New last sighting in search for missing mother Gaynor Lord: Department store worker, 55, was spotted at 4pm in same Norwich park where her clothes and mobile phone were found - more than an hour after she left work early last Friday

A witness has come forward with a possible new last sighting of a mother who has been missing for five days. 

Gaynor Lord, 55, was seen leaving a city centre department store where she worked in Norwich at 2.45pm on Friday but never made it home. 

A huge search has been underway for five days and police divers have been called in after her coat was found in a river in a nearby park. Her clothes, two rings, mobile phone and glasses were also discovered nearby.

Previously there had been no sightings of Ms Lord between her leaving work and her belongings being discovered in Wensum Park on Friday evening. 

But now a witness, Rosie Richards, said she said a woman matching her description in the park at around 4pm. 

Ms Richards, who lives locally, told the BBC: "It's really upsetting... I'm just thinking of her friends and family, because she is a sort of similar age to my mum and that would be awful to be going through what they are going through right now. It's really upsetting."

The case has similarities that of Nicola Bulley, who sparked a high-profile search earlier this year when she dropped off her two daughters at school in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.

Her body was found in the River Wyre on February 19, about a mile from where she vanished while walking her dog on January 27. Her phone and the dog’s harness were discovered nearby. An inquest in June concluded she accidentally drowned. 

Yesterday, Ms Lord's daughters both reposted several versions of Norfolk Police appeals for information about their mother’s disappearance on Facebook.

Alexandra Lord, 22, added above one of them: 'Please share, if anyone knows anything please do contact the police! We want her home!'

Above another message she wrote: 'Anything you may know small or large please contact the police!' Elder sister Charlotte, 24, a fashion entrepreneur, also reposted the police appeals on Facebook.

Wensum Park has been closed to the public since Saturday while specialist teams search on land and in the water. Norfolk Police say the 'most likely scenario' is that Ms Lord had entered the water.

The huge police search operation in the centre of Norwich, involves 10 vehicles, a police drone and two search and rescue ‘ribs’ along the River Wensum.

She was last seen heading toward the Anglican Cathedral in the centre of Norwich on Friday before she disappeared.

Later the same day a member of the public discovered her belongings in the city's Wensum Park, around a mile away from work. She was reported missing after failing to return home.

Norwich Constabulary declared her missing after they identified the items and learned she'd failed to return home from work that evening.

A police spokeswoman added: 'We won't be drawn on her state of mind. We are still trying to establish the facts. But it was completely out of character.'

Norwich policing commander Superintendent Wes Hornigold said: 'Gaynor left work early and didn't take her normal route home. We haven't been able to establish why she left early and her disappearance is out of character, so we are naturally concerned for her welfare.

'There's no evidence that Gaynor has come to harm and, while we have a number of enquiries ongoing, given where her clothing was found and other items, there is a real possibility she has entered the water.'

Police are trawling through CCTV to try and trace Ms Lord's movements during a five-hour window before she was officially declared missing by police late on Friday evening. 

Mr Hornigold, who said the force was seeking assistance from other constabularies with diving expertise, added: 'This is clearly a distressing time for her family. We have specialist officers supporting them and continue to keep them updated on our ongoing work.'

Gaynor married financial advisor Clive Lord, 63, in 2014, and the pair were formerly co-directors of a company called Lord’s Wealth Management Ltd which was closed down in 2021. Mr Lord declined to comment when approached today.

Ms Lord has lived at a number of addresses in Norwich with husband Clive, 63, a company director, over the past two decades.

Their current home, which they bought in 2005, is in a street where larger properties sell for £500,000.

Police revealed that she'd left her work as a retail assistant for spirits distiller Bullard Gin, based at the city's Jarrold Department Store, at 2.45pm, before her shift was due to end at 4pm. 

She was last seen heading toward the cathedral in the centre of Norwich on Friday before she vanished. 

Later the same day a member of the public discovered her belongings in the city's Wensum Park, around a mile away from work. She was reported missing after failing to return home. 

Norwich Constabulary declared her missing after they identified the items and learned she'd failed to return home from work that evening. 

A police spokeswoman added: 'We won't be drawn on her state of mind. We are still trying to establish the facts. But it was completely out of character.'

Police divers, assisted by fire crews and the coastguard, scoured the nearby River Wensum yesterday using sonar equipment and said they have to be 'open to the possibility that Gaynor has entered the water'. 

Officers have also used drones and foot searches to search for further clues and said they do not suspect third party involvement. 

A spokesperson for the force said last night the park would remain closed as they hunt for further information about Gaynor's whereabouts.

Superintendent Wes Hornigold earlier said: 'We're doing everything we can to find Gaynor and based on what we've found in the park, this remains our focus for the searches.

'Clearly, given the nearby waterways, we do have to be open to the possibility that Gaynor has entered the water and we've carried out extensive searches on the river this weekend.

'Naturally, our focus will now start to move to underwater searches and we're seeking help from specialist teams to help with this complex task.

'Our priority is to find Gaynor and the park will remain closed while these searches continue. We'd ask the local community to bear with us while this takes place.

'This is clearly a distressing time for her family and we continue to keep them updated of ongoing work in this case.'

Gaynor, who has blonde shoulder-length hair in a bob, is described as white and 5ft 6 inches.

She was last seen walking along London Street in Norwich wearing a white shirt and yellow tank top with a large olive-coloured coat over the top and a scarf.

Wensum Park was opened in 1925 and has a children’s paddling pool, a playground and a pavilion.

A labyrinth was installed in the centre as part of the city’s millennium celebrations.