13 December 2023 , 22:55
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Police are scouring for information around a mysterious 34 minutes where missing mum Gaynor Lord appeared to enter and exit Norwich Cathedral, shortly before she vanished as her brother described her disappearance as "out of character".
The 55-year-old hasn't been seen since Friday afternoon and failed to return home from her job at a department store in Norwich city centre. She was last sighted at a park before her handbag was found abandoned and her coat discovered in the River Wensum that evening.
Detectives at Norfolk Police believe Gaynor somehow entered the river and have been sending underwater search teams to look for her. CCTV shows Gaynor running into the cathedral area of the city centre on Friday afternoon shortly after leaving work where colleagues said she was "smiling", with police believing she may have spoken to someone there who could unlock the mystery.
CCTV was released on Wednesday of the missing mum (Norfolk Police)Detectives also believe there was no third-party involvement in her disappearance. A 34-minute gap remains between sightings, with police working to find out what happened.
CCTV footage shows her walking to and from the cathedral before continuing to walk along St George’s Street at 3.49pm on Friday near to the Playhouse in Norwich. Gaynor is then seen to walk along St Crispins Road towards Pitt Street and finally up St Augustines Street at 4.01pm, the last sighting of her on CCTV before going missing.
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It comes as Gaynor's half-brother spoke out on Wednesday as her family remained desperate for any news. Allan Weston, 43, who lives in Blackpool, Lancashire, said: "We are all very worried. It is out of character and we just want her home."
Gaynor's daughter Alexandra also shared a heartbreaking appeal on Tuesday for information on her mum as she said, "we want her home". Several items of clothing belonging to Gaynor were found near to where she was last seen on Friday, leading police to believe she may have only been partially clothed when she disappeared.
Meanwhile, the force is understood to have called in help from detectives who helped in the search for Nicola Bulley in Lancashire at the beginning of the year after the mum-of-two died in the River Wyre. Norwich Supt Wes Hornigold told The Sun Ms Lord's disappearance bore eerie similarities to the hunt for Ms Bulley, saying his force was “linking in with” Lancashire detectives to “understand any of the lessons learned” from the search.
He said: “We will absolutely, and have been, linking in with Lancashire Constabulary to understand any of the lessons learned from that inquiry. We’ve already had meetings with the National Crime Agency in terms of understanding any specific skills and knowledge in respect to water searching.
In a statement on Wednesday, Supt Hornigold, said: “Today we are releasing the footage of Gaynor’s last known steps on Friday afternoon before she went missing. We hope this will help to jog the memory of anyone who may have seen her in the city that afternoon or who may have footage of her journey.
“We are particularly keen on hearing from anyone who may have seen Gaynor in the cathedral grounds which she enters at 2.50pm and leaves at 3.23pm. It’s not clear where she goes inside the cathedral grounds during this time so we’re keen to hear from anyone who may have seen her there.
“We are continuing our extensive searches but would appeal to the public to come forward with any information which may help to find Gaynor. In the footage you can clearly see what she was wearing when she went missing. This is a particularly stressful time for her family and specialist officers continue to provide support.”