Bodies of missing florist and daughter found in lake
TWO bodies recovered from a lake in Gloucestershire are believed to be those of missing florist Jude Richmond and her disabled daughter Millie.
The bodies were recovered from a lake behind their home this afternoon by police divers.
The mother and her nine-year-old wheelchair-bound daughter went missing on Sunday evening from their house in South Cerney,
A Gloucestershire Police spokeswoman said it was too early to say if the deaths were suspicious.
Mrs Richmond’s husband, Nick, who was flying back to the UK from Australia today, was being informed of the discovery this afternoon.
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Officers are awaiting formal identification of the bodies and say post mortems will establish the causes of death.
A police spokesman said: "Police dive teams found the body of a young girl at 10.20am and the body of an adult female shortly after 11.30am."
Police believe Mrs Richmond, 41, who ran a florists business with clients who included royalty and celebrities, was vulnerable and possibly depressed.
The village Vicar said Mrs Richmond was "friendly and sociable" and that locals were "devastated and shocked" at the news.
He said: "She [Mrs Richmond] was very caring, she thought the absolute world of Millie."
Millie’s father, Neil Whitehead, described his daughter, who had cerebral palsy, as “magical” and said that, when he spoke to his former partner the day before she went missing, she was “calm and sensible”.
He said Millie was “charismatic, fun-loving, and humorous”, adding that she was “almost magical”.