Woman's Italy holiday spirals into horror as she is kidnapped twice in a day

An Australian woman said she escaped two alleged kidnapping attempts by different men in Sicily within hours. The ordeal left her shaken and forced her to put her plans to buy a house in Italy on hold.

In Short

• Woman faced two alleged kidnapping attempts in Sicily
• First incident involved a European expat speeding with her in car
• She escaped from a gated property after being taken 12 km away

An Australian woman has recounted a horrifying experience in Sicily, claiming she escaped two alleged kidnapping attempts within hours by two different men while travelling alone in Italy.

Stephanie, a 36-year-old executive from Melbourne, had travelled to Europe with friends in October last year. After they returned home, she stayed back in Italy to explore the country's €1 house scheme, under which abandoned properties are sold for a symbolic one euro. She also planned to go kiteboarding near the Sicilian town of Lo Stagnone.

Speaking to news.com.au, Stephanie said the ordeal began after she joined a gathering with fellow kiteboarders. As the group headed to another venue, she accepted a lift from a European expat she had met there, believing he was taking her to the same destination.

Instead, she alleged, the man accelerated away from the group and ignored her repeated requests to stop.

"I got into the car, and he starts driving. He says, 'Let's see if we can get this car to 160,'" she recalled. She pleaded with him to let her out, but "the car goes faster," leaving her terrified on the narrow Sicilian roads.

As the journey continued, Stephanie shared her live location with her kiteboarding instructor. She also overheard the passenger in the front seat asking whether others from the group were coming to the driver's home. Stephanie said that the driver's response that "no one's coming" made her realise even his friend appeared unaware of what was happening.

After travelling about 12 kilometres, the car entered a gated property. Stephanie checked the door, found it unlocked and ran as soon as the vehicle stopped.

"It opened, and I just ran and ran," she said, adding that she hid to make sure no one was following her before continuing on foot.

After walking several kilometres, Stephanie arrived at a small town where she found a security guard. Using a translation app, she explained what had happened, and the guard offered to drive her back to her accommodation.

However, she claimed that the situation took another disturbing turn during the journey. The guard stopped in an alley and used her phone to type a message asking, "What are you going to do for me for driving you home?"

She immediately got out of the vehicle and fled again, this time running into a nearby vineyard before making her way back to her hotel on foot. Along the way, she hid whenever vehicles approached and bought drinks from vending machines so her movements could be traced if necessary.

Stephanie spent the next day in tears before telling members of the kiteboarding group what had happened. The experience had left her deeply shaken, but she said it should not be viewed as a reflection of Italy or Italians, noting that the first driver was a European expat rather than an Italian.

She also said her plans to buy a house in Italy have been put on hold.

"I don't think I'll be going to Italy to work on a project unless I have someone that I'm doing it with now," she said.

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