Nicola Bulley updates LIVE: Body found in search for missing mum as CSI arrives at scene
Police searching for missing mumr Nicola Bulley have found a body, it has been announced this afternoon.
Lancsahire Constabulary confirmed a body has been found in the river near to where the dog walker went missing.
Officers were called to the scene, less than half a mile from where the mum-of-two was last seen, following reports from two members of the public at around 11.30am today.
A tip-off from a member of the public saw police seal off roads near the scene.. A diving team was brought in to search the river near where members of the public were seen talking to an officer.
Earlier today, police were revealed to have drafted in a top detective to help their investigation, as the search for the entered its third week.
Follow all our live updates on the search for Nicola…
Suella Braverman describes developments as ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘distressing’
Home Secretary Suella Braverman described developments in the case of Nicola Bulley as “heart-breaking and distressing” after a body was found in the River Wyre.
She tweeted: “These are heart-breaking and distressing developments.
“My thoughts remain with Nicola’s family at this extremely difficult time.”
Coroner’s van leaves scene near to where body was found
A coroner’s van has left the scene near to where a body was discovered in the River Wyre this afternoon.
A tip-off from two walkers saw divers arrive at the scene as a police helicopter and drones circled overhead.
A man and a woman were earlier seen pointing to a spot in the River Wyre, while police drones and a helicopter hovered over an outcrop of trees and undergrowth.
Police statement in full after body found
A statement from Lancashire Police said: “We were called today at 11.36am to reports of a body in the River Wyre, close to Rawcliffe Road.
“An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body.
“No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time.
“Procedures to identify the body are on-going.
“We are currently treating the death as unexplained.
“Nicola’s family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy is respected.”
BREAKING: Body found in river search for missing dog walker after 23 days
A body has been found in the river near to where dog walker Nicola Bulley went missing, police have confirmed.
Officers were called to the scene, less than half a mile from where the mum-of-two was last seen, following reports from two members of the public at around 11.30am today.
The discovery comes 23 days after Ms Bulley’s disappearance, which has led to a massive investigation centred on the River Wyre.
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Divers arrive at Nicola Bulley search site after police ‘receive river tip-off’
Divers have arrived at the Nicola Bulley search site after police received a tip-off from two walkers.
Two police cars raced to the scene less than a mile from where the 45-year-old mum-of-two was last seen in St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27.
A man and a woman were seen pointing to a spot in the River Wyre, with police drones and a helicopter hovering over an outcrop of trees and undergrowth.
Read the full story here
BREAKING: Nicola Bulley police seal off all roads close to where mum went missing
Police have sealed off a road near to the river where Nicola Bulley went missing 23 days ago.
A photographer at the scene told the Mirror: “It all happened so fast. Police have sealed all the road off.”
Follow this major breaking news update here
Nicola cops ‘sexist’ for revealing missing mum’s health issues, claims minister
A Government Minister today suggested police revealing private information about Ms Bulley was “sexist”.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt lashed out at the Lancashire force for disclosing that the missing mum, 45, had alcohol issues and was struggling with the perimenopause.
“It’s quite shocking and I think that both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are right to raise concerns about this,” former Tory leadership hopeful Ms Mordaunt told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.
“The first thing I felt was for her family. It’s bad enough having had your loved one go missing, but to have had all the additional drama that’s accompanied this very tragic case is horrific.
“I think it really does grate with a lot of women and we have to put up with all kinds of sexist behaviour in all kinds of settings, and I think to have it play out in this kind of environment is why people are so upset.”
Police call in dog whisperer and behavioural profiler to help search
Lancashire Police has drafted in a behavioural profiling expert and a forensic clinical psychologist to help in the search for Ms Bulley, it is reported.
The force has also made contact with a dog behavioural specialist to collect any information from the missing mum’s springer spaniel, according to the Sunday Times.
It is understood to have further drafted in the help of a detective who worked on the case of murdered police community support officer Julia James.
Police have so far failed to solve Ms Bulley’s mysterious disappearance, previously saying that its main working hypothesis is that she fell into the River Wyre in a “10-minute window”.
It has also recently come under fire for making Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and the menopause public, and has set a date for an internal review into their investigation.
Nicola Bulley’s partner’s Pinterest account hacked by sick trolls
Heartless online trolls are said to have hacked into the social media account of Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell.
