Disappearances of women and rivers

[Cm19841]

I am just reading the terrible story about Victoria Taylor and the suggestion she fell into the river Derwent.

There have a been a number of these stories recently. They are all awful. But I can't recall this happening so frequently in the past. Am I wrong? Did this happen and it was less reported? Is it incredibly risky to walk alone by riverbanks, all the more so if you are female? How dangerous is this?

There have a been a number of these stories recently.
involving women and rivers?

Why would rivers be more dangerous for women? Any body of water is potentially dangerous but I wouldn't personally avoid them.

I think that with social media we are just more aware of things these days.

People have always died from falling or jumping into rivers. I don't think it's a particularly female thing.

It certainly does seem to be more apparent in recent years. There was a spate of time over a few years where there were a lot of incidents of young men falling into canals, particularly around Manchester. I don't know if there is anything sinister about it or whether it's coincidence or what but it is something I've wondered about.

I think this too, it's odd.

How many actually, and within what time-frame?
Nicola Bulley and.....???
Are you suggesting that women are largely incapable of walking along a river-bank safely? If so, why? Lack of coordination? Too light to get any purchase to pull themselves out of water?
Or are you suggesting some nefarious goings on against women walking near water, and why, given no-one was associated with Nicola's tragedy

It’s just the constant news these days. You hear about everything you wouldn’t have in the past.

(I fell in a body of water as a child and couldn’t get out. It’s easy to do sadly!)

yes the OP is rather vague on her source for this conclusion

Where I live most drownings are suicide. 1/3 of women who die by suicide choose this method. Mostly you will just hear that a body was found in the water, the specifics of it won't be gone into but most aren't slip and falls.

Human beings have come to harm in water since the start of humanity.

Sometimes it’s accidental but it’s often not. People do commit suicide.

I’ve thought this too - there have been A LOT of them. Mostly forgotten names now apart from the high profile cases, but there have been lots off stories like this in the press in the past 1 - 2 years. A lot of quite similar looking women too.

Yes, I was thinking this too. Most recent ones have been Gaymor Lord, Nicola Bully and now Victoria Taylor in Milton...all left items by the bank I think.

I think it’s the multi news feeds. Just in my Apple News feed I get local news from Manchester, Wales and Merseyside ( I live on the south coast) and there’s probably half a dozen ‘ unusual’ deaths a day reported. In the days of just tv news and a national newspaper a day I’d only ever know of a fraction of those.

There's nothing sinister. It mostly is people ending their own lives. Nothing to do with people not realising how dangerous water is. They're not committing a crime.

More being reported because of Nicola Bulley case being so high profile? Has a magnifying effect because the media are more likely to choose the story than they would before.

It's the items by the bank that is suspicious but as someone who has had the call of the void near bodies of water when I have had bouts of depression, I think the publication of this method of suicide and it's efficacy is something that draws people in and leaving items is a good way to let people know it was intentional.

There are cases like Nicola Bulley that seem to have more loose ends the more you think about it though and it had lived in my mind rent free since it's announcement.

It's incredibly sad but I'm not sure that there would be proof to support a marked increase.

I think it's more that we remember the women who have been found / remain missing because it's more unusual.

A huge number of men take their lives each year (or walk away from their children). The thought of a woman leaving her child/children and 'simply' walking away forever is still v difficult to comprehend.

Its also important to realise we live in a digital age where tragedies are mass reported easily and almost instantaneously with easily accessible public online archiving.

Its not that they've increased suspiciously, it's the cause and effect of living in a digital age.

How many actually, and within what time-frame?
Nicola Bulley and.....???

Weirdly (or not) I could name or recall quite a few from the last few years
Gaynor Lord,
Ashling Murphy
Lisa Welford
Natalie Dean
And now Victoria Taylor

I think it’s just that missing women generally get more media attention. In the last year or so I can think of Nicola Bulley, Gaynor Lord and Victoria Taylor, all who went missing by water. Nicola’s death was ruled an accident, Gaynor’s was misadventure and there’s no evidence of foul play in Victoria’s disappearance at the moment. Men are far more likely to go missing by water and be found dead, but you probably would never have heard any of their names. Jack O’Sullivan is the only recent exception I can think of (it sounds like the police believe he’s in the water).

That’s true. I know of someone who died while canoeing and took about a month to find him. Didn’t make the news.

Most of these are known or suspected suicides. People copy suicide methods so it’s entirely plausible that there is a spate of women taking their lives in this way, especially when some cases have been so high profile.

I’ve thought this too - there have been A LOT of them. Mostly forgotten names now apart from the high profile cases, but there have been lots off stories like this in the press in the past 1 - 2 years. A lot of quite similar looking women too.

How many?

Not noticed this but very aware of the Manchester pusher concerns. Those were all men though.