The 19-year-old vanished a year ago from Italy, but his mother Federica says she has received messages claiming he was seen in Kerry, Galway and Dublin.
Missing Italian man Riccardo Branchini, seen here in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin in September last year. His mother Federica believes he may be in Ireland now. (Image: Federica Pambianchi)
The desperate mother of this Italian man missing feared dead believes he may be alive and living in Ireland.
Italian cops are working on the theory that Riccardo Branchini, who disappeared from his home country a year ago this month, died by suicide, but his mother Federica Pambianchi believes he could be living here.
“The theory that he is living in Ireland is one of the strongest for me,” she told The Mirror.
“He knows English very well and had been in Ireland a month before he disappeared.”
Riccardo, who was 19 when last seen, disappeared from his home in Aqualagna near Ancona in eastern Italy on October 13, 2024 – a month after coming back from an Erasmus trip to Dublin.
And she said that since his disappearance, she has received at least two messages claiming her son was living in the Dingle peninsula in Co Kerry – and also in Galway.
Ms Pambianchi said: “This summer, I received some strange reports from the Dingle Peninsula.
Missing man Riccardo Branchini and his mother Federica Pambianchi, who believes he is alive and in Ireland.(Image: Federica Pambianchi)
“A woman told me he worked for her, but then immediately stopped responding.
“Another guy told me he saw him singing in a club on the Dingle Peninsula.
“Another woman told me she saw him in the restaurant where he worked in Galway, and other reports came in from Dublin. Unfortunately, nobody produced any photographs of him.”
Riccardo, who is described as 1.82cm (5ft10), with blue eyes and a beard and weighs 82kgs, or 12 stone 12lbs.
Missing man Riccardo Branchini.(Image: Federica Pambianchi)
He had spent just under a month in Dublin from August 10 to September 3 last year, before returning to his native Aqualagna.
But a month later, he disappeared after returning home from a train trip around Europe with buddies. His car was found near the entrance to a local dam and his belongings were found inside – but his mother refuses to give up hope that he is alive.
She says Italian police in the nearest HQ of Urbino are investigating his disappearance as a suicide – but she believes he could be alive and living in Ireland.
She told us: “I am desperate for news about him.
Riccardo Branchini and his mother, Federica.(Image: Federica Pambianchi)
“The Urbino Prosecutor’s Office is investigating him for incitement to suicide, but his body has never been found, and computer reports showed searches for volunteer work, accommodation, and flights in many European countries, including Ireland.
“A month before his disappearance, he was in Dublin, from August 10, 2024 to September 3, 2024. He disappeared a month later, on October 13, 2024.
“Five days after his return from Ireland, he left with friends for an Interrail trip to Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Nice, Berlin, and Munich. But my thoughts are about Ireland because he might have met someone there or found some connection that could have helped him.
“He speaks English like a native.”
She is now appealing for anyone who comes across him in Ireland to take a photograph and send it to her.
She said: “It’s extremely important that if anyone sees him that they take a clearly visible photo or video. It’s not a crime to take photos in public places, and it’s essential to identify him.
A poster for missing Riccardo Branchini.(Image: Federica Pambianchi)
“He has moles and he touches his beard while speaking. I am desperate for news on him.”
Ms Pambianchi said the disappearance of Riccardo was out of character. She said: “He was always a very good boy, polite, sweet, good, sensitive, and altruistic. His flaw was that he was very reserved and rarely spoke about personal matters.
“I never had to scold him. He was a level-headed guy, a computer genius, very, very good with computers.”
Anyone who believes they have seen Riccardo is asked to contact his mother via email on federica.pambianchi@gmail.com or her lawyer Elena Fabbri on: studiolegale@elenafabbri.com. Telephone: +39/ 345/ 2688553
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