The keyboard warriors are believed to have gained access to the engineer’s Pinterest account and posted sexually explicit photographs of women.
Several images appeared on Saturday including topless models in lingerie and pictures of an actress in a bikini.
The posts sparked concern from other online users amid speculation Paul’s account had been broken into.
Lancashire Police were alerted to the posts by the Sunday Express and launched an investigation, confirming his account had been hacked.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Paul Ansell’s Pinterest account has been accessed by a third party and is being closed down. We are investigating the matter.”
The account was later disabled.
Police call in one of the UK’s top investigators to help finally solve case
Lancashire Police has requested the help of a leading investigator from the National Crime Agency (NCA) in its search for Nicola Bulley, it’s been claimed.
The officer led a specialist team from the NCA, which is the agency that usually deals with organised crime, trafficking, and even fraud.
Most recently, the detective worked on the case of murdered police community support officer Julia James.
The top investigator – who hasn’t been named – reportedly advised Lancashire Police to bring external experts into the search.
That could include digital media specialist, forensic clinical psychologists, and even a dog behavioural specialist.
Nicola’s friend blasts online rumours that missing mum was an ‘unfit’ parent
A close friend of Ms Bulley has slammed “rumours” that the missing mum of two is an “unfit” parent, which are spreading in the wake of police information released last week.
Mum of three Nadia Fell, whose daughter is best friends with Ms Bulley’s youngest girl, said: “The rumours are starting that Nikki is an unfit mum… I will not hear it. Nikki is the most amazing mum ever. Those girls are her world.”
She added: “Many’s the time my daughter has spent time with Nikki without me and I’ve trusted her without question, why wouldn’t I?
“I’ve never seen any red flags. Nikki is a normal mum. We all have ups and downs and being a mum is hard. Every day is a lesson. The menopause can be really tough.”
TikTok pair under fire for filming themselves digging near where Nicola Bulley vanished
A pair of amateur detectives are under fire for filming themselves searching a corpse near the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, close to the spot where Ms Bulley disappeared.
TikTok user Curtis Cool Stuff uploaded a video of him searching an apparently empty house in an area near the river where Nicola went missing, as well as a spot near the river.
Police and locals have blasted amateur sleuths for coming to the area and
One local, who gave his name as John, told the Mail that he was upset with “people playing armchair detectives and speculating about things they don’t know anything about”.
Lancashire police issued a 48-hour dispersal order for the village to close last week.
The news comes after YouTube uploader Dan Duffy was detained and given a fixed penalty notice after posting a number of videos on TikTok since Nicola went missing on January 27.
Duffy – who filmed his arrest – previously said that he had “actually been in people’s back gardens at night-time with torches.”
Speculation from armchair sleuths ‘could ultimately impact on justice’, says ex-prosecutor
The ongoing speculation surrounding Ms Bulley’s disappearance “could ultimately impact on justice” if a trial were to take place, a former prosecutor has warned
The mystery of the case has led to considerable public attention which has at times threatened to go over the top, with vigilante groups heading to the village to try and join in the search.
But solicitor Nazir Afzal has now warned that any potential jury could struggle to consider the case from an impartial standpoint.
He told The Independent: “Armchair sleuths raise expectations that can’t be managed and ultimately impact on justice.
“For example, prospective jury members expect that certain evidence should be available because of what they’ve read or seen, and if it’s not then they ask why.”
Victim blaming is now ‘predominant focus’ in Nicola Bulley case, says barrister
Victim blaming has now become the “predominant focus” in the investigation into Ms Bulley’s disappearance after police revealed intimate details about her medical records, a barrister has said.
Dr Charlotte Proudman said if a man with similar issues went missing, he would not be treated in the same way as the mum-of-two.
The expert, who specialises in violence against women, added that the focus now appears to have shifted from the 45-year-old mum’s disappearance to her health issues.
The barrister said women after too often blamed for the situations they are in, but men do not face the same treatment.
Speaking on LBC Radio this morning, Dr Proudman told presenter Andrew Castle that revealing personal details is not “material to the investigation” and that there is a risk of victim blaming, which is potentially harmful to all women.
The police said they revealed intimate details about Nicola as some people were tying to sell stories about her private life.
