Mother Gaynor Lord was on HRT and epilepsy medication and had watched a cold swimming TV show before drowning in a river, inquest hears
Missing mother Gaynor Lord had watched a TV show about cold water swimming shortly before she was found dead in a river, an inquest has been told.
Missing mother Gaynor Lord had watched a TV show about cold water swimming shortly before she was found dead in a river, an inquest has been told.
Ms Lord, 55, was seen running through Norwich city centre in December last year before she was reported missing - after failing to return home from her job at the Jarrolds department store in the city.
Her body was pulled from the River Wensum by police divers a week later. The inquest into her death, which opened in April, gave the cause of death as immersion and drowning.
The inquest, which reopened and concluded today, also heard Ms Lord had been on a course of hormone replacement therapy for the menopause and medication for epilepsy at the time of her death.
Norfolks senior coroner Jacqueline Lake, recording a conclusion of death by misadventure, said that she was satisfied Ms Lord intended to enter the water but I do find she didnt intend to die by her actions.
Gaynor Lord was found dead in a river in Norwich a week after she disappeared last December
She was seen leaving work smiling at the Jarrold department store, with no indication anything was wrong
CCTV then showed her running across Norwich city centre (left) and along streets close to Wensum Park (right). She was not seen again
Police recovered her body a week after she was last seen from the River Wensum. A coroner has ruled she died as a result of misadventure
Ms Lake told Tuesdays hearing in Norwich: I have heard evidence she had recently watched a programme about cold water swimming and that was something she talked about in the recent past both with her husband and a friend.
Detective Sergeant Mike Cox said, in a report read to the hearing by the coroners officer, that Ms Lords body was not clothed and had been 2.5 metres underwater.
No alcohol or drugs of abuse were detected in her blood and there was no evidence she had been assaulted, Mr Cox said.
Ms Lords husband, Clive Lord, said in a statement read out by the coroner: Gaynor had recently watched a TV show about swimming in ice cold water.
Shes never done it herself but I dont know if in her confused state she may have been thinking about this.
I dont know this for sure - its just me thinking about why she would enter the water.
He continued: Theres no reason for her to be at Wensum Park. Its not a park weve ever been to before.
The only reason I can think she went there is so we couldnt find her.
He said he had last seen her before she left for work and they had spoken about planning a holiday to Japan the next year.
Mr Lord added there had been no arguments or disagreements.
The coroner said that Ms Lords mental health was noted as stable in January 2023, but added: However there was some evidence in the more recent past that she was acting out of character.
Detective Sergeant Mike Cox said, in a report read to the hearing by the coroners officer, that Ms Lords body was not clothed and had been 2.5 metres underwater.
Gaynor Lords disappearance sparked a high-profile appeal by Norfolk Police to trace her whereabouts
Her body was found in the River Wensum a week after she went missing. Tributes were left at the scene by friends and locals
Police said from an early stage there were no signs of anyone else being involved in Gaynor Lords death (pictured: Ch Supt Dave Buckey speaking to media after her body was found)
The case was compared to the disappearance of Nicola Bulley, and officers in that case were drafted in to assist
In the police report, Mr Cox said that analysis of Ms Lords phone showed that on the afternoon of her disappearance she sent a message saying help to a contact in her phone who had died some time ago.
In a further message, Ms Lord wrote that she was going crazy and can feel the fear.
The coroner said that in a string of messages she said she didnt know what she was doing.
Medical details in a police report read to the hearing said that Ms Lord agreed to start HRT in March 2023.
The coroner said that Ms Lord had suffered a large epileptic seizure on December 4 2023, a few days before her disappearance, adding that this was her first large seizure for some time.
She said she could make no finding in relation to her mental health.
Ms Lord, of King Street, Norwich, had a previous mental health episode in 2011, but the coroner said: Theres no diagnosis of mental ill health.
In 2011, Ms Lord had been taken to hospital after she had been in a pub waiting for aliens to pick her up or take her away, her husband said.
He said that at the time doctors were considering sectioning her but they allowed her to come home, adding we think she screwed up her tablets and had a reaction.
Mr Cox said that phone analysis indicated that between 4.10pm and 4.30pm on December 8 2023 Ms Lord was looking at pictures of her family and of her dog, which her husband said had died around a year earlier.
Gaynor Lord had been married for many years, had children and led a stable life, the coroner said.
The evidence is she enjoyed her part-time work at Jarrolds (department store) for Bullards gin.
It was also reported by The Sun that a friend had been told by Gaynor she wanted to be like Nicola - a reference to Nicola Bulley, 45, who disappeared whilst walking her dog in late January 2023.
Gaynor Lord had been seen at Norwich Cathedral (rear of photo) before she disappeared. Her belongings were found scattered in Wensum Park
CCTV showed her leaving the cathedral on December 8 at around 3.17pm, shortly before she was last seen. She was found a week later
Mortgage adviser Ms Bulley, a mother of two, was found in the River Wyre around three weeks after she vanished amidst a flurry of conspiracy theories shared on TikTok and criticism of the police investigation into her disappearance.
Gaynors disappearance - of a middle-aged woman who seemingly disappeared for no reason, leaving her personal items behind - immediately prompted comparisons to Ms Bulleys case.
Some of her possessions including clothing, jewellery and a mobile phone were found scattered across Wensum Park, which sits on the banks of the river of the same name.
A high profile campaign appealing for information was launched by Norfolk Police, with several minutes of CCTV footage showing Ms Lords last known movements released in the days after she was reported missing.
Officers from Lancashire Constabulary who were involved in the Nicola Bulley case were called in to assist with the search owing to the similarities between the two disappearances.
Ultimately, tragically, Gaynor was found in the river close to where her possessions were found.
Police said shortly after the discovery that there were no signs of anyone else being involved in the death - confirmed today by the coroner, who ruled that she died due to misadventure.
The Eastern Daily Press reported the hearing was attended by members of Ms Lords family, including her daughters, sister and mother.
Addressing family members of Ms Lord who attended the inquest, the coroner said: I would like to offer you my sympathy at the loss of your mother, sister and daughter, and pass on my sympathy to your father please.
