Gaynor Lord disappearance: Eyewitness saw missing Norwich woman 'doing yoga poses' in last sighting

  • Rosie Richards described to GMB the behaviour of a woman she believes was Gaynor Lord


An eyewitness has described how she saw a woman doing yoga poses in a park in what she believes is the last known sighting of missing mum-of-three Gaynor Lord.

Rosie Richards said she saw a woman fitting Ms Lord's description in Wensum Park in Norwich at approximately 4pm on Friday.

It is thought to be the last known sighting of the 55-year-old, who was seen on CCTV leaving work early from Norwich city centre.

Ms Richards, who works as a freelance artist, moved to Norwich a year ago from London, and now lives in an apartment which overlooks the Wensum Park.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Ms Richards said Ms Lord seemed "calm" and did not appear "distressed".

She said: "I was walking through the park from a supermarket, which is something I do on a regular basis. I have a key to a gate that is located down where I saw [someone] who I thought is Gaynor.

"I was walking towards a woman who was standing by the gate, by the railings overlooking the River Wensum.

"She was just how the police had described her, wearing an olive green coat, a shirt under a yellow green vest, glasses, short blondish hair," said Ms Richards.

  • Watch the CCTV footage of Gaynor Lord's last known movements


On Wednesday Norfolk Police released CCTV images showing what they thought were the last sightings of Ms Lord.

Ms Richards' sighting came after that, and she believes she may be one of the last people to see her.

"She was putting her bags down and almost about to take her coat off.

"I was unlocking the gate at the time and I when turned around to look at her again, she was putting her coat down on the floor and performing a yoga pose."

Since Ms Lord's disappearance, her belongings, including clothing, two rings, a mobile phone and glasses, have been found scattered in Wensum Park – around 1.5 miles from her workplace.

Her coat was discovered in the River Wensum, which runs through the park.

"I don't know what the pose is called but it's where you lie on the floor and arch your back and head upwards. It was like she was doing meditation, which on a summer's day in a park is very normal but it just seemed a bit odd at this time," said Ms Richards.

Ms Richards said it was dark and Ms Lord was dressed in regular clothes rather than sportswear.

"I thought it was a bit odd and it kind of stuck with me for a little while, but I didn't think anything of it, until I read the description in the papers of what Gaynor was wearing when she went missing. That's what triggered that particular memory."

Ms Richards said Ms Lord had put her coat down on the pavement for her to perform the yoga on.

"To me she seemed quite calm, she was putting her coat down on the floor and performing a yoga pose. It just seemed a bit odd at this time because obviously it's starting to get dark.

Search teams searching for missing woman Gaynor Lord in Norwich's Wensum Park. Credit: ITV News Anglia

"Because she had quite a few bags with her and she was dressed nicely it seemed a little bit strange to me, but she didn't seem upset or stressed. I couldn't see her face properly but she didn't look like she was crying. To me she seemed quite calm," she said.

Ms Richards said once she realised she may have seen the missing woman she went straight to police.

Norfolk Constabulary believes the "most likely scenario" is Ms Lord entered the water and underwater search teams have been searching the river.

Ms Lord is described as white, 5ft 6ins tall, and was wearing a white shirt and yellow tank top with a large olive-coloured coat over the top and a scarf. She has blonde shoulder length hair in a bob.