Dr Proudman went on to say: “What on earth is wrong with the state of humanity? I don’t think a man would be treated in this way and that’s because we often tend to see, when a woman experiences violence by men or a woman, in this case, has gone missing… is that you tend to find they end up being blamed for the situation that they’re in.”
Lancashire Police accused of undermining public’s confidence in authorities
Lancashire Police has been accused of undermining the public’s confidence in the authorities, after sharing “very personal information” about Ms Bulley.
The force has recently come under fire for making the mum-of-two’s struggles with alcohol and the menopause public.
Former Inspector of the Constabulary, Zoe Billingham, told Sky News: “I think the fact that this very personal information has made its way into the public domain and is being pored over is going to cause people to have an element of doubt over whether or not they will phone the police now if their loved one went missing, which is a terrible thing to happen in the sense that the police are there for us.”
She added: “99.9 percent of police officers do a great job for us every day, are here to make us safe and the public should report this in.
“But to actually have undermined confidence in the police in this way is deeply disturbing.”
The force confirmed a date had been set for an internal review into the investigation.
A police spokeswoman said: “A review of the investigation is diarised and will be conducted by our Head of Crime Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables.”
Nicola Bulley could have gone ‘off-grid’, says missing persons expert
Ms Bulley could have gone “off-grid”, a missing persons expert suggested today as the search enters its third week.
Lancashire Police previously said its main working hypothesis is that she fell into the river in a “10-minute window”.
But Charlie Hedges, who has worked for the National Crime Agency and various UK police forces, believes there is “no indication” that she’s in the River Wyre.
He told GB News: “The river was the most important thing to check out – that’s been thoroughly searched with no outcome and no indication that she’s there.”
The expert continued: “Nobody goes missing without a reason, and understanding what’s going on in someone’s life is very, very important.
“It may be that she took the decision to go off, but it’s not very easy to go off-grid in today’s world.”
Nicola Bulley’s final text message is revealed – sent just minutes before she vanished
The final text message sent by Ms Bulley just minutes before she vanished has been released.
The mortgage adviser’s phone found on a bench still logged into a Microsoft Teams work call which had ended at 9.30am.
Just half an hour previously, the mum-of-two is understood to have texted a friend about meeting up sometime that week with her children.
A friend who lives in the village – who did not wish to be named – told the Mirror: “She booked a playdate, 8.57, she sent a text message to a friend whose mortgage she had just recently signed off on to arrange for the girls to go for tea this week.”
The friend said this indicates she had no intention of voluntarily disappearing.
“You wouldn’t have done that if you were going to get up and go missing,” she added.
She said the information was revealed during a meeting at the village hall on Sunday morning at around 10.30am before residents headed out on their first mass organised search.
Detective from TV show Hunted blasts Nicola Bulley police as ‘utterly ludicrous’
Police looking for Nicola Bulley have acted with “shocking naivety” in how information has been released, an ex-detective has said.
The mortgage adviser, 45, was last seen on January 27 walking her brown spaniel Willow near the River Wyre in the village of St Michaels on the Wyre, Lancashire.
Police launched a massive search for the mum, using drones, dogs, and specialist divers and expanding more than 13 miles to Morecambe Bay.
This week police came under scrutiny for publicising that Nicola has struggled with alcohol and it was related to menopause.
Peter Bleksley, a former undercover cop for the Metropolitan Police and star of Channel 4 show Hunted, said the police looking for Nicola have acted with “shocking naivety”.
Speaking on TalkTV, he said: “With regard to the whole release of this information… I think if the family had endeavoured to keep these matters secret, there’s a shocking naivety on behalf of the police.”
He also said: “[Lancashire Police] have tried to suppress speculation, all they’ve done is fuel it (…) was utterly ludicrous when they said there were private and personal matters which were the vulnerabilities around Nicola. But of course, don’t speculate about them.”
Nicola Bulley’s sister shares emotional photo as she pleads for her to come home
Missing mum Nicola Bulley’s younger sister has shared an emotional selfie of them enjoying happier times in the sun as she pleaded again with her to come home, three weeks since she was last seen.
Louise Cunningham shared the sunny snap of herself with Nicola, 45, and their mum Dot, 72 on her Facebook wall today.
She wrote: “Three weeks today without you home. We all miss you so much, time to come home now.”
