Inquest into the death of Gaynor Lord opened by coroner

The 55-year-old vanished after leaving work at Jarrolds early on the afternoon of December 8, 2023. Specialist divers retrieved her body from the River Wensum a week later on December 15.

An inquest into her death was opened today by assistant coroner Christopher Leach at Norfolk Coroner's Court.

It heard that her body was identified at the James Paget Hospital, Gorleston, by her husband.

The medical cause of death was given as "immersion and drowning" and a full inquest to determine the official cause of death will take place on October 1 this year.

The court, based at County Hall, Norwich, also heard that Ms Lord had been born in Blackpool on March 20, 1968, and lived at King Street in Norwich.

The high profile search for Ms Lord gripped the city for a week last December, making national headlines.

The mother-of-three was reported missing after she failed to return home from Jarrolds department store in the city centre, where she worked on a gin counter as a retail assistant.

CCTV footage showed her leaving work more than an hour earlier than expected before rushing through the city on foot.

Later that day her belongings, which included clothing, jewellery and a mobile phone, were found scattered across Wensum Park. 

Police launched a major search operation and were assisted by specialist teams from across England. 

Flowers were laid outside Wensum Park after Ms Lord's body was discovered. 

Following her death, Jarrolds issued a statement on social media. It said: "Our thoughts are with the family of Gaynor Lord at this extremely difficult time. 

"As someone who worked within the store she will be missed by all and we would like to pass on our collective condolences."

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