Gaia Pope: Teen was anxious before death, inquest hears

A teenager whose disappearance prompted a major coastal search was "anxious" about the release of her alleged rapist before her death, an inquest has heard.

The body of 19-year-old Gaia Pope was discovered 11 days after she went missing in Swanage, Dorset, in 2017.

Miss Pope suffered with epilepsy, and a post-mortem examination concluded she had died of hypothermia.

Jurors at Dorset Coroner's Court were told the inquest into her death would last about 11 weeks.

Opening the hearing in Bournemouth, senior coroner for Dorset, Rachael Griffin, said: "I expect the main issues to be the medical care provided to Gaia, the actions of those in Dorset Police following concerns for her welfare and the search."

The coroner explained to the court that Miss Pope had told her family in 2015 that she had been raped the previous year.

"She made a report to the police, police investigated and the alleged perpetrator denied the allegation," Ms Griffin said.

"He was not charged or convicted.

"Approximately a year later he was convicted for sexual offences to other victims and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment... at the time of her disappearance, Gaia was anxious about his imminent release."

The coroner said Miss Pope suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and had last been assessed by a mental health team at Dorset Healthcare just over two weeks before she disappeared.

Ms Griffin added that the teenager had been due to meet with officers from Dorset Police on the day she went missing about indecent images she had been sent on social media.

The coroner said Miss Pope had been at her aunt's house on 7 November - the day she went missing - and had seemed "very unsettled" and was later described as "behaving irrationally" by a friend's grandmother.

Her body was found in undergrowth near a clifftop path, between Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point, 11 days later on 18 November.

The inquest continues.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].