My papa drowned on a summers day in full view of other people in water he was standing in fly fishing. He lost his footing and his waders filled up and pulled him down, he was a strapping man in his early 60s, not a 5ft 3 woman. A man tried to help him but couldn’t. I’ve read this thread all day and seen people post detailed outlines of what happens when you drown but feel there are still people incredulous that’s what happened here and that if she fell in, she should have been able to get herself out. As previous posters have said, she had on jeans, a coat, a gilet and wellies. This isn’t like what you see in a TV show with lots of flailing and coming up to the surface, you are literally weighed down by clothing.
I wasn’t going to post this as it’s personal but I honestly think drowning is the most reasonable explanation in this case