Italian journalists now in Ottawa, where they are attempting to locate twin girls who were kidnapped from their Switzerland home three years ago, say they have received new tips since they brought their search to Canada.
The girls, six-year-old twins Alessia and Livia Schepp, were taken from the Swiss village where they lived by their Canadian-born father, Matthias Schepp, in February 2011.
Schepp killed himself days after the girls were abducted. His body was found in Italy, but the children were never located.
On Monday, a crew from ‘Chi L’Ha Visto,” a popular Italian television show that attempts to find missing people, arrived in Ottawa to follow up on a tip that the girls, who would now be nine years old, are alive and may be living in Canada.
The visit was prompted by a letter sent to the television program claiming that the girls had been trafficked from Europe to Canada using fake passports. According to the letter, one of the girls is living in Ottawa, and the other is in Lachute, Que.
The TV crew has already been to Lachute, Que., where they met with school officials.
Journalist Ercole Rocchetti said Tuesday he had received new tips from Canadians about possible sightings of the girls.
“Some of them told us that they could have seen Livia … one lady was pretty sure it was her,” Rocchetti told CTV News.
Ottawa Police met with Rocchetti Tuesday, but officers said they have not received a formal request for assistance from Italian police.
“If we do receive a request, we will assist, or if we receive any evidence that these kids are in Ottawa, we will investigate, but no one has come forward with evidence,” Const. Marc Soucy told CTV Ottawa.
Rocchetti and his TV crew are checking out Ottawa’s National Archives to see if they can find information on Matthias Schepp’s life in Canada. They have also hired a private investigator to aid in the search.
With a report by CTV Ottawa's Joanne Schnurr
