Third member of one family arrested in hunt for missing teen Gaia Pope

A third member of the one family has been arrested over the disappearance of a teen missing in the UK.

Gaia Pope, 19, was last seen on November 7 at an address in Manor Gardens in the coastal town of Swanage with concern growing for her welfare.

Police arrested 49-year-old Paul Elsey, who is from Swanage and who was known to Gaia, the BBC reports.

But he was released without charge just hours later. He was the third suspect from the same family to be arrested over the disappearance.

Four days before his arrest, his mother Rosermary Dinch, 71, and his nephew, Nathan Elsey, 19, were also arrested on suspicion of murder but were released without charge.

Forensic investigations are continuing at two properties in Manor Gardens, where those arrested are believed to live.

Murder detectives are focusing their forensic investigations on homes, cars and an area near a coastal path where Gaia's clothing was found.

Her family confirmed the clothing matched what she was believed to be wearing the day she went missing.

Gaia, who suffers from severe epilepsy, was last seen on CCTV running towards Rosemary Dinch’s home on Tuesday November 7 around 3:39pm.

Her family said she left that address around 4pm and was last seen wearing a “black fur-trimmed jacket, grey leggings, white trainers.”

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Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Friday, Gaia’s father Richard Sutherland said he was concerned his teen daughter’s epilepsy “played a big part” in her disappearance.

“There’s a lot to say about her, she is a typical teenager in many ways,” he said.

“She has a great spirit, she has a big heart, she is a very loving girl.

“She had great ambitions in her life to be in nursing or in some sort of health and social care and for a while now, the epilepsy has been holding her back.

“It’s entirely possible that her epilepsy has played a big part in this, and that has meant it’s been more difficult to find her.”

Further CCTV footage taken less than an hour before she disappeared shows her buying an ice cream in a petrol station.

Gaia's mother thanked people who have been organising searches for her daughter in the Wimborne area.

"Deepest gratitude and thanks. Desperation accumulative. Keep our heads and never give up,” she wrote on social media.

"We all need Gaia back so she can follow through on her life plan. Her talents are cross the board. Society stands to gain massively by getting her back.

"Gaia is dynamic fun, exceptionally intelligent compassionate and loving. Gaia is special indeed, so we best crack on discover the truth of things so we may bring her home very soon."

The family have also created a Find Gaia Facebook group to help co-ordinate search efforts.