Gaia Kima Pope-Sutherland (2 July 1998 – 7-8 November 2017) was a British teenager who went missing in November 2017 at age 19. Her body was found 11 days after her disappearance.

Background

Early life Gaia Pope was born on 2 July 1998 in Swanage, Dorset, to Richard Sutherland and Kim Pope. She had a twin sister, Maya, as well as an older sister, Clara. She attended Brockenhurst College.

2013-2015 In 2013, Gaia Pope was provisionally diagnosed with epilepsy. In the following months and years, she received further appointments, diagnosis, and treatment for it.https://www.inquest.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=940adacf-29a6-4bcb-9b5d-2d385469f12b

In 2014, when Gaia was 16 years old, she began speaking online with Connor Hayes, then age 22, from Bournemouth, Dorset. After speaking online, Gaia and Hayes met in person. Gaia was exploited, drugged, and raped by Hayes. Hayes allegedly threatened Gaia, saying that he would kill her and her family if she told anyone what happened. He was already under investigation by Dorset Police for unrelated matters and was a known child sex offender. As a result of the incident, her mental and physical health declined.

In December 2015, Gaia disclosed the offences to her family and mental health professionals. In her first mental health crisis, she was admitted to a hospital on 15 December. However, she felt that the rape allegation was not believed by some health professionals, as her healthcare records referred to her having "delusions of sexual assault". The incident was reported to police, who arrested Hayes on suspicion of rape on 16 December. On 17 December, Gaia was discharged from the hospital into the care of the Dorset Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).

2016 In 2016, Gaia continued reaching out for community mental health support. Her epilepsy was worsening despite continuing to receive further treatment for it. Gaia also had weekly counselling sessions concerning her rape from the Dorset Sexual Trauma and Recovery Services (STARS).

On 15 June 2016, Gaia was told by Dorset Police over the phone that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Hayes. Whilst Hayes was not prosecuted for Gaia's allegation, in April 2016, he was charged with unrelated offences of taking an indecent moving image of a child, possession of indecent images of a child, and paying for the sexual services of a child.

In September 2016, Gaia was discharged from community mental health services for adolescents, and no onward referral was made for mental health services available to adults. Her support from Dorset Sexual Trauma and Recovery Services also ended.

On 24 November 2016, Gaia met in person with Dorset Police, who explained that the investigation into her rape by Hayes would face no further police action. It was alleged that Dorset Police discouraged Gaia from submitting a Victim's Right to Review, a scheme allowing victims to get the Crown Prosecution Service to review certain decisions, such as declining to start or stopping a prosecution. On 29 November 2016, Gaia engaged with community mental health services after being referred for psychiatric assessment.

In December 2016, Hayes pleaded guilty to the unrelated sexual offences and sent a screenshot to her family that he had sent her a friend request on Facebook. On 15 December 2016, Gaia was discharged from the community mental health services. Despite a discharge letter noting Gaia's PTSD and suggesting that other teams working with Gaia regarding her trauma would be beneficial, there is no evidence of any referrals concerning this.

2017 On 3 January 2017, Hayes again contacted Gaia via Facebook. She reported this to the police, seeking a protection order against him. An order was refused and no safeguarding referrals were made. On 13 January, Hayes was served with a Police Investigation Notice, which informed him that he may be arrested if he continued any further acts amounting to harassment.

In February 2017, Gaia was compulsorily admitted under the Mental Health Act to the St Ann's mental health hospital in Poole, Dorset. Whilst there, another patient sexually harassed Pope and she reported this to staff on 28 February. No action was taken after this harassment and no safeguarding referral was made. Two days after her report, Gaia was discharged, being assessed as low risk. No safeguarding referral or onward support was arranged. Gaia continued to engage with healthcare services concerning her epilepsy. During this time she had significant seizures.

In the summer of 2017, Gaia was anxious and distressed about the prospect of Hayes being released from prison. Hayes had been sentenced to two years in prison for unrelated child sexual offences in April 2017, and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for five years. She was also under increased stress due to the removal of her Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which were returned in full following a lengthy appeals process.

In October 2017, Gaia suffered a severe mental health crisis. Her mental health was assessed in hospital. However, despite her presentation of extreme distress, she was deemed to be low-risk and not suffering from an acute mental health disorder. As had happened previously, she was discharged without any ongoing support. Earlier in the month, a social worker had engaged with Gaia and her family, but was not informed of Gaia's mental health assessment nor her hospitalization.

In the autumn of 2017, Gaia experienced extreme stress due to fears that Hayes was due to be released from prison.

In November 2017, a male sent sexually explicit images on Facebook to Gaia. According to Gaia's sister, this triggered memories of the rape in 2014. Gaia filed a police report and was scheduled to arrive at the police station to discuss this on 7 November.

Disappearance Gaia was last seen in Swanage on 7 November 2017. She was due to attend a police station about a male sending her sexually explicit images and had a GP appointment booked for 5 pm that evening in which to request a referral to access community mental health services again.

Gaia and her family called Dorset Police to confirm the appointment after her initial police report but were dismissed by officers. At this point, both Gaia and her family tried to access support from Dorset Police and health services, with Gaia being in extreme distress. Gaia called for an ambulance during a mental health crisis. An ambulance was not dispatched, instead a clinician called Gaia's mother back later that day.

Before going missing, Gaia was with her aunt, Talia Pope, at her house in Swanage and was described as "unsettled". She called her twin sister before running out of the house at 3:40 pm. Dorset Police were contacted by her aunt at 3:42 pm, who reported concerns for her welfare, describing Gaia as having "some sort of episode". This information was added to the log for the incident Gaia had previously reported regarding being sent sexually explicit images earlier that month. Due to this, no missing person report was taken, including no risk assessment and officers not being dispatched to make enquiries. Her aunt called Dorset Police again at 4:24 pm to report Gaia as missing.

Just before 4 pm, a CCTV camera captured the last known sighting of Gaia alive in Swanage. Around this time, Gaia attended a property in Manor Gardens just off Morrison Road in Swanage. She banged on the door of Rosemary Dinch, the grandmother of Nathan Elsey, a friend of hers. Dinch answered, stating that Gaia was "very upset", sliding to the floor at one point. Dinch reportedly gave Gaia a hug, to which Gaia responded. Dinch stated that Gaia was not making sense, describing her as sweaty and that she had stripped to her underwear before getting dressed. Dinch described that Gaia left looking "panicked" in the direction of the high street.

Search and investigation Dorset Police, HM Coastguard, the National Police Air Service (NPAS) and volunteers from Dorset Search & Rescue (DorSAR) were involved in the search for Gaia. The search lasted ten days, starting on 8 November until the discovery of Gaia's body on 18 November.

Timeline of search and investigation Outlined below are some of the key moments in the investigation into the disappearance of Gaia Pope: