Police believe a 21-year-old woman who went missing from her home on the Norfolk coast on Boxing Day is likely to have gone into the sea.

Sophie Smith has not been seen since leaving her family home in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, in the early hours of 26 December. She was not dressed for the cold weather, officers said, and they now believe her disappearance was planned.

Searches by the police and local community have been launched in recent days but they have been hampered by the weather.

Norfolk police said they were continuing to search the coastline on Friday. The University of East Anglia student had been experiencing severe anxiety and depression, officers said. She left home with no mobile phone and wearing only a vest and shorts.

Insp Will Drummond, who is leading the search, said Sophie had been receiving treatment for the illnesses. “Our inquiries 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.”

Smith’s mother, Lynn Shaw, previously said her daughter meant the world to her and asked her to “come home, please just walk through the door”.

CCTV footage from shortly after Smith left her home showed her heading towards the seafront. There have been no other confirmed sightings since then, police said. Drummond said Smith had not used her bank accounts or her social media accounts since her disappearance.

Smith is described as white, about 5ft 8, and slim with shoulder-length blond hair. It is believed she was wearing a dark-coloured vest and light-coloured shorts.

Police have asked anyone with information to contact them on 101.