THE family of a missing woman have held a vigil to mark the second year since her disappearance.

Georgina Gharsallah was last seen on March 7, 2018. The then 30-year-old mother of two from Worthing was captured on CCTV at Clifton Stores in the town and later in Chapel Road.

Police originally launched a search for a missing person, but in August the force announced they had upgraded the case to a murder investigation.

At a vigil by the Guildbourne Centre in Worthing on Saturday night – close to where she was last seen on CCTV – people joined Georgina’s family in holding candles for their “loved and missed beautiful girl” who disappeared “in the blink of an eye”.

Georgina’s mother Andrea Gharsallah, also from Worthing, said the family have been left devastated by her disappearance.

She said: “We have lived without Georgina for 730 days, 730 days of not knowing where she is... 730 days without seeing our beautiful daughter, sister, mama, 730 days of not knowing whether Georgina has come to harm, 730 days of wondering if she is alive or no longer with us.

“Does anyone other than those who have missing loved ones truly understand the pain and anguish we as a family feel regarding the disappearance of our beautiful George?

"We belong to a club nobody would ever wish to be part of.”

Speaking to The Argus just before the vigil, Andrea said she feared Georgina’s disappearance has become a “cold case”.

She said: “We don’t think the police have done the right thing launching a murder investigation.

"It seems like they decided to change it because they couldn’t find any evidence.

"It might be easier for them, but we don’t accept it. They’ve got no leads, and it’s becoming a cold case.”

Crimestoppers has offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Wolstenhome said: “I cannot begin to think how difficult not only this day but the last two years have been for the family and friends of Georgina.

“Since the investigation into her disappearance started we have had a dedicated team of officers and staff committed to looking into any viable lines of enquiry we have encountered.

“This has included the search of a number of locations, conducted over 1,000 house-to-house enquiries and investigated over 70 potential sightings.

“Last summer I took the decision to record the case as a homicide. This was not an easy decision to make and was in no way intended to take hope away from Georgina’s family and friends.

“However, Georgina was someone who would spend a lot of time on her phone and social media but all of this and any financial transactions on her bank accounts stopped the day she went missing. It is for this reason I am led to believe there is not an innocent reason for her disappearance.

“We will continue to investigate all viable lines of enquiry.”