The police search for mum Gaynor Lord who went missing last week continues today with a number of questions still unanswered. Ms Lord, 55, vanished after she left work early at the Jarrolds department store in Norwich’s London Street last Friday (December 8).
She was spotted on CCTV walking towards Norwich Cathedral, where she stayed for about 30 minutes before moving on to Queen Street and several other parts of the city before her final sighting in St Augustines Street at about 4pm. Ms Lord’s belongings were found scattered in Wensum Park about one-and-a-half miles away from the shop where she worked.
One witness claims to have seen her practising yoga in the park at the time she disappeared, with Norfolk police believing that the most likely outcome is that she is found in the River Wensum, which runs through the park. Divers are currently searching the area.
As the hunt continues, Express.co.uk takes a look at five of the biggest unanswered questions about Gaynor Lord’s disappearance.
Why did Gaynor Lord leave work early?
Ms Lord’s shift last Friday was expected to end at 4pm, but she was spotted rushing from the store at about 2.45pm, more than an hour early.
Police have been unable to explain why this happened and her friends and family have said this is out of character for her.
Was she behaving out of character?
Ms Lord’s family have said that leaving work early was not like her, with police saying they “can’t explain” some of the woman’s behaviour in CCTV footage.
One witness Rosie Richards, claims to have seen Ms Lord practicing yoga in Wensum Park. She said: “She was sort of putting her coat down on the floor and sort of performing a yoga pose. It just seemed a bit off at this time because obviously, it was starting to get dark.”
Detectives working on the case say they have been unable to establish Ms Lord’s state of mind when she went missing with “any degree of confidence”.
Her friend Julie Butcher says she seemed “fine” when they met last Tuesday. She told the BBC: “We were talking. She was a bit busy but we were talking about Christmas and she seemed fine, no different to the usual Gaynor. She was quite upbeat and happy.”
What has happened to Gaynor Lord’s possessions?
Police found a number of Ms Lord’s possessions in the park close to the river where the search is taking place.
A mobile phone, glasses and other items of clothing have been found in Wensum Park, while her coat has been found in the River Wensum.
Why did she make the call to her friend?
One of Ms Lord’s friends Julie Butcher said she received two calls from Ms Lord around the time she left the store, but said she was devastated that she had to tell her she was “too busy” to speak with her.
She tried to call her back later but Ms Lord did not pick up and Ms Butcher said the second call “sounded like a pocket call, I could hear movement in her pocket”.
The first call was made at 2.15pm, 30 minutes before she left the store, while the second was made at 4.15pm just after she was last sighted.
Ms Butcher says she tried to call her back numerous times since the disappearance but has been unable to get through.
Where did Gaynor Lord go after her final sighting?
Ms Lord was last seen on CCTV in St Augustines Street just after 4pm walking in the direction of Wensum Park, where she was spotted by a member of the public “practising yoga”.
Police believe Ms Lord entered the River Wensum during her time in the park. Officers from Norfolk police are currently conducting sonar searches in the River Wensum.
Chief superintendent Dave Buckley from Norfolk police said: “We’re putting sonar equipment across the river, which is quite detailed in allowing us to try and target divers to where we think there might be objects.
“But equally, it’s very, very challenging. The river is very, very full of water with all the rain, full of lots of debris. The divers can see about one foot in front of them.
“So it’s an extraordinarily challenging environment for them to work in so it’s slow, methodical at the moment, working with equipment and it will take probably a couple of days to get to a position where we’re kind of content with what we’ve done. It may even be longer.”
A police dive team assisting the search for mother-of-three Gaynor Lord has carried out checks at a specific part of the River Wensum in Norwich and an orange buoy has been placed on the spot.
An Environment Agency search boat was stationed next to the buoy on Friday morning as a dive team truck arrived at the area just after 11am.
Two members of the dive team could be seen surveying the area, appearing to check if the water was safe to enter.
The buoy was positioned around 100 metres down stream from where the main focus of Thursday’s search for Ms Lord had taken place.
Police divers with flippers could be seen ready to enter the water in a park area further along the river but after a phone call was received, their kit was packed up and personnel got back in their truck and rediverted.
