Girl, 5, seen 'crying and being dragged away by man' before disappearance
The little Peruvian girl whose disappearance has sparked a city-wide manhunt in Florence was seen in a state of distress in the moments before she vanished.
Little Kataleya Mia Chicillo Alvarez was reportedly seen in tears as she was being dragged away by a man at the Astor Hotel in the northern Italian city.
The eyewitness was a three-year-old girl, who also lived at the Astor, who told her parents that she'd seen Kataleya being taken away.
Police locked down the building yesterday, and say they expect to have finished searching each of the floors by the end of today.
Another aspect of the investigation is focused around CCTV footage, with cops hoping the cameras may have captured the moments before she was last seen.
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Kataleya's mother Katherine Alvarez Giuseppe Cabras (Pressphoto/LaPresse/REX/Shutterstock)
Katherine holds up a picture of her daughter (Pressphoto/LaPresse/REX/Shutterstock)A frantic search for a five-year-old has been continuing today in Florence, as police seized a hotel where she lived.
Kataleya Mia Chicillo Alvarez, five, from Peru, disappeared on June 10 from the occupied Astor Hotel in Florence where she was living with her family alongside 140 other people.
CCTV at the hotel recorded her playing on some steps by a courtyard at 3.12pm before she vanished.
No trace of the young girl has been found so far and police have taken her toothbrush for DNA analysis.
Cops say they will have finished searching the Astor by the end of today (CLAUDIO GIOVANNINI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The working theory is that she was bundled into a suitcase and taken out of one of the two exits of the hotel.
Police were seen on Sunday emptying bins outside of the hotel, while other investigators arrived on scene with specialist search equipment.
The building has also been emptied in order to allow police to conduct a thorough search.
A garage and building in nearby Maragliano was also searched as officers believe that Kataleya may have been held there temporarily, the Daily Mail reports.
Several violent incidents have occurred at the hotel in recent months, including an attack on an Ecuadorian man who reportedly leapt from the third floor to evade a gang armed with knives.
Italy's Carabinieri Scientific Investigation Department carrying out forensics at the scene (CLAUDIO GIOVANNINI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Kathrina Alvarez and Miguel Angel Romero, Kataleya's parents, attended a church service near the hotel to pray for the safe return of their daughter.
Mum appeared 'completely normal' moments before vanishing while walking dog
Father Juan Manuel Núñez Rubio, chaplain of the Latin American community in Florence, said that Cardinal Giuseppe Betori has asked people to pray for the missing child, La Repubblica reported.
"This disappearance has mobilized many people full of good will - he adds - who courageously committed themselves from the first moment they learned of the disappearance, gathered together and began the search.
"This disappearance saddened not only the Peruvians present in Florence, but also the whole Florentine community, even from abroad, in particular from Peru."
The Astor Hotel terrace where the search continues (CLAUDIO GIOVANNINI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)"We welcome once again the invitation that Cardinal Giuseppe Betori has addressed to all the parishes of the Diocese of Florence to pray for the return of our Kataleya."
Miguel Romero was released from prison on Tuesday after being detained for theft and credit card fraud.
He said he had faced issues at the hotel but that he does not believe that his daughter's disappearance is linked to this.
"I had problems here before, but I don't think it's this thing, I can't believe they are involving a little girl," he said.
Adding that the family paid rent for their part of the hotel, Miguel added: "We bought only once, we took two rooms, also my brother and my father. I think it's a kidnapping.
"Maybe for extortion, I don't know, I don't have to judge, God will judge but my little girl has nothing to do with it. I don't want any more problems with anyone, I love my family."
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