Funeral date for tragic Mandy

Tuesday 18th November 2008, 3:45PM GMT.

The funeral of a Shropshire mother whose body was found in the River Severn nearly a month after she disappeared on a night out will be held next week.

Mandy Karen Franks, 40, of Belle Vue, Shrewsbury, went missing after a night out in Shrewsbury on October 4. Her body was discovered at Apley, near Bridgnorth, on October 27.

Her funeral will be held at Bushbury Crematorium in West Chapel, Wolverhampton, at 2pm on Tuesday. Flowers will be welcome as well as donations to Cats Protection and the Acorns children’s hospice.

Jody Evans, 24, who shared a home with Miss Franks in Belle Vue Road, has issued a fresh appeal for anybody with any information about what happened to contact police.

Miss Franks was last seen alive shortly after midnight on October 5 talking to a doorman outside the Montgomery’s Tower bar in Shrewsbury.

South Shropshire coroner Anthony Sibcy has adjourned an inquest hearing until March 5 at Bridgnorth Town Hall.

Detectives said Miss Franks’s death was being treated as unexplained. After the discovery of her body Gary Rowland, who was married to Miss Franks for 10 years, said he and their son Louie, 21, were devastated.