Freelance correspondent Charlotte Peet was last known to have been in Sao Paulo before losing contact with family and friends - but missing persons detectives say they have made a key discovery

Charlotte Peet, 32, last contacted a friend in Rio de Janeiro on February 8, according to a Tuesday statement from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in Brazil (ACIE).

Charlotte Peet, 32, who has worked for Al Jazeera, the Times and the BBC World Service, has not been seen or heard from since February 8, when she sent a WhatsApp message to a friend in Rio de Janeiro

Where is Charlotte Alice Peet? That question is the focus of a massive search operation currently under way in Rio de Janeiro. The British freelance journalist disappeared while trying to travel from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro.