The sister of a missing Brazilian woman has issued an emotional appeal for the public not to give up searching, as the case marks 100 days since she vanished in an Essex seaside town.
Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto, 30, disappeared after visiting a friend at Essex University on 3 March and was reported missing later that day. Her sister Marina has urged people to continue checking properties, outbuildings and hiding spaces for any trace of her. “I’m coming first of all to thank everyone who continues to make an effort to bring her back home,” Marina said. “We don’t know exactly what has happened to her, where she may have gone, or anything like that. But if there is any possibility of finding her, I ask that we come together and leave no doubt unanswered.”
Essex Police have released CCTV footage in an effort to piece together Vitoria’s final movements. After visiting her friend, she boarded the number 87 bus from Wivenhoe to Brightlingsea, arriving at Bellfield Avenue at around 1.30pm, where doorbell cameras captured her around Hurst Green. New CCTV footage later revealed a person believed to be Vitoria walking across a field south of Hurst Green. Further footage then showed the woman jumping over a fence into a boatyard in Brightlingsea at 12.16am on 4 March, with her last confirmed sighting captured at an industrial site near Brightlingsea Creek and the marina six minutes later.
She was last seen wearing a dark coat, blue turtleneck jumper, light blue jeans and black trainers. The Sun previously reported that her white shoulder bag was found on 9 March near the industrial site where she was last seen walking, with her laptop discovered on 14 March.
Police also reported on 11 March that a boat had been found adrift in the water close to Bradwell-on-Sea, after being unmoored from near Copperas Road, the same area where Vitoria’s bag was discovered. Investigators are working to establish whether Vitoria herself unmoored the vessel the day after her disappearance.
Detective Superintendent Anna Granger said: “Whilst we are not able to conclusively say that it was Vitoria who unmoored that boat, this new confirmed sighting brings her closer to that area and does strengthen the view that it was her. We’ve always based our searches on the basis that the person is Vitoria but we would dearly love to provide her loved ones with certainty — and we’re continuing to work to do that.” She added that police were working with international partners to access Vitoria’s communication and financial data, saying: “All our requests have been made through the correct channels and we’re ready to receive that information as soon as possible.”
Granger renewed the appeal for information, asking: “Did you see her walking in a field between Back Waterside Lane and Mill Street on the afternoon of March 3? Have you seen her since the early hours of March 4? Vitoria’s loved ones have many questions and we’re working incredibly hard to give them the answers they need.”
