AN estate agent whose body was washed up on a beach three weeks after she disappeared had to be identified from dental records, an inquest heard today.
Chelsie Dack, 20, went missing during the first coronavirus lockdown in the early hours of April 20 from her flat in High Street, Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk.
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A huge police hunt was launched to find her involving police and coastguard helicopters, dog units and volunteers from Norfolk Lowland Search and Rescue.
The search was called off two days later after Norfolk Police confirmed it was believed she had entered the sea at Gorleston.
Officers said they had recovered CCTV showing her walking towards the seafront and the mouth of the River Yare.
A member of the public also recovered her mobile phone from the town’s pier.
Norfolk Coroner’s Court in Norwich heard today how her body was discovered on May 11 on the beach at Sizewell, Suffolk, around 25 miles from her home.
And Chelsie, who worked as a sales negotiator at Howards estate agents in Lowestoft, was identified by an odontologist, an expert in forensic dentistry.
Home Office pathologist Dr Nat Cary gave her cause of death as being “consistent with immersion in water”.
The inquest was adjourned for a full hearing on March 15.
At the time of her disappearance, Chelsie’s mum Dawn Howell described her daughter as “just the loveliest caring and beautiful young lady”.
Mrs Howell added that it was “out of character” for her to go missing and said she did not believe Chelsie had become depressed due to the coronavirus lockdown.
She said at the time: “I cannot get my head around this. It’s very out of the ordinary as she is the most bubbliest person.
“She really is so happy and cheerful. I’ve got no idea at all why she might have gone missing.”
Chelsie showed no sign of being under stress on the day she went missing, posting two selfies of herself smiling and sticking her tongue out.
But she did admit in a Facebook post three weeks before her disappearance that she found the coronavirus paramedic "scarier by the day."
She wrote: "I really underestimated this current situation, and I never really make a Facebook post but I wanted to tonight."
She added: "I don’t watch the news because I think it makes me feel worse but I see things and read about them online and it gets scarier by the day.
"I think everyone is going through something at the moment even if it means just being lonely for a second.”
Michael Smith, Senior Branch Manager at Howards estate agency in Lowestoft, paid tribute to his colleague after her body was found.
He said: “She brought the piece of jigsaw that completed us, that made each day a joy and a pleasure to be part of, and with her passing there is now a heart-shaped piece missing."
He added: “There is only one word that sums up our lost friend and to anybody that had the pleasure of speaking to her they would know that word is PERFECT.”
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