Three held over Gaia Pope death released by police

Three people who were arrested following the disappearance of teenager Gaia Pope have been released without further police action.

Two men, aged 19 and 49, and a 71-year-old woman had been held on suspicion of murder after the 19-year-old went missing in Swanage, Dorset.

Following the discovery of a woman's body on Saturday, police say there were no injuries to "suggest any other person was involved in her death".

The three people arrested, who had been released under investigation, have now been released without further action.

"Following the results of the post-mortem examination and other ongoing investigative enquiries, we have concluded that no one else was involved in Gaia's death," Detective Superintendent Paul Kessell, of Dorset Police, said.

"As such we have today, Monday 20 November, released from our investigation two men aged 19 and 49 and a 71-year-old woman, all from Swanage, who had been arrested and were assisting with our inquiries."

The force said the arrests would have caused "stress and anxiety" but said it had an obligation to explore every possible line of inquiry in a missing person investigation.

"Our aim was not only to find Gaia but to find out what happened to her," said DS Kessell.

The teenager, who suffered from epilepsy, was last seen in Manor Gardens, Swanage, at about 4pm on 7 November.

The body, which has not yet been formally identified, but which officers say they are confident is Gaia, was found on land near Swanage on Saturday, close to where clothes were discovered in a field near cliffs.

Hundreds of people had joined a search for the missing teenager on Saturday, scouring countryside and coastline in Dorset.

Tributes have since poured in, with Gaia's twin sister Maya Pope-Sutherland thanking all those who turned out to look for her, and saying she was "heartbroken".

"Can't find any words right now. Gaia is my everything and I am heartbroken. I thank everyone who was involved in searching for my beautiful twin. Going to make her so proud," she wrote on Facebook.

Gaia's father Richard Sutherland earlier said he feared his daughter's epilepsy may have played a part in her disappearance as doctors warned her that she was at risk of sudden death from the condition.

On Saturday, her elder sister Clara Pope said: "She is the absolute light of my life. So beautiful, so emotionally wise and intelligent and so passionate and artistic and creative... I will always, always, always be one of three."