Teenager Gaia Pope had suffered a horrifying two years where she was assaulted by a gang of men and her epilepsy left her unable to remember her own family and at risk of instant death.
The teenager’s family have hinted at her troubled past and the ‘very vulnerable’ 19-year-old was splitting her time between her parents in Langton Matravers and her aunt’s house in Swanage when she vanished ten days ago.
Her father Richard Sutherland, a business development manager, said his ‘distressed’ daughter had been told she could die at any moment because her epilepsy was severe.
And she was also battling post-traumatic stress disorder after a ‘devastating’ assault by ‘some guys’, he said, made worse because the main perpetrator is set for release from prison.
Mr Sutherland said his daughter was upset and sometimes confused after the trauma of being attacked and suffering severe ill health – her mother Natasha, an actress who appeared in The Bill and Inspector Morse, fears she could be a ‘prisoner’.
Gaia Pope, 19, from Dorset, (pictured) has not been seen for ten days and was last seen on CCTV in a petrol station looking pale and tired (right). Her family have described how she has suffered terribly over the past two years
Gaia’s father Richard Sutherland said his daughter was vulnerable because of her health problems and her life was devastated after she was atatcked by a gang, at least one of was jailed
Describing her state of mind before she vanished he said: ‘Gaia was very upset. She suffered a trauma a couple of years ago. She was involved in a situation where some guys assaulted her. This had a really devastating effect on her. I think this had been coming back into her head. She was scared.
‘I think her head…with the epilepsy which messes with her head anyway, she gets confused, she has memory loss. A combination of different things…she gets emotional’.
Gaia was training to be a nurse and wished to help others after severe epilepsy and an attack left her vulnerable
Her father told Good Morning Britain today: ‘She had great ambitions in her life to be in nursing or some sort of health and social care.
‘The doctors have said that she is at risk of sudden death from epilepsy, or sudden epileptic death. It’s pretty serious’.
He added: ‘But it’s entirely possible that her epilepsy has played a big part in this and that’s meant it’s been more difficult to find her’.
Gaia appeared worried before her disappearance and CCTV from a petrol station where she bought her ice cream an hour before her last sighting showed her looking tired and pale.
An Instagram post from her account on November 5 said she feared being ‘shut up and put in a cell’ and used the the hashtag #sexualassault.
She also suggested she thought that police were looking at her phone so she planned not to use it for at least three days.
One friend left a comment urging her to ‘run somewhere safe’.
Her family has suggested that a man or group of men who attacked her in 2015 were due for release from prison.
Gaia (left with Russell Brand and right on social media) was epileptic and also badly affected by a traumatic incident two years ago, her family has said
This is the last sighting of Gaia Pope shown running up Manor Gardens in Swanage at 4pm on November 7
Around an hour earlier she was seen buying an ice cream at a petrol station in Valley Road between Langton Matravers and Swanage, where she split her time between her parents and aunt’s house
A motorist claims this grainy footage, recorded just outside Gaia’s home village of Langton Matravers in Dorset at 11:35pm on November 7, could show the teenager being dropped off
The last known CCTV sighting of the teenager showed her sprinting up a street in Swanage to the home of he last person to see her, Rosemary Dinch, 71.
The pensioner, who was later arrested on suspicion of murder and bailed, said she Gaia ‘pounded’ on the door and was ‘very upset’ before allegedly taking off some of her clothes and leaving.
She has not been seen since then, around 4pm on Tuesday November 7.
Today a driver claimed to have captured chilling dashcam footage of Gaia near a coastal road hours later.
They told police the passenger appeared to be saying goodbye to someone in the dark.
This week police have arrested three people including a female pensioner, her grandson Nathan, 19, and her son Paul, 49. Only her son remains in custody.
Detectives are treating it as a murder investigation but her family fears her epilepsy may have played a part in her disappearance and have not given up hope she will be found alive.
But hopes appear to be fading after some clothes believed to belong to Gaia were found around a mile from her parents’ home near 70ft cliffs.
Miss Pope’s cousin, Marienna Pope-Weidemann, said today that her battle with epilepsy had got harder.
She said: ‘Gaia’s condition has been really deteriorating over the last six months to a year. She rarely gets through a day without a seizure.
