Georgina Gharsallah: Worthing mum's pledge to missing daughter

Mum-of-two Georgina was last seen walking along Chapel Road in Worthing at 4pm on March 7, 2018.

An investigation was launched by Sussex Police which came under review in 2020 after .Georgina's family raised concerns with how it was carried out, including how "key CCTV footage related to Georgina's disappearance was not reviewed until a year after her disappearance".

Georgina’s mum, Andrea, said that despite initial improvements following the review, she feels abandoned by the force as she continues the search for her daughter, with today (March 7) marking five years since the disappearance.

Georgina was caught on CCTV in Chapel Street, Worthing (Image: Sussex Police)

“I feel sometimes they’re like ‘oh, it’s her again’ when I get in contact. I get told that I’m not the only one,” said Andrea.

“After the review it picked up but then just a year or so later it’s reverted back to how it was before.

“You can’t just leave a missing person. That’s my daughter. I’m not going to let her be a cold case. We need to know – and her children. It’s really hard for them, they don’t understand.

READ MORE: No 'exclusive' proof that missing Georgina Gharsallah is alive

“They ask when she is going to come back. They are the most important. For the first few years we lived with the hope concept, but the last few years we have had to say that mum might not come home, but they just say that mum will still come home.”

Andrea and her family are holding a vigil at O’Conner’s Bar in Worthing today to “remember” Georgina and “create awareness” for their search.

“It’s been continuous since day one,” said Andrea. “I try to do something for her birthday and this year because it’s now been five years, we are trying to do something a bit different.”

The family has begun working with charity Missing People to progress their investigation after “no major developments”, and even made their own reconstruction of Georgina’s last known movements as they were dissatisfied with how the police handled the case.

And today, heartbroken Andrea has reissued her appeal to the public for information, saying: “If you hear anything, please come forward.

“We are desperate for answers. Someone knows something, that’s a fact, and yet there’s still so many people who have no idea about Georgina, and that’s just people that are living in Worthing, so we’re doing all we can.”

Georgina entering Clifton Food and Wines on the morning of her disappearance (Image: Sussex Police)

But the strongest message at all is from a mother to her daughter, pleading with her to come home.

“We miss you, we love you,” said Andrea. “Please make contact. Your boys miss you. We just want to know that you are safe.”

Sussex Police provided an update on the investigation, reiterating that officers are determined to get to the bottom of the case.

Detective superintendent Andy Wolstenholme, senior investigating officer, said: “We are as committed today as we were on day one to finding out what happened to Georgina.

“I absolutely understand the frustration and upset Georgina’s disappearance has brought to her mother, Andrea, and her wider family. We are in contact with them, and we welcome and enjoy that contact, and we work with them constantly, even five years on, because we all share the same aim – solving this case and getting answers for the family about what happened to Georgina.

“I’m hugely supportive of Andrea’s work in making sure Georgina’s story is in the public eye and shared with the widest possible audience, and we have supported this with numerous public appeals of our own both on social media, in the news media and on TV.

“In the same way that our investigation has continued for five years and will continue beyond, I know that Andrea’s campaign won’t stop until she’s got those answers that she needs about what happened to her daughter. I’m fully supportive of that and always will be.”