Italian agents reported on Tuesday the discovery of the remains of a man in a lava cave on Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, which is located in Catania, on the island of Sicily.
The body was located by Lieutenant Colonel Massimiliano Pacetto and his alpine rescue dog during a training exercise in the area, according to The Guardian newspaper.
But about the identity of the man, who is believed to have lost his life between 1970 and 1990, there are only shadows and mystery for now.
Police believe he was at least 50 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, and had "
congenital malformations of his nose and mouth
."
Since the entrance to this cave is difficult to access, it is not yet known whether the man entered there voluntarily or if he did so by force.
The first investigations indicated that it seems he did not suffer a violent death.
A group of tourists during a visit to the Etna volcano, in Italy Stefano Guidi / Getty Images / Getty Images
In his pockets he carried several old lira coins (the euro came into force in Italy in 2002), an Omega watch with a fabric strap frozen at that time, and clothes from another era: he wore a tie and a fine striped shirt, as if he had gone to work that day, according to the newspaper El País.
Along with his remains were also found a woolen hat and a dark green raincoat,
a comb with its case and size 41 Pivetta shoes.
A copy of the Giornale de Sicilia newspaper from 1978 was also found.
"
I have never experienced anything like it
," Lieutenant Colonel Massimiliano Pacetto told The Guardian of the finding.
"At the moment all the theories are valid and nothing is excluded," he added.
Since the discovery was announced, the police have received several calls from people who believe it may be a relative of theirs.
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One of the people who called was Franca de Mauro, daughter of Mauro de Mauro,
a 49-year-old investigative journalist who disappeared from Palermo in September 1970,
and whose body has never been found.
According to The Guardian, the woman contacted the police after they read that the remains had malformations in the mouth and nose, as her father had both injuries from a wound suffered during World War II.
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One of the investigators' theories is that De Mauro was kidnapped and murdered by the Cosa Nostra mafia because he knew the truth about the alleged murder of the head of the National Hydrocarbons Entity (ENI, for its acronym in Italian), Enrico Mattei.
"De Mauro is one of the people we are investigating, and also others who are missing for reasons that could be linked to criminality," said Pacetto, "but I repeat,
at this time nothing is ruled out
."