Decades-old letter found in Italy sparks search for woman who moved to Hays

A handwritten farewell letter discovered among the rocks on an Italian island has sparked an international search for a woman who reportedly moved to Hays nearly 30 years ago. An Italian resident, Claudio Pulcini, recently contacted Hays Public Relations Manager James Bell seeking the community's help to locate "Rebecca," the author of a July 3, 1997, note found on Tuscany's Elba Island. In the letter, addressed to a childhood best friend identified only as "MG," the then-teenage girl wrote an emotional goodbye, stating they would never see each other again because she was moving to "Hais, Kansas".

Although city officials decided not to launch an official inquiry, Bell shared Pulcini's message with local media Wednesday in hopes that area residents might solve the 29-year-old mystery. Pulcini is urging locals, historical societies and former classmates to check 1997 school yearbooks and community records for any trace of the Italian girl, who would now be in her early 40s. Tgcom24, a major Italian news outlet, recently featured the letter's discovery, prompting Pulcini to reach out across the globe in hopes of reuniting the long-lost friends after almost three decades apart.

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