The disappearance of British journalist Charlotte Peet in Brazil had her family and friends in a state of alarm, but police have now reassured them with claims that she is alive. Brazilian police say they’ve been following her movements since she went off the radar 19 days ago.
Rio de Janeiro detectives have managed to retrieve photos from the 32-year-old’s mobile phone, showing her whereabouts. Her father, Derek Peet, has reportedly flown to Brazil to aid the search, alongside specialists hired to track down Charlotte.
However, last night, Rio police shared their belief that Charlotte had “disappeared voluntarily”, as they have traced her presence across a variety of locations in the city, such as bars, beaches, and hostels.
Among the evidence by the Civil Police of Rio includes several selfies taken by Charlotte on one of her two phones; these include an image sitting on a coach traveling from Sao Paulo to Rio, though the specifics of how the police accessed these pictures are undisclosed, reports the Mirror.
The Daily Mail reported that missing Charlotte studied philosophy at the University of Bristol before doing a masters degree in international journalism at City St George’s, University of London.
Further photographs show Charlotte at a seaside bar in Leme, snapped on February 15, seven days after loved ones say they lost touch with her. An additional snapshot features her donning sunglasses and posing on a street near the iconic Hotel Hilton Copacabana.
Police chief Elen Souto said that Charlotte, thought to be missing in Brazil, has been staying in hostels around Rio and visiting various locations near the Babilonia favela close to Copacabana beach. This is an area where she previously did voluntary work during her time living in the city. However, it appears she does not wish to maintain contact with friends or family.
Souto said: “The main line of investigation is voluntary disappearance. We have two mobile phone numbers for her. The British number receives messages and calls. The Brazilian number, which has an area code for Sao Paulo, is programmed to not receive calls.”
The British Consulate in Rio and Scotland Yard assisted Brazilian police in their investigations, according to reports. Charlotte, who worked as a freelance journalist in Brazil for two years, returned to Brazil in November from Gatwick Airport, but didn’t tell her worried family.
She was last heard from on February 8, when she messaged a friend telling her she was in Sao Paulo and planning to visit Rio de Janeiro. She asked if she could stay with her but the friend explained her house was full and she couldn’t accommodate her.
Several days later, Charlotte’s family contacted the friend to say they had lost contact. Ms Souto said detectives were able to track her movements, saying she arrived in Rio on February 8, then stayed in a hostel in Copacabana until February 17 – the day she was reported missing to Rio police and her disappearance reported around the world.
She then went to another hostel in the Botafogo district, staying until Monday this week. Since then, she has been ‘wandering around Rio’, according to police.
Ms Souto said: “We have sent her photos, which show her getting off the bus in Rio, and in various places around Rio, to the Missing Persons Facial Recognition Programme.”
It appears that for at least two days she was frequenting bars in Copacabana and Leme, according to authorities. Her concerned relatives even hired a company that specialises in finding missing individuals.
LBT Global, which bills itself as an “overseas crisis support” provider, offers “families with information, liaison, advice and support throughout a missing person’s case”.
In his only interview, Charlotte’s father Derek told Sky News that they were unaware of her trip to Brazil. He said: “I wouldn’t say that it was normal, there was something on her mind obviously otherwise she would have let us know.”
He revealed that after she was declared missing “she was then traced to Gatwick Airport and was found to have boarded a plane to Sao Paulo and then the trail went cold.
“It’s very worrying but I don’t have any more to say, I’m very concerned but I just don’t know what’s going on, we’re just trying to pick up the pieces really.”
The Brazilian Foreign Press Association (ACIE) also issued a statement to “publicly express its concern about the disappearance of 32-year-old British journalist Charlotte Alice Peet and show solidarity with her family and friends.”
The statement went on to say that her family had supplied details about her flight to Brazil and a passport photo to aid the investigation.
“As a freelance journalist Charlotte knew some of the foreign correspondents who are members of the Brazilian Foreign Press Association. She reported from Brazil for foreign media, including Al Jazeera and British and even Portuguese media outlets. The ACIE and its leadership calls on the relevant authorities to intensify their work to try to find the missing British journalist as soon as possible.”