Inquest opened into death of Gaynor Lord - Lancashire woman whose disappearance mystified the nation

An inquest has been opened into the death of missing mother-of-three Gaynor Lord, whose body was recovered from a river in Norwich after a week-long search.

The 55-year-old who was originally from Lancashire, disappeared after leaving work early in Norwich city centre at 2.45pm on December 8 last year. She was captured rushing to the cathedral grounds on CCTV, and tried to call her friend Julie Butcher that afternoon.

Speaking shortly afterwards, Ms Butcher told Sky News: "She was quite feisty sometimes, in a funny way, we were both from Lancashire so we had that in common.”

Mrs Lord’s half-brother, Allan Weston, 43, lives in Blackpool, but it is not known which part of Lancashire Gaynor came from.

Sad finding

Specialist divers eventually discovered a body in the River Wensum, which was recovered on December 15. An inquest into her death was opened and adjourned in Norwich today, with her provisional medical cause of death given as “immersion and drowning”, a coroner’s officer said. A full inquest hearing is due to take place on October 1.

Norfolk Police had previously indicated that the death of Ms Lord, of King Street, Norwich appeared to be “consistent with drowning”. The force said that a post-mortem examination found “no indication of third-party involvement”.

Ms Lord’s belongings were previously found in Wensum Park, about 1.5 miles from her workplace at Jarrolds department store, and her coat was discovered in the river that runs through the park. Police said Ms Lord’s clothing, mobile phone, glasses and jewellery – including two rings, were discovered at various locations in the park.

Lancashire Police

Police previously confirmed they consulted officers from Lancashire Constabulary who worked on the search for Nicola Bulley. Ms Bulley’s body was found in the River Wyre in Lancashire on February 19 last year.

The Lancashire force was criticised over its handling of that investigation and the disclosure of Ms Bulley’s personal information.

More on the Nicola Bulley report here