Gaia Pope, 19, was reported missing by her family from her home near Swanage, Dorset, in November last year
A grandfather has hit out at ‘blinkered’ police who arrested three members of his family and ‘put them through a horrendous ordeal’ in the search for missing teenager Gaia Pope.
The 19-year-old, who suffered from severe epilepsy, was reported missing by her family from her home near Swanage, Dorset, on November 7 last year.
Her body was found 11 days later by police search teams near a coastal path.
An inquest into Gaia’s death yesterday heard there were no suspicious circumstances or signs of third party involvement.
Greg Elsey’s terminally ill ex-wife Rosemary Dinch, 71, their son Paul Elsey, 49, and grandson Nathan Elsey, 19, were arrested on suspicion of murder six days into the search, before being released without charge.
Mr Elsey claimed Dorset Police have not yet apologised to his family for putting them through the ‘horrendous’ ordeal.
He said: ‘The police were so blinkered they went after my family and didn’t take into consideration anything else (about her disappearance).
‘Gaia was apparently found in one of her favourite places. Surely it would have just taken a bit of common sense to look there.
‘The whole experience was really horrendous for my family but the police have not even apologised for what they put them through.’
Gaia’s body was not found until 11 days later by police search teams in undergrowth between Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point, close to the Swanage coastal path
Rosemary Dinch, the last person to see Gaia alive, was arrested on suspicion of murder but was later released without charge
Mrs Dinch was the last to see Gaia alive and told police the teenager arrived at her home out of the blue in a panic.
The pensioner had known Gaia for more than a decade through her grandson Nathan, who had been friends with Gaia and her twin sister Maya since the age of six.
Greg Elsey claimed Dorset Police have not yet apologised to his family
However, detectives were not convinced with her story and she was taken into custody.
The pensioner, who breathes with the assistance of bottled oxygen, collapsed in shock before she was quizzed by detectives through the night.
After Mrs Dinch was arrested, so too, was Nathan Elsey, a performing arts student who played a soldier in hit film Dunkirk.
Paul Elsey, uncle to Nathan and son of Mrs Dinch, with whom he lived, was the third to be arrested.
The three suspects were later released without charge — and were told 36 hours after Gaia’s body was found that they were no longer under investigation.
Greg Elsey added: ‘You would have thought the boss would have been a man to go around to apologise to them but we’ve heard nothing.
‘They can just ruin peoples’ lives and walk away with no consequences. If they had done their job properly that young girl may well have been saved.
‘My family are bouncing back and the community has been really nice – they can’t understand why the police put my family through what they did.
‘Nathan’s college and classmates have given him a lot of support, Paul is back at work and Rosemary is her normal self.
‘They just want to move on with their lives. What happened has been so horrendous and traumatic for everyone involved.
‘A young girl could have been saved if the police had done their job properly, it’s absolutely heartbreaking. She may well have been found in time, that’s the biggest tragedy.’
Nathan Elsey, Rosemary’s grandson, was also arrested on suspicion of murder, but again was released without charge
Pictured people search the coastline near Swanage in Dorset for Gaia Pope in November 2017
In a statement Gaia’s family said there were questions which ‘must still be answered’.
Coroner Rachael Griffin said she would be seeking a response from Dorset Police about its handling of the teenager’s disappearance, after the force faced criticism over how it took officers 11 days to find her body.
The coroner ordered an entomology report to see whether the exact timing of Miss Pope’s death could be established.
She has also asked police and Dorset County Council’s social services department to answer questions about the concerns raised by Gaia’s family over their handling of sexual abuse allegations made by the teenager.
Before she died Gaia had raised concerns about the imminent release from jail of a young man she had previously accused of attacking her.
Ms Griffin said: ‘I am fully aware the family have a number on concerns into Gaia’s death. Some of them will be very relevant to my inquiry.
‘I will request a statement from Dorset police about the missing persons investigation undertaken and the investigation around the circumstances of her death.’
The inquest heard Gaia froze to death after falling into dense undergrowth on a remote cliff top while in a distressed state.
