Epstein victim who fought off billionaire with vibrator vanishes from New York
A former Italian model who was one of the first women to accuse Jeffrey Epstein of sexual misconduct has vanished in New York.
Elisabetta Tai Ferretto, 50, from Montagnana, northern Italy, has not been heard from since April 22 after returning to the United States.
Elisabetta, who has lived in New York since 2001, had travelled back to the Veneto region at the start of April to visit her parents and brother.
But after returning to Manhattan, her daily contact with her family suddenly stopped.
Relatives said 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, who opened a file because she is an Italian citizen abroad.
The case has also been passed to Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has activated diplomatic channels with US authorities.
American officials are now understood to be investigating, but Elisabetta has still not been found.
The former model worked in fashion after moving to the United States and later moved into the New York real estate sector.
Her name emerged publicly in 2019 when she spoke about an alleged encounter with Epstein that she said took place in 2004.
Elisabetta said she had been introduced to Epstein through contacts in the fashion world after being told he could help her work with major brands, including Victoria’s Secret.
She said she went to what she believed would be a professional meeting at Epstein’s home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Elisabetta later told investigators and media outlets that Epstein did not look at her portfolio or CV and instead undressed and lay down on a massage table.
As Epstein approached her, he handed her a vibrator, which she said she ‘threw at his head’ before fleeing.
‘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.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Elisabetta’s family said she had remained in regular contact with them until the day she disappeared.
They said the silence was completely out of character. No confirmed sightings or official explanation for her disappearance have yet been made public.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.