Vittorio Missoni, Italian Fashion Executive, Missing After Plane Disappears in Venezuela

USMagazine, Saturday, January 5, 2013, 9:00am (PST)

Fashion boss Vittorio Missoni is missing after his plane disappeared off the coast of Venezuela on Jan. 4.

The plane -- carrying Missoni, 58, his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, and four other people (including two crew members) -- went off the grid shortly after taking off from Los Roques archipelago for Caracas, Italian media told Reuters.

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"It disappeared yesterday. [Emergency services] have been looking for it with helicopters and ships, but have not found anything yet," Italian consul Giovanni Davoli said. "They are still searching for it this morning."

Missoni is one of three owners of the famed Italian fashion house known for its knitwear and colorfully patterned designs. He and siblings Luca and Angela took over the business in 1996 from their parents, Ottavia "Tai" and Rosita Missoni, who founded the company in 1953.

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A rep for the brand told Reuters that Missoni's relatives had been notified of his disappearance and were returning to Italy from a vacation in France.

"The Missoni family has been informed by the Venezuelan consulate that Vittorio Missoni and his wife are missing," spokeswoman Maddalena Aspes said. "We don't know any more."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Vittorio Missoni, Italian Fashion Executive, Missing After Plane Disappears in Venezuela