A search has been launched for a missing British journalist, who vanished nearly two weeks ago in Brazil after sending a concerning message to a friend.
Charlotte Peet, 32, had told a friend she was heading to Rio de Janeiro but has failed to reply to attempts to reach her made by her family. The last message she sent was on February 8 when she asked a friend in the city for a place to stay, but was told she could not help.
Several days later Charlotte’s family told her they had lost contact with her. Association president Edmar Figueiredo, a Brazilian TV journalist, said in the statement: “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.
“She disappeared in Brazil 10 days ago. The case was initially registered at Rio de Janeiro’s Tourist Attention Centre on February 17 before being passed on to Sao Paulo which is the last place Charlotte was supposed to have been before she disappeared.”
He added: “Charlotte spent more than two years in Rio de Janeiro where she worked as a freelance correspondent. After heading back to London, she returned to Brazil last November [and] on February 8 she contacted a female friend in Rio via WhatsApp.
“She said she was in São Paulo and was planning to head to Rio and needed a place to stay. The friend replied saying unfortunately she couldn’t put her up.
“Several days later Charlotte’s family in the UK contacted this friend saying they had lost contact with her. To help in the ongoing search for Charlotte, they have provided information about her flight to Brazil as well as a passport photo. As a freelance journalist Charlotte knew some of the foreign correspondents who are members of the Brazilian Foreign Press Association.”
The case is being investigated by the 5th Missing Persons Division of the State Department of Homicides And Personal Protection (DHPP). Freelance reporter Charlotte describes herself online as being “fluent in Portuguese” with nine years of experience in journalism.
She says on LinkedIn she has worked for Al Jazeera, the Times and the Evening Standard among others as well as appearing on the BBC World Service. Lonely Planet has described her as a member of its team of travel experts.
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