An Australian woman was allegedly kidnapped twice in a single day while on holiday in Italy, according to News Corp Australia. Stephanie, a Melbourne-based executive known online for her DIY home renovation videos, had travelled to Europe with friends last October. After her friends flew home, she decided to continue the trip on her own.
Speaking to news.com.au, Stephanie said she was drawn to the town of Lo Stagnone, near Marsala in Sicily, because of its popular kiteboarding scene. During her stay, she joined a meet-up with fellow kiteboarders. What appeared to be a friendly night out, however, quickly turned into a terrifying ordeal.
As the group moved on to another bar, Stephanie got into a car driven by a foreign expat, trusting he was part of the group. Instead, he sped off, telling her he wanted to see how fast the car could go. She begged him to stop and let her out, but he kept driving faster along narrow Sicilian roads. She quietly sent her location to her kiteboarding instructor. Even the man’s friend in the passenger seat seemed unsure what was happening.
The car eventually pulled into a gated compound. Stephanie tried the door, found it unlocked, and ran. She hid until she was sure nobody was following her, then reached a small town where she found a security guard on patrol. Using a translation app, she explained what had happened, and he offered to drive her back to her hotel.
But he too pulled into a quiet alleyway and used her phone to type an unsettling message, asking what she would do for him in return for the lift. Once again, Stephanie found the door unlocked and ran, this time into a vineyard.
She made her way back on foot, hiding whenever she saw headlights, and stopping at vending machines along the way so her movements could be traced if needed. She made it safely to her hotel and cried the whole next day before telling her kiteboarding friends, who were shocked by what she had been through.
Stephanie says the ordeal was not about Italy itself, noting that the man in the car was a European expat rather than a local. She pointed out that women often face worse dangers back home in Australia. For now, her plans to buy a house in Italy are on hold, and she says she would not return for a project unless she had someone with her.
