Gaia Pope death: Police actions to be examined in inquest

Gaia Pope's body was found 11 days after she went missing in November 2017

"Actions or omissions" by police may have contributed to the death of a teenager whose body was found 11 days after she went missing, a pre-inquest review has heard.

Gaia Pope, 19, was found near the Dorset coastal path in November 2017 following a major search.

Rachael Griffin, senior coroner for Dorset, said a wide-ranging inquest into her death would be held.

The police investigation would form part of the inquest, she said.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating Dorset Police's missing person inquiry.

Miss Pope's sister Clara Pope-Sutherland (left), her twin Maya Pope-Sutherland (centre) and cousin Marienna Pope-Weidemann laid flowers on the second anniversary of her death

The coroner said she was satisfied after reading the IOPC report that "actions or omissions by Dorset Police may have contributed to Gaia's death".

Bournemouth Coroner's Court was told a jury inquest will be held into her death and will hear evidence about how Dorset Police handled the missing person investigation.

Ms Griffin said the inquest would be closely scrutinising what Dorset Police did from 7 November, the day Miss Pope disappeared, until 11 November, the date she is believed to have died.

Rape allegation

Following her disappearance, searches by hundreds of volunteers, police, the coastguard and police helicopter were carried out in the Swanage area.

Miss Pope's body was found by police on 18 November 2017, close to where items of her clothing had been found two days earlier.

A post-mortem examination concluded she died of hypothermia.

Dorset Police is also being investigated by the IOPC over how it handled a previous rape allegation by Miss Pope.

In November 2019, her family called on any other survivors of the sex offender she had accused to come forward.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, representing the family, told the court that Miss Pope's deteriorating mental health before her death was triggered by being raped in 2015, the subsequent "shortcomings" of Dorset Police's investigation and the prospect of her alleged attacker being released from prison.

The coroner said she is yet to decide how much detail about the police's handling of the allegation will be reviewed.

In a statement released on behalf of the family, Miss Pope's cousin Marienna Pope-Weidemann said the inquest would have a "mandate to leave no stone unturned in the search for answers."

She said: "For 810 days [since Miss Pope's body was found], deadlines have been delayed and decisions made behind closed doors. Even today a great many questions remain unanswered."

The inquest has been provisionally listed for 18 January 2021.