UK - Gaia Pope, 19, found deceased, Swanage, Dorset, 7 Nov 2017 #2

[Tortoise]

Things don't always fit into tidy boxes though.
Didn't somebody say earlier that feeling hot and taking off her clothes might be connected with her epilepsy, or the meds? Perhaps she felt hot again after running to the fields. She was obviously in a disturbed state of mind.

That's more like it to my mind. Either foul play or some other erratic behaviour which should have raised alarm, and may have been the reason for being taken to the aunts (and doctors referral) and running away from the aunts.

 

[Squamous]

I expect the inquest will shed some light on this stuff.

 

[PaulR]

<modsnip>

Gaia's father has expressed his sympathies to GE and his family for what they went through (at least according to the DM article). He's a good man to have that level of empathy.

 

[Shiressleuth]

We won't know for certain what happened until the inquest, and even then only if the autopsy can actually reveal why she died. Until then it is all just speculation.

i agree. Also the toxicology report is not complete yet. The police did not say there were no injuries at all, just no injuries indicating anyone else was involved, so there could be accidental or other injuries IMO.

 

[Shiressleuth]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-42064624

 

[evans242]

I have heard from someone who knows a family member of one of the people who found her, so take it with a grain of salt, but she was found in the middle of a bush and it looked like she had crawled in there so it was probably a case of terminal burrowing due to hypothermia. It would also explain why she wasn't found for 11 days as you would need to crawl around the fields on your hands and knees to see her.

I am pretty sure that daily mail article about the CCTV times is wrong. The CCTV in Morrison Road showed 3.40pm. If it was still on summer time then it would have actually been 2.40pm. The problem is she was last seen on CCTV at St Michael's Garage at 2.55pm when she was on the way into town. So she either teleported from Morrison Road to the garage to buy an ice cream before teleporting back to the house, or the daily mail is talking bollocks like usual.

Hello John, I think you deserve a big thank you for all the useful information you've posted over this very sad time.
I think a lot hoped you would post at least once or twice during the day for a reliable update. So Thank you from me.
With regard your above post mentioning poor Gaia being in the bush and people still doubting and feeling foul play at was at work I would like to mention that if as you say it was terminal burrowing, (I believe this is the case also), then usually the person can have scraped/scratched or muddied knees, hands, shins, and feet /toes, from getting into their burrow, as in 25% of cases they are naked. I have a feeling some of these marks would have been visible when she was found, and therefore one of the deciding factors on the cause.

 

[johnsmith99]

Hello John, I think you deserve a big thank you for all the useful information you've posted over this very sad time.
I think a lot hoped you would post at least once or twice during the day for a reliable update. So Thank you from me.
With regard your above post mentioning poor Gaia being in the bush and people still doubting and feeling foul play at was at work I would like to mention that if as you say it was terminal burrowing, (I believe this is the case also), then usually the person can have scraped/scratched or muddied knees, hands, shins, and feet /toes, from getting into their burrow, as in 25% of cases they are naked. I have a feeling some of these marks would have been visible when she was found, and therefore one of the deciding factors on the cause.

Hopefully the autopsy and coroners report will tell us what really happened that night. The forensics team would have been able to tell if she crawled into the bush or was put there by which direction the branches in the bush are facing. If she crawled in there herself all of the branches would be dragged in her direction where as if someone pushed her in there and then backed out of the bush the branches would be pulled back with them as they crawled out.

 

[Elainera]

I'm not used to Twitter either but I'm pretty sure by default it is California time so police tweet would be 1:54pm. If you click on the tweet it shows replies from/to. Perhaps a bigger Twit than us could clarify!

I can only share my experience, any tweet I look at shows my own time (IST), not the time when the tweet was posted in its country.

 

[Tortoise]

[FONT=&amp]A Dorset Police spokesperson was unable to confirm if the allegations were correct and issued the following statement:&#8220;Dorset Police never commented on or confirmed the identities of the people arrested during this investigation. That is our standard policy.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
&#8220;We are aware that family members of those arrested provided confirmation of their identities to the media and the media then chose to publish names, even without police confirmation.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
"This is of course the right of those family members and the media, but it's not at the desire or request of the police.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
&#8220;As the public would expect, we have a duty to investigate all potential lines of enquiry and must arrest people for any suspected offences, to ensure a fair legal process that protects those people.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]There is also a legal requirement to inform when arrests have been made in an investigation, as this changes its legal status and creates different expectations in how the media should report a case.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
&#8220;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 upcoming coroner's inquest and any other subsequent legal action.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
&#8220;We have released those arrested from investigation quickly as events have developed, recognised the impact it will have had on them and made it clear publicly they will 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.&#8221;

http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/gaia-pope-family-explain-why-808768
[/FONT]

 

[Cherwell]

I am glad they have made that clear.

