The 46-year-old was last seen on October 9 in the village of New Ash Green in Kent with her disappearance now being treated as a murder probe.
Police have now completely cordoned off Scratchers Lane in Fawkham, as they and more than 200 volunteers scour the woods near the home she shares with her ex-partner, Ben Lacomba, 38, and their three children — six-year-old twins and a 12-year-old son.
It is understood the mum had recently started a relationship with a man, Neil James.
He revealed today he had spoken to Sarah on the phone when she told him she was at home in bed on the night she vanished.
Neil told Mail Online: "Every night Sarah and I would speak and every morning either she or I – being a couple – you'd say 'Morning honey' and text and that would normally be before 8am.
"Wednesday morning I text her about 7.50am 'morning honey, how's you?', that sort of thing, and it didn't deliver.
"I didn't think anything of it at first, I thought she just hadn't charged her phone or whatever. It got to lunchtime and then I tried texting her again, I tried calling her, emailing her, Whatsapp, messenger."
He then began to panic and called her two older children – Lewis, 22, and Jack, 21, before speaking to Ben, who phoned police.
It comes as her uncle revealed she could have travelled abroad after starting a new relationship with a toyboy – although his name hasn't been released.
Ronald Wellgreen, 61, said Sarah has an apartment abroad – understood to be Alicante – and used to run a bar in Spain with Nerf gun fanatic Ben.
Ronald said: "I'm gobsmacked that it could now be a potential murder investigation. It's been 15 days now. I'm shocked to see it go on for so long like this.
"It looks to me like she could have died, but I've got no reason to think she was killed by someone – why would she be?
"I do think she could be abroad somewhere – she has an apartment abroad.
"I have no idea why she would have left – no matter what happened on that Tuesday she would have wanted to take her children with her."
Ronald also revealed he had been contacted by a man from Farnborough last week claiming to have been in a relationship with Sarah.
But the mum had reportedly told him in June she was seeing someone new and was no longer with him.
He said: "He said they were messaging each other every day until she went missing – and he hasn't heard from her since.
"I remember her telling me in June that she and this man in Farnborough weren't together anymore, but he seemed to think they were still in a relationship."
It comes as Kent police said detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate investigating as they confirmed her disappearance is "totally out of character".
Detective Superintendent Paul Fotheringham said: "She'd just had a new job offer she was looking forward to.
"She has spoken to friends about looking forward to the future and, most significantly, she has now missed one of her children's birthdays."
Her frantic family have been appealing for information after it was revealed her car was left outside her home and she has not used her phone or bank card since she vanished.
Last night, her distraught dad Anthony Wellgreen, 67, said: “I don’t understand it at all. It’s not in her character to disappear like this.
“Nothing like this has ever happened before. We are all so worried. Two weeks is a long time to be away.”
Horrified neighbours in the sleepy village have been praying the mum is safe as cops extend the search area around her home.
One, who didn't want to be named, said: "I'm hoping for her children's sake that Sarah is still alive. She never really left the house much from what I could tell so this idea she's gone and started a new life is very unusual and I doubt that's the case.
"I'm worried sick about her.
"I know the family well. She had six-year-old twins and a 12-year-old and they are lovely. They're always very smart and well looked after. They're friends with our grandchildren so we know each other as families.
"I feel so sorry for them. This is absolutely awful."
Another, who spoke with Sarah the day she vanished, said: "She made a joke, saying 'oh, you got here before me today'.
"She was really happy and smiley, not acting strangely or like she was going to disappear.
"It's really out of character for her. It's weird."
Cops are now asking for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the village overnight on October 9 to come forward.
They are also urging locals to check outhouses and areas surrounding their properties for any sign of Sarah.
DSI Fotheringham said: "We have experts with specialist technology and forensic scientists working with us to try and find Sarah.
"We are particularly interested to hear from anyone with fixed CCTV cameras within a five mile radius of New Ash Green, whether this is residential or commercial CCTV to come forward.
"Likewise, anyone who was out on the evening of the 9 October to the morning of 10 October in that five mile area who has dashcam in their vehicle, please contact us.
"We are also appealing to those living and working in the area bordered by the A2, M25, Meopham, Cobham, Horton Kirby and Darenth to check their sheds, outbuildings and areas of rough ground or woodland for any sign of Sarah."
It is believed Sarah's complicated private life may hold vital clues to her disappearance, pals say.
Her and Nerf gun fanatic Ben split up following the birth of the twins but six months ago she moved back in with the cabbie.
Sarah, who also has two older sons — Lewis Burdett, 22, and Jack, 21 — still worked in Portsmouth and is said to have spent time in Surrey, where colleagues believe she had found a new man through online dating.
Martin Prus, 46, her manager at Puresun Hair and Beauty Centre in Portsmouth, told The Sun this week: “She is always in different locations. She is a very busy woman.
“I know she had been travelling between Portsmouth, Kent and somewhere near Guildford in Surrey.
“We know she was connected to at least three areas.
“In Portsmouth she was with her eldest sons, and when in Kent she was with her ex-partner.
“They were sharing the children, that’s what I know."
Mr Prus added that Sarah, thought to have been married three times, worked at the salon full-time for around two years before going part-time when she moved back to Kent.
She is also believed to own a home in Portsmouth which she rents out.
Police have spent several days searching her home as well as trawling through social media and dating sites for clues.
Officers have also used drones and dogs to search an area of woods they have cordoned off near her and Ben’s £265,000 terraced home.
Over the weekend, police also searched land and fields by a nearby private hospital and pub, and woodland in Ridley, about two miles away from where she lived.
Sarah’s oldest son Lewis has put out several appeals on social media, which have been shared thousands of times.
He described his mum’s disappearance as completely out of character, saying that she was “happy, with no problems”.
The 22-year-old said that the day before she went missing, she had also found out she had got a new job, adding: “So everything was great”.
On Tuesday last week, police arrested a man in his 30s for questioning. He has since been released pending further inquiries.
If anyone has any information please call Kent Police on 0207 158 0011, Freephone 0800 056 0154 quoting 11-0423 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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