Gaynor Lord search: underwater teams look for missing 55-year-old in Norwich river

Gaynor Lord shown on CCTV leaving her job at Jarrolds department store in Norwich on 8 December before going missing

(Image credit: Norwich Police)

published 14 December 2023

Police are continuing to search for a 55-year-old woman who went missing in Norwich last Friday.

Gaynor Lord was last seen in the city centre on 8 December after leaving work. Her belongings were found "scattered throughout Wensum Park", which is about 1.5 miles from the department store where she works. The items included "clothing, a mobile phone, glasses and jewellery", said The Guardian. Police were able to identify Lord by the ID in her handbag.

Police have since released CCTV footage showing the married mother of three's last movements. Lord left Jarrolds department store at 2.45pm, "an hour and 15 minutes earlier than scheduled", said Sky News, and entered the grounds of Norwich Cathedral at 2.50pm before leaving at 3.23pm. Police said it was "not clear where she goes inside the cathedral grounds during this time" and appealed for any witnesses to come forward.

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Lord then made her way through the city centre towards Wensum Park, and was last seen at 4.01pm on St Augustines Street to the southeast of the park. Her olive-coloured coat was found in the River Wensum that runs alongside the park by police, who now believe that the "most likely scenario is that Gaynor entered the water".

Norwich police said it was “linking in” with Lancashire police to "understand any of the lessons learned" from the Nicola Bulley case. Bulley went missing while walking her dog in a Lancashire village in January; her body was found in a river 23 days later. Lancashire police told Sky News, however, that it was "not aware that they are giving formal assistance" in the search for Lord.

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Richard Windsor is a freelance writer for The Week Digital. He began his journalism career writing about politics and sport while studying at the University of Southampton. He then worked across various football publications before specialising in cycling for almost nine years, covering major races including the Tour de France and interviewing some of the sport’s top riders. He led Cycling Weekly’s digital platforms as editor for seven of those years, helping to transform the publication into the UK’s largest cycling website. He now works as a freelance writer, editor and consultant.