Vitoria's Story

Our officers are continuing to search for 30-year-old Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto, who was reported missing on Wednesday 4 March. She was  last being seen in the Brightlingsea area on Tuesday 3 March . Officers are following several lines of enquiry and are appealing to anyone who may have seen her or has information to call 999.

• On Tuesday 3 March, Vitoria met a friend at the University of Essex in Colchester.

• Just after 1pm, she boarded the number 87 bus from Boundary Road, Wivenhoe.

• Around 1.30pm, she got off the bus at Bellfield Avenue, Brightlingsea.

• Shortly after 2.30pm, she was seen on doorbell CCTV in the Hurst Green area.

Clothing at the time she was last seen:

• Dark coat

• Blue turtleneck jumper

• Light blue jeans

• Black trainers with light soles

• Carrying a white shoulder tote bag with the words “people over profit”

• Shortly after midnight on Wednesday 4 March CCTV showed Vitoria jumping over a fence into a boatyard in Brightlingsea.

• 12.16am: Last confirmed sighting of Vitoria on CCTV.

• 12.16am - 12.36am: A 20‑minute period where she is not seen on CCTV; we believe a boat was unmoored during this time.

• Around midday on Wednesday 4 March, a boat was found a drift in the water close to Bradwell-on-Sea

• Vitoria was reported missing to Essex Police on Wednesday 4 March.

• Shortly after 2pm on Monday 9 March, Vitoria's white shoulder bag was found near Copperas Road, Brightlingsea.

• A laptop belonging to Vitoria was found in Brightlingsea on Saturday 14 March. 

“Every day that Vitoria’s missing, our concerns for her grow”.

That’s from the officer leading the investigation to find Vitoria Figueiredo-Barreto who’s missing.

The 30 year-old was staying in the Southend area but was last seen at the University of Essex campus in Wivenhoe on Tuesday 3 March.

We know she got on the number 87 bus in Boundary Road just after 1pm and got off 30 minutes later in Bellfield Avenue, Brightlingsea.

And it is also our belief that she may have been in the Brightlingsea Harbour area that evening.

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”.

Our search for missing woman Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto is continuing with a number of police specialisms involved.

The 30-year-old Brazilian was reported as missing to us on Wednesday 4 March by a friend who she had been with at Essex University on the previous day, Tuesday 3 March.

As a result of our investigative work, we know that after she met with her friend she got on the number 87 bus in Boundary Road, Wivenhoe, just after 1pm and got off 30 minutes later in Bellfield Avenue, Brightlingsea.

Once off the bus, she was then seen on doorbell footage in the Hurst Green area shortly after 2.30pm.

We’re now able to release CCTV footage of her boarding and exiting the bus as well as footage of her in Hurst Green.

Vitoria was wearing a dark coat, a blue turtleneck jumper, light blue jeans and black trainers.

She was carrying a white shoulder tote bag with the words “people over profit”.

We are now able to confirm a bag matching that description has been located close to Copperas Road, in Brightlingsea.

It was located by a member of the public shortly after 2pm on Monday 9 March. Vitoria’s family have been updated and continue to be supported by specialist officers.

We’ve also now identified CCTV which appears to show a person jumping over a fence close to where the bag was found into a boatyard. This happened shortly after midnight on Wednesday 4 March.

At this stage, we do believe that person is Vitoria.

Our efforts are concentrating on the Brightlingsea area, where dedicated teams are conducting thorough and methodical searches.

This includes search officers on foot, drone capability, specialist search dogs and volunteers from Essex Search and Rescue.

Searches for Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto have continued today, with a vast amount of area having been covered on land and along the coastline.

Today, Wednesday 11 March, our search expanded from Brightlingsea, to the River Blackwater, the Dengie peninsula and River Crouch coastlines and to Mersea Island.

Unfortunately, we are yet to locate the 30-year-old and our search activity will continue into tomorrow, Thursday 12 March.

Officers leading the search are also aware of a boat having been taken from its mooring in Brightlingsea in the early hours of Wednesday 4 March. This report has consistently formed part of our enquiries, alongside numerous others which are also continuing to be explored diligently.

We know the boat had been located on a drift in the water close to Bradwell-on-Sea and returned to Brightlingsea. It is the subject of a police search.

The discovery of Vitoria’s bag off Copperas Road on Monday, which is close to where the boat was unmoored, has meant that our focus on this line of enquiry has clearly intensified.