‘Sometimes they’re very small, she’ll break conversation for a minute or so and then she’s back to her old bubbly self. Other times they’re very serious – we’ve had to call the paramedics many times.
‘Those bigger seizures are often accompanied with quite prolonged periods of confusion and disorientation.
‘There’s been times when she’s not recognised us for a short time afterwards, not really understood where she is. That’s a big part of what’s made this case so complicated.’
Rosemary, Gregory and Nathan Elsey were pictured leaving Gregory Elsey’s home this morning. Gregory and Rosemary’s son Paul remains in police custody on suspicion of murder. Rosemary has been bailed and so has Nathan
Nathan Elsey was arrested on suspicion of killing Gaia before being baile. She was said to be visiting regularly before she vanished but his grabdfather said they had fallen out
Natasha Pope, the mother of missing teenager Gaia Pope, (pictured with Jeremy Corbyn) is an actress who appeared in ITV’s police dramas The Bill and Inspector Morse
She added: ‘Gaia’s been a bit of a home bird for the past couple of years as her epilepsy has got worse but she is still very creative and loves art and music.
‘She was studying health and social care at Poole and Bournemouth College. Having been in and out of hospital for the last couple of years, she really wanted to do something to help other people in that situation’.
Police are believed to have Paul Elsey, 49, in custody and continue to question him on suspicion of murder.
His nephew Nathan, 19, was arrested on Tuesday and neighbours had said she was visiting up to three times a week in recent months.
He had recently broken up with his girlfriend but it is not known if he an Gaia were romantically linked.
According to Greg Elsey, Paul’s Elsey father, the suspect was carrying out work on a flat he owns in Weymouth, Dorset, on the day of Gaia’s disappearance last week.
Mr Elsey added reports suggesting his grandson and Gaia were close are false.
‘They had known each other since they were six but about a year ago they had a big falling out and have not spoken to each other. She was not round there every week’.
Searches are continuing to hunt for Gaia and volunteers are being asked to join mass searches of Swanage on Saturday.
People are being asked to gather at midday at three separate locations to join line-searches.
In a post on the Find Gaia Facebook page, organisers said: ‘We will be line-searching as much of the rural area as we possibly can. It’s time to Find Gaia.
‘We will have maps with a rough grid system. From there, we will be asking you to form long lines with approximately two feet between each person.
‘We will then comb the area looking for any and every sign, clue, or piece of information we can find.
‘Thank you all so much. You’ve helped more than can be possibly expressed. Tomorrow will be the MOST IMPORTANT day of volunteer search efforts yet. We hope to see you all there.
‘Let’s go find Gaia. Please share this post as far and wide as you can.’
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF GAIA POPE AND THE HUNT TO FIND HER
Police, family, friends and worried residents of Swanage have been searching all the areas Gaia (pictured) is known to frequent in the area
Dorset Police are searching for missing teenager Gaia Pope, who was last seen on November 7.
Here is a timeline of events surrounding the 19-year-old’s disappearance.
:: November 7
2.55pm – Miss Pope is seen on CCTV buying an ice cream from a garage on Valley Road, Swanage.
3.39pm – The last confirmed sighting of Miss Pope, on Morrison Road in Swanage.
:: November 8
Dorset Police issue a public appeal for help to find Miss Pope.
Miss Pope’s family say they are ‘frantic with worry’ and appeal for her to contact them.
:: November 10
Dorset Police carry out vehicle stops in Swanage as part of their search for Miss Pope.
Detectives release CCTV footage of Miss Pope on Morrison Road shortly before her disappearance.
:: November 13
Search warrants are carried out at two addresses in Swanage, with three vehicles seized.
A 19-year-old man and 71-year-old woman, who are known to Miss Pope, are arrested on suspicion of her murder.
:: November 14
Miss Pope’s family release a statement vowing to find their ‘darling girl’.
Dorset Police release the 19-year-old man and 71-year-old woman under investigation.
:: November 15
Dorset Police release CCTV images of Miss Pope buying an ice cream on the day of her disappearance.
:: November 16
10.28am – A member of the public finds women’s clothes in a field near Swanage.
Afternoon – A 49-year-old man, from Swanage, is arrested on suspicion of murder.
:: November 17
Miss Pope’s father and cousin say her epilepsy may have played a part in her disappearance.