Missing American Woman Found Dead in Italy
A young American woman, Allison Owens, has been found dead Wednesday in Tuscany, just three days after she went missing. Her death appears to be a result of a hit-and-run accident, Italian police said.
Allison Owens, 23, was last seen Sunday afternoon around 3:00 p.m. local time prior to going out for a jog in the Tuscan town of San Giovanni Valdarno – where she went missing.
Owens, who was working as a guide for a tour company, arrived in the town, just south of Florence, Saturday to stay with friends in the area.
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Italian police said that Owens, of Columbus, Ohio, is believed to be a victim of a hit-and-run driver.
However, investigators have not ruled out other possibilities of the cause of death.
Officials used over 100 dogs in their search for Owens. The young woman’s body was found half-submerged in a ditch by a passerby.
It has been reported that passing by cars would have not been able to see the body.
Carabinieri Col. Antonio Frassinetto told a news conference that the body of Owens was found in a canal beside a heavily trafficked road and that she may have been using and iPod that would have distracted her from hearing a car approaching on the road.
Tests have been ordered to determine the exact cause of death.
Allison Owens’ mother arrived at the Florence airport Wednesday morning.
Italian media has reported that she is en route to San Giovanni Valdarno to meet with Italian police and confirmed that the dead body is in fact her daughter, Allison.
The death of the young Ohio native comes on the heels of the international media coverage of the Amanda Knox appeals trial in Italy.
