A SUPPORT worker has spoken of her deep regret at not calling police after a 17-year-old girl in her care went missing and was later found dead.

Natasha West was visibly shaking as she told the inquest into the death of Sophie Read that she was working the night shift at Ownlife in Brighton on February 24, the evening the teenager went missing.

“I would like to say to the court that I should’ve reported [Sophie] missing to the police when she hadn’t returned by midnight,” said Miss West.

The inquest found Sophie died on February 25, 2020, after taking a cocktail of alcohol, heroin and cocaine following a night in an Airbnb flat in St Aubyns, Hove.

Sophie, who was originally from Worthing, was placed into the care of Ownlife by West Sussex County Council and was subject to an 11pm curfew and an upgraded safety plan after periods of self-harm and alcohol abuse.

The court heard the teenager had gone missing seven times since arriving at the home on January 27.

“She was quite difficult to get to know at first but I got on with her really well in the end,” said Miss West, who no longer works for Ownlife. “She was full of life.”

Around 2.30pm on the afternoon of February 24, Sophie spoke to her grandfather and arranged to stay at his house as she had a court appearance the following day, which he was to attend with her. This overnight stay was arranged in the presence of Gary Lockwood, manager at Ownlife.

In fact, the 17-year-old, who had a history of mental health issues and who was described in court as “extremely vulnerable and complex”, spent the night in the Airbnb flat with Reis Forde, 26, having arranged to meet him via Snapchat messages during the day.

The court heard that Sophie’s grandfather, Peter Reeve, spoke to Miss West at 12.15am on February 25 and told her his granddaughter was not at his home but was staying with a friend.

At that point, the court heard, Ownlife should have contacted the police.

Miss West told the court she tried to contact the teenager by phone after the call with Mr Reeve but there was no reply.

She added: “I just thought she would turn up like all the other times she had gone missing.”

Support workers at Ownlife are given training to follow required protocols when a young person in their care informs staff they are staying with a relative or friend, the court was told.

Mr Lockwood told the coroner that “unfortunately” Miss West did not adhere to the correct procedure.

“The police should have been informed that Sophie was missing,” said Mr Lockwood.

READ MORE: Teenager died after taking cocktail of alcohol, heroin and cocaine