Family’s grief as body is found in search for missing teenager Gaia
POLICE have found a body in the hunt for missing teenager Gaia Pope. Officers said last night that they were “confident” the body, found yesterday on land near Swanage, Dorset, was the missing 19-year-old.
Just hours earlier her father, Richard Sutherland, had led hundreds of volunteers in a mass search for his daughter.
Gaia’s sister, 21-year-old Clara Pope, said last night: “She is the absolute light of my life. So beautiful, so emotionally wise and intelligent and so passionate and artistic and creative and understanding. And I will always, always, always be one of three. And I just want to thank everybody.”
Her cousin, Marienna Pope-Weidemann, told the local community: “If there is one ray of light in this nightmare it is the compassion, humanity and community spirit that you’ve shown over the last 10 days.
“Your dedication and selflessness for a girl that many of you don’t even know has been staggering and one of the few things that kept us going.
“This afternoon the emergency services found Gaia’s body. We are absolutely devastated and unable to put those feelings of loss into words. We thank you for everything you have done. Our little bird has flown but will always be with us.”
The body was found close to where clothing positively identified as Miss Pope’s was found near cliffs on Thurs- day. It has been claimed the clothing was dumped there days after she vanished, as it had not been there when two separate search teams scoured the land at the start of the hunt for her.
Dorset Police said the discovery was made around 3pm yesterday by specialist search teams near the coastal path and the field near to her clothes. Det Supt Paul Kessell, of Dorset Police’s major crime investigation team, said: “Although the body has yet to be formally identified, we are confident that we have found Gaia.
“Her family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. Our thoughts remain with all of her family and friends at this very traumatic time. I can confirm that we have recovered all the clothing we believe Gaia was wearing when she disappeared and, with thanks, we no longer require the public to assist with searches.” The devastating news comes hours after hundreds of people joined searches yesterday afternoon looking for the teenager.
Det Supt Kessell added: “The coroner has been notified and further forensic examination will continue. This will guide the investigation in respect of the circumstances of the death, which at this time remains unexplained. I would like to thank the community for their support and understanding while this large-scale investigation continues and their efforts in looking for Gaia.
“We have received a huge amount of support from the public who have contacted us with possible sightings of Gaia and items of found clothing.”
Detectives have arrested and released under investigation three members of the same family on suspicion of her murder. The uncle of a friend of the teenager was released by police after spending 24 hours in custody following his arrest on Thursday.
The father of Paul Elsey, one of the arrested people, accused Dorset Police of waging a witch hunt against his family. Mr Elsey’s nephew Nathan Elsey, 19, an aspiring actor, and mother, Rosemary Dinch, 71, had also previously been arrested and then released.
Miss Pope, who suffers from severe epilepsy, went missing on November 7, sparking a huge hunt. Mass searches were organised on Facebook to trace her and hundreds of missing person posters have been distributed across the county.
‘We are absolutely devastated and unable to put those feelings of loss into words’