A woman has been ordered by a judge to undergo DNA testing to determine if she is a girl who vanished nearly 30 years ago during a family picnic.

In August 1996, Catello Celentano was holidaying with his family in Naples when his three year old daughter Angela ran over to him upset because her friends wouldn't let her use a hammock.

This turned out to be the last time he saw her; she disappeared after he momentarily looked away.

The case, which has drawn comparisons to Madeleine McCann's disappearance, has left Angela's family waiting for any sign that she might still be alive.

Over a decade after her disappearance, they received a glimmer of hope, reports the Mirror.

An Italian woman, Vincenza Trentinella, informed the police that Angela was living with a man she believed to be her father on the island of Buyukada, near Istanbul, Turkey.

She alleged that this information was given to her by a dying priest, who claimed it had been revealed to him during a confession.

Ms Trentinella stated that she had travelled to Turkey and met with Angela and her supposed abductor.

Italian police are now revisiting the case in collaboration with Turkish authorities.

The initial investigation hit a dead end after Turkish authorities reportedly received a false number for the man, Fahfi Bey, a self-proclaimed vet, and decided not to pursue the matter further.

Judge Federica Colucci has called for fresh inquiries into the Turkish lead after photographs provided by Ms Trentinella show a woman strikingly similar to Angela. Witnesses in Turkey will be contacted, and efforts will be made to determine if this woman could indeed be Angela.

Despite the Naples Prosecutor's Office recommending closure of the case, Judge Colucci has authorised a DNA test to be conducted on the woman once she is located.

Discussing the chance that the woman might be Angela, Ms Trentinella told Corriere del Mezzogiorno: "When I met her I saw a very strong resemblance to her mother and her sister. But the DNA will dispel any doubts."

Over the years, Angela's parents have chased up countless anonymous tips about sightings, which have taken them across the globe to countries including Mexico, South Africa, and Venezuela, where multiple DNA tests have been carried out though to no avail.

In his enduring search, Angela's father had previously declared: "Until I am certain that my daughter is dead, until I have a body to cry on, I will continue to look for her alive. Even if I have to go to the end of the world."