
A Coast Guard search turned up no sign of the woman's body, and Cordova had his doubts it was Carrisi at all, based on the photographs he was shown by police.
Her parents initially disputed that the woman could have been their daughter though by 2006, her father Albano conceded that he had grown to believe the security guard's story. In January 2013, Albano filed a request for an official declaration of the death of his daughter, which was ultimately granted by an Italian court.
Her mother, however, has maintained that she never "felt" her daughter died and has publicly said she remains hopeful of one day finding her alive.
In 2019, on the 25th anniversary of the disappearance, her mother took to Facebook to share an image of her daughter, writing, "I have never lost hope of hugging her again. I know she will have changed since then, but if anyone recognizes a woman who looks like that girl, please contact me."
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