Concerns grow for woman missing in Essex for nearly a week

30 year old Vitoria Figueiredo-Barreto was last seen at the University of Essex campus

Author: Grace McGachyPublished 9th Mar 2026

Concerns are mounting for the safety of a 30 year old woman who has been missing for nearly a week in Essex.

Vittoria Figueiredo-Barreto was last seen at the University of Essex campus in Wivenhoe on 3rd March, before boarding the number 87 bus in Boundary Road at around 1pm. She got off the bus 30 minutes later in Bellfield Avenue, Brightlingsea.

According to Detective Superintendent Anna Granger, it is believed Vittoria may have been in the Brightlingsea Harbour area on the evening she disappeared.

Vittoria was wearing a dark coat, a blue turtleneck jumper, light blue jeans, black trainers, and carrying a white shoulder bag with the words “people over profit” on it.

Vitoria Figueiredo-Barreto on bus

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

Detective Superintendent Anna Granger has appealed to anyone who might have seen Vittoria to come forward.

“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," Granger said.

Granger urged people in the Brightlingsea area to check any CCTV, doorbell, or dash cam footage they may have for potential sightings of Vittoria.

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