Hunt for British backpacker MISSING in Cambodia
The brother of a missing British backpacker has arrived in Cambodia, as the search for the 21-year-old intensifies.
Amelia Bambridge, from Worthing, West Sussex, was last seen on the island of Koh Rong on Wednesday.
Staff at the Police Beach, a private venue where Ms Bambridge was last seen, found her purple rucksack containing her purse, phone, and bank cards the following morning.
Volunteers and Cambodian police have searched the shoreline and jungle using equipment from a local dive centre as well as using a drone to try and find Ms Bambridge.
Her mother, Linda Bambridge, was contacted by the manager of the Nest Beach club hostel after she failed to check out.
Amelia’s brother Harry arrived in Cambodia on Sunday to help in the search for his sister.
He wrote on Facebook: “So I’ve landed in Cambodia, in a taxi to attempt to make the last ferry to the island which is a five-hour taxi. I’m totally overwhelmed with everyone’s support and I can’t thank you all enough.”
In a different post, he added: “I seriously believe there is still hope for her to be found alive.”
Fellow traveller Ryan Harris said he was the person to initially raise the alarm following Amelia’s disappearance.
He said: “We met in Phnom Penh, travelled down to Koh Rong together and then I visited a neighbouring island with plans to see Amelia again in a few days in Siem Reap.
“I saw her on Wednesday in the day and then left for the island that day.”
Mr Harris said he last saw Ms Bambridge when they said goodbye on Wednesday.
When he returned the following day at around 11.30 am, Mr Harris was told that Ms Bambridge had not returned from her night out, adding: “Someone mentioned it when I got off the boat at the pier and then again when I got to the hostel.
“My friend messaged me to let me know she still hadn’t shown up and we just kind of went from there.
“No-one had made contact at that point as (her) parents hadn’t even been informed yet.”
Earlier, he told BBC South East Today: “It is definitely out of character for her to not show up because she always sticks with the group.”
Amelia’s sister told the programme: “She’s my best friend, we were like twins. Honestly, I would just be lost without her.”
Fellow traveller Caro Harvey, who met Ms Bambridge in Phnom Penh before the pair met up again on the island, described the missing backpacker as “very friendly”.
“I was alone in the hostel… so she came (to) sit with me and we start(ed) to talk. She was looking very happy to travel alone.”
Ms Harvey said she had also been staying at the Nest Beach Club, but added: “My last time talking to her was before she leaves for the party because I didn’t go at this one.
“I went to bed before they leave for the party.
“I was at the Nest but the last time I saw her she looks happy like every time.”
Ms Harvey said Ms Bambridge had travelled to the party with other revellers but she did not know who they were.
An employee at the Koh Rong Dive Centre, which is a seven-minute walk up the coast from Police Beach, said: “We are all so sad and worried and doing everything in our power to find her.
“We have provided a boat, diving gear and tanks. Military divers are involved.”
Cambodian police posted a photo of officers searching parts of the island’s jungle on Facebook while images of investigators setting up a drone also appeared online.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “We are assisting the family of a British woman who has been reported missing in Cambodia and are in close contact with the Cambodian police.”