It still seems wrong to me that someone else, even if it's a relative, is free to publicise the names of suspects. I would be furious if someone gave my name to the media in those circumstances.

I note that “Police will have had multiple grounds for arrest".

 

[Supernovae]

Can someone help me out with the timeline? When was Gaia reported missing in relation to when she turned up at the Dinch/Elseys. It seems odd that they wouldn't have told her family/the police immediately if she left in the dire mental state she apparently did.

 

[Elainera]

GE might have thought the news of the arrests will find its way into the papers anyway, it's not a large town after all, neighbors might have seen it, so better to speak up immediately and defend his family.

Just trying to come up with a reason why he named them to the press.

 

[flute4peace]

[FONT=&amp]A Dorset Police spokesperson was unable to confirm if the allegations were correct and issued the following statement:“Dorset Police never commented on or confirmed the identities of the people arrested during this investigation. That is our standard policy.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
“We are aware that family members of those arrested provided confirmation of their identities to the media and the media then chose to publish names, even without police confirmation.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
"This is of course the right of those family members and the media, but it's not at the desire or request of the police.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
“As the public would expect, we have a duty to investigate all potential lines of enquiry and must arrest people for any suspected offences, to ensure a fair legal process that protects those people.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]There is also a legal requirement to inform when arrests have been made in an investigation, as this changes its legal status and creates different expectations in how the media should report a case.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
“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 upcoming coroner's inquest and any other subsequent legal action.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
“We have released those arrested from investigation quickly as events have developed, recognised the impact it will have had on them and made it clear publicly they will 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.”

http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/gaia-pope-family-explain-why-808768
[/FONT]

This is a well-worded statement

Sent from my SCH-I435L using Tapatalk

 

[Squamous]

If nothing else, GE’s actions have made me double check with my husband that he won’t talk to the papers if I was ever arrested for something.

 

[Cherwell]

If nothing else, GE&#8217;s actions have made me double check with my husband that he won&#8217;t talk to the papers if I was ever arrested for something.

:behindbar: :blah: :shush:

 

[johnsmith99]

One thing that may be worth pointing out. In the CCTV of her running to the house she may have just been running because it was tipping down with rain and she didn&#8217;t want to get wet. It was raining all afternoon and evening in Swanage on the 7th November.

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

It depends on what type of seizure someone is having, the parts of the brain it happens in and its severity. The on-the-ground "swallowing your tongue" description is almost a trope. That's not literally what happens.

My understanding of epilepsy is as a seizure - on the ground, convulsing, in danger of swallowing her tongue, not as an urge to remove clothing and run. It looks like this is being investigated as a murder.

 

[Cinnalauda]

I've been dipping in and out of Websleuths while this case unfolded. I'm so sorry for Gaia and her family, whatever happened to her. I spotted this article today detailing the vigil on Saturday and saw some info I hadn't seen in MSM yet. Apologies if it has already been disclosed here but I thought it made more sense as to why her body wasn't found earlier. Hope I'm ok to post this snippet.

[FONT=&quot]&#8220;The area where Gaia was found was deep within very thick gorse and undergrowth, close to the cliff edge...would have made it incredibly difficult for even the NPAS helicopter to see her using high-tech thermal imaging. It also required the expertise of specialist recovery officers to reach her.

Source: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/NE...ht_vigil_to_be_held_for_Gaia_Pope_in_Swanage/
[/FONT]

 

[mrazda71]

I've been dipping in and out of Websleuths while this case unfolded. I'm so sorry for Gaia and her family, whatever happened to her. I spotted this article today detailing the vigil on Saturday and saw some info I hadn't seen in MSM yet. Apologies if it has already been disclosed here but I thought it made more sense as to why her body wasn't found earlier. Hope I'm ok to post this snippet.

[FONT=&quot]“The area where Gaia was found was deep within very thick gorse and undergrowth, close to the cliff edge...would have made it incredibly difficult for even the NPAS helicopter to see her using high-tech thermal imaging. It also required the expertise of specialist recovery officers to reach her.

Source: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/NE...ht_vigil_to_be_held_for_Gaia_Pope_in_Swanage/
[/FONT]

I can understand them not finding her body but, I still feel as though her light coloured clothing and white shoes surely would've been visible from above [emoji848]

 

[johnsmith99]

I can understand them not finding her body but, I still feel as though her light coloured clothing and white shoes surely would've been visible from above [emoji848]

It will be interesting to see if the family make an FOI request to the police for the helicopter footage recorded during the search to see if the police did miss the clothing or Gaia.