Piia Ristikankare

Status:

Open

Missing From:

Piikkiö, Finland

Summary:

Piia Irmeli Ristikankare was a 15-year-old girl from Piikkiö, Finland who disappeared on October 7, 1988, and her disappearance is among the most famous unresolved disappearance cases in Finland. The case is investigated as a murder, though her body and possessions have never been found. She was officially declared deceased in absentia in 2011.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

October 7 was a normal Friday school day for Ristikankare, who was studying housekeeping at a vocational school. She finished her day at the vocational school in Turku and was planning to spend the weekend at a female friend's home, but her father told her she needed to babysit her three-year-old brother over the weekend because he had to work. On Friday evening, her father was in the sauna with his father-in-law and Piia and her younger brother were watching television when a quarrel broke out, after which Piia went outside. Her 14-year-old brother told their father that he and Piia had fought over what to watch on TV and Piia had angrily left the house at about 8 pm, taking with her a small handbag. Despite the chilly, rainy evening, she only put on a denim jacket before leaving, and her handbag contained her bank card and a small amount of cash. Her father believed she had gone to her friend's house in Paimio, which she never reached. The last confirmed observation of her was when a taxi driver left her near her home in Vantaa's Kaivokkela.

Additional Details:

When she did not show up at her friend's house in Paimio, her father filed a missing person report with police on Monday; the family was Jehovah's Witnesses and attended meetings actively; Piia was bullied at school partly because of her religious background; however, she had started studying in Turku that fall and made new friends. In 2001 the investigation changed to a murder investigation, and a couple of years later investigative responsibility was transferred to the Central Criminal Police. In 2001, a letter sent to the Police-TV program changed the investigation to a murder investigation. In December 2001, an anonymous letter signed 'Tom on Borås' claimed the author saw an unconscious girl being put into a car in Piikkiö on the evening Piia disappeared, and this letter changed the missing person investigation into a murder investigation. The letter was dated November 20, 2001 to Borås, Sweden, but was postmarked in Turku on December 5, 2001. The witness mentioned seeing an unconscious-looking girl being lifted into a white Volvo and provided the vehicle's license plate; police traced the car owner but were unable to connect this to Piia Ristikankare's case. In the weeks following, Ristikankare was searched for by police and volunteers in nearby areas and waters, and a helicopter was apparently used in the searches. The case was taken over by the National Bureau of Investigation in 2003. According to a childhood friend, Piia had been bullied at school because of the family's religious orientation; the Ristikankare family are Jehovah's Witnesses. Piia's parents were divorced and her mother had moved out of the family home a couple of years earlier. At the time of disappearance, the family included her father Heikki (1938-2024), her 14-year-old brother Teijo, and her 3-year-old brother Kalle. In September 2023 (the year is unclear in source, but reported as 30+ years after disappearance), Heikki Ristikankare, age 85, was arrested and taken to Turku police detention where he was interrogated for two days; on the same day, his son Teijo was taken to the police station for questioning as a witness in Piia's murder investigation with Heikki suspected of the murder. Police later stated there was no evidence that the family was involved in the crime. Because Piia was never found, the Turku District Court eventually declared her deceased, with January 1, 2011 set as the official date of death. Piia's mother Gunilla died a few years after her disappearance and the 3-year-old brother Kalle has since also died; her father Heikki lived in the house from which his daughter disappeared for the rest of his life and died at age 86 on June 14. In 2023, Yle reported that the Central Criminal Police conducted new technical investigation related to Piia Ristikankare's disappearance, and her disappearance began to be investigated as a murder in the early 2000s. In 2023, a new group researched the Ristikankare family home again and found dog bones under the garage floor; the white Volvo mentioned in the 'Tom on Borås' letter was also investigated again in 2023.

Case Last Updated:

Oct 17, 2026