Video of missing British journalist in Brazil shows her at a hostel days after friend said she vanished

Charlotte Peet was reported missing two weeks ago by a friend after she failed to respond to messages from her and the Brit’s family in England.

Now CCTV video footage has emerged of her at a hostel in Botafago inRio de Janeiro on Monday.

In the video the 32-year-old can be seen at reception handing in her bedsheets and waiting in the lobby.

She is wearing a white top and carrying a black backpack, a smaller black bag and a blue plastic bag.

Charlotte stayed at the hostel for a week, reports Brazilian media outlet Globo, which shared the video.

The freelance journalist – who flew to Brazil without telling her family – messaged a female friend who lives in Rio de Janeiro on February 8 saying she was in Sao Paulo and planning to visit Rio.

She asked if she could stay with the friend, who replied saying unfortunately her home was full.

Charlotte stopped replying to the friend, who was then contacted by the Brit’s family some days later saying they also couldn’t get hold of her.

The friend reported the disappearance to Brazilian police on February 17, who are investigating the case.

Using her phone’s GPS and security footage, they have so far tracked her taking a bus from Sao Paulo’s Tiete Bus Terminal on February 8, before spending a week at a hostel in Rio’s Copacabana.

Charlotte, who previously spent two years working as a foreign correspondent in Brazil, then moved to the hostel in Botafago, where she stayed until Monday.

Investigators have shared photos she has taken on her phone, including a selfie she took on the bus to Rio and another in a beachside bar in the Leme district of Rio, taken on February 15.

Elen Souto, police chief with Rio Janeiro’s force, who are now leading the case, told local media their main line of inquiry is a ‘voluntary disappearance’.

She added: ‘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.’

Speaking about his daughter, Charlotte’s father told Sky News: ‘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.’

Revealing she had left the UK without telling her family, he added: ‘I wouldn’t say that it was normal, there was something on her mind obviously otherwise she would have let us know.’

Charlotte has previously reported for various British publications including the Telegraph, the Independent and the Times, as well as for Al Jazeera.