A British backpacker who went missing five days ago on an island in Cambodia may have drowned, an official has said, as speedboats and divers are brought in to help with the search.
Amelia Bambridge, 21, was last seen at a beach party late Wednesday night on the island of Koh Rong before her bag with her phone, money and credit cards inside was found the following morning.
Chhoeun Chantha, commune chief of Koh Rong, said that he fears Miss Bambridge drowned because the bag and her watch was found on a rock by the ocean.
He said around 150 people are now taking part in the search and have been split into two teams, one of which is scouring the ocean, with the other searching the jungle.
Amelia Bambridge, 21, has been missing in Cambodia since Wednesday last week when she was seen attending a beach party alongside other tourists
Chhoeun Chantha, commune chief of Koh Rong, said he fears Miss Bambridge has drowned because a bag with her valuables inside was found on a rock next to the ocean
Inside the bag was the Briton’s phone, watch, purse, credit card and medication
Around 150 people are now taking part in the search in two teams – one of which is scouring the ocean using speedboats and divers
Among the searchers are divers, police, navy personnel, local volunteers and foreigners, he said.
Bambridge’s brother and father are in Cambodia to help in the search, and her mother is en route, Britain’s Press Association reported.
The family learned of her disappearance when she failed to check out from her hostel, with her passport found in her room.
‘As of now, the searchers have no news about her whereabouts and they have expanded the area they are searching to make sure all possible sites are checked,’ Chuon Narin said.
‘I can’t say whether Bambridge was killed or got lost in the island’s jungle.’
Koh Rong, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) offshore in the Gulf of Thailand, covers an area of about 78 square kilometers (30 square miles).
Bambridge’s sister, Georgie, told Britain’s Sky News that Amelia ‘literally wanted to go travelling her whole life.
‘She has spent the past two years saving for it and spent the last year reading blogs of travellers, researching what she was going to do.’
Her family said her trip to Asia began on Sept. 27, when she flew to Vietnam.
Georgie said her sister ‘would never drink to excess’ and was ‘always in control,’ adding: ‘She would always be looking out for me, it’s not like her to not look after herself.’
Last night footage of the gap-year student taken hours before she vanished was released by her family in a desperate attempt to help find her.
Miss Bambridge (left) had visited Cambodia after flying to Vietnam and was mad about travelling, according to sister Georgie (right). Mother Linda Schultes, 52, (centre) has travelled to Cambodia from Worthing, West Sussex, to help with the search
Amelia, who saved for the trip for two years by working at Lloyds bank, set off on September 27 and flew first to Vietnam
A video shows Amelia around a fire with pals before she is thought to have left in the early hours of Thursday.
Her mother Linda Schultes, 52, has travelled to Cambodia from Worthing, West Sussex, and was yesterday briefed by police on the search.
Her brother Harry arrived in the country on Sunday to assist those searching for the missing backpacker.
Her purple bag, containing belongings including her mobile phone, bank cards and a watch, are the only items to have been found so far.
The alarm was raised when Amelia failed to arrive back at the hostel where she had been staying.
Islanders and other backpackers joined police in combing the area yesterday in a fruitless hunt for the gap-year student as the search continued for a fourth full day.
Miss Schultes is praying that Amelia, last seen wearing a tropical print shirt, has simply become lost in thick jungle after leaving a night-time beach party for the 40-minute walk to her hostel.
‘This is very out of character,’ she said. ‘She is normally so organised. I don’t know what to think. The police have confirmed she is missing – apparently the embassy is closed until Monday.
Footage taken of missing British gap year student Amelia on the night she went missing has been released by her sister in a desperate attempt to help find her
‘There doesn’t seem to be any urgency. Her friend is still there as they were due to leave the island on Saturday, but she hasn’t left because Amelia is missing.’
Amelia, who saved for the trip for two years by working at Lloyds bank, set off on September 27 and flew first to Vietnam.
Koh Rong, a small island some 130 miles from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, is popular with backpackers for its crystal waters and sandy coves. Amelia was staying at the Nest Beach Club hostel in the south of the island.
The manager called the backpacker’s mother when she failed to check out. Her passport is still there.
Searchers have questioned why the young woman would have walked away from the beach in the early hours leaving her small Urban Outfitters pack, which was found yesterday on coastal rocks containing her phone and charger, headphones, credit cards, watch, lighter, pen and keyring.
Amelia’s 19-year-old sister Georgie, who released the video of her sibling at the party, said: ‘We need to be strong and we are trying to be really positive, but it’s the unknown. I’m just in shock – she’s never done anything like this before… she normally messages us every now and then, every time she got wi-fi.’
She told the BBC: ‘She’s my best friend. We’re like twins, she’s literally my other half.’
Police, scuba divers, government officials and volunteers joined the search today for the missing tourist
Amelia’s brother Harry has also flown to Cambodia to help, calling on his Facebook friends to pray for his sister to turn up safe and well.
In a post before he took a flight from the US to Asia, he wrote: ‘I’ve asked whoever might be up there to look after her for just another 20 hours and her big brother will be there as soon as I can be.
‘Thanks for everyone who’s showed their support, especially to my family back home.’
Ryan Harris, 18, a friend who Amelia met in Phnom Penh, told the BBC the gap-year student had always stuck with a group of other travellers they had joined up with.
He has since travelled by bus for 12 hours to Siem Reap, where he had been expecting Amelia to arrive.
‘Even if you go your separate ways after a few drinks, you see people again ten or 20 minutes’ later,’ he said. The Foreign Office is providing support to Amelia’s family and officials are remaining in close contact with Cambodian police.
Officers from Sussex Police are said to have visited the family’s home over the weekend to offer support.