A STUNNING influencer has mysteriously vanished after failing to show up for work – and cops now fear her boyfriend could be at the centre of the chilling disappearance.
Stefanie Pieper, 32, failed to show up for a photoshoot on Monday, prompting the worried photographer to visit her home in Graz, Austria to check on her.
When he arrived, he was let in by her on-off boyfriend, 31-year-old Slovenian Peter M.
He is described as an unsuccessful amateur poker player who also works part-time as a part-time security guard.
Still uneasy about Stefanie’s whereabouts, the photographer called the police.
They searched the area and soon found her phone discarded in a bush.
As officers began investigating her disappearance – bolstered by a separate report from neighbours who had heard “loud noises” coming from her flat on Sunday – they reviewed her final, unsettling messages.
In a message to a friend on Whatsapp, she wrote: “There’s a creep in the stairwell.”
She added that the person she saw cut a “dark figure.”
No one has heard from her since she was last seen at 7 a.m. on November 23.
Her family and friends have no idea whether she is even alive.
However, local media reports indicate that the two apparently did not encounter each other there.
What is known is that she had been returning from a nightclub where her boyfriend had also been.
She told a friend she was taking a cab home so she could take her Golden Retriever, Marlow, for a morning walk .
As she was entering her flat she sent the final messages about the “dark figure”.
Since her disappearance, Peter has been arrested in neighbouring Slovenia while attempting to cross the border.
His red Volkswagen Golf was later discovered burned out near the Mond Casino in Šentilj, just south of the Slovenian–Austrian border.
When questioned, he reportedly could not explain why the vehicle had been set alight.
He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court for an extradition hearing on Wednesday.
Police have also confirmed that two other men are under investigation, though it remains unclear whether they are in custody.
Search efforts are continuing, with officers deploying sniffer dogs to Peter’s grandmother’s home to dig in the garden.
Stefanie is described as around 5ft 9in, with shoulder-length dark blonde hair and a slim build.
She also has a tattoo of her mother’s name, Csilla, on her left forearm.
Her mother has issued a public plea for information, saying: “My daughter has been missing since [Sunday] morning.
“Any helpful information will be financially rewarded. Please help me find my daughter.”
Police say they are preparing for the worst and have not ruled out the possibility that some sort of violent crime has occurred.
