The body, found in what local authorities said was an ‘advanced state of decomposition’, was discovered on the coast of Libya, where it may have arrived after travelling hundreds of miles
A kitesurfer who was reported missing months ago may have finally been found, authorities believe, after remains “in an advanced state of decomposition” washed up on a beach in Libya.
Mimmo Piepoli, 39, from Erechie in Brindisi, Italy, disappeared while kitesurfing in the waters off Porto Cesareo on May 1 this year. A massive search operation for the dad-of-two was launched a matter of hours following his disappearance, but failed to uncover a trace of the experienced surfer.
Italian authorities said in an update on the case today that a body washed up on a beach in Benghazi, Libya, dressed in a wetsuit with an attached tablet, and could belong to missing Piepoli.
The Italian Consulate General in Benghazi said in an update this evening that it is working with authorities in Libya to identify the remains discovered at sea. The consulate, citing local authorities, said the body was discovered “with a wetsuit and a kitesurf board that appear to belong to Italian Mimmo Piepoli, who went missing at sea on May 1 during a kitesurfing trip off the coast of Puglia”.
The consulate added that Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is in contact with the missing surfer’s family, alongside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with Erechie’s mayor Giuseppe Margheriti.
However, the statement stopped short of definitively concluding whether the remains, which were discovered “in an advanced state of decomposition”, belonged to Mr Piepoli. The foreign ministry said it would only be possible to identify the remains using DNA testing, which would have to be carried out by Libyan authorities.
The statement added: “The necessary investigations to identify the body are underway. Confirmation of the identity will be possible only after DNA testing.
“To this end, the Consulate General has formally requested the Libyan authorities to initiate the necessary procedures for the examination and continues to monitor the case, also in view of the possible repatriation of the body.” If confirmed to belong to Mr Piepoli, the remains will have travelled several hundred miles from the coast to Italy to Libya.
His devastated partner posted a statement days before the body was found detailing the heartbreak of not having spoken to the father of her children for “two damn months”.
She wrote in the post on social media: “Two damn months, that I don’t see you…that I don’t touch your big hands, it’s been two months since I haven’t heard your voice, always delicate, calm…two months of questions, without answers…two months of silence, agony, anguish…I miss you.”
