A WOMAN has been left plagued with guilt after cancelling plans to meet her best friend before she went missing – days later her body was pulled from the Thames.
“Vibrant” Natasha Reddington-Romanov, from Southwark, was tragically discovered in the River Thames near Vauxhall Bridge on Saturday.
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The 55-year-old was last seen in Soho in the West End of London in the early hours of Friday, September 20, apparently heading home to Old Kent Road.
Natasha was reported missing the following Tuesday after she failed to show up for work.
Pal Tracy Kawalik described her friend of 10 years as “magnetic” and “super hilarious”.
She told The Sun after the grim discovery: “I’m full of grief. I’m full of guilt. She’d asked me to meet her for a drink on the Friday night and I didn’t go.
“And there was so much on myself that I won’t ever forgive for that.
“Of course, I was not to know what would happen that evening but I’m heartbroken.”
Natasha is said to have eaten dinner in Chinatown with the owner of Trisha’s, a jazz club on Greek Street in Soho.
Natasha was the most beautiful person in the entire world.
Tracy Kawalik
She returned to the club for a drink with the same woman – known as Trish – later that evening.
The trans woman then walked from the bar towards Bateman Street at 2am wearing a white Chanel suit.
She was seen by friends going past Raincall club.
Natasha often took the bus home from Tottenham Court Road to where she lives near the Old Kent Road.
However, that night the battery on her phone had died, Tracy understands.
Paying tribute to her friend, Tracy went on to say: “Natasha was the most beautiful person in the entire world.
“She was so caring, vivacious and a force to be reckoned with. A beautiful force of nature. She was so protective.
“She was very protective of all of her female friends. She was just an absolutely vibrant human being.
“You wouldn’t have come across her and not remembered her.
“I reckon everyone whose paths she crossed she would have made a mark on them.
“She was incredibly funny without trying very hard. She was naturally super hilarious.
“She was a bit like the life of the party but without trying to be the centre of attention if that makes any sense.
“It was very natural for her. She was an incredibly intoxicating character. Very magnetic. You would never have forgotten her.”
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Cops said Natasha’s death is “being treated as unexpected, but not suspicious”.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Officers conducting enquiries in relation to a missing person’s report have recovered a body.
“Officers believe that the body discovered is that of Natasha Reddington-Romanov, a 55-year-old woman that had been reported missing from Southwark.
“Natasha’s next of kin have been informed of this development.
“On Saturday, 21 September, officers were alerted to the discovery of a body in the Thames near Vauxhall Bridge.
“Work was undertaken to confirm the identify of this person.
“In the interim, Natasha disappearance was reported to police on Tuesday, 24 September and a missing person’s investigation was immediately launched.
“It was subsequently confirmed that the body recovered was that of Natasha’s.
“The death is being treated as unexpected, but not suspicious. A file will be prepared for the Coroner.”
