Georina Gharsallah'S sTORY

Who is Georgina Gharsallah?

Georgina “Gina” Gharsallah was born in Brighton in 1987 and lived in Worthing. She was 30 years old when she disappeared on 7 March 2018. She was a mother of two young boys and had recently moved back in with her mother, Andrea.

Her family background is mixed English and Libyan heritage. Friends and relatives described her as intelligent and caring, though she reportedly struggled with anxiety, bulimia, unstable relationships, and periods of binge drinking.

The Day She Went Missing — 7 March 2018

Last confirmed movements

On the morning of 7 March 2018, Georgina left her mother’s home in Worthing at around 9:30am. She told her mother she planned to:

• get her mobile phone repaired,

• visit the Jobcentre,

• and later meet her father.

She borrowed a small amount of money for the phone repair.

The last confirmed CCTV sighting of Georgina was at approximately 9:50am entering a convenience store called Clifton Food and Wine on Clifton Road in Worthing. Staff later said she asked about fixing her phone and was directed elsewhere.

After that:

• she never attended the Jobcentre,

• never met her father,

• never contacted family again,

• her bank accounts were never used,

• and her phone disconnected from the network shortly after 11:30am while still in Worthing.

Delayed Missing Person Report

Initially, her mother did not panic because Georgina sometimes stayed with friends or her ex-partner. But after several days with no contact — especially when Georgina failed to arrange contact with her children — concern escalated.

She was officially reported missing to Sussex Police on 17 March 2018, ten days after she vanished.

Investigation

Police response

The case was originally treated as a missing-person inquiry rather than suspected homicide. Later, police upgraded it to a major crime investigation after concluding her disappearance was highly suspicious.

According to Sussex Police, investigators have:

• conducted over 1,000 house-to-house enquiries,

• taken more than 2,000 reports/statements,

• investigated over 100 possible sightings,

• worked with the National Crime Agency and Interpol,

• reviewed extensive CCTV footage,

• and pursued multiple lines of enquiry.

In 2019, the investigation was officially treated as a murder inquiry. Crimestoppers increased its reward to £10,000 for information leading to a conviction.

The “Possible Sighting” CCTV

One of the strangest elements is CCTV from later that afternoon around 3:30pm showing two women walking in Worthing town centre. One resembles Georgina.

However, investigators have never confirmed it was her because:

• the clothing/footwear appears different,

• neither woman has ever been identified,

• and the footage quality is unclear.

This remains one of the biggest unresolved details in the case.

Reported Theories

1. Foul play linked to criminal circles

This is the theory most often discussed publicly.

Recent documentaries and reporting examined Georgina’s connections to individuals allegedly linked to Albanian organised crime and drug supply operations in Brighton/Worthing. Some reports state she previously worked at a kebab shop later associated with criminal investigations.

There has never been public evidence proving this connection caused her disappearance.

2. County lines / drug involvement

Some online discussions and amateur investigators speculate she may have had contact with drug networks or dangerous individuals. Police have never publicly confirmed these claims.

3. Voluntary disappearance

Investigators considered whether she left voluntarily, but this is generally viewed as unlikely because:

• she left behind her children,

• money and phone were never used,

• and there has been no verified contact since 2018.

Family Criticism of the Investigation

Georgina’s family has repeatedly criticised Sussex Police, saying the investigation moved too slowly and important opportunities may have been missed.

The family:

• launched its own campaigns,

• hired retired detectives,

• organised searches,

• recreated Georgina’s final movements,

• and pushed for excavation of possible sites.

Sussex Police maintains it has pursued every viable lead.

Media Coverage

The case has appeared in:

• BBC Crimewatch,

• ITV News,

• national newspapers,

• podcasts and YouTube investigations,

• and the Channel 4 series In the Footsteps of Killers in 2025.

Current Status (2026)

As of 2026:

• Georgina has never been found,

• nobody has been charged,

• and the case remains unresolved.

Her mother Andrea continues to campaign publicly for answers and regularly marks anniversaries of Georgina’s disappearance.

Being the Senior Investigating Officer on any Major Crime investigation is all about people.

Of course the victims and their family first, and then as well: friends; communities; journalists and media outlets; partners; police staff and officers working on the case, and on other cases. Nothing in policing can ever work without all the people, and we can do very little without the support, assistance and confidence of all those people who give something to progress an investigation. 

