Is the Hitz inheritance story real?

Yes. It was reported on the front page of the Washington Post on November 23, 1965, and in the press of at least five countries. The original pages are reproduced on this site.

Was the money ever found?

As far as the family can prove, no. Two wills were reported in the Caracas press in January 1966. The estate fight ran for decades and was never publicly resolved.

What should I do if I know something?

Use the form on this page or email elisabeth@thehitzinheritance.com. You can remain confidential.

An Appeal

Someone Knows Something

This case is sixty years old. The people who remember it are running out of time to tell it. If that is your family, I want to hear from you.

ES: Si su familia conoció a la familia Hitz en Caracas entre 1946 y 1966, escríbame. Cada recuerdo importa.

DE: Wenn Ihre Familie die Familie Hitz in Chur, Seewis oder im Prättigau kannte, schreiben Sie mir. Jede Erinnerung zählt.

Between 1946 and 1966 my great-grandfather Othmar John Hitz built one of the largest fortunes in Venezuela, and my grandmother Anna Maria Hitz became the most famous missing girl in America. The story ran on front pages in five countries. Then it went quiet, and the fortune was never collected.

The paper trail did not disappear. It scattered. Pieces of it are sitting in attics, albums, and memories in Caracas, in Washington, in the Prättigau, and everywhere the story was printed.

What I am looking for

Newspaper clippings from 1965 or 1966 that mention Hitz, especially Venezuelan papers (La Verdad, El Universal, Ultimas Noticias) and Swiss papers.
Anyone whose family knew the Hitz household in Caracas in the 1940s and 1950s, the coffee export business, or the staff.
Memories of the guardianship years in Chur, Seewis, Teufen or Flurlingen, 1958 to 1961, including anyone who went to school with Anna Maria.
The Washington chapter, 1961 to 1965: St. Matthew's Cathedral rectory, the Maret School, the German Embassy staff of that era.
Records or memories of 1960s accounts, safe-deposit boxes, or property connected to the name Hitz, in any country.

Every message is read by me personally. Sources stay confidential if you want them to. I am not a lawyer and I am not a journalist. I am the granddaughter.

Thank you. That reached me directly, and I read every one of these myself. If you left an email address I will reply personally, usually within a day. Nothing you sent is published without your permission.

If you prefer email: elisabeth@thehitzinheritance.com
Deutsch und Español willkommen · Se habla español

Read the full evidence first · The world this happened in · The original 1965 front pages