Gaynor Lord detectives have 'some indications' why missing mother-of-three left work early on the day she vanished - as friend reveals her mystery phone calls

Police have 'some indications' why missing Gaynor Lord left work early on the day she vanished, it emerged yesterday.

The mother-of-three walked out of her workplace over an hour before her shift was due to end and hurried through the streets of Norwich.

Possessions including her rings, mobile phone and clothing were found in a park in the city hours later, while her coat was in a nearby river.

Speaking near the spot in Wensum Park where Mrs Lord, 55, is believed to have gone into the water, Chief Superintendent Dave Buckley of Norfolk Police said: '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 Bullards Gin concession said she seemed her 'normal, happy self' days before.

A floor manager in the department 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.'

But a friend of hers, who was a salesman at a nearby store, revealed yesterday that Mrs Lord had told him she was 'feeling a bit funny' shortly before her disappearance.

'It was very nonchalant. She said she was feeling a bit funny, a bit off,' the man told the Daily Telegraph. 

He added: 'We had a brief conversation about anxiety. She didn't say she did or didn't suffer with it... She had no mental health problems that I was aware of.'

Mrs Lord's friend Julie Butcher said she received two phone calls from the mother on the day of her disappearance. About half an hour before she left the department store, Mrs Lord called and asked where Ms Butcher was.

Ms Butcher was forced to cut the conversation short after receiving another call from a work client, but promised to call back. 

The friend said she tried to ring Mrs Lord a few minutes later but could not get through, adding: 'I think she was still at work when she called me, I don't know. But maybe that's why she couldn't answer.'

Ms Butcher received another call from the missing mother at 4.15pm but said it 'sounded like a pocket call'. 

The friend said: 'I keep going over the conversation. If I hadn't answered that call [from her client] would she have talked to me? I feel terrible. I feel so sorry for the family... It's not like Gaynor to do this.' 

Police released new CCTV footage yesterday showing the last time Mrs Lord was caught on camera, about ten minutes before her second call to Ms Butcher.

Taken just over an hour after she left the department store where she works and several hours before her belongings were found, she could be seen walking calmly along St Augustines Street in the city centre. 

She was later spotted by a woman, who said Mrs Lord appeared 'quite calm' as she performed a yoga pose with her coat on the ground beside her.

Norfolk Police, who have received around 30 calls from members of the public in response to appeals for information, don't believe anyone else was involved in her disappearance but have not ruled it out.

Underwater searches were continuing yesterday. Chief Superintendent Buckley added: 'We're really concerned about her safety. We are pursuing the inquiry that she's missing and alive.'

The force has been liaising with Lancashire Police, which handled the investigation into Nicola Bulley, who went missing in similar circumstances earlier this year. 

Her body was found in the River Wyre and an inquest concluded she fell in and died of accidental drowning.

Mrs Lord's husband Clive, 63, has not commented on the case.