The fresh video of a British journalist missing in Brazil has emerged – as the mystery surrounding her disappearance continues.
Charlotte Peet, 32, was reported missing on February 17 by a friend, but CCTV footage appears to show the journalist in a hostel in Botafogo, a neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, on Monday at 6.38pm.
The CCTV footage, published by Brazilian media outlet Globo, shows the 32-year-old handing in her bed sheets to the hostel reception.
The two-minute long video also shows her waiting in the hostel lobby as she appears to check out.
She is wearing a white top and carrying a black travel rucksack, a smaller black bag and a blue plastic bag.
She stayed at the hostel for a week until checking out on Monday, Globo reported.
Botafogo is home to a slum area of the same name.
Before the CCTV, the last known sighting of Ms Peet, who flew to Brazil without telling her family, was at Morro da Babilonia, a hill in Rio De Janeiro’s Leme neighbourhood separating Copacabana beach from Botafogo.
Charlotte Peet, 32, was reported missing on February 17 but CCTV footage appears to show the journalist in a hostel in Botafogo, a neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, on Monday
The CCTV footage, published by Brazilian media outlet Globo, shows the 32-year-old handing in her bed sheets to the hostel reception
The two-minute long video also shows her waiting in the hostel lobby as she appears to check out
New pictures emerged earlier on Thursday of the missing journalist on a bus to Rio de Janeiro from Sao Paulo’s Tiete Bus Terminal and at a bar near Copacabana beach, as police continue to investigate her disappearance.
Earlier this week investigators said the 32-year-old had been seen boarding a bus from Sao Paulo to Rio after conflicting reports suggested she had booked tickets but failed to make the journey.
Investigators say they have details of Ms Peet’s two phones and are thought to have been using at least one of them to track her – as well as carrying out work on the ground.
Ms Peet is fluent in Portuguese and worked as a freelance journalist in Brazil for two years.
Initial reports said she was last seen on February 8 after messaging a female friend to say she was in Sao Paulo and was looking for somewhere to stay. Her friend told her she unfortunately could not host her.
She arrived in Rio on the night of February 8 and stayed at a hostel in Copacabana until February 17, police sources told Brazilian media. She later moved to the hostel in Botafogo.
The investigation into her disappearance has now been taken over by a Rio de Janeiro police missing persons unit following confirmation she was in the city nearly 10 days after a friend reported her disappearance to cops.
Picutres emerged of the missing British journalist on a bus to Rio de Janeiro
Charlotte Peet was also pictured at a bar near to Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacabana beach
Investigators earlier said the 32-year-old had been seen boarding a bus from Sao Paulo to Rio after conflicting earlier reports pointing to her booking tickets but failing to make the journey
Police chief Elen Souto told local media: ‘The main line of inquiry is a voluntary disappearance.
‘We have two telephone numbers for Charlotte.
‘She is receiving messages and calls on the English number but the Brazilian number, a Sao Paulo number, is programmed not to receive calls.’
She added: ‘We’ve already sent images of her, from the time she reached Rio and from other places around the city, to the Missing Persons Facial Recognition Programme which is a partnership between the Civil Police and the Military Police.’
The freelance journalist is believed to have travelled to Brazil in November without telling her family.
Just four days before she left Sao Paulo she had shared a message in a Facebook group about renting apartments in London.
She wrote: ‘Hello. I’m looking for a double room in South West/East London: East Dulwich, Brixton, Herne Hill, Clapham, Balham, Streatham, Camberwell etc or would consider venturing east to the right place.
‘I’m a 32-year-old journalist, friendly, respectful and organised. I love reading, keeping active and chatting to friends.
‘Let me know if I sound like a good fit! Thanks.’
When news of her vanishing first emerged at the beginning of last week, the Brazilian Press Association called on police to step up their search for Charlotte.
Ms Peet, who worked as a freelance journalist in Brazil for two years, arrived in the country in November, without telling her family
Brazilian police say that the main line of inquiry is a voluntary disappearance
She was first reported missing on February 17 by a female friend, who had told her she was unable to host the journalist in Rio
Association president Edmar Figueiredo, an experienced Brazilian TV journalist, said in a statement it was concerned about the disappearance, adding: ‘Charlotte spent more than two years in Rio de Janeiro where she worked as a freelance correspondent.
Charlotte’s father Derek Peet has told Sky News she flew back to the South American country without telling her family.
‘I wouldn’t say that it was normal, there was something on her mind obviously otherwise she would have let us know,’ he said last week.
Saying she had been traced to Gatwick Airport after her mum reported her missing to police where she was found to have boarded a flight to Sao Paulo, he added: ‘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.’
Peet had previously worked as a freelance journalist in Brazil, reporting for British publications including the Telegraph, the Times and the Independent, as well as for Al Jazeera.
