Family and friends of Vitoria Barreto have released a photograph and revealed a sighting of a person who they believe could have been the Brazilian psychologist who’s been missing since March 3.

Essex Police has been working on a theory that Vitoria, 30,  may have arrived at Bradwell on a boat which was taken from Brightlingsea in the early hours of March 4, and which was later found aground off Bradwell. The picture shows a figure walking in a farmer’s field near Eastlands Caravan park in Bradwell at around 11am on March 4 and was taken by a resident who thought the person’s location was “unusual”.

According to a post on the Find Vitoria Barreto Facebook page, the woman who took the picture thought that the person looked out of place.

“If we were able to confirm that this was someone else then we can discount this completely. It could be a man or woman,” said the post.”We share it here to further raise awareness and to encourage us all to not discount the possibility that Vitoria made it to Bradwell, despite her phone satellite SOS being triggered short of land.”

The post also said: “There is a line of thinking that her SOS satellite alert (pictured) from the sea could indicate the end of her journey. But it is NOT confirmation of that.”

Vitoria’s phone sent an SOS message from this approximate location

On the same morning, another Bradwell resident saw a woman – reported as resembling Vitoria – alone and looking “a bit lost” on the coastal path near St Cedd’s Chapel. The resident reported that she called out a greeting but got no response, and described the woman as not being dressed appropriately for a cold, foggy day.  Upon reaching the nearby car park the resident noticed there were no parked cars and wondered how the woman had arrived there.

The next day the same resident, saw a discarded lifebuoy high up on the coastal path between the chapel and the power station. A lifebuoy was said to be missing from the Ancient Warrior, though it’s not known if the one seen in Bradwell came from the boat.

Vitoria arrived in Brightlingsea by bus on March 3. She was later captured on CCTV on the town’s Shipyard Estate and Oliver’s Wharf, with the last sighting at 12.22am on March 4. Not long after, a person was seen rowing out to a pontoon in Brightlingsea harbour, where a boat, named Ancient Warrior, was untied and drifted out of Brightlingsea Creek. Police have been unable to confirm that the person seen rowing, or the person who untied the boat, was Vitoria.

Although requests have been made by police for access to Vitoria’s banking and phone records, it’s understood that the Brazilian authorities have so far not released the information.

• Essex Police has a dedicated portal through which any information as to Vitoria’s whereabouts can be reported. Alternatively, anyone with information can call 999, quoting incident 622 of 4 March.

Yes, there is a line of thinking that her SOS satellite alert from the sea could indicate the end of her journey. But it is NOT confirmation of that.