Police hunting for missing Nicola Bulley finally find ‘key witness’ from CCTV
Police hunting for Nicola Bulley have finally found a “key witness” they wanted to speak to, giving investigators renewed hope.
The mum-of-two, 45, disappeared while walking her dog next to the River Wyre in Lancashire last week.
The force released an image on Saturday (February 4) of a potential witness who was spotted by CCTV cameras sporting a yellow coat and pushing a pram in the area around the time Ms Bulley went missing on January 27.
READ MORE: Nicola Bulley’s dog was most likely in ‘fight or flight’ mode, expert believes
And last night officers announced the woman they were searching for has come forward.
(Image: lancspolice)
“Earlier this evening as part of our search for Nicola Bulley, we put out an appeal to find a witness in St Michael’s on Wyre,” Lancashire Police wrote in a Facebook post.
“We are pleased to say that the woman came forward very quickly and we must stress that she was very much being treated as a witness and was one of many people in St Michael’s on Friday, January 27th.”
They added: “Our enquiries to find Nicola are extensive and will include speaking to as many members of the public as possible.”
Ms Bulley was walking her spaniel, Willow, after dropping her two children off at school when she went missing near the River Wyre in Lancashire.
The pooch was recovered about 25 minutes after she was last seen by another dog walker at around 9:10am.
Police said they currently believe Ms Bulley fell into the river and that there was “no evidence” of anything suspicious at this time.
Supt Sally Riley said yesterday: “It’s now a week since Nicola went missing and her disappearance has understandably caused a huge amount of concern and upset in the local community, as well as being an absolutely awful time for her family.
(Image: PA)
“As a mum I can’t begin to imagine the suffering they are going through. We are supporting them as best we can and keeping them updated on our efforts to try and find Nicola.
“There is absolutely nothing to suggest from all the extensive enquiries we have made that anything untoward has happened to her or that there is any third-party involvement in her disappearance.
“This remains a missing person enquiry and we will continue to carry out searches and to do everything we can to find Nicola and provide her family and the community with the answers they desperately need.”
(Image: Lancashire Constabulary / SWNS.C)
But Ms Bulley’s sister, Louise Cunningham, argued there was “no evidence whatsoever” that her missing sibling had fallen into the Wyre and asked the public to “keep an open mind”.
Taking to Facebook, Ms Cunningham urged “please keep sharing my Nikki” and said detectives’ “working hypothesis” was still “just a theory”.
Police have also renewed appeals for drivers who may have dashcam footage from the area where Ms Bulley disappeared to come forward.
(Image: Lancashire Constabulary / SWNS.C)
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Officers also encouraged those who live in the area to keep an eye out along the river for the clothes Ms Bulley was last seen wearing.
These include an ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket, a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat, black jeans, green socks, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a light blue Fitbit.
A spokesperson for the force said: “It is really important that we gather as much footage as possible from the area that morning, so we can review every piece meticulously to establish whether Nicola can be seen.”
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