The family are holding out hope that Nicola, who has two small daughters at home, will see the coverage.
Plenty of speculation has surrounded her disappearance and there has been criticism of Lancashire Police for releasing information about Nicola’s health.
Nicola Bulley’s family says focus needs to be on finding her and not ‘wild theories’
The family of Nicola Bulley have spoken of a need to focus on finding her and not “making up wild theories about her personal life”.
The mum-of-two vanished into thin air on January 27 while walking her springer spaniel Willow in the village of St Michael’s on the Wyre in Lancashire.
Plenty of speculation has surrounded her disappearance and there has been criticism of Lancashire Police for releasing information about Nicola’s health.
Her family issued a statement saying: “”We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and Paul’s private life.
“As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police … released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki.
“Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.”
It added: “The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life.”
Nicola Bulley vigilantes force ‘scared’ locals to hire security firm
Villagers living near to the home of missing mother Nicola Bulley have reportedly hired a security firm for their own safety.
Locals have reported incidents of vigilante types ‘peering through windows and trying doors’, according to a local council leader, who said residents have been left ‘terrified’ by morbid sight-seers.
Mum-of-two Nicola Bulley went missing on January 27 while out walking her dog along the River Wyre in the village of St Michael’s in Lancashire, triggering a major man hunt.
Wyre Council leader Michael Vincent said: “People have reported being sat in their living rooms in an afternoon watching television and people coming up to the windows, peering in, trying the doors, it’s been terrifying for them.”
He added: “These are typically older people extremely scared in their own homes. The residents have had to employ an external security company, that’s just not acceptable.”
Text message sent by Nicola Bulley showed she was not in crisis, says ex-detective
A text message by Nicola Bulley before disappearing did not show somebody who was in crisis, said a former detective.
Scrutiny has returned to the messages after police on Wednesday said that Nicola had been suffering from alcohol problems related to menopause.
Lancashire Police have been criticised for going into too much detail about her problems.
And Former Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, Martyn Underhill, said that her message about arranging a playdate with children did not give the impression of somebody who was in crisis.
He said: “It’s massively important to the inquiry. The reason it has come up again is in response to the police saying she suffered from alcohol problems and the menopause because what they’re clearly saying in their disclosure is that she may not have been of sound mind.
“Well, someone who isn’t of sound mind wouldn’t have arranged to meet a friend for a drink or a play date with kids.”
Police showed ‘naivety’ by saying Nicola Bulley was vulnerable, ex-cop says
A former detective has claimed that Lancashire Police has made mistakes over the disappearance of Nicola Bulley out of “naivety”.
The missing mum-of-two has now not been seen in three weeks after she vanished while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire on January 27.
And police leading the investigation have been slammed for the way they first said that Nicola had “specific vulnerabilities” before later going into her struggles with alcohol issues and the menopause.
Mark Williams-Thomas, a former police detective turned journalist told Salisbury Journal On Point Podcast: “I know our team watched it and straight away, I said we have got to ask what that vulnerability was. Terrible naivety both from the press and from senior investigating officers. To think you could put such a serious thing out into the public domain and not be asked questions.
“Then they had to fight fire really because suddenly (they) had to get to a position where they had to communicate with the family, get them on board when there should have been a very clear strategy right from the very beginning.
“In the end, they released information, which was very personal and didn’t need to be released or it could have been released in a very different way, and it would have worked if they had done it right at the very beginning.”
Dog walker tells of contacting school after finding Nicola Bulley’s phone
A dog walker has told how the school where Nicola Bulley’s children attend was contacted after he found her phone on a bench by the river in St Michael’s on Wyre.
The man, named only as Ron, has revealed details about the discovery on the day she disappeared – saying he knew something “wasn’t right”.
Ron described how he initially believed someone had left their phone on the bench while discreetly relieving themselves nearby.
But when it appeared nobody was returning to the phone, Ron described how he looked at the phone and saw a wallpaper image flash up showing Nicola with her partner, Paul Ansell.
Ron, who walks is own dog in the same area almost every day, said he didn’t know the couple by name, but did know them as Willow’s owner – Nicola and Paul’s dog.
He told Sky News: “I got to about this red brick building here and I thought ‘this is not right’. Then it was just a progression of things happening, you know.
