Gaia Pope death: Arrested family want police apology

A 19-year-old wrongly suspected of Gaia Pope's murder has been "on the verge of a mental breakdown", his mother has said.

Nathan Elsey was detained alongside his grandmother Rosemary Dinch, 71, six days after Miss Pope, 19, disappeared.

Deborah Elsey said she had "no idea" why her son was a suspect and has called on Dorset Police to apologise.

The force, which has released the pair without charge, said officers would have had "multiple grounds for arrest".

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Mrs Elsey, a family friend of Miss Pope's, said her son's arrest was a "horrendous shock".

Her brother Paul Elsey was also arrested on suspicion of murder and later released.

Mrs Elsey said she and the three arrested family members were staying with her father Greg.

"We're still not in our homes and still have none of our personal effects. At the very least I'd like an apology," she said.

"We're going through every single emotion rolled into one - you don't know what you're feeling.

"One minute you want to cry for yourself, then you cry for Gaia and her family and then there's anger for police."

Miss Pope was reported missing from Swanage, Dorset, on 7 November.

Her body was found on Saturday 18 November in a field near the town.

A post-mortem examination conducted the next day did not identify any injuries to suggest the involvement of other people, Dorset Police said.

On Monday, the force announced Paul Elsey, Ms Dinch, and Nathan Elsey were to face no action.

It is treating the death as "unexplained" pending toxicology results.

In a statement the force said: "We appreciate our enquiries would have caused these individuals stress and anxiety, however we have an obligation in any missing person investigation to explore every possible line of enquiry."