Dutch woman missing in Italy after fight with boyfriend

Police in Italy have been searching for a 40-year-old Dutch-Ethiopian woman missing since December 4. The woman had a loud argument with her partner in the Italian town of Vigevano, and has not been heard from since.

Sara Ahmed Lemlem is an engineer who met her Italian boyfriend in Brussels. They moved together to Italy when it became clear he had to relocate there for work. Three years on, her boyfriend said that the woman still had not become accustomed to Italy.

The night she disappeared, the two got into an argument when the woman said she wanted to return to the Netherlands. "Everyone is free to think what they want, but I know that I have not used violence against Sara and neither did she against me. A very heated discussion ensued, but it was just words," he told Italian media. He said she left without taking her passport, mobile phone, or any cash.

"I told her that I understood, and that she should do what was best for her. When she said she was going out, I thought she wanted to cool off. But Sara never came back. It was 10:30 p.m. and from then on, there has been no trace of her."

Her case was profiled on a popular show about people missing in the country. One recent tip suggested the Dutch woman was spotted at a train station in Milan, a city with a large Ethiopian community.

Fire department dive teams also searched the waters near a bridge in Vegevano, after one person said they thought they saw a body there, according to AD.

"At times like these, a lot of things go through your head. I have no idea where she could go without documents, money or phone. I hope Sara comes back as soon as possible. I fear for her life,” her partner said.