Mugello, missing child: the mysteries in the crosshairs of the prosecutor’s office

Why if the child who disappeared in Mugello had been put to bed was he wearing sandals when he was found? How is it possible that he could have traveled alone 4 or 5 km? Why did the molecular dogs that passed through the ravine not smell the baby’s presence? Who owns the traces of blood found near the front door of the cottage? And above all why did the parents wait at least nine hours before sounding the alarm and triggering the searches? There are many obscure points in the story of Nicola Tanturli, the 21-month-old baby, found this morning, around 9, at the bottom of an escarpment, with a vertical drop of 25 meters, in a wood in the area of ​​the municipality of Palazzuolo sul Senio (Florence ), in the Upper Mugello Apennines. Read also The Florentine Public Prosecutor’s Office, directed by the chief prosecutor Giuseppe Creazzo, has opened a file at the moment without suspects and without indication of a crime. The doubts must first be answered by Leonardo Tanturli, father, and Pina, Nicola’s mother, the parents who also have another four-year-old son. They will be heard in the next few hours or perhaps tomorrow, “because today is a day of celebration”, is noted by the investigators. For the carabinieri, who conduct the investigations, the child of less than 2 years would have left the cottage alone, wandering through the woods near the house, for about 30 hours. Other hypotheses by the investigators of the weapon would be excluded. However, the soldiers of the company of Borgo San Lorenzo (Florence), territorially competent, under the orders of the commander, Major Michele Arturo, are investigating in all directions and examining every useful element. “We are making the first checks on the dynamics of what happened and we will report everything to the judiciary”, confirmed Major Michele Arturo to Adnkronos. “The assessment on the behavior of the parents at the end of the investigations will naturally be reported to the Prosecutor at the end of all the investigations, now every conclusion is premature”. To avoid the parents being accused of abandonment of a minor, which could be the hypothetical crime in their comparisons, parents will have to clarify precisely the circumstances and the way in which the disappearance of their child from the cottage occurred. Parents will also have to explain why they raised the alarm to start the search only at 9 on Tuesday 22 June after having ascertained, according to their account, the disappearance of Nicola from the bed just before midnight on 21 June. Why were carabinieri and firefighters notified so late? A detail to specify concerns the sandals that the child was wearing when he was picked up by lieutenant Danilo Ciccarelli, who rescued him in the ravine. Had Nicola been put to bed with sandals? Is it possible to think that he put on his sandals by himself at 21 months? They will be among the questions that will be asked to parents. Nicola was found after 30 hours about 2.5 kilometers away from the cottage where he lives with his family, but he would have traveled perhaps twice the distance in his wandering through the woods. Lieutenant Danilo Ciccarelli, commander of the Scarperia station, who rescued the child in the ravine, said: “At the point where I picked up the little ones, the grass was not crushed and my impression is that he had not passed the night”. The molecular dogs, who had previously passed through that same area, hadn’t smelled anything of Nicola. The hypothesis is that he wandered for 4 or 5 kilometers on foot passing by dirt roads and then falling into the ravine, as evidenced by the scratches on his body, perhaps caused by brambles. Finally, there is a mystery concerning some traces of blood that the carabinieri found at the door of the cottage. But for the military, who are still doing further investigations on the issue, the yellow would already be resolved. On the afternoon of Monday 21 June, while he was playing, Nicola would have fallen and peeled his skin.