Andrew J. Clark - Missing: True Cases of Mysterious Disappearances

Ylenia Carrisi seemed to be destined for fame and fortune from birth.

Born in Rome on November 29, 1970, Ylenia was the daughter of Italian celebrities Albano Carrisi and Romina Power. Her parents werent the only famous ones in the family, either. Her maternal grandparents were actor Tyrone Power, of Golden Age adventure film fame, and his wife Linda Christian, a Mexican-American actress known for her roles in Holiday in Mexico and Tarzan and the Mermaids . Linda also holds the distinction of being the first Bond girl; she appeared in the first filmed performance of a James Bond story, a 1954 televised adaptation of the novel Casino Royale .

With celebrity running so thick in her blood, most assumed it would be just a matter of time before Ylenia took her own place among the glitz and glamour of the stars. And for a short while, she did indeed seem to be on the express track to stardom herself. While she was still in her late teens, she took the Vanna White role of turning letters on the Italian version of the American game show Wheel of Fortune . But Ylenia soon left the high road behind, took a detour, and veered into the ditch instead.

Her trip to the bottom of the barrel began with the most noble of intentions. With dreams of becoming a writer, she enrolled at Kings College in London, where she received excellent grades during her first year of studying literature.

Soon afterward, however, Ylenia decided that she needed more inspiration than her studies at Kings College could provide. In order to find it, she came up with the concept of traveling overseas on extended backpacking trips so that she could study potential subjects for her work in person and develop characters and plotlines based on her experiences. Taking a leave of absence from Kings College, Ylenia returned to Italy and sold her possessions to raise money for her trip.

She then set off for Latin America, arriving in Belize in 1993. But within just a few months she had grown weary of life in this Central American country and decided to try her luck in the United States insteadin the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. She was already familiar with the city since she had vacationed there with her parents the previous summer.

This time, Ylenia arrived shortly after Christmas. She would disappear shortly thereafter.

According to those who remembered making her acquaintance in New Orleans, Ylenia quickly became involved with several local musicians and street people. One of these was a down-and-out jazz musician named Alexander Masakela. This Jamaican veteran of the New Orleans music circuit was 20 years Ylenias senior. Not a whole lot is known about Ylenias relationship with Masakela, but Masakela himself would later claim that they were merely friends who were not romantically involved.

Even so, the two had agreed to share a hotel room together, and this is where Ylenia presumably spent the last few days before her disappearance. Then, for some unknown reason, she abruptly decided to leave. She was never heard from again. Masakela stayed on for another week, without reporting anything out of the ordinary. But when he finally did check out, he attempted to pay the bill with Ylenias own traveler checks.