Woman found dead in water was heard shouting for help before drowning

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A woman who was found dead in a river was heard shouting for help moments before she drowned, an inquest has heard.Emma Gibson, 47, entered the water at the River Exe shortly after midnight on October 28, 2022, and was heard shouting for help by a university student who was out for a run.A major emergency response was launched but Emma could not be traced and her body was recovered by police divers at Exeter Quay several hours later.

An inquest into her death has now heard Emma had recently lost a close friend and struggled with her mental health, Devon Live reports.But the coroner said although she may have intended to take her own life when she entered the water, she changed her mind when she was in the river.Emma's partner described her as a "lovely, beautiful person" and a "very sweet woman" in a statement.The inquest heard that Emma was at the Hour Glass Inn around 8pm on October 27, 2022, and had spoken to people in the outdoor smoking area about the river and the canal.Witnesses said there were no real concerns about her behaviour. Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. An Exeter University student was running along the quayside towards the Harvester close shortly after midnight when he heard a woman shouting for help.He scanned the water with the torch on his mobile phone and removed his earphones but it was too dark to properly see.The student called out when he spotted something in the water and a woman's voice replied asking for help.

He called 999 and members of the public joined a frantic search at the other side of the river.There were no further sounds and when police, fire crews and coastguard arrived shortly afterwards, they could