Gaynor Lord: What we know and don’t know about missing Norwich woman
Gaynor Lord was last seen on Friday afternoon as she left work early from Norwich city centre. (PA) Police searching for missing mother Gaynor Lord[1] are “linking in” with the force that worked on the Nicola Bulley[2] case earlier this year. Ms Lord, 55, was last seen on the afternoon of Friday, 8 December, as she left work early from Norwich city centre.
Norfolk Constabulary released footage of her last-known whereabouts on Wednesday as part of a public appeal for information. Norwich policing commander Superintendent Wes Hornigold has now confirmed that they are working with Lancashire Constabulary in the search for Ms Lord. He told LBC: “We will absolutely – and have done – be linking in with Lancashire Constabulary to understand any of the lessons learned from that inquiry.
“We’ve already had meetings with the National Crime Agency in terms of understanding any specific skills and knowledge in respect to water searching.” On Wednesday, police released CCTV footage of Ms Lord’s last-known moments. The force and specialist diving teams are attempting to trace Ms Lord, who has now been missing for six days[3].
On Tuesday, four days into the search, Hornigold said that there was “no evidence” that she had come into harm. However, he said that “there is a real possibility” she had entered the water, close to where her possessions were found. Here, Yahoo News UK breaks down what we know – and what we don’t know – about the disappearance of Gaynor Lord.
Police have released footage of her last-known whereabouts. (Norfolk Constabulary)
Gaynor Lord was last seen on Friday afternoon. (Norfolk Constabulary)
What we know
Mother-of-three Ms Lord was last seen on London Street in Norwich city centre on the afternoon of Friday, 8 December as she left work early.
She works as a retail assistant for Bullards Gin at Jarrolds department store and finished work at 2.45pm, despite not being due to leave until 4pm. CCTV captured her leaving the store on Bedford Street and she was last seen on London Street walking towards Norwich Cathedral. The footage shows the 55-year-old walking to and from the cathedral on Queens Street before continuing to walk along St George’s Street at 3.49pm.
She is then seen walking along St Crispins Road towards Pitt Street and finally up St Augustines Street at 4.01pm, the last sighting of her on CCTV. Story continues Watch: Gaynor Lord: CCTV shows missing Norwich mother’s last known movements
Ms Lord’s clothing, mobile phone, glasses and jewellery – including two rings, were discovered at various locations in Wensum Park, around 1.5 miles away from her workplace, by a member of the public at around 8.10pm. Her coat was found in the River Wensum in the park. Police managed to identify the items as Ms Lord’s using an ID in her bag, and when they visited her home they discovered she had not returned and it was established she was missing.
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They said her disappearance is “out of character” and specialist officers have been searching the water, while sonar equipment has reportedly been deployed, but turned up nothing. Norwich policing commander Superintendent Wes Hornigold said: “Today we are releasing the footage of Gaynor’s last-known steps on Friday afternoon before she went missing. “We hope this will help to jog the memory of anyone who may have seen her in the city that afternoon or who may have footage of her journey.
Police and fire teams searching the river at Wensum Park for Gaynor Lord on Tuesday. (SWNS)
“We are particularly keen on hearing from anyone who may have seen Gaynor in the cathedral grounds, which she enters at 2.50pm and leaves at 3.23pm. It’s not clear where she goes inside the cathedral grounds during this time, so we’re keen to hear from anyone who may have seen her there. “We are continuing our extensive searches but would appeal to the public to come forward with any information which may help to find Gaynor.
In the footage you can clearly see what she was wearing when she went missing. “This is a particularly stressful time for her family and specialist officers continue to provide support.”
Gaynor Lord works as s a retail assistant for Bullards Gin, which has a concession stand at Jarrolds, in Norwich. (Google) On Monday, sonar equipment was deployed by Norfolk Police’s marine unit, Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, and the coastguard – but nothing was discovered.
The search of the River Wensum resumed on Tuesday and the park was once again closed to the public. Drones and teams in inflatable boats were seen in the river. Ms Lord’s daughter Alexandra has posted a plea for information for her mother on Facebook.
She wrote: “Please share, if anyone knows anything please do contact the police! We want her home!” When she disappeared, Ms Lord was wearing a white shirt and yellow tank top with a large olive-colour coat over the top with a scarf.
She is described as white, 5ft 6in tall, and has a blonde shoulder-length bob.
Gaynor Lord’s belongings were discovered in Wensum Park in Norwich. (Google)
What we don’t know
While the approximate timings of when Ms Lord was last seen are know, the exact time of her disappearance on 8 December is currently not known. Police are now investigating the five-and-a-half hour gap between when she was seen walking along London Street at 2.35pm and when a member of the public contacted them after finding her clothing at around 8.10pm that evening. An eyewitness who claims to have seen someone matching Ms Lord’s description in the park at around 4pm, who “removed her coat and performed a yoga pose”, according to Norwich Evening News[4], although police have not yet confirmed whether the woman was Ms Lord.
Police sources reportedly told The Sun[5] that Ms Lord may have met a “mystery person” at Norwich Cathedral before her disappearance – but officers still maintain that there is no evidence of third-party involvement at this stage,
With her whereabouts still a mystery, police are only able to speculate on whether Ms Lord entered the water, while officers have so far not said they believe she was the victim of an attack, only stressing that the investigation remained a “missing person inquiry at the moment”.
Ms Lord’s reason for finishing work over an hour before she was due to has not been determined, while a report of the sighting of a woman matching Ms Lord’s description in the park has so far not been confirmed as being Ms Lord.
References
- ^ missing mother Gaynor Lord (uk.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ Nicola Bulley (uk.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ missing for six days (uk.news.yahoo.com)
- ^ according to Norwich Evening News (www.eveningnews24.co.uk)
- ^ Police sources reportedly told The Sun (www.thesun.co.uk)