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Michele disappeared in 2015. Now her name has turned up in the files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Photo: ZDF/privat/U.S. Department of Justice (2) / [M] finally
The name of a German woman who has been missing since 2015 has appeared in the files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She was 22 years old at the time of her disappearance.
In September 2015, Michele left her mother's apartment with a suitcase - after that, her trail disappears. According to research by the ZDF documentary format "Die Spur" and "SPIEGEL", it is still unclear where the then 22-year-old German was headed. Now her name has turned up in the files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The documents released by the US Department of Justice include emails containing her name. According to the documents, an alleged recruiter of Epstein apparently tried to put Michele in touch with him. As ZDF's "Die Spur" and "SPIEGEL" claim to have discovered, Epstein was sent photos of the young woman in 2014.
The recruiter also allegedly asked for a plane ticket and wrote: "You will love her". It is not clear from the files whether a meeting actually took place.
As reported by ZDF, according to relatives, Michele had been in contact with Daniel Siad since 2012. The Swede with Algerian roots appears more than 1800 times in the published documents. He is said to have worked as a recruiter for Epstein. He is under investigation in France on suspicion of human trafficking and rape in other cases. Siad denies the allegations.
In October 2015, Michele was finally reported missing by her family. The police search was unsuccessful, but an active search was not possible as there was no evidence of a crime.
According to ZDF and "SPIEGEL", a public search by the police is still not planned. In the meantime, however, the authorities would want to check whether an investigation into a possible crime could be initiated.
At the family's request, ZDF and "SPIEGEL" are not giving the missing woman's surname or exact place of residence. The program "Die Spur" with the title "Vermisst: Die Deutsche aus den Epstein-Files", in which Michele's case is examined, will be broadcast on Wednesday, June 10, at 10.45 p.m. on ZDF and is already available in the ZDF media library.