Italian man missing for weeks in Amsterdam has family "really scared"

There is growing concern in Amsterdam over the well-being of 27-year-old Italian man Alessandro Anello, who his family said has been missing for nearly two weeks. His family lost contact with him and is now seeking the public's help to find him, his sister said to NL Times after posting messages to several Facebook groups for people in Amsterdam.

"Me, our mother and his friends are very worried", his sister, Eva Demuro, said. "It is not usual at all that he disappears like this!" His disappearance was reported to the Italian embassy in the Netherlands, she said to NL Times, and the embassy shared his photo with authorities in the Netherlands.

"He never had problems with us," she said. "He was calling me many times every week to speak with me and his nephews, and was in regular contact with our mother."

Police made contact with him twice, she said, the first time on July 26 when he asked police to tell the family he was in Amsterdam, and then the second time on August 3, the man's birthday. On the latter, which was also the day of the Pride parade, Anello tried to contact a friend by phone. He asked the friend to "come pick me up," but he seemed disoriented, police told Demuro. In the chaos of the day, Anello and his friend were unable to find each other, Demuro said.

Even still, Anello's sister said that as long as he was not bothering anyone police were unlikely to hold him in custody.

"I am really scared with all those canals and the fact the police said he was disoriented, even though I would like to keep having hope and be positive that we will find him," Demuro added.

When contacted by NL Times for comment, an Amsterdam police spokesperson said that when someone is reported to them as missing they would not hold that person in custody if they had voluntarily gone missing, unless there was an apparent mental health or physical health issue. Police said they will not publicly release information about a missing person's case if authorities made contact with the person and determined that they were intentionally out of contact. The police pointed out that Anello is not listed on the police website for missing persons, and said they did not have further information about the case.

"He would never just go away like that without telling anyone," Demuro said.

Anello is about 1.7 meters tall with a medium to thin build. He has light brown hair, green eyes and a thin goatee. He also regularly goes for walks in Vondelpark, Demuro confirmed. He lost his phone at a cafe in the city center when he went missing. The phone, she said, was later found by a friend.

Anello's family had not formally filed a missing person's report but now plans to do so.