A 16-year-old rugby player was found dead in a canal after sending a garbled voice message to a friend.
Dario Cipullo had said goodbye to his parents and gone to a flat for dinner with his rugby teammates on Friday (19 Dec) night.
“Don’t wait up for me, I’ll be late,” he told his mother.
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The athletes’ Christmas dinner ended around 1am.
Yesterday (21 Dec) around noon, after the morning fog lifted, the search concluded when a fire brigade helicopter discovered Dario’s body floating in a canal.
Police are now interviewing witnesses to reconstruct the teenager’s last hours.
Initial reports suggest Dario had consumed one glass too many during dinner, as did some of his teammates.
He was taken home by a friend’s father but got out about 40m (44 yards) from his house.
Before his phone went dead, he sent a voice message to a friend, but it was barely understandable.
Investigators believe the most likely explanation is that he slipped and drowned, as reported by Need To Know.
A post-mortem will be carried out today (22 Dec) to determine whether he died from water inhalation or other causes.
The man who dropped him off told authorities that Dario himself asked to be let out just before his house.
Prosecutor Giuseppe Ferrando said: “It is all still premature, and at this stage there are no suspects.”
The alarm was raised by Dario’s parents, who became concerned when his phone switched off shortly before 2am on Saturday (20 Dec).
“He never does that,” said his mother, Lorena.
Strangely, the spot where he was found – near a motorway exit – is about 4km (2.5 miles) from where he was dropped off in Novara, Italy.
Some witnesses reported seeing him walking towards the motorway that night.
Family friend Marina Chiarelli, speaking on behalf of Dario’s parents, said: “We’re all trying to understand what happened, but what seems clear is that this was not a deliberate act.
“What is unclear is why Dario ended up at that exact spot. No one can explain it.”
Dario was a student at a technical high school and played in the under-18 team of the Rugby NoVeGa club.
Sergio Manto of the Italian Rugby Federation paid tribute: “Dario, just sixteen-years-old, leaves an immense void.
“Not only for those who knew and loved him, but for the entire rugby community.
“Which today mourns a boy who embodied the truest values of our sport: respect, commitment, passion, and a sense of belonging.”
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