In the winter of 2010, a 50-year-old woman named Sylvia Cuttitta vanished from her home in the South Beach neighborhood of Staten Island, New York. On January 3rd, she was last seen, reportedly wearing her husband's black leather bomber-style jacket that had a distinctive fur collar. What followed her disappearance was a period of uncertainty and a search for answers that would stretch on for years.
The circumstances surrounding her departure were unsettling; she had left behind all of her personal belongings, including her identification, money, credit cards, and wallet. This detail suggested that she had not planned to be gone for long, or that she had left under duress. Adding to the distinguishing factors in her case was a unique physical characteristic: a partially amputated middle finger on her left hand.
The investigation into Sylvia's whereabouts continued without any significant breakthroughs for many months. Then, in August of 2010, a grim discovery was made. A human skull was found offshore in Ocean City, Maryland. The following year, in April 2011, another piece of the puzzle emerged when a tibia was located off the coast of New Jersey. Hope for a resolution in Sylvia's case was dim, as the discovered remains were unidentified for some time. It wasn't until March of 2013 that forensic analysis confirmed the fears of her loved ones. The skull and tibia were positively identified as belonging to Sylvia Cuttitta.
The confirmation that the remains belonged to Sylvia provided a devastating answer to the question of her whereabouts, but it did not close the book on her case entirely. Because only partial remains were found, her case has remained active in the event that more of her remains are located. The story of Sylvia Cuttitta is a somber one, beginning with a woman's unexplained disappearance from her home and leading to the eventual piecemeal discovery of her remains in the waters of two different states. The lack of personal items taken at the time of her disappearance continues to be a perplexing element of the case, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions about her final days.Last Seen: Jan 3, 2010
