An army of volunteers stepped up the search for missing student Sophie Smith, last seen running towards the sea four days ago, as one offered a £5,000 reward for her safe return.
Police believe the 21-year-old probably ‘pre-planned’ leaving her family home in Gorleston, Norfolk at 3am on Boxing Day wearing just shorts and a vest.
The second year bio medicine University of East Anglia student was home for the Christmas Holidays and suffering from anxiety and depression.
After police scoured 20 miles of coastline between Lowestoft, Suffolk and Winterton-On-Sea in Norfolk yesterday, dozens of volunteers headed out to continue the search today.
Sophie Smith, 21, disappeared from her seaside home in Gorleston, Norfolk at 3am on Boxing Day. CCTV footage last captured her heading towards the sea. After extensive police searches her desperate family and friends are continuing the hunt for her
Volunteers conducted two searches to accompany ones carried out by the coastguard (pictured) and Lowland Search and Rescue today
Detectives have confessed hopes of finding Sophie are fading fast after claiming ‘the most likely scenario is that she has gone into the sea’.
But her desperate friends and family are not willing to give up. They conducted two searches to accompany ones carried out by the coastguard and Lowland Search and Rescue today.
From sunrise until dark both teams worked to cover as much ground as possible, while two groups of volunteers met to focus on other areas this afternoon.
The second year bio medicine University of East Anglia student (pictured) was home for the Christmas Holidays and suffering from anxiety and depression
At midday, a group gathered at the Britannia Pier in Great Yarmouth before spreading themselves out as widely as possible along the beach and trekking north through Caister-on-Sea, California and further afield.
A second search began at Hopton Holiday Village from 2.30pm, reports Eastern Daily Press.
Meanwhile local construction firm RJS Builders are offering £5,000 for any information that leads to her safe return.
The Gorleston-based builders have been printing missing person flyers for locals to collect from their offices.
Speaking yesterday, Inspector Will Drummond of Norfolk Police said: ‘Sophie had been receiving treatment for depression and anxiety.
‘Our enquiries have revealed there’s been a degree of pre-planning to her disappearance and this, combined with her mental state and comments made the previous day, suggest the most likely scenario is that she has gone into the sea.
‘The coastguard will be assisting in shoreline searches while the police helicopter has also been deployed to conduct coastline searches.’
‘Local CCTV footage has been examined but unfortunately Sophie is not captured on any other cameras. She didn’t take her mobile phone and hasn’t accessed her bank accounts or social media accounts since leaving home.
Pictured: Coastguard volunteers search the Norfolk coastline for traces of the 21-year-old
‘This is clearly a very distressing time for her family and we continue to keep them updated of ongoing work in this case.’
CCTV images captured Sophie heading towards Gorleston’s seafront just after she left home, but there have been no further sightings since then.
Yesterday her heartbroken father Martin Knowles shared a video message directly appealing for her to come home.
He said: ‘Sophie just come home please. Your mum loves you, I love you. We just want to put our arms around you. Don’t worry about anything. Just come home.’
The father-of-two who works for the NHS, admitted his daughter had been through ‘a bit of a hard time recently’ but said she was a ‘happy go-lucky, full of life and very popular’ young woman who was ‘liked by a lot of people’.
At midday, a group gathered at the Britannia Pier in Great Yarmouth before spreading themselves out as widely as possible along the beach and trekking north through Caister-on-Sea, California and further afield, reports Eastern Daily Press
A second search began at Hopton Holiday Village from 2.30pm, reports Eastern Daily Press
Volunteers are pictured scouring the beach near Great Yarmouth’s Britannia Pier
Sophie’s father Martin Knowles has refused to give up hope that Sophie, 21, is still alive and posted an emotional video message directly appealing for her to come home yesterday
Missing: The second year University of East Anglia student was last seen on Boxing Day
He said: ‘We have not given up hope. We are still praying and hoping that Sophie will walk through her mum’s door and just come home so we can put our arms around her and tell her how much we love her.’
At 8pm this evening the official Find Sophie Smith Facebook group organised a ‘thunderclap’ asking its 21,000 members to share the following message.
It read: ‘THUNDERCLAP @ 8PM #findsophiesmith
‘Please this is a message to all my friends and family, the members of my page & to members of many other groups I’m apart of – I’m sure MANY of you are aware about missing girl Sophie Smith who went missing at 3am on Boxing Day.
‘She was last seen on CCTV in a vest and shorts, police believe she was heading for the sea.
‘PLEASE CAN WE SHARE THIS ONE PICTURE AS MANY TIMES AS WE CAN FOR HER FAMILY!
‘The more times this post is shared the more her face will be recognised!
‘LETS ALL PULL TOGETHER PLEASE SHARE THIS PHOTO AND KEEP THIS POST BUMPED! #findsophiesmith’
At 8pm this evening the official Find Sophie Smith Facebook group organised a ‘thunderclap’ (pictured) asking its 21,000 members to share the following message
Yesterday police helicopters were also used to scour beaches in the area, which were being lashed by wind and rain.
Volunteers were hoping to meet at 11am yesterday, but the search was called off due to bad weather.
Organiser Emma Gallagher wrote: ‘Due to the weather this morning, unfortunately I’m having to put this search on hold.
‘It is my responsibility to think of the safety of the volunteers, and with the recent crumbling of the cliffs and tide’s likely to change, I am not 100 per cent happy.
‘If anything happens to anyone, it will be my fault for leading this search.
‘I hope you all understand, I want to find Sophie as much as anyone, but I can’t be putting other people at danger. If you do decide to carry on, I urged you to be extremely careful.’
Local construction firm RJS Builders are offering £5,000 for any information that leads to Sophie’s (pictured) safe return