Gaia Pope’s cousin Marienna Pope-Weidemann speaks after an inquest and right, her aunt Talia, after the hearing into her death was opened today at Bournemouth Town Hall in Dorset
In a statement, read by Gaia’s cousin Marienna Pope-Weidemann outside Bournemouth Town Hall, the family said: ‘It was just a few days ago that the family received conformation that Gaia died of hypothermia and our hearts broke all over again.
‘Every minute without Gaia seems like an hour and every hour without answers feels endless.
‘Far too often young women who survive sexual violence are denied dignity. They are dismissed or disbelieved; denied a voice and then misrepresented: they have to fight, like Gaia did to be heard, to have their needs heard and their rights respected.
‘Despite everything she went through she remained loving, joyful and brave. Here was a bright and powerful young woman who wanted to devote her life to others. We will always be proud of her.
‘We know now what took her from us but when, how and why are all questions that are yet to be answered, not just for our family but for the next family who wakes up in that nightmare situation someday.
‘We are hopeful that this inquest will find answers. The road is long but with support we will find justice for Gaia.’
Gaia’s disappearance spark a mass search and rescue operation to find her in November 2017
Gaia’s body was not found until 11 days after she went missing by police search teams, close to the Swanage coastal path (pictured, officers at the scene)
At the brief hearing, it was heard that Gaia’s body was found in undergrowth between Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point on November 18.
She was identified by a tattoo on her body. Her death is not being treated as suspicious, the coroner confirmed.
On Tuesday, November 7, Gaia was driven from her family home in Langton Matravers to Swanage, where she had been staying with her aunt, Talia Pope.
At 2.55pm, they stopped at a garage and a troubled-looking Gaia was captured on CCTV buying an ice cream.
At 3.39pm, she was filmed again running along Morrison Road not far from Talia’s house.
Left, Gaia looks troubled as she buys ice cream at a petrol station on the day she disappeared and right, in an undated family photo before she went missing
On the day she went missing, after visiting the petrol station, Gaia (ringed) was filmed again, running along not far from her aunt Talia’s house, where she was staying
A final sighting would take place minutes later in nearby Manor Gardens, when she knocked on Rosemary Dinch’s door. It was to be the last sighting of Gaia alive.
In the early hours of Thursday November 9, Gaia’s family launched the ‘Find Gaia’ Facebook page, posting a recent photo and saying she was suffering from severe epilepsy and post-traumatic stress.
It later became clear just how badly Gaia was affected by these conditions.
On Saturday, November 11, her cousin, Marienna Pope-Weidemann, told local press: ‘Her condition is very severe. She usually has seizures every day and during the night.
‘Sometimes they are small and perfectly manageable, sometimes we have to call the paramedics and she requires emergency hospital treatment.’
It is understood Gaia did not have her epilepsy medication with her when she disappeared.
The picture was further confused by Gaia’s erratic behaviour.
Two days before going missing, she posted on Instagram a screenshot of texts she had sent, which said: ‘Police are into my phone I think. I’m gonna have to put it down til Wednesday… Or I’ll get a real shutup and be put in a cell myself.’
She captioned the post with the hashtag: ‘#sexualassault’.
More than a week would pass before the details of her condition emerged.
The alleged perpetrator of the sexual attack had been jailed for an unrelated offence, but Gaia feared he could shortly be released, adding to her anxiety.
The 19-year-old, who suffered from severe epilepsy, had been missing for nearly two weeks when she was finally found dead.
During that time, searches were conducted by land, sea and air.
A spokesman for Dorset Police said in November: ‘Dorset Police never commented on or confirmed the identities of the people arrested during this investigation. That is our standard policy.
‘Police will have had multiple grounds for arrest, however, we will not be commenting on these publicly as this would set an unhelpful precedent and could prejudice Gaia’s coroner’s inquest and any other subsequent legal action.
‘We released those arrested from investigation quickly as events developed, recognised the impact it will have had on them and made it clear publicly they would face no further action.
‘We appreciate our enquiries would have caused these individuals stress and anxiety, however we have an obligation in any missing person investigation to explore every possible line of enquiry.’