Gaia Pope: PC searched on his own for missing teen, inquest told

One police officer was responsible for "searching everywhere" for missing teenager Gaia Pope in the hours after she disappeared, an inquest has heard.

The 19-year-old's body was found 11 days after she went missing from her home in Swanage, Dorset, in 2017.

Dorset Coroner's Court was told a police helicopter was airborne and searching for Miss Pope five hours after her disappearance.

But before that, PC Jon Kuspert was searching on his own, jurors heard.

Miss Pope, who suffered with mental health problems and severe epilepsy, was reported missing on the afternoon of 7 November 2017.

The inquest in Bournemouth was told PC Kuspert began making inquires on foot around Swanage after the teenager was initially deemed to be at "medium risk".

Miss Pope's disappearance prompted a major search and rescue operation

PC Scott Mesher, a tactical flight officer at the time with the National Police Air Service, said he remembered speaking to PC Kuspert on the same evening.

"[PC Kuspert] said 'I am literally on my own here trying to search everywhere - can you help?'" PC Mesher told jurors.

"No one had a clue where she had gone. [PC Kuspert] was on his own - it was a big task on his own."

PC Mesher said the helicopter had a large area to search because it was possible Miss Pope had managed to walk a long distance in the five hours since she had gone missing.

However, he said the helicopter's thermal imaging camera meant it was a quicker and safer way to scour the clifftops at night than sending officers there in person.

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

Neil Cartwright, the base manager for the National Police Air Service in Bournemouth, told the court a delay of several hours in deploying for a search made a "huge" difference in its chances of success.

"We call it the 'limit of probability'," he said.

"At the time of the last sighting, whether they are on foot or a vehicle, that ring of where they could be without a direction of travel gets wider and wider, and wider."

The inquest has previously heard Miss Pope died of hypothermia, and her body was found in deep undergrowth.

The inquest continues.