‘She has two little girls that need their mummy home’: Boyfriend of missing mother-of-two reveals ‘perpetual hell’ after she vanished during dog walk while making conference call
The boyfriend of a mother-of-two who vanished three days said this afternoon ‘She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home’.
Nicola Bulley, 45, went missing on Friday morning, with her mobile phone found near to where she was last seen, on a towpath by the River Wyre in Lancashire. Her dog she was walking, springer spaniel Willow, was found loose between the river and bench.
Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell, speaking from the family home in Inskip, Lancashire, said: “It is just perpetual hell. It is just utter disbelief. We are living through this but it doesn’t feel real.
“All we can say is we need to find her. She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home. We have got to get some good news now.”
Mr Ansell said he or Ms Bulley, also known as Nikki, would drop the children, aged nine and six, off at a local primary school before taking Willow for a walk along the river nearby.
Ms Bulley did the school run before heading for the dog walk on Friday, police indicated.
“I got a call from the school regarding somebody who had found Willow, and Nikki’s phone and the dog lead and harness on the bench,” Mr Ansell, who then called the police, said.
“We take the kids to school and take the dog down there – either myself or Nikki – nearly every day.”
Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen on the morning of January 27 , when she was spotted walking her dog
Ms Bulley had been out watching this dog when she was reported missing three days ago
Searches have been carried out by Lancashire Police using drones and police dogs over the weekend, with support from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue team and the North West Underwater Search Team.
Police search a bank alongside the River Wyre close to where missing the missing mother of two was last seen on Friday morning
Police today said they believed Nicola was a missing person and it was not currently being treated as a ‘crime inquiry’.
Local community members have also organised search efforts across the St Michael’s area.
Ms Bulley, from Inskip, Lancashire, is described as white, 5ft 3in, with light brown shoulder-length hair. She speaks with an Essex accent and was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive green ankle wellies. Her hair was tied into a ponytail.
She was walking her brown-coloured spaniel immediately prior to going missing, although the dog has since been found.
Chief Inspector Chris Barton, of Lancashire Police, said: ‘Nicola has now been missing for two days and we are extremely concerned about her.
Nicola Bulley, 45, from Inskip, Lancashire, was last seen on the morning of Friday January 27, when she was spotted walking her dog on a footpath by the River Wyre (Lancashire Police/PA)
It has been more than 48-hours since Ms Bulley’s last sighting and police are continuing to appeal for anyone with information. Pictured: Dog walkers searching for Nicola Bulley
Dog walkers searching in the village of St Michael’s-on-Wyre after Lancashire Police asked for help in finding Nicola Bulley
‘Firstly, if anybody saw her on Friday morning and has not yet been spoken to by police, or if anybody has any other information about where she might be, please get in touch with us straight away.
‘Inquiries are very much ongoing and we have a team of detectives working tirelessly to establish the circumstances around her disappearance, in addition to a large team of police officers, partner agency and volunteer groups on the ground searching the area around where she was last seen.
‘We are following a number of lines of inquiry and are keeping an open mind at this stage about what has occurred.
‘We appreciate there is a great deal of concern in the local area and that people want to help, however we would ask that nobody puts themselves in any danger.
‘If anybody has any questions or concerns they are welcome to speak to officers in the area.’
Anybody who has information should call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27th, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.