Family keeps hope alive as police fear Sophie walked into the sea
Sophie’s father Martin Knowles with her aunt Rachel Russell, left, and Sophie’s younger sister Sarah Knowles, 19 RELATIVES of student Sophie Smith were praying for a miracle last night as hope faded of finding her alive.
Police now believe it is most likely that Sophie entered the sea on Boxing Day wearing just a vest and shorts.
They also revealed she had planned her disappearance from her mother’s seaside home.
Sophie, 21, was filmed on CCTV running towards the beach just 200 yards from the house on the Norfolk coast at about 3am.
Experts on tidal currents around Gorleston-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth, have been advising police search teams. Sophie’s father Martin Knowles yesterday praised police and the emergency services for their “phenomenal” efforts to find her.
He stressed the family has not given up hope.
“We are still praying and hoping that Sophie will walk through her mum’s door so we can put our arms around her and tell her how much we love her,” he said. “What has happened is heartbreaking for us all.”
In a moving plea to his daughter, health worker Mr Knowles said: “Sophie, just come home please. Your mum loves you, I love you.
“All your friends want you back. We just want to tell you how much we love you. Don’t worry about anything. Just come home.”
Sophie, a biomedicine student at the University of East Anglia, was being treated for severe anxiety and depression in the days before she went missing.
Mr Knowles said: “She has had a bit of a hard time recently but all youngsters do.”
She lived in Norwich during term time but stayed at her mother Lynn Shaw’s home in Gorleston for Christmas. Her aunt Rachel Russell posted an emotional message on the Find Sophie Smith page on Facebook, which has 23,000 followers.
“My family and I are no way giving up hope of finding Sophie,” Ms Russell wrote. “I have just been speaking to a lady whose son went missing for 10 days earlier this year and then finally made contact. I have so much hope our Sophie will do the same.”
Police Inspector Will Drummond said: “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.”