Mum Linda is due to arrive on the island today in hope of finding her daughter (Image: Facebook)
Amelia Bambridge, 21, who was travelling alone for the first time, was last seen on the island of Koh Rong, south-west of the mainland, in the early hours of Wednesday. Her handbag containing her purse, phone and bank cards was found on the beach but she did not return to the backpacker’s hostel, which was a 40-minute walk along an unlit path surrounded by thick jungle. Amelia, from Worthing, West Sussex, had been due to check out of the hostel on Friday to continue travelling to another island with a friend.
However, she failed to turn up to the waiting boat and the hostel still has her passport.
Her mother Linda, 52, is due to arrive on the island today hoping her daughter has got “lost on her way back” from the beach party and that the searchers will be able to find her.
She added: “This is very out of character, she is normally so organised. I don’t know what to think.”
Her brother, Harry, a former paratrooper who moved to Los Angeles in August, is also flying out to help look for her. He wrote on Facebook: “For all the religious people, can you please do me a big favour and pray for my sister Amelia Bambridge.
“I’m about to board a plane from LA as she’s been missing on her travels in Cambodia for over 48 hours now. I’ve asked whoever might be up there, to look after her for just another 20 hours and her big brother will be there as soon as I can.
Amelia has been missing for 48 hours and her brother is also joining the search (Image: Facebook)
“Thanks for everyone who’s showed their support, especially to my family back home.”
Amelia sold her car and left the UK last month following completion of her banking apprenticeship.
Sister Georgie, 19, said: “She is strong minded, really sensible and very organised.
“She spent the last year Googling solo female travelling, looking at pages and blogs and sorting out everything.
“I’m just in shock, she has never done anything like this before.
“I spoke to her on Wednesday and she normally messages us every now and then, every time she got wi-fi.
“I told her to put loads of pictures online to see what she was up to. It’s horrendous but we need to be positive and she needs to be found.”
Sister Sharon Schultes said on Facebook: “Thank you everyone for your kind words as soon as I hear anything I will update. I pray to God Amelia is safe and found soon.” Anna Bambridge, Amelia’s aunt, suggested her niece may have gone for a swim after a “rave”.
She wrote on Facebook: “Info is coming through that she was at a rave at Koh Rong in Cambodia and went swimming.
“Her purse was found with bag and phone on the beach.”
The Lucie Blackman Trust, a charity which supports British victims overseas, said: “There are serious concerns for her welfare.”
A Foreign 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.”
Amelia is thought to have been at a rave on the Cambodian island of Koh Rong (Image: Getty)
Backpacker Ryan Harris, 18, from Worcester, who met Amelia on his travels, said: “Last thing I heard is everybody is looking, it’s a whole island thing now.
“Everyone is looking – tourists, locals and police, literally everyone has come together. I hear there are also drones patrolling the coastline.”
“From my experience I would say it is out of character for her not to come back after a few hours and it is a small island.
“Even if you go your separate ways after a few drinks you see people again 10 or 20 minutes later. She should have come back by now.”
Searches were called off overnight and were due to resume today.
Laura Li, posting on an expat and local community Facebook page, said: “We covered a lot of ground with the searches today but unfortunately Amelia is still missing.”