A woman who died after plunging into an icy Herefordshire river may not have committed suicide, an inquest has ruled.
Rosalind Mary Russell, 62, was experiencing ‘mental difficulties’ when she took a taxi to Lugwardine from her home at Tupsley, Hereford, on February 5 this year.
She was spotted several times close to the bridge over the river Lugg after requesting to be dropped off before her scheduled stop in the village.
Her body was discovered on the bank of the river on March 23.
An inquest into her death at Hereford last week heard how Mrs Russell had undergone surgery for bowel cancer in December 2009.
Despite a favourable chances of recovery, the inquest heard, Mrs Russell had changed and become withdrawn after her treatment.
Her husband Richard Russell told the inquest that Mrs Russell, who had suffered from depression in the past, had become anxious.
He said that his wife had been affected by the news of her cancer, after previously receiving the all clear for the disease.
He said: “She was given the all clear and then weeks later they told her she had cancer.It was very traumatic.”
Mrs Russell said that everything had seemed normal in the morning of her disappearance and the two had shared a cup of tea together before he left for work. But he returned to find the house locked and in darkness.
After contacting Mrs Russell’s friends to see where she was, Mr Russell contacted police to report her as missing.
“I didn’t know what to think really,” he said.
“She had gone to think things through– that was the initial thought.”
Ropes found in Mrs Russell’s house initially raised suspicions about her intention, although this was dismissed as not out of the ordinary by Mr Russell.
Mrs Russell had ordered a taxi to the Crown and Anchor pub in Lugwardine but asked to be dropped off near the bridge over the river Lugg.
The taxi driver reported seeing Mrs Russell near the bridge at around 12.30pm as he made his way back into Hereford.
Despite a large-scale police search, which included press appeals and house-to-house enquires, Mrs Russell was not seen again.
Her body was reported to police by a farmer on March 23.
Pathologist Dr Mark Hayes said Mrs Russell had not drowned and instead had died of vagal inhibition of the heart, due to immersion in cold water.
He said death would have occurred “instantaneously”.
Deputy Coroner for Herefordshire Mark Bricknell said that there was not enough evidence to return a verdict of suicide.
In recording an open verdict he added: “It’s entirely possible that at that point in time she didn’t have the mental capacity to take her own life.”