Missing Nicola Bulley’s pal shares ’11 facts you may not know’ about disappearance
A close friend of missing mum Nicola Bulley has shared a plea for cruel trolls to stop causing “hurt and distress” – and shared some facts about her disappearance.
Nicola hasn’t been seen since January 27 and police have yet been able to provide a conclusive explanation of what happened to her.
Detectives believe the 45-year-old mum-of-two may have fallen into the River Wyre in Lancashire while walking her dog Willow, but pals and family members have voiced their doubts.
Nicola’s sister Louise Cunningham has urged the public to keep an “open mind”, while friend Heather Gibbons said they are “not willing at this stage to accept” the river fall theory.
Police said they have not found anything that points to third-party involvement as experts continue to scour the area piecing together what happened in a crucial 10 minute window.
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Dave Nelson)
Now another friend has described the terrible toll her disappearance has had on her family, and listed 11 points she believes the public should know.
The friend, named Tilly Ann, said that the only CCTV camera “that would have seen everything” isn’t working, and said it was normal for Nicola’s dog to have her harness removed.
She said her pal was a strong swimmer, and that she would often speak on loudspeaker while she was out walking.
Willow was found close to the river bank, along with Nicola’s phone, which had been on a conference call before she vanished.
Writing on Facebook, Tilly Ann said she had permission from Nicola’s “incredibly close” family before posting.
She said Nicola’s sister Louise is “pretty much living” with her sibling’s partner Paul Ansell and the couple’s daughters as the search for their mum goes into a tenth day.
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Describing the impact on Paul she wrote: “We can see the hurt and pain and can see how much he’s struggling to hold back the tears. He’s is completely focusing on his girls because if he even stops to think about anything else, he will lose it and he doesn’t want to worry his girls even more than they already are.”
Tilly said she been “shocked and appalled” at coverage of her friend’s disappearance, and listed points she believes the public should know.
She wrote:
- Paul and Nikki both mostly work from home which is why he was at home that day. They have CCTV and there is a reason why Paul has never been a suspect. Family and friends need these accusations to stop immediately. The fact that I’ve had to write this is disgusting to be honest
- They both do this walk regularly and Paul is very well known in the community and very well recognised
- The dog never has her harness on for a chunk of that walk, it’s removed at the gate of the top field and then put back on at the gate when they leave
- They very rarely take the ball out for walks with willow now because she is very very protective over the ball and haven’t done for a while
- Nikki quite often would put her phone on loud speaker when talking
- The dog was found very close to the bench and the harness. The harness was found on the floor not on the bench
- Nikki is an incredibly strong swimmer
- Nikki drove to the school and then left her car there and walked to the river
- The dog was dry when found
- The dog has since been back
- There’s CCTV at the back of the caravan park. The only camera that isn’t working is the one that would have seen everything
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Lancashire Constabulary / SWNS.C)
She added: “What her family need right now is as much positivity as possible please.”
Police and search specialists from HM Coastguard and the fire service continue to scour the area looking for clues to explain what happened.
The detective leading the search for Nicola has admitted there is “no evidence” to support the theory she slipped into the River Wyre – but said an attack is unlikely.
At the moment police believe it is the most likely scenario and say there is nothing that points to third-party involvement.
Hundreds of volunteers have joined searches in St Michael’s on Wyre as the community tries to piece together what happened to Nicola.
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Speaking to the Sunday Times, Superintendent Sally Riley said her officers had not found any proof that Nicola had fallen in the river.
She said there were no scuff marks on the ground close to where her phone was found – but said she would not necessarily expect them to be.
“If it is sheer and you lose your footing, you might not have any marks left on the grass,” Ms Riley said.
She added that there is nothing to support third-party involvement.
The police superintendent told the newspaper: “When you triangulate all the witnesses, the CCTV, the digital and the telephone, the whole picture, it produces such a tiny window for criminal involvement that it becomes highly unlikely.”
On Friday Nicola’s sister cast doubt on the police theory, saying there was “no evidence whatsoever” to support it, and called on the public to keep an open mind.
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Ms Riley said police haven’t ruled anything out.
Close friend Ms Gibbons, 33, said she had met with police yesterday, telling the Sunday Times: “We consider the accident theory to be just that — a theory. We are not willing at this stage to accept it as a conclusion.”
She told Sky News: “You go from being hopeful to heartbroken, and just trying to be strong, because all we want is to find her for her girls and for (Nicola’s partner) Paul.”
She added: “You want to hold on to the hope that no news is good news.
“But knowing Nikki, we just know that if she could be at home with her girls, we very firmly believe that’s where she would be. Her family are everything.”
Nicola dropped her two daughters at school and walked her springer spaniel Willow on the morning she vanished.
Willow was found by another dog walker with her lead and harness removed, and she was dry.
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Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
On Friday Ms Riley told reporters she believes Nicola put her phone on a bench due to an “issue” with her pet – possibly trying to retrieve a ball.
She was seen by another dog walker at 9.10am – the last known sighting – and police traced records of her mobile phone as it remained on a bench overlooking the river at 9.20am.
The phone was found by a dog walker at around 9.35am, with Willow nearby.
Superintendent Riley told the MailOnline: “I’m not aware of a dog ball being retrieved but it’s possible that a ball could have rolled down the steep bank close to the edge of the water and Ms Bulley was bending down to pick it up.
“What she was wearing could also be a factor.”
In a Facebook post sister Ms Cunningham, urged people to “keep an open mind” as there is “no evidence whatsoever” that the dog walker fell in the river.
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Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
“Off the back of the latest Police media update, please can I add there is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it’s just a theory,” she said.
“Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully, the police confirmed the case is far from over.”
Her friend, Emma White, also cast doubt on the police theory, telling Sky News it was based on “limited information”.
“When we are talking about a life we can’t base it on a hypothesis – surely we need this factual evidence,” she said.
“That’s what the family and all of us are holding on to – that we are sadly no further on than last Friday.
“We still have no evidence, and that’s why we’re out together in force. You don’t base life on a hypothesis.”
The police search has been aided by specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue, and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service – with sniffer dogs, drones and police helicopters deployed.
Last night Lancashire Constabulary appealed for a woman seen on CCTV pushing a pram close to the River Wyre on the morning Nicola vanished.
A few hours later officers confirmed that she had come forward – stressing that she was “very much being treated as a witness”.