“Because of the wallpaper on the phone we found out who the couple were, and the school was contacted and Paul arrived.”
Read the full story here.
Williams-Thomas says force didn’t ‘understand how big’ case was
A former detective-turned-journalist says he doesn’t believe Lancashire Police “understood how big” the Nicola Bulley case would be.
Mark Williams-Thomas, who has been at the search scene in St Michael’s on Wyre compiling his own reports, said the underfire constabulary also doesn’t necessarily know how to deal with “critical and major crimes”.
Speaking to the Salisbury Journal On Point Podcast, he said: “This is a very sad case. We still don’t know where she is and over the last 48 hours really, it has moved into a different dimension.
“There are two aspects to this case – the information and what is played out behind the scenes in the investigation and what is played out in front of the scenes with the media and media strategy.
“We are in a different world now with social media. It opens up completely different aspects and I don’t think Lancashire Police really understood how big the story is or have known how to deal with critical and major crimes or how national media works.”
Nicole Bulley’s mystery disappearance may never be solved by police, ex cop says
The former director of standards at the Met Police says missing mum Nicola Bulley may never be found and the case could be abandoned unsolved.
Stephen Roberts said “sometimes there simply isn’t any physical or human evidence of what has happened to an individual” as the search enters its third week.
Asked if there may be a moment where police have to accept they may never find the mum-of-two, Mr Roberts said “absolutely that’s the case”.
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‘There might be a moment where police have to accept they may never find Nicola Bulley’ – @KayBurley
Stephen Roberts then tells Sky News that ‘sometimes there simply isn’t any physical or human evidence of what has happened to an individual’.https://t.co/pZTlRD3gtt
Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/b6uCNNo3ji
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 17, 2023
Braverman holds meeting with police over Nicola Bulley concerns
Suella Braverman has spoken with Lancashire Constabulary about her concerns over the force publicly disclosing personal information about missing woman Nicola Bulley, a source close to the Home Secretary has said.
The source said that Ms Braverman outlined her concerns over the disclosure during a meeting with the force’s leadership on Friday, and that she has asked to be kept updated on the investigation.
“The Home Secretary today spoke with Lancashire Police Chief Constable Chris Rowley and his senior team to discuss the handling of the investigation into the disappearance of Nicola Bulley,” the source said.
“She outlined her concerns over the disclosure of Ms Bulley’s personal information and listened to the force’s explanation.
“The Home Secretary asked to be kept updated on the investigation.”
Rishi Sunak ‘concerned’ that Nicola Bulley police shared missing mum’s health issues
Rishi Sunak says he is “concerned” after police investigating Nicola Bulley’s disappearance shared her sensitive health issues with the public.
The Prime Minister said he agreed with Home Secretary Suella Braverman who reportedly demanded answers from Lancashire Police after details of the missing mum’s alcohol problems were released.
The force has announced today it is launching an internal review of the investigation following a major backlash over its conduct.
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Business owner adds CCTV to premises due to TikTok ‘vigilantes’
A business owner in St Michael’s on Wyre where Nicola Bulley vanished said she has installed three new security cameras to deter social media ‘vigilantes’.
It comes after Wyre Council leader Michael Vincent said villagers have hired a private security firm to patrol the streets after they’ve become overrun with outsiders, including TikTokers.
He said residents have complained about people peering through their windows and trying the door handles.
The unnamed entrepreneur told Yahoo News: “It’s very upsetting to the local community, it’s a time where people are very unsure about letting their kids out, and it’s a very quiet community and [Nicola’s disappearance] is a big shock to lot of people.
“These TikTokkers, they think ‘so many people will follow me because I’m in this certain area’, just leave it be. It’s a strange time in this area. I think the ladies are more nervous than the men.
“We have a lot of CCTV here, and I put an extra three cameras in to be on the safe side.”
Dog walker who found Nicola Bulley’s phone says he knew something ‘wasn’t right’
A dog walker who found Nicola Bulley’s phone on a bench has revealed details about the discovery – saying he knew something “wasn’t right”.
The man, named only as Ron, walking his dog when he came across the phone on the morning of January 27 alongside the river in St Michael’s on Wyre.
Ron described how he initially believed someone had left their phone on the bench while discreetly relieving themselves nearby.
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