Video retraces last steps of missing mother Gaynor Lord

Gaynor Lord’s last movements caught on camera: Video retraces steps of missing mother on day she vanished as her family mark a week since her disappearance

  • Gaynor Lord missing LIVE: Divers to continue river search on day seven

Gaynor Lord’s last movements before she vanished have been retraced in a video – as her worried family mark a week since her disappearance.

The mother-of-three, who is married to a successful financial adviser, went missing in Norwich, Norfolk, last Friday, sparking a huge police operation which has involved specialist divers, underwater drones and desperate appeals to the public.

Mrs Lord was supposed to finish a shift at the Bullards Gin counter in the basement at Jarrolds department store at 4pm but she was filmed leaving an hour and a quarter early. 

Police yesterday revealed that they have ‘some indications’ as to why she left work early, but also admitted they have not been able to establish her state of mind when she went missing with ‘any degree of confidence’. 

After leaving work, she then dashed through moving traffic towards Norwich Cathedral before leaving around 30 minutes later. CCTV captured her walking down St Augustine’s street at 4.01pm towards Wensum Park – where her belongings were found.  

Norfolk Constabulary has released CCTV to the public of Mrs Lord’s last steps, which MailOnline has retraced in a new video.

CCTV footage shows Gaynor Lord leaving work over an hour early on the day that she vanished

2.45pm-2.47pm

CCTV footage shows Ms Lord – described as white, 5ft 6in tall with a blonde shoulder-length bob, jogging up Bedford Street after leaving work at the Bullards Gin counter in Jarrolds department store at 2.45pm, more than an hour before her shift was due to end.

She is wearing a white shirt and a yellow tank top, and is carrying a large olive-coloured coat under her arm. 

She can be seen on the footage walking into London Street at 2.47pm and then crossing the road in Queen Street without waiting for a red light, narrowly missing moving traffic, heading towards Norwich Cathedral.

3.22pm 

She left the cathedral grounds 30 minutes later, again appearing to be in a hurry, putting her coat on as she marched away. 

Police are appealing for information to fill the gaps in where there is no footage of her. 

3.49pm-3.53pm 

CCTV captures Mrs Lord walking along St George’s Street near the Playhouse theatre.

She then walks along St Crispins Road towards Pitt Street at 3.53pm.

The missing mother was supposed to finish a shift at the Bullards Gin counter in the basement at Jarrolds department store (pictured) at 4pm but she was filmed leaving an hour and a quarter early.


MailOnline has retraced Mrs Lord’s last movements. She rushed out of work (left) and then crossed the road in a rush (right) 

4.01pm 

New CCTV released yesterday – believed to be the last available – shows Mrs Lord looking at a shopfront as she walked down St Augustines Street at 4.01pm on her way to Wensum Park. 

The police investigation has centred on Wensum Park in Norwich, where Mrs Lord’s belongings were discovered by a member of the public at 8.10pm on Friday evening. 

READ MORE: Gaynor Lord made plans to play tennis in the New Year before vanishing, the missing Norwich mother’s friend reveals 

Her clothes, phone, glasses and jewellery were found in the park, while her coat was found in the River Wensum, leading police to reveal that the most likely scenario was that she ‘entered the water’. 

Police visited her home and quickly established that she did not come home from work that evening and that the park was not part of her usual route.

Eyewitness Rosie Richards said she saw a woman fitting Mrs Lord’s description at Wensum Park last Friday who put her coat on the ground and performed a yoga pose.

Speaking near the spot in Wensum Park where Mrs Lord is believed to have gone into the water, Chief Superintendent Dave Buckley of Norfolk Constabulary yesterday said it will take ‘a couple of days’ or longer to complete the search of the stretch of river, which has included using sonar equipment. 

‘It’s very, very challenging – the river is very, very full of water with all the rain, full of lots of debris,’ he said. The divers can see about one foot in front of them, so it’s an extraordinarily challenging environment for them to work in.’

Mr Buckley added that the force is keeping an open mind about what happened to to Mrs Lord but that ‘everything we know is pointing to a high probability that Gaynor went into the water’.

Footage shows Gaynor Lord leaving the Norwich Cathedral grounds after spending over 30 minutes there

This is the last known footage of Gaynor Lord before she vanishes. She looks at a shopfront on St Augustine’s Street

‘We’ve got some indications as to why she behaved the way in which she did but what we’re doing is we’re just working backwards now to actually truly understand what may have taken place.

‘We’re just cautious of everything we know at the moment because clearly we’ve ended up in the situation we have, which is not usual.’

Mrs Lord’s colleagues have insisted her behaviour was normal prior to her disappearance. A co-worker at the store’s Bullards Gin concession said she seemed her ‘normal, happy self’ days before.

A floor manager in the city centre store added: ‘There was nothing to suggest at all that something like this would happen… She didn’t show any signs of distress or concern.’

One of Mrs Lord’s friends, Julie Butcher, revealed today that she shared ‘gins and hugs’ with the mother-of-three just days before and the pair agreed to play tennis together after Christmas.

She also received a call from Mrs Lord about half an hour before she left work on the day of her disappearance, but had to cut the conversation short after receiving another call from a work client. She promised to call Mrs Lord back.

Police teams continue to hunt for clues in the disappearance of Gaynor Lord in Norwich yesterday

Members of the dive team searching the River Wensum at Wensum Park in Norwich yesterday

Detectives are using sonar equipment at the River Wensum in Norwich yesterday morning

Divers are seen going under the water in Wensum Park in Norwich on Thursday afternoon

Ms Butcher told Sky News: ‘I wish I hadn’t have answered that call. Really wish I hadn’t have answered that call. And then she may have talked to me a bit more or I might have found out the reason why she was calling me.

‘She was happy on Tuesday and we had a few gins with her and the last time I saw her she gave me a hug.’

She also spoke to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, and said of the first call: ‘When I answered it she said where are you, where are you?’

When Ms Butcher did call her friend back about five minutes later, there was no answer.

Then, she got another call but thinks it was a pocket dial.

The police operation has entered its seventh day with officers still searching for vital clues which could help them find Mrs Lord. 

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