Cellphones, interviews lead police to renew search for Alivia Kail

PITTSBURGH — Crews are searching wooded areas around the Allegheny County Airport for the body of a missing Brookline girl who disappeared about two years ago.

Allegheny County Police Lt. Andrew Schurman said crews are searching three specific areas around the Allegheny County Airport on Thursday for Alivia Kail, who went missing on March 4, 2011.

“This morning we began searching the three areas. We have a total of 86 people in those areas at the moment,” Schurman said. “Through the course of the morning we discovered a lot of bones in the area. We were able to eliminate most of the bones from being human. We took one bone back to a lab for further testing.”

Kail was last seen after telling friends she was going to Florida with her boyfriend. But the young woman's cellphone was shut off and there was no proof that she ever made the trip.

Around March 16, 2011, Kail’s boyfriend, Alex Lorenzi, told people that Alivia had decided to stay in Florida, investigators said.

His home was searched on March 30, 2011, where police said they found evidence of drugs. Shell casings and blood stains were discovered in Lorenzi’s pickup truck, police said.

Lorenzi was questioned by police and jailed for several weeks on unrelated drug charges, but he was never charged in connection with her disappearance.

Schurman said Thursday that investigators are looking into multiple suspects who may be involved in the case.

Through cellphones obtained by police, homicide detectives were able to determine where Kail’s phone was last used, investigators said.

“We have a number of different digital devices that we’ve gotten information from. Through those devices and various interviews, we determined the three areas that we needed to look at,” Schurman said. “This is our first mass search of this area. The reason we waited until this point is because we were hoping to develop more information to narrow the search. The area we’re searching today is a lot of acres.”

Schurman said there were some areas that would require further examination.

“We owe it to Alivia and we owe it to her family to search these areas,” Schurman said.

Kail’s mother, Christine DiDiano, was with authorities Thursday as they continued searching for information about her daughter’s disappearance.

“I have been waiting for this day to arrive. If Alivia is where they feel she is, I am looking forward to moving on,” DiDiano said. “This would be the best time for a truth of some kind to come out. There’s someone out there that does know the truth.”

She talked about the past two years and not knowing what happened to her daughter.

“It’s been a long learning process for me and it’s been a very torturous process,” she said.

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