Gaia Pope: hopes fade for missing teenager as man arrested

Hopes were fading for 19-year-old Gaia Pope after a woman’s clothes were found in a field close to the seaside town where she vanished nine days ago and a third person was arrested on suspicion of her murder.

Detectives had not established who the clothes belonged to but said they were similar to some of those Gaia was wearing when she disappeared from Swanage in Dorset.

The arrested man was named by his family as 49-year-old Paul Elsey. He is the son of 71-year-old Rosemary Dinch and uncle of Nathan Elsey, 19, who were both arrested on suspicion of murder earlier this week. Both Dinch and Nathan Elsey, who are friends of Pope, have been released under investigation.

Police did not name Paul Elsey but his father, Greg, said that his son was being questioned at a police station in Dorset. He said his son was “110% innocent”.

Greg Elsey said he had travelled from his home in Romsey, Hampshire, to Poole in Dorset to pick Paul up and take him to a solicitor. He said Paul was then arrested.

He added: “I wanted to make sure Paul had got legal representation before he was taken away. I asked Paul before he was arrested if he was all right. He said: ‘Yes, I’m fine. He’s protested his innocence 110% and I have 110% belief that he will be released when they find out he has done nothing. My son is 110% innocent. We have tried our best to work with the police.”

Detectives are refusing to say if they believe Gaia is still alive.

Det Supt Paul Kessler, of Dorset police, said: “We have no reason to believe Gaia has left the Swanage area. I can’t speculate beyond that. Our search is continuing in Swanage and the rural area around it.

“We will continue to search for Gaia. It’s clear that we may be investigating a crime. We won’t stop until we find Gaia.”

Speaking on the seafront at Swanage as a police helicopter hovered overhead, Kessler also said a number of vehicles had been seized. On the two people arrested earlier this week but released under investigation, he said: “That continues along with a number of other avenues of investigation.”

Asked about how Pope’s family had received the news about the clothes being found, he said: “Clearly they are deeply concerned. My thoughts are with the family who are going through an incredibly distressing time.”

The clothes were found at 10.28am on Thursday by a member of the public in an area of open land north of the coastal path. A cordon was in place.

Earlier, Pope’s father, Richard Sutherland, said she could be in hiding and appealed for people to check houses and gardens.

Speaking on ITV News, he said: “I think if everyone can keep an eye out wherever they are – in their own properties, their own gardens, in places she might have hidden herself away in her scared state, that’s what we can ask.”

Pope has epilepsy and vanished without her medication but was also said to be upset over an unspecified traumatic event.

Sutherland added: “She’s vulnerable but she’s also strong. She’s a great girl. She’s got a big spirit.”

He continued: “We all love her. We want her back. We’ll get her back. We believe we will get her back, so that keeps us going. The help we get from the community, from every single person who’s been involved in this, gives us hope. That gives us strength. I can’t tell you how grateful we are to everybody out there.”

In a direct appeal to his daughter, Sutherland said: “Gaia, you know we love you. You know that. I just want that big hug please. I just want a big hug. We’ll get you back and we’ll have that big hug.”

On Wednesday, Pope’s mother, the actor Natasha Pope, suggested that her daughter could be being held against her will.

Pope, from the Dorset village of Langton Matravers, was staying in nearby Swanage when she disappeared on 7 November.

That afternoon she was driven from Langton Matravers to Swanage by a family member when they stopped off for fuel at St Michael’s garage on Valley Road in Swanage. At around 2.55pm Pope went inside and bought an ice-cream. Police have released CCTV footage of her in the garage.

The last confirmed sighting of Pope was on Morrison Road in Swanage. A CCTV camera caught her running along the road at 3.39pm.

Forensic investigations were continuing at two properties in Manor Gardens just off Morrison Road.

Speaking before her arrest, Dinch described how Pope had banged on her door at around the time the CCTV footage caught the teenager on Morrison Road.

Dinch said: “She was very upset. She sort of slid to the floor at one point. She didn’t have a seizure, I’m pretty sure. I gave her a cuddle, and she responded.”

Police divers have been searching streams, ponds and lakes in and around Swanage. Volunteer teams have expanded the search to other places Pope liked to visit, including Bournemouth, Poole, Salisbury and Southampton.

The field where the clothes were found is just inland from a beauty spot called Dancing Ledge on the Jurassic coast. It is south-west of Swanage town centre and around a mile and half due south of Langton Matravers.

Police cars, a helicopter and drones were spotted at the scene and officers were posted at the cordon.

Dancing Ledge is part of a former quarry that was worked for Purbeck limestone. The water was deep enough for ships to approach the ledge to be loaded with stone. It is now a popular climbing spot.

• Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email at 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting incident number 9:179. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.