One friend said she feared Vitoria Figueiredo-Barreto had fallen victim to human trafficking
One friend said she feared Vitoria Figueiredo-Barreto had fallen victim to human trafficking
22:16, 08 Mar 2026Updated 22:19, 08 Mar 2026
A Brazilian student on an educational trip to the UK has not been seen for five days after vanishing on a university campus. Vitoria Figueiredo-Barreto, 30, was last seen boarding a bus at the University of Essex campus in Colchester on Tuesday, March 3.
Police have said they are “very concerned” about the psychology student, who had been visiting the UK to see whether she wanted to start a doctorate here.
It is understood Ms Figueiredo-Barreto had been staying with a female friend in Colchester, Essex, and had been been taking part in research and academic training activities at the University of Essex, The Mirror reports.
One friend claimed CCTV footage showed the psychologist getting off a bus and heading towards Brightlingsea Harbour in Essex. She expressed fears she may have fallen victim to human trafficking.
Essex Police detective superintendent Anna Granger said: “Vitoria’s been missing for almost a week now and every day that she’s missing our concerns for her grow. We have been studying CCTV, we’ve got officers going to door-to-door in the area she was last seen, and we’ve been speaking to her friends and family.
“Vitoria, if you’re reading this, please get in touch. We just need to know you’re OK. I need anyone living or working in the Brightlingsea area to check their CCTV, doorbell or dash cam footage to see if they may have captured her movements.”
Friend and fellow psychologist Fernanda Silvestre told Brazilian tabloid newspaper O Povo that Ms Figueiredo-Barreto’s phone is paired with hers, and activated the emergency mode which sent a signal with a location pointing to the sea.
She said: “Vitoria would go to university in the morning, they would have lunch, and she would take the bus to go sightseeing around London.
“So far they have searched hospitals, looked for people without documents, checked bank transactions, and are searching the surrounding area, but I haven’t seen this work being done at sea.”
Fernanda said her friend had visited the UK before intending to return to Brazil in May for a conference. She added: “Vitoria speaks at least four languages, is very charismatic, and knows how to get by. She has travelled internationally several times.”
Fernanda, according to another Brazilian outlet, said she feared Vitoria could have been the victim of human trafficking.
She said: “Her mum is in London and they are taking the necessary steps but due to the seriousness of the situation, searches need to be carried out at sea and other European countries need to be alerted because from the clues we have, we realise this may be a case of human trafficking.”
Essex Police shared their first appeal for information on Thursday. They said: “We are looking for Vitoria Barreto who is missing from the Southend area.
“Vitoria is 30 years old and is white, of medium build and height and has long dark brown hair. She was last seen at the University of Essex campus in Wivenhoe, Colchester, on Tuesday. And we believe she boarded a bus heading to Brightlingsea the same day.
“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’. We’re worried about her and need to check she is OK.”
In a further update today, Sunday March 8, they said: “Thirty-year-old Vitoria was last seen boarding a number 87 bus in Boundary Road at just after 1pm on Tuesday and got off 30 minutes later in Bellfield Avenue, Brightlingsea. We believe that later that same evening she may have been in the Brightlingsea Harbour area.
“We are working hard to locate Vitoria. We are very concerned and need to find her to make sure she is OK. Please take a look at these two new images of Vitoria as this is what she was last seen wearing. If you have seen her or have any information about where she might be then please call us immediately on 999.”
The missing psychologist, from the city of Fortaleza in north east Brazil, left the country in January to travel to Morocco for a conference before jetting to Britain.
