An Australian woman has claimed she escaped two alleged kidnapping attempts within hours while travelling alone in Sicily, Italy. Stephanie, from Melbourne, said she fled from a man who drove her to a gated property before later escaping from a security guard who allegedly made an inappropriate demand.
An Australian woman has shared her frightening experience of travelling alone in Sicily, claiming she escaped two alleged kidnapping attempts within just a few hours. Stephanie, a 36-year-old executive from Melbourne, spoke about the incident in an interview with news.com.au. She said the experience took place in October last year after she stayed back in Italy following a holiday with friends. She had been exploring the country’s popular €1 house scheme and also planned to go kiteboarding near the Sicilian town of Lo Stagnone.
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Lift from fellow traveller turns into nightmare
According to Stephanie, the trouble began after she attended a gathering with other kiteboarders. As the group prepared to head to another location, she accepted a lift from a European expat she had met during the event, believing he was driving to the same place.
Instead, she claimed the driver sped away from the rest of the group and ignored her repeated requests to stop the car.
Stephanie recalled that the man spoke about driving at very high speed while continuing to accelerate on the narrow roads. Feeling frightened, she shared her live location with her kiteboarding instructor so someone would know where she was.
She also said she overheard another passenger asking whether other members of the group were coming to the driver’s home. When the driver reportedly replied that no one else was coming, she became even more alarmed.
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Escape from a gated property
After travelling around 12 kilometres, the car entered a gated property.
Stephanie said she quietly checked whether the door was unlocked. As soon as the vehicle stopped, she opened the door and ran away.
She hid nearby for a short time to make sure nobody was chasing her before continuing on foot. After walking several kilometres, she reached a nearby town where she found a security guard and asked for help using a translation app.
Another frightening encounter
Stephanie believed she was finally safe when the security guard agreed to drive her back to her accommodation.
However, she claimed the journey took another disturbing turn when the guard stopped the vehicle in a quiet alley. She alleged he used her phone to type a message asking what she would do for him in return for taking her home.
Without waiting, Stephanie got out of the vehicle and ran again. She fled into a nearby vineyard before eventually making her way back to her hotel on foot.
She said she hid whenever vehicles approached and even bought drinks from vending machines so there would be a record of her movements if anything happened.
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‘This does not represent Italy’
Stephanie said she spent the following day in tears before telling members of her kiteboarding group what had happened.
Although deeply shaken, she stressed that she does not believe the incident reflects Italy or its people. She pointed out that the first driver was a European expat and not an Italian.
The experience has, however, changed her future plans. Stephanie said she has postponed her idea of buying a house in Italy and would only consider returning for such a project if she was travelling with someone else. She hopes that by sharing her story, other solo travellers will remain alert and prioritise their safety.