Katherine Brewster: British woman found safe and well after going missing for five days in Brazil

Katherine Brewster tells her mother she went off for some 'time alone'

Katherine Brewster (Facebook)

A British woman who went missing in Brazil has been found safe and well.

Katherine Brewster was on a meditation retreat and was last seen on 25 March when she was apparently walking barefoot into a forest.

The 27-year-old, from Seaford, East Sussex, was told her mother she was “amazed” that a search had been launched for her.

Dr Diane Brewster told the BBC that her daughter had told her she had returned from some “time alone” in Santa Catarina, near an eco-village in Rio Grande do Sul in the south of Brazil where she was staying in a couple's home.

She was last seen by villagers on Sunday, walking towards a wooded area en route to the Foz de Chapeco dam, where they said she would often go to meditate.

Ms Brewster, known as Kat, was dressed in only light clothing and left her mobile phone behind when she headed into the rough terrain.

Fire officers had used sniffer dogs to search for Ms Brewster and said their efforts were hampered by rugged terrain.

Her disappearance prompted her sister, Lizzie, to post a plea on Facebook for anyone who had any information to get in touch.

“If you happened to talk to Kat in the last few days or know where she might be, please contact me. I am trying to talk to her urgently," she wrote.

Ms Brewster was reported missing after the family she was staying with in Dom Jose village in Alpestre, said she had left the house taking only her passport and credit card with her.

Investigators had found her driving licence and suitcase, full of clothes and other belongings, in the property where she had been staying.