Martial arts influencer, 36, is found dead on beach after 'friends left her and went home when she vanished in sea'

By TARYN KAUR PEDLER, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:10, 23 April 2026 | Updated: 21:12, 23 April 2026 A martial arts influencer was found dead on the beach after her friends reportedly left her and went home when she disappeared in the sea while swimming.  Tamyris Teixeira Santos, 36, was last seen entering the sea at Leblon Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 18. The influencer, who had over 18,000 followers on Instagram, had visited a beachfront kiosk with her friends before deciding to head into the sea to swim at around 5pm. But when she failed to return, instead of looking for her, her pals decided to go home. Her family only learned she was missing the following day, when staff at the kiosk contacted them to say her personal belongings had been left behind. A search operation was launched, and on April 21, her body was found on the shore at Botafogo Beach. Her mother, Elisabeth Teixeira, said she is struggling to understand what happened, insisting her daughter was a capable swimmer. She said: 'She said she was going there and never came back. No one has explained it. Tamyris Teixeira Santos, 36, was last seen entering the sea at Leblon Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , on April 18 'The beach was crowded. There's no way someone could drown, and no one would notice.' The family has also questioned why her friends did not raise the alarm sooner, saying she had been taking photos and videos shortly before she disappeared. The Civil Police are investigating and reviewing CCTV footage to establish her final movements.  No cause of death has yet been confirmed. Firefighters said sea conditions were calm at the time, and no emergency calls were made from that stretch of beach. Her body has been sent for forensic examination at the Medical Legal Institute.  Santos worked as a lawyer and was also known as a fitness enthusiast.  She trained in martial arts, including jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai, and she often shared content from her training sessions. On social media, she appeared to have a fairly active lifestyle, sharing images of workouts, beach outings, and day-to-day moments.  The influencer, who had over 18,000 followers on Instagram , had visited a beachfront kiosk with her friends before deciding to head into the sea to swim at around 5pm Following her death, Santos's friend Bianca Masello took to Instagram to share a heartbreaking tribute. The bodybuilder wrote: 'My beautiful friend, I still can't believe it.  'We spoke here on Instagram less than 24 hours before you left.  'You were always such a loyal friend, such a partner, so present in my life, always holding my hand during these 16 years of friendship, and how we rooted for each other.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.