In the search for the truth about what happened to Georgina, we have encountered so many people. Most share our determination to get answers for Georgina’s family and it is on that shared journey that our paths have crossed, but others have, and continue to work against the investigation, usually unintentionally, but others certainly deliberately for their own purposes.

Georgina’s family, especially Georgina’s mum Andrea, strive to keep Georgina’s story in the public eye. Andrea has worked tirelessly making banners, posters, leaflets, engaging with people on social media, appearing in documentaries, speaking to and giving support to the families of other people who have been missing for a long time. I am an admirer of Andrea and her ability and willingness to keep going and keep driving Georgina’s story.  

We have had great support from people who work in charities and our wider partners. Crimestoppers and the Missing Person Charity have consistently provided support, publicity, funds, and rewards. Their staff are knowledgeable, dedicated and compassionate; we are grateful that they are doing such good out there.

We have been supported significantly by the National Crime Agency as well as TraceLabs; the Crown Prosecution Service; Interpol; Overseas Law Enforcement; expert witnesses. Everyone has brought their considerable experience to bear to try to support the investigation into Georgina’s disappearance, people have been consistently captured by her story and want to help. The team has followed up every reasonable line of enquiry.     

The media have a vital role to play in any investigation, reporting facts transparently so that the public know what is happening, as well as ensuring a wide audience to encourage witnesses to come forward. Again, I’m grateful for the support that we have had to try to achieve the greatest public awareness for the investigation into Georgina’s disappearance which has included: national and local print news; local and national online news outlets; local news segments; BBC Crimewatch; ITV This Morning; documentaries – with and without invitations for us to contribute. And our own media team have made some powerful appeals on Georgina’s birthdays and anniversaries of her disappearance every year since 2018; you can find the links to them on the Sussex Police Website. It is true that coverage has reduced over time, and for the last of our media releases we have had no calls from possible witnesses, but someone knows something and we want to reach them, so we continue to try.  

Police officers and staff have worked consistently on investigating Georgina’s disappearance, have always done so, and continue to. The investigation has had the same case officer from the very first day that the investigation came to the Major Crime Team, right through to today. Hundreds of people have been involved in the investigation: Detectives, Neighbourhood Policing Team officers, Missing Person Teams; Police Community Support Officers, Forensic Officers; Digital Media Investigators; RIPA Compliance Officers; Financial Investigators; Intelligence Officers; Researchers; Analysts; Media & Communications Officers; Search Advisors; Search Trained Officers; Major Crime Review Officers; Family Liaison Officers; all united in the desire to find out what happened to Georgina to get answers for her family.

We have spoken to hundreds of potential witnesses. The vast majority of witnesses speak to us in good faith, because they feel it is the right thing to do. We are grateful to them all and wherever reasonable and justified to do so, we have followed up on all that we have been told. Despite this, it is true that we have not solved Georgina’s case.

And then the people who are, for some unknown reason, causing difficulties for Georgina’s family and those of us who seek to discover the truth, and get answers. 

Whoever knows what happened on that day seven years ago is obviously foremost of those that seek to prevent us finding out what happened; it’s clear that they lack the courage or compassion to speak to us. I have written to them in an open letter on the seventh anniversary of Georgina’s disappearance.

Then there are those who pretend to be witnesses for their own ends. Telling us things that are not genuinely in their knowledge, untrue, or even insinuating that they know something and then refusing to speak to us when we come to them.

There are the rumourmongers. It’s hard to believe that people would be so callous as to intentionally spread rumours about what may have happened to someone’s daughter, mother, sister, friend, but we have encountered so many different rumours. We follow up on all reasonable lines of enquiry, and we have had to spend lots of time separating fact from fiction generated by people who simply do not care about Georgina or her family. I don’t think people can even begin to understand the distress they cause to Georgina’s family when they share and spread the most terrible rumours and lies about Georgina herself and what happened on the 7 March 2018. 

We continue to see people make theories and suggestions about what could have happened to Georgina. We have had people tell us that Georgina is working in a coffee shop in Broadwater, a stone’s throw from her home; has started a new family overseas; has opened a nail bar in the north of England; has been trafficked; is a hostage and many other theories that are not grounded in any evidence or truth. We know some of these are from people genuinely trying to help, but others are purely speculative and present nothing but false hope to Georgina’s family.

I am extremely grateful to all the people who I have come into contact with during the course of the investigation, who have shared information with the genuine desire of finding out what happened on that day in 2018.

The one person I haven’t found is Georgina. She is the person at the centre of everything, who is loved and missed by so many, who deserves someone to come forward and tell the truth.