What happened to Ylenia Carrisi?
Ylenia Carrisi, a 23-year-old aspiring novelist with blonde hair and green eyes, disappeared on January 6, 1994, a week after arriving in New Orleans, leaving her passport and baggage behind.
Ylenia was born in rural Cellino San Marco in the region of Apulia in southeast Italy on November 29, 1970, to parents Albano Carrisi and Romina Power. Her parents were famous musicians and actors in Italy, known as the country’s “Sonny and Cher.”
Ylenia is also the granddaughter of American actor Tyrone Power and Mexican Actress Linda Christen.
In 1983, Ylenia, then 13 years old, appeared with her parents in a film called Champagne in Paradiso. In 1989, she worked turning letters in the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune. Later, Ylenia studied literature at King’s College in London, where she received the highest marks in her class.
In 1993, Ylenia decided to travel the world solo with just a backpack and journal. She left London and returned to Italy, where she sold most of her belongings before touring Central and North America.
She met her vacationing parents in New Orleans and decided to stay behind when her parents returned to Italy. Later, she traveled to Florida, Mexico, and Belize before returning to New Orleans.
She immersed herself in the local street culture of drifters and musicians. In Jackson Square, she painted and took notes of the people she met, hoping to include them in her novel.
Her father told reporters she could have started using drugs at this time. She told him she feared two men were trying to kill her with drugs.
On December 31, Ylenia checked into the LeDale, a cheap hotel five blocks from the French Quarter, in the 700 block of St. Charles Avenue. One week later, she vanished.
Ylenia shared the hotel room with a 54-year-old street musician, Alexander Masakela. NOPD said Masakela had a history of drug use and sexual violence. Masakela told detectives with the New Orleans Police Department that Ylenia refused to sleep with him, seeing him as her “guru” rather than a sexual companion.
Before her disappearance, Ylenia’s brother, Yari, surprised his sister with a visit. Arriving on December 27, he discovered her missing. A friend told him Ylenia had taken a bus to Mexico the day after Christmas.
While the last known time anyone saw Ylenia was in the French Quarter area on January 6, 1994, she was not officially declared missing until her parents called the police on January 18. Authorities found her passport, backpack, clothing, camera, luggage, and notebooks inside her hotel room.
When asked about Ylenia’s whereabouts, Masekela told the police he did not know where she was but thought she was all right. After her disappearance, Masekela showed Ylenia’s passport to the staff of the LeDale and attempted to use her traveler’s checks to pay the bill for their room. The hotel evicted Masakela after refusing Ylenia’s unsigned checks.
On January 31, NOPD arrested Masakela when an ex-girlfriend charged him with rape. Police released him two weeks later due to a lack of evidence. NOPD never arrested him in Ylenia’s disappearance for the same reason.
A security guard told investigators he saw a woman matching Ylenia’s general description and attire near the Aquarium of the Americas at around 11:30 on the evening of January 6. He said she said, “I belong in the water,” and jumped into the Mississippi River. She swam 100 yards before struggling against the current in the wake of a boat passing by. She screamed and sank, according to the guard. Promptly searching the area, the Coast Guard found nothing.
In 1996, two years after Ylenia vanished, a call came through from an unidentified caller claiming that Ylenia was still alive, but her whereabouts remained unknown.
In January 2013, Ylenia’s father requested that his missing daughter be declared dead in absentia. Authorities approved his request in December 2014. However, Ylenia’s mother often returns to the United States, still searching for her daughter.
At the time of her disappearance, Ylenia stood at 5’7” tall and weighed 120 lbs. She has blonde hair and green eyes. Witnesses last saw her wearing a floral-print dress and a white, waist-length jacket.