Rome (CNN) Thousands of bones have been unearthed in two ossuaries discovered in the Vatican City, as part of an ongoing search for clues into the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl more than three decades ago.

Emanuela Orlandi , who was the daughter of a prominent Vatican employee and lived within the walls of the holy city, disappeared in the summer of 1983 while on her way home from a music lesson in central Rome.

Emanuela Orlandi

The mystery surrounding Orlandi's disappearance gripped Italians for more than three decades, and inspired conspiracy theories involving everyone from mobsters to international terrorists, and the highest echelons of the Vatican.

Interest in the case was renewed in summer last year, when the Orlandi family received an anonymous tip, hinting that Emanuela's remains may be located in the tombs of Princess Sophie von Hohenlohe and Princess Charlotte Federica of Mecklenburg at the Teutonic Cemetery.

Thousands of bones were found in two ossauries discovered at the Teutonic Cemetery in Vatican City.

The family had received an image of a sculpture and an instruction to "look where the angel is pointing." This led them to the Teutonic Cemetery, which is located adjacent to the grand Saint Peter's Basilica and is typically reserved for the burials of German-speaking Catholics.

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