THE friend of a missing woman who was last seen five days ago near Brightlingsea harbour says her friends and family are desperate for news.
Psychologist Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto, 30, had been staying in the Southend area but was last seen on Tuesday, March 3, at the Essex University campus in Wivenhoe.
Police believe Vitoria boarded the number 87 bus on Boundary Road just after 1pm, getting off around 30 minutes later on Bellfield Avenue in Brightlingsea.
A spokesperson for Essex Police said: “We believe that later that same evening she may have been in the Brightlingsea Harbour area.
“We are working hard to locate Vitoria. We are very concerned and need to find her to make sure she is okay.
“If you have seen her or have any information about where she might be then please call us immediately on 999.”
Essex Police say Vitoria was staying with a female friend living in Southend and maintained contact with a teacher at Essex University, where she had reportedly been taking part in some research and academic training activities.
Friends and well-wishers have been circulating posters with appeals for information about Vitoria on Facebook and Instagram.
Vitoria’s friend and fellow psychologist Fernanda Silvestre told Brazilian tabloid newspaper O Povo that Vitoria’s phone, which is paired with hers, had activated emergency mode and sent a signal location pointing to the sea.
She said: “Vitoria would go to university in the morning, they would have lunch, and she would take the bus to go sightseeing around London.
“Vitoria is 30 years old and is white, of medium build and height and has long dark brown hair.
“She was last seen at the University of Essex campus in Wivenhoe, Colchester, on Tuesday. And we believe she boarded a bus heading to Brightlingsea the same day.
“She was last seen wearing a dark coat, a blue turtleneck jumper, light blue jeans and black trainers. She was carrying a white shoulder bag with the words ‘people over profit’.
“We’re worried about her and need to check she is ok.”
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In her own appeal on social media, Fernanda said she was feeling desperate in a video message.
She said in the appeal: “My friend Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto has disappeared near London.
“The last signal from her phone came from a small boat near the docks. Authorities have been contacted. If anyone has any information please contact us, and please share.
“We need the searches to be widened so Vitoria can be found alive. We’re talking about human life.”
The missing psychologist, who hails from the city of Fortaleza in north-east Brazil, left her homeland in January to travel to Morocco for a conference before jetting to Britain.
Essex Police is due to issue an update today in relation to the force’s ongoing search activity.
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