A teenager whose disappearance sparked a major police inquiry may have called the emergency services several times on the day she vanished, an inquest has heard.
Gaia Pope was reported missing from her home near Swanage, Dorset, on November 7 2017 and her disappearance prompted a massive campaign from family and friends to find her.
The body of the 19-year-old, who suffered from severe epilepsy, was found by police search teams in undergrowth between Dancing Ledge and Anvil Point, close to the Swanage coastal path, 11 days later.
Knowledge of the calls has only emerged in a statement from an anonymous Dorset Police whistleblower to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is investigating the force’s response to the initial missing person inquiry.
The hearing in Bournemouth heard the identity of the officer – called Officer X – is currently only known to the coroner and the IOPC.
The officer has alleged in a statement to the police watchdog that Miss Pope had telephoned the force on the day she vanished and the calls were terminated by police because she was “abusive”.
Rachael Griffin, senior coroner for Dorset, told the hearing Officer X was already a witness to the inquest and in the future she would consider issues of anonymity and special measures for them.
If Officer X is to be believed, there is evidence of two items or documentation that have not been provided to me that could be very relevant to this inquest
The coroner asked Dorset Police to...
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