Gaynor Lord: What we know and don't know about missing Norwich woman

A body that was found in a river in the search for missing mother-of-three Gaynor Lord has been confirmed to be hers.

Lord was found by specialist divers in the River Wensum in Norwich on Friday, but she was not formally identified until Sunday, Norfolk Police said. Investigators said the cause of her death appears to be “consistent with drowning”, but cannot confirm how she died yet.

The force said it will await a Home Office toxicology report before confirming her cause of death. An inquest will also take place at a later date to establish what led to the 55-year-old's death.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, but a post-mortem examination found “no indication of third-party involvement”. Detectives are not treating her death as suspicious.

Chief Superintendent Dave Buckley said: “Although our searches have concluded, officers are continuing to work to establish the full circumstances surrounding Gaynor’s disappearance. We will pursue all lines of inquiry to understand why she went missing.”

Lord's husband Clive Lord is said to be in despair following the discovery of the body. A family friend told the Times: “Gaynor’s husband Clive is totally lost. He doesn’t understand at all what’s happened.”

Here, Yahoo News UK breaks down what we know - and don’t know - about the disappearance of Lord.

What we know

Police had been searching for Lord since she went missing on 8 December and had previously said there was a "high probability" she was in the river. At 12pm on 15 December Norfolk Police were seen recovering a body from the River Wensum in a black bag.

The discovery came after the orange buoy was positioned about 100 metres downstream from where the focus of the search had been the day before. A boat arrived with the dive team at 11am, with two specialist divers seen entering the water.

On Sunday, 17 December, the body was formally identified as belonging to Lord, which was announced the following day by police.

The discovery comes after police pieced together Lord's movements on 8 December:

• 2.44pm: she was working at the Bullards Gin counter in the basement at Jarrolds

• 2.46pm: Lord left Jarrolds via the store's loading bay in Bedford Street. She had not been due to finish her shift until 4pm

• 2.47pm: Lord walked into London Street past the Cosy Club restaurant

• 2.48pm: she walked along Queens Street towards Norwich Cathedral

• 3.22pm: Lord was seen in The Close at the cathedral entrance. She then put her coat on shortly before exiting through the archway

• 3.23pm: she was seen walking away from the cathedral in Queens Street

• 3.49pm: Lord was seen walking along St George’s Street near to the Playhouse theatre

• 3.53pm: she walked along St Crispins Road towards Pitt Street

• 4.01pm: last CCTV sighting of Lord, wearing glasses and a long coat, walking along St Augustines Street which was busy with passing traffic

• 8.10pm: police were alerted to Lord’s disappearance after her possessions were found in Wensum Park. She was identified by ID found in her handbag at the scene

Watch: Gaynor Lord: CCTV shows missing Norwich mother's last known movements

Investigators said they were unable to determine her state of mind when she left her place of work early despite extensive help from the people close to her.

Lord’s clothing that she had been wearing when she went missing - including a white shirt, yellow tank top, two rings, her mobile phone and glasses - had been found in the park in various locations. Her olive-coloured coat was discovered in the water.

A friend of Lord said she was “upbeat and happy” and talking about Christmas days before she disappeared. Julie Butcher spoke to Lord half an hour before she left work on Friday, but had to cut the call short to speak to a client. “I said I would call her back and she said ‘yes’." Butcher said she returned the call but could not get through.

She said she received another call from Lord at 4.15pm but it “sounded like a pocket call, I could hear movement in her pocket”.

Her employer Jarrolds said in a statement: "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."

What we don’t know

While the timings of when Lord was last seen are known, the exact time of her disappearance on 8 December is currently not known.

Police are investigating the four-hour gap between when she was seen walking along St Augustines Street at 4.01pm and when a member of the public contacted them after finding her clothing at 8.10pm. Police have also been open about their struggle to find any motive for her to leave work early and go to the park.

Ch Supt Buckley said "I don’t think any of the conversations we’ve had are completely informing us as to why her state of mind ended up being what it was" and that the force "can’t explain some of her behaviour that day."