A former Italian model who was one of the first women to accuse Jeffrey Epstein of sexual misconduct has disappeared in New York. Elisabetta Tai Ferretto, 50, from Montagnana, northern Italy, has not been heard from since 22 April after returning to the United States.
Elisabetta, who has lived in New York since 2001, had visited her family in the Veneto region at the start of April. After returning to Manhattan, her daily contact with relatives suddenly stopped. Phone calls now go unanswered and her social media profiles appear to have been deactivated or deleted.
Her family reported her missing to prosecutors in Rovigo, Italy, who opened a file because she is an Italian citizen abroad. The case has been passed to Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has activated diplomatic channels with US authorities. American officials are now investigating, but Elisabetta has not yet been found.
Elisabetta worked in fashion after moving to the United States and later moved into the New York real estate sector. In 2019, she spoke publicly about an alleged encounter with Epstein in 2004. She said she had been introduced to him through fashion contacts, who told her he could help her work with brands including Victoria’s Secret. At his Manhattan home, Epstein undressed and lay on a massage table, handing her a vibrator. She told investigators she ‘threw it at his head’ before fleeing.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Elisabetta’s family described her silence as completely out of character. No confirmed sightings or official explanation for her disappearance have been made public.
