Essex Police confirmed a laptop believed to belong to Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto, 30, has been found in Brightlingsea as the search for the missing Brazilian psychologist continues
Police investigating the disappearance of an academic, who they suspect may have taken a boat from a seaside town pontoon, have acquired fresh CCTV footage. Officers are now appealing to anyone in the vicinity who noticed anything unusual to step forward.
Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto, 30, was reported missing on March 4 and has not been in touch with her family since the previous day when she was at Essex University in Colchester.
The Brazilian psychologist took a 30-minute bus trip from Wivenhoe to the coastal town of Brightlingsea on the afternoon of March 3 where she is believed to have unmoored a boat several hours later.
In a briefing on Tuesday, Essex Police revealed that new CCTV footage covering the harbour area displays a number of vessels on the water “as part of regular marine work patterns” between 12am and 6am on March 4.
The force further stated that there is still no definitive footage to conclusively confirm it was Ms Barreto who unmoored one of the boats, but they know she was spotted walking alone by the waterfront at 12.16am after scaling a nearby fence.
The boat did not seem to have had its engine started and drifted out before it was discovered in the water near Bradwell-on-Sea later that morning, police added.
Detective Superintendent Anna Granger urged: “Today, we’re urging anyone who was working in Brightlingsea harbour or returning from work to the harbour between 12am and 6am to please come forward.
“Appreciating this will have been in darkness, did you see a lone individual unmooring a boat from a pontoon or appearing to be acting out of character in the area? Did you see anything which made you stop and think? Or something you may not have expected to see at that time of night and early morning?”.
“We’ve made a promise to Vitoria’s family that we will follow every reasonable lead. So, please, if you were on the water working in this time period, please come forward and speak to us.”
Those who were in the harbour vicinity can file a report here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/4201020126R86-PO1 or ring 101 quoting incident 622 of 4 March.
Members of the public are encouraged to report live sightings by dialling 999.
Last week, Essex Police have confirmed a laptop was discovered during the search for the missing psychologist.
A spokesperson said: “One of a number of lines of enquiry that we’re continuing to explore is whether Vitoria unmoored a boat from a Brightlingsea pontoon in the early hours of 4 March. Whilst this possibility was explored significantly in the days after her disappearance, our focus on this area of the town intensified after a bag owned by Vitoria was found close to Copperas Road on Monday 9 March.
“We know the boat was subsequently located on a drift in the water close to Bradwell-on-Sea. We have reason to believe it was missing a horseshoe-shaped buoyancy aid. Vitoria’s loved ones are also urging the Brazilian community in Essex to display Brazilian flags which they hope will attract Vitoria’s attention and create a safe and welcoming space for her.”
Detective Superintendent Anna Granger added: “Sunday 15 March is of course Mother’s Day in the UK. I am a mum myself and I cannot even begin to imagine the pain Vitoria’s mother Gleyz has experienced since Vitoria’s disappearance.
“Every single officer, staff member and volunteer involved in this search would love nothing more than to reunite Vitoria with her mum – and we’re working around the clock to do that. We have seen first-hand the support from the community in Brightlingsea, and further afield, which has been offered to Vitoria’s loved ones.
“Equally, we know many people from the community have been involved in raising the profile of Vitoria’s disappearance and that has helped to ensure a significant number of people across Essex now recognise her face and her clothes and I would urge our whole community to please keep looking out for her and report any sightings or CCTV information to us as soon as possible.”