Family's desperate search for missing academic

The family of a psychologist from Brazil who has been missing in Essex for about a week have said they are very worried for her safety.

Vitória Figueiredo Barreto, 30, was visiting her friend and working on a research project with her at the University of Essex in Colchester.

She made a 30-minute bus journey to the coastal town of Brightlingsea on 3 March, and family and friends have not heard from her since.

Her friend Liliane Silva said Barreto, who was "dreaming about maybe becoming a student one day" at the campus, was not herself that morning.

Essex Police has said detectives are increasingly concerned, and have been scanning CCTV footage and visiting residents door-to-door.

Barreto, a clinical psychologist from Fortaleza, had been at a conference in Morocco before arriving in the UK on 2 February, Silva explained.

She had been staying at Silva's home in Southend-on-Sea when the pair travelled to the Colchester campus on 3 March.

Silva, a PhD student and lecturer in clinical psychology at the university, said her friend was helping her on a written project about the Brazilian healthcare system and about community mental health support in the UK.

"She was really quiet, which is not typical at all - she is [usually] really talkative, and happy and funny," said Silva, 44.

"She was clearly not well, and I could not identify why."

After the pair parted ways, at about 13:00 GMT, Barreto got on the number 87 First Bus service from Boundary Road to Brightlingsea, getting off at Bellfield Avenue.

There have not been confirmed sightings of Barreto on CCTV footage since then.

"If anyone sees her, please be warm, welcoming; she could be struggling, she could be confused," said Silva.

Some people have placed boxes around the town, containing items such as blankets, water, phone chargers and coats, in the hope she will pick them up.

Silva said she did not know why her friend travelled to Brightlingsea, and thinks she may have been trying to go in the opposite direction, to Colchester or London.

Justin Francis was walking his dog with his partner on the afternoon of 3 March when a woman matching her description approached the pair in Bellfield Avenue and introduced herself as Vitória.

He said she asked whether she could come into their home, but did not explain why.

"We feel a little bit guilty in a way as the last people to see and speak with her," said Francis.

"If we had known at the time she was missing, we would have brought her back to our house and got her a cup of tea."

Francis has since been talking to Silva and the family each day, helping with the search.

Her boyfriend, Janilson Gomes Da Silveira Filho, told the BBC: "I am very worried because this is very cold weather and she did not bring a lot of coats, but she is a survival person, and I believe she is OK in this moment."

He arrived in the country on Wednesday, along with Barreto's mother.

Speaking in Portuguese, Gleyz Bezerra Fiqueiredo Barreto described her daughter as usually a "happy" person who was a "fantastic carer" with a "fantastic" career.

"Wherever she is, she is deeply loved by everybody," said her mother, whose words were translated by Silva.

Det Supt Anna Granger and her team believe she may have gone to the Brightlingsea Harbour area.

"Every day that she's missing, our concerns for her grow," said Det Supt Granger, who urged people to check their doorbell and dashcam footage.

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