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

[Cinnalauda]

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]

I'm not so sure, it sounds to me that it would have next to impossible under such thick undergrowth. I'm curious about the comment of using thermal imaging though, does this indicate they think she was there while alive and died in the same spot? Otherwise thermal imaging wouldn't be much help at all.

 

[mrazda71]

I'm not so sure, it sounds to me that it would have next to impossible under such thick undergrowth. I'm curious about the comment of using thermal imaging though, does this indicate they think she was there while alive and died in the same spot? Otherwise thermal imaging wouldn't be much help at all.

Pretty sure the clothing was found in the open field so should be spotted from above ...

 

[Shiressleuth]

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]

TY for posting this and I note it says toxicology tests are likely to take "a number of weeks".

 

[Cinnalauda]

Pretty sure the clothing was found in the open field so should be spotted from above ...

The article is referring to the body itself, and so am I. But you are right about the clothing. It seems like it should easily have been spotted by a helicopter. Though we don't know how long it was there for before it was discovered, or do we? I know it was after a search had already been carried out there (by the public?) so perhaps police didn't see why they would use helicopter there? I don't know how it works. (Sorry I've just been scanning these threads so apologies if I'm going over old ground.)

 

[mrazda71]

The article is referring to the body itself, and so am I. But you are right about the clothing. It seems like it should easily have been spotted by a helicopter. Though we don't know how long it was there for before it was discovered, or do we? I know it was after a search had already been carried out there (by the public?) so perhaps police didn't see why they would use helicopter there? I don't know how it works. (Sorry I've just been scanning these threads so apologies if I'm going over old ground.)

It's all odd and confusing really (with only the info we're party to to go on) ... we have to beleive that Gaia wasn't wandering up there for days and that the series of events is arrive in field, take off clothes, stumble across more fields - crawl into gorse bush and then die ... and yet, were told the field where the clothes were found was searched many times and I would hope, would be spotted by air searches....

 

[januarymay]

This case is very sad, the poor girl. It does sound very much like paradoxical undressing and terminal burrowing but were the temperatures low enough for hypothermia? could she have entered the water and got out?

 

[johnsmith99]

This case is very sad, the poor girl. It does sound very much like paradoxical undressing and terminal burrowing but were the temperatures low enough for hypothermia? could she have entered the water and got out?

Temperatures that night were around 4°C at sea level so with the altitude and wind and it was probably closer to freezing. It was raining which would cool her down even quicker and climbing that hill gets you sweaty so that would also increase the rate at which she cooled. Add in the fact that she wasn't wearing a coat so her clothes would have been saturated and you have all of the ingredients for hypothermia. Her epilepsy and any medication she was on could have also been a contributing factor.

 

[Cinnalauda]

It's all odd and confusing really (with only the info we're party to to go on) ... we have to beleive that Gaia wasn't wandering up there for days and that the series of events is arrive in field, take off clothes, stumble across more fields - crawl into gorse bush and then die ... and yet, were told the field where the clothes were found was searched many times and I would hope, would be spotted by air searches....

Yes it is very confusing and very sad. I hope we know more in time but I'm prepared for this case to be closed without the public knowing exactly what happened. Such is the way sometimes. I hope I'm wrong though, some closure would be nice, even if I didn't know her I still care about her.

 

[Mags54]

I'm not so sure, it sounds to me that it would have next to impossible under such thick undergrowth. I'm curious about the comment of using thermal imaging though, does this indicate they think she was there while alive and died in the same spot? Otherwise thermal imaging wouldn't be much help at all.

My thoughts exactly

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[Amonet]

I'm not so sure, it sounds to me that it would have next to impossible under such thick undergrowth. I'm curious about the comment of using thermal imaging though, does this indicate they think she was there while alive and died in the same spot? Otherwise thermal imaging wouldn't be much help at all.

There are thermal imaging tools that can find deceased persons. Instead of detecting the person's living body heat, they're looking for heat given off by decomp.

 

[Shiressleuth]

http://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/how-police-gaia-pope-case-831542

 

[Cherwell]

http://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/how-police-gaia-pope-case-831542

Because obviously DevonLive reporters would have done a much better job.
I hate these police-bashing articles.

 

[Shiressleuth]

Because obviously DevonLive reporters would have done a much better job.
I hate these police-bashing articles.

I don't think it's police bashing- I think they are legitimate questions. She was finally found only about a mile from where she was last seen, over the edge of a steep cliff side covered in gorse. Her clothes weren't found for a week and they weren't hidden. If they had found her that evening, she may not have died.
I'll have to go back and check but did friends, family and police start looking that evening?

 

[johnsmith99]

As far as I know the search started as soon as it was realised that Gaia was missing.

I walked up past the area where Gaia and her clothes were found and it looks like she entered the field where the clothes were found through a smaller entrance at the north end of the east wall, the entrance is now sealed with police tape. If that was the way she entered the field then that would explain why her clothes were found down the east side of the field. The gate at the other end is also high enough from the ground that she could have crawled underneath it.

You wouldn’t have seen the clothes from the footpath as the field slopes away from the footpath so it would have only been visible from the air or someone walking through the field.

 

[Shiressleuth]

As far as I know the search started as soon as it was realised that Gaia was missing.

I walked up past the area where Gaia and her clothes were found and it looks like she entered the field where the clothes were found through a smaller entrance at the north end of the east wall, the entrance is now sealed with police tape. If that was the way she entered the field then that would explain why her clothes were found down the east side of the field. The gate at the other end is also high enough from the ground that she could have crawled underneath it.

You wouldn’t have seen the clothes from the footpath as the field slopes away from the footpath so it would have only been visible from the air or someone walking through the field.

Did the search start that evening at 4 or 5 p.m. do you know? Or not until the next day? I'm not aware of when she was actually reported missing.

 

[molly67]

As far as I know the search started as soon as it was realised that Gaia was missing.

I walked up past the area where Gaia and her clothes were found and it looks like she entered the field where the clothes were found through a smaller entrance at the north end of the east wall, the entrance is now sealed with police tape. If that was the way she entered the field then that would explain why her clothes were found down the east side of the field. The gate at the other end is also high enough from the ground that she could have crawled underneath it.

You wouldn’t have seen the clothes from the footpath as the field slopes away from the footpath so it would have only been visible from the air or someone walking through the field.

Thanks John .... Is the field where clothes found private land and not used by the public ? eg dog walkers

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[johnsmith99]

Did the search start that evening at 4 or 5 p.m. do you know? Or not until the next day? I'm not aware of when she was actually reported missing.

I am not sure when the search was started but I think there was a helicopter flying over the town on the first night.

 

[johnsmith99]

Thanks John .... Is the field where clothes found private land and not used by the public ? eg dog walkers

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The field is private land so people wouldn't normally walk across it without trespassing. That probably doesn't stop people from using it as a shortcut as going through that field instead of along the footpath is about 100m shorter and less muddy.

 

[Cinnalauda]

There are thermal imaging tools that can find deceased persons. Instead of detecting the person's living body heat, they're looking for heat given off by decomp.

Ah that's very interesting. Thank you Amonet, I didn't know that.

 

[januarymay]

The field is private land so people wouldn't normally walk across it without trespassing. That probably doesn't stop people from using it as a shortcut as going through that field instead of along the footpath is about 100m shorter and less muddy.

I am surprised the police didn't ask landowners to check their land then, or search it themselves. 11 days really is a long time for someone so close especially with clothes in full view.