Gaynor Lord died by misadventure in Norwich river, inquest hears

A mother-of-three whose body was recovered from a city’s river after a week-long police search had recently watched a television show about cold water swimming, an inquest heard.

Gaynor Lord, 55, was recovered from the River Wensum in Norwich, on 15 December 2023, after failing to return home from work a week earlier.

Norfolk Coroner’s Court heard she died by immersion and drowning.

Senior coroner Jacqueline Lake said she believed Mrs Lord intended to enter the water but did not intend to take her own life and concluded she died by misadventure.

The coroner said Ms Lord was on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for the menopause and was taking medication for epilepsy.

Ms Lake said Ms Lord’s mental health was “noted as stable” in January 2023 but “there was evidence in the more recent past that she was acting out of character”.

A statement from her husband Clive Lord, read out in court, said: “Gaynor had recently watched a TV show about swimming in ice cold water.

“She’s never done it herself but I don’t know if in her confused state she may have been thinking about this.”

He said there was “no reason” for her to be in Wensum Park and it was not a park they had ever visited together.

Mr Lord said he had seen his wife before she went to work and they had discussed planning a holiday to Japan.

Ms Lord had been working as a retail assistant on a gin counter at Norwich department store Jarrolds and on the day she went missing, CCTV footage showed her leaving work an hour earlier than expected at about 14:45 GMT.

A large search operation began when her belongings, including clothing, jewellery and a mobile phone, were found scattered across Wensum Park to the north of the city centre.

Specialist divers and teams from across England assisted with the search.

Det Sgt Mike Cox told the court her body was found “not clothed” and had been 2.5m underwater.

Norfolk Police previously said it did not suspect any “third-party involvement” and Det Sgt Cox said there was no evidence she had been assaulted, or had any alcohol or “drugs of abuse” in her blood system.