Mum lives ‘constant nightmare’ after son disappeared in Sardinia

The mother of a 26-year-old man who went missing in Sardinia a year ago says she is living a “constant nightmare”.

Michael Frison, from Chard in Somerset, went missing while visiting his family on holiday in the northern part of the Italian island on 13 July, 2024.

After a year of tireless efforts to find her son, his mother, Cristina Pittalis, relocated to Sardinia with her 11-year-old son to continue searching for Michael and she urged Interpol to investigate.

“I certainly would have never imagined to find myself here today still talking about Michael being missing,” she said. “It’s devastating. It’s a constant nightmare. It’s like living in limbo.”

Mr Frison, who grew up in Bristol, had gone to Sardinia to celebrate his 25th birthday with relatives.

He had also been volunteering on a farm in the northern part of the island.

On the day he went missing, Mr Frison had reportedly gone for a walk and had come back in a “confused state”, with symptoms of heat stroke.

He then went for a second walk and never returned. The next day, his clothes were found “neatly folded up” nearby, his mother said.

“It’s all very mysterious,” said Ms Pittalis.

“All I know is that a person cannot just literally disappear from the face of the Earth.”

She said it was “extremely difficult” to believe that her son would have wondered off on his own in such “impervious land” without his clothes and his belongings.

His clothes were taken in for forensic analysis in May and the results are expected no sooner than September 2025.

A criminal investigation led by the Italian authorities is ongoing, but Ms Pittalis, has asked for Interpol to step in to try and find her son.

Interpol said it did not comment on specific cases or individuals.

In the past year, mountains, rivers and caves have all been searched to try and find Michael.

“I need to find Michael,” said Ms Pittalis, who added she would not give up.

“My only mission is to find my son.”

Ms Pittalis asked for anyone with information to step forward, including a woman from Jersey she believes may have answers that could help the investigation.

“It’s almost like living in Groundhog Day – a repetition of the same day every day,” she said.

“Every time when the night comes, we just hope to find some clues and have good news or a phone call to say that Michael’s been found.

“That never happens. So the new day just starts and you carry on because you have to.”