A former model who said she fought off billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein with a sex toy has gone missing in New York, according to reports.
Elisabetta Tai Ferretto, 50, has not been heard from since April 22, after daily calls with her family suddenly stopped, according toThe U.S. Sunand multiple Italian outlets, includingLa Stampa, one of the country’s oldest and most prominent national newspapers.
The former model, also described as a real estate entrepreneur, was one of the first women to accuse Epstein of sexual abuse. She alleged that during what she believed was a professional meeting at his Manhattan home in 2004, Epstein undressed in front of her.
Speaking in 2019, Ferretto said she had been sent to Epstein by her booker, who told her the financier “would change her life” and could help her land a job as a Victoria’s Secret model. Epstein was known as a close associate and financial adviser to Leslie Wexner, the owner of the brand.
She said that after she began discussing her experience, Epstein moved toward a massage table and started removing his clothes. Believing someone would enter to give him a massage, she said she was instead handed a vibrator and told to approach.
Ferretto said she froze, then grabbed the object and threw it at his head before running from the room. “I mean, I don’t know where it landed, I just blacked out, and then I ran as fast as I could out of the room,” she said.
She claimed she struggled to find her way out of the property and was briefly stopped by Ghislaine Maxwell, who she said told her she could not leave and that Epstein was “important.”
Originally from northern Italy, Ferretto has lived in New York since 2001. She traveled to Veneto in early April to visit family before returning to Manhattan.
After her return, contact with relatives ceased. Her family says she has not responded to calls and that her social media accounts appear to have been deleted or deactivated. According to Italian reports, her phone may have been disconnected after she returned to the United States.
The silence alarmed her family, who reported her disappearance to the Rovigo prosecutor’s office. The case has since been taken up by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has contacted U.S. authorities.
She has also been reported missing in the United States, and the New York Police Department is understood to be investigating.
Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.