We now know the last sighting of Vitoria on CCTV was at 12.16am on Wednesday 4 March.

With the business owner’s permission, we’re releasing an image from that footage.

Between 12.16am and 12.36am, when we know the boat was unmoored, Vitoria is not seen on CCTV and at this stage there is no clear and identifiable footage of the person who unmoored the boat.

However, we are exploring the possibility that it is Vitoria. The boat’s route from Brightlingsea to where it was found close to Bradwell has consistently informed the searches which have been carried out.

Our search for Vitoria Barreto is being extended as we continue to appeal to boat owners in the waterfront area of Brightlingsea.

As part of our work exploring the possibility of Vitoria having taken a boat from a pontoon in Brightlingsea, we’re extending our land search area to Bradwell-on-Sea, close to where we know that boat was found on Wednesday morning, 4 March.

That area was already subject to significant searches from the air last weekend. Now, there will be significant searches on the ground.

We’re now able to share that an orange horseshoe-shaped buoyancy aid does appear to be missing from the boat and has not been located.

In a further appeal today, Vitoria’s mum Gleyz Barreto said:

“I know Vitoria would tell us, ‘don’t give up, please keep going’, so that is what we are doing.
“We are doing everything we can to find her and we know the police and the community are doing everything they can.
“We know Vitoria is probably not feeling herself, she might be scared. To anyone who sees her, please make her feel welcome, make her feel loved and help her feel calm.
“We are here for you Vitoria – please come home. You have done nothing wrong and you are loved.”

Detective Superintendent Anna Granger said:

“The search for Vitoria has now extended to the Bradwell-on-Sea area and there will be policing presence there for the coming days.
“Whilst we know it is a rural area, we also know there will have been walkers on Wednesday morning who may have seen something which is significant to our search.
“If you live in Bradwell, particularly those close to the Bradwell Beach area, please check CCTV and doorbell footage if you have it. And please get in touch is you have any information.
“We’re also continuing to appeal to the Brightlingsea boating community, particularly in the waterside area to please check your vessels. If you have CCTV in that area and you haven’t spoken to us, please check it and please get in touch.
“We know Vitoria was walking alone in the Brightlingsea Creek pontoon area after midnight on Wednesday and there is a 20-minute period between 12.16am and 12.36am where there are no sightings of her.
“Even the smallest bit of information could help us plot her further movements.”

We can confirm that as part of our search for Vitoria Barreto, a laptop which we believe to be hers has been found in Brightlingsea.

It was located on Saturday 14 March.

Her family have been updated and continue to be supported.

We are also aware of a number of reported potential sightings of Vitoria in the Bradwell area. We have had a policing presence in Bradwell and in the Dengie area throughout the weekend and these reports are being progressed appropriately alongside other lines of enquiry which we must also continue to work through.

On Sunday 15 March, our Marine Unit crew has taken Vitoria’s loved ones on the same boat journey we believe she may have taken in the early hours of Wednesday 4 March.

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.

As our search for Vitoria enters its fourteenth day, our efforts to locate her remain determined.

A vast amount of land, coastline and water has been covered by specialist search teams since the 30-year-old was reported missing to us on March 4 after she did not meet her friend as planned on March 3.

Those searches are continuing today in the Brightlingsea and Bradwell-on-Sea areas, including officers following up as-yet unconfirmed reports of sightings.

Since Vitoria was reported missing, we have seen strong support from the Essex public and that has resulted in a significant amount of information being reported to us.

To ensure this flow can continue, we have now created a dedicated portal through which information can be reported straight to the teams directly involved in the search.

Any sightings in real time should still be reported to us on 999.

We’ve secured new CCTV in Brightlingsea which officers are continuing to work through as our search for Vitoria continues.

The footage, which covers the harbour area, shows a number of vessels present on the water as part of regular marine work patterns between 12am and 6am on 4 March.

This period covers the points where we believe Vitoria may have entered the harbour area and unmoored a boat from a pontoon.

From then, we know the vessel does not appear to have its engine started and, over the next few hours, it began drifting out of the harbour before ultimately coming to a rest close to Bradwell-on-Sea later in morning.

At this stage, there is still no clear and visible footage to conclusively state it was the 30-year-old Brazilian who unmoored the boat. However, we know Vitoria was seen walking alone in the waterfront area at 12.16am, having climbed over a nearby metal fence, which is close to where the boat was unmoored.