Charlotte Peet, 32, has been missing for nearly a fortnight after flying to Brazil from Gatwick Airport – her dad Derek has now spoken out about her disappearance
The worried dad of a British journalist who has been missing in Brazil for 11 days has described the moment the ‘trail went cold’.
Charlotte Peet, 32, was last heard from on February 8. She had been staying in Sao Paulo and told her friend she was soon planning to travel 210 miles to the capital of Rio de Janeiro. Charlotte, who has frequently worked abroad as a foreign correspondent, had flown over to the South American nation without informing her family. Now, her dad Derek has said the family is “very concerned” about Charlotte’s disappearance, and revealed how they had traced her last movements from Gatwick Airport to Sao Paulo before she vanished.
He told Sky News: “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.” Mr Peet also told the broadcaster that he “wouldn’t say that it was normal” for Charlotte to travel to another country without saying anything to her family, but believed she “would have let us know” if there was anything on her mind.
Charlotte has previously worked freelance for The Times, The London Standard and The Telegraph. She had more recently been living in Brazil, where she wrote for the Rio Times.
On Tuesday, the Brazilian Foreign Press Association demanded that police step up their search efforts and expressed their “concern” over her case. Edmar Figueiredo, the association president, said: “The Brazilian Foreign Press Association (ACIE) would like 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.
“As a freelance journalist, Charlotte knew some of the foreign correspondents who are members of the Brazilian Foreign Press Association. 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.”
A spokesperson from São Paulo’s Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) said today that an investigation into her disappearance was being lead by Brazil’s Department of Homicides and Personal Protection (DHPP). A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who has been reported as missing in Brazil and are in contact with the local authorities.”
