A MUM-of-three told a pal she wanted to be “like Nicola Bulley” before she was found dead in a river seven days after disappearing, an inquest heard.
Gaynor Lord, 55, sparked a huge search after chilling CCTV showed her running through Norwich in December last year.
The tragic mum was found dead a week later in the River Wensum.
An inquest today heard how Gaynor had told a friend she wanted to disappear “like Nicola” just days before she vanished.
The reference was to Nicola Bulley, who had gone missing while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27.
Nicola was tragically found drowned in the River Wyre three weeks later.
Gaynor vanished on December 8 after leaving work at Jarrold’s department store an hour early.
Footage from where she worked on the gin counter showed her beaming.
Gaynor was later seen running through Norwich city centre in haunting CCTV that charted her final movements.
The mum appeared to be in a hurry and gripped her coat as she dashed across a road between oncoming cars.
She then darted into a cathedral where she spent 30 minutes before being captured on the street outside.
A witness later said they saw “calm” Gaynor in Wensum Park performing a yoga pose.
Her disappearance gripped the nation after police revealed her belongings – including clothing, two rings and a mobile phone – were found scattered across the park.
Gaynor’s olive coat, which she was seen clutching in the footage, was later found in the river that runs through the park.
The inquest was told Gaynor was pulled from the water by specialist divers on December 15.
Her cause of death was given as immersion and drowning and police found no indication of third-party involvement.
Jacqueline Lake, Norfolk’s senior coroner, today ruled Gaynor died as a result of misadventure.
