Australian waitress living in London found after ‘out of character’ disappearance sparks desperate search

An Australian woman living in London, who was not seen for more than a week, has been found following a desperate search.

Jessica Parkinson, 29, was last seen at work at Texas Joe’s Slow Smoked Meats in Bermondsey on Wednesday, December 11.

She was reported missing just before midnight the following day.

On Thursday, detectives — who said they were “very concerned” for her welfare — revealed she was believed to have been in Eastbourne on England’s southeast coast on Wednesday night.

“Enquiries have led police to believe she had been in the centre of Eastbourne last night,” a Met Police spokesperson said.

Parkinson had been living in Greenwich, in London’s inner southeast, and had been in the UK for about two years.

“Her friends and family are concerned about her disappearance which is out of character,” Greenwich Police said.

Parkinson has now been found safe and well, according to local media.

“Following a number of enquiries and support from Sussex Police, Jessica Parkinson has now been found safe and well. Thank you to everyone who helped with the search,” a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said.

Police also flagged a fraudulent bitcoin donation appeal relating to the search for Parkinson.

“We urge you not to donate or continue forwarding the link unless you can confirm it is official,” police said.

Restaurant owner Joe Walters told the Daily Mail that Parkinson had recently been evicted from her rental and was living at St Christopher’s Inn hostel on Borough High St.

“She wasn’t very happy with that situation which I can imagine so we were trying to assist her with finding something and we hadn’t made any progress with that. She was stressed out about it at the time,” he said.

7NEWS has contacted Walters for comment.