Police have tracked the recent movements of a Brazilian psychologist who went missing four weeks ago while walking alone in a dimly lit boatyard.
Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto, a scholar reported missing on March 4, was last observed on CCTV in two separate videos released by authorities examining the sudden disappearance of the 30-year-old.
According to Essex Police, Barreto disappeared in Brightlingsea, Essex, on March 3, shortly after meeting a friend at the University of Essex in Colchester.
The initial footage captures a blurry figure believed to be Barreto strolling through a field close to the location where she disappeared early in the morning. The figure, dressed entirely in black, can be seen at a distance walking through a field between Back Waterside Lane and Mill Street at 3:33 PM, an hour after being sighted in the Hurst Green area of Brightlingsea.
The second video, the final sighting of Barreto, depicts her walking through an industrial area near Brightlingsea Creek and the marina.
Investigators, who discovered an untethered boat adrift down the coast at Bradwell-on-Sea, suspect that Barreto may have taken the vessel.
Barreto was last seen wearing a dark coat, a blue turtleneck jumper, light blue jeans, black trainers, and carrying a white shoulder bag with the slogan “people over profit.”
Her family members, closely monitoring the search entering its fourth week, expressed feeling “scared” and “really worried” about her well-being. In a statement released during a press conference, they conveyed their belief that she might be “upset” or “struggling,” emphasizing the importance of her being safe and loved.
Police have made a significant appeal for information following the release of the CCTV footage, urging individuals who may have seen her in the field on March 3 or at the boatyard the next day to come forward.
Detective Superintendent Anna Granger of Essex Police stated, “While we cannot definitively confirm that it was Vitoria who untied that boat, subsequently found adrift at Bradwell-on-Sea, this latest confirmed sighting brings her closer to that area, strengthening the possibility that it was her.”
“We have been conducting our searches assuming the person is Vitoria, but we are eager to provide her loved ones with closure and are actively working towards achieving that goal.”
