Catherine Shaw: British woman's puppy found shivering on side of volcano in Guatemala after she vanishes

Backpacker returned to hotel she was staying at with friend and left again with animal on night she disappeared

A British backpacker missing in Guatemala left her hotel in the middle of the night with a puppy that was later found alone on the side of a volcano.

Catherine Shaw, 23, from Witney, Oxfordshire, had been travelling in the country for two weeks with a friend when she vanished last Tuesday.

The Lucie Blackman Trust, which is supporting Ms Shaw’s family, said she left Eco Hotel Mayachik in the area of Lake Atitlan, near San Pedro and San Juan, at 1.37am on Tuesday, but then returned at 3.19am.

She then left again for the last time at 5.23am with a puppy, heading in the direction of the lake.

Guatemalan tourists later found the animal alone, shivering and crying, at the highest lookout of Indian Nose, a volcano overlooking Lake Atitlan, San Pedro and San Juan, between 5am and 6am on Friday morning.

A hand drum, known as a hang, previously reported to be in Ms Shaw’s possession, was left behind and has been located.

The trust has received many sightings of female travellers matching Ms Shaw’s description, and it has become clear that there are at least three travellers similar to her hiking in the area.

It said many people reported seeing a woman matching Ms Shaw’s description with a guitar and a tattoo on her ribs, hitchhiking with another female.

But it has since been confirmed that Ms Shaw, who had been travelling since September and had already visited Mexico and California, did not have a tattoo on her ribs, nor did she have a guitar.

Three search teams have been hunting for her but nothing has been found.

Search teams look for backpacker Catherine Shaw, 23, from Witney, Oxfordshire (Finding Catherine Shaw Facebook)

The charity has identified two of the other hitchhikers, and is working on further leads.

The trust’s chief executive, Matthew Searle, has urged the other women backpackers to get in touch.

He said: “There are clearly a number of female travellers in the area that match or are similar to Catherine in appearance.

“We would like to speak to any of these travellers to both rule them out and to ask if they have seen or spoken to Catherine on their travels.

“If anyone knows of friends in the area that may be mistaken for Catherine, please let us know.”

Ms Shaw’s parents said their daughter’s disappearance was unusual and that she had always been good at keeping in touch and informing family of her whereabouts.

In a video released by the trust, Ms Shaw’s mother urged her to get in touch as they need to know she is happy and well, while her father described his daughter as about 5ft 7in and of slim build.

Her father, who has travelled to Guatemala to join the search, added: “Your friends, your family are all really worried about you. Please come home, sweetheart.”