'Sophie, come home, we just want to put our arms around you': Heartbroken father's emotional appeal for missing daughter as police say it's 'most likely' she has 'gone into the sea'

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The father of missing student Sophie Smith has made a desperate direct plea for her to 'come home' as police said today she has 'most likely gone into the sea'.  

Sophie, 21, probably 'pre-planned' leaving her seaside home in Gorleston, Norfolk, at 3am on Boxing Day, wearing only shorts and a vest, detectives have said.     

Her father Martin Knowles has refused to give up hope that his daughter is still alive and in a video message for his vulnerable daughter 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.'

Police have CCTV of her running towards the sea and have suggested she had already threatened to run away in comments made on Christmas Day.

Inspector Will Drummond said: 'Sophie had been receiving treatment for depression and anxiety.

'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'.    

Martin Knowles has refused to give up hope that Sophie, 21, is still alive despite running from her seaside home at 3am on Boxing Day, wearing only shorts and a vest as he begged her to return home

Pictured: Missing Sophie Smith, 21, from Gorleston, Norfolk, has not been seen since 3am on Boxing Day and has been battling depression and anxiety

The coastguard were out in force today searching the coastline for Sophie who was last seen walking towards the North Sea

Teams of men and women and helicopters are scouring the area for signs of the missing student - but the search has been hampered by poor conditions

He added: 'We have diligently searched for Sophie and have investigated a range of scenarios but unfortunately there have been no confirmed sightings or contact since she left her property at 3am.

'I would like to take this opportunity to ask the public to check their sheds and outbuildings in case Sophie has got disorientated and slept in the nearest place of shelter.

'We have spoken to friends and family, conducted house to house enquiries and checked her social media accounts.

Missing posters are being distributed in the area and more than 17,000 people have joined a Find Sophie Smith Facebook group

'We have liaised with local hospitals, places she's known to have links and House to house enquires and we have also conducted a widespread search, including possible CCTV sightings, but unfortunately nothing has been found.'

Experts studying computer programmes of tidal movements have told police that her body is likely to be washed up if she had gone in the water at Gorleston-on-Sea near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

As a result of the information, police today arranged for three teams of Coastguards to search around 20 miles of coastline between Lowestoft, Suffolk, and Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk.

A police helicopter was also being used to scour beaches in the area which are being lashed by wind and rain. 

Police have admitted hopes are fading to find Sophie alive and a planned search of the sea, beaches and woodland around Great Yarmouth had to be halted today because of bad weather. 

Dozens of volunteers had been asked to meet at Gorleston beach car park at 11am today to walk the beach towards Hopton. 

But organiser Emma Gallagher said bad weather had halted it for now. 

She said on Facebook: '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% 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'. 

Martin Knowles, a father-of-two who works for the NHS, admitted she 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'.

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.'   

Sophie's father Martin Knowles, pictured with her aunt Rachel Russell, left, and Sophie's sister Sarah, pictured right, have appealed for help in finding the missing youngster

Coastguard officers conduct a coastline search for missing Gorleston woman Sophie Smith near the Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth today

Local people also searched fields between Gorleston and Great Yarmouth as the search for Sophie was stepped up

Members of the public search under the pier in Yarmouth yesterday as the hunt for Sophie continues

Miss Smith, from Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, who was in her second year studying Biomedicine at the University of East Anglia, had been 'withdrawn' over the festive period after suffering from 'severe anxiety and depression', he said.

Her mother Lynn Shaw, 56, and stepfather Kevin Shaw, 60, who run an antiques shop in the seaside town, heard the door slam at 3am on Boxing Day and started frantically searching before calling the police.

Miss Smith, who was home from university for the Christmas holidays, did not have her phone on her when she ran out of the house and was dressed in shorts and a vest top.

Despite a police operation which involved helicopters, boats and land searches, officers have found nothing.

Popular: Hundreds of people shared appeals on social media to try and find Sophie

Inspector Drummond said of the operation: 'She went missing at her home address on Boxing Day at 3am…what we've got is an image of her, which we believe to be her, running from the home address and towards the beach on Avondale Road. She is wearing…a vest top and shorts, which is unprepared for the weather.

'What I can say is that from speaking to the family in great detail, Sophie suffers from severe anxiety and depression which she was being treated for. There was a level of what I would call preparation prior to running off to what happened.'

'I think a combination of the preparation, her mental state at the time and comments made may suggest there's a likelihood that unfortunately she may have gone into the sea,' he added.

After lengthy conversations with Miss Smith's family, Inspector Drummond said police had discovered that she had made 'preparations' prior to her disappearance – but would not say what that involved.

Police have analysed her phone, social media and made inquiries about recent discussions she had with family and friends, he said.

Of her mental state, Inspector Drummond said: 'We believe she's been talking about it with family before, talking about her anxiety and depression and we think this has maybe been a trigger.'

'The theory is that if she has gone into the sea, unfortunately, we need to be looking at the tides and how that would impact.

'We are treating it as a live missing person's inquiry but we have got to take the consideration that there is likelihood unfortunately that she has gone into the sea,' he added.

Missing: The University of East Anglia student was last seen on Boxing Day 

Police are going door to door while Sophie's step sister Lauren and father Kevin Shaw organised beach searches

Dozens of volunteers also gathered in Norfolk woods to look for any signs of the missing student

Increasingly worried: Norfolk Police said they were growing concerned for Sophie after she was last seen around 3am on Tuesday in Gorleston-on-Sea near Great Yarmouth 

Emotional appeal: Distraught Lynn Shaw from Great Yarmouth pleaded with her 21-year-old daughter to return home 

Earlier, Miss Smith's stepsister Lauren Shaw, 26, and stepfather led around 15 friends and volunteers on a search of the seafront in Gorleston and around Great Yarmouth.

She said: 'We are just searching beaches where the tide would have washed something up – but we are hoping we do not find anything. We cannot really say anything else.'    

More than 17,000 joined a Find Sophie Smith Facebook group after it was created yesterday afternoon.

People have been posting updates on what areas have been searched for her on the page and have organised volunteer search parties to help with police appeal.

Volunteers started joining Norfolk Lowland Search and Rescue and lifeboat teams searching for Sophie yesterday. 

Three further searches have been organised in Gorleston and neighbouring coastal town Lowestoft, Suffolk.