A missing mum is said to have dialled into a work conference before she vanished while walking her dog.
Nicola Bulley had previously described the route she took her family’s cocker spaniel Willow on as “spooky”.
The 45-year-old mum was last seen on Friday (January 27) at around 9.15am near Garstang Road in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
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An hour later, Willow was found running loose by a member of the public who recognised the pooch and contacted the police.
Police found Nicola’s phone on a nearby bench, still logged onto the Teams call.
Lancashire Police launched search efforts as specialist officers were seen on a small boat trawling on the river.
(Image: James Maloney/Lancs Live)
The mum had previously shared photos on social media walking the same route, which she appeared to know well.
She captioned one selfie, taken along the river: “A very foggy cold walk this morning, not a day to forget your gloves!
“Bit Spooky too! Set me up for the day though and Willow had the best time.”
Nicola is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall, with light brown shoulder-length hair. She speaks with an Essex accent.
(Image: James Maloney/Lancs Live)
When she vanished, she was wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive green ankle wellies. Her hair was tied into a ponytail.
Paul Ansell, Nicola’s partner, made an emotional appeal to find the missing 45-year-old, saying: “We need to find her. She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home.”
Superintendent Sally Riley has since said Nicola’s phone was still “active” on a bench, with a search launched immediately after.
They said: “It was on a meeting call, and that was still live it was connected to the conference call and that hadn’t been terminated.”
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Superintendent Riley also confirmed there were “no reports” of criminal activity, noting there was an “absence” of factors that could point toward an attack on the 45-year-old.
The Mirror asked if forensic teams had been searching the area alongside drones, sniffer dogs and police helicopters but Supt Riley said there was no evidence of any criminal activity or that Nicola has been attacked.
She added: “There are no reports of anything like that but clearly all scenarios are tested and checked for but in the absence of anything to suggest there was anything criminal was there anything to suggest she was attacked, absolutely not.”
Ben Pociecha, the director of Exclusively Mortgages, told The Telegraph she had logged onto a team meeting at 9.01am on Friday.
“It seems as if she was muted and didn’t have her camera on. She was listening in whilst walking her dog,” he said.
“There were numerous parties involved in this. A lot of people attended the call. The police are investigating the call.”
Chief Inspector Chris Barton of Lancashire Police added: “Nicola has now been missing for two days and we are extremely concerned about her. We are following a number of lines of enquiry and are keeping an open mind at this stage about what has occurred.”
Anybody who has seen Nicola, or has information about where she might be, is asked to call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27. For immediate sightings please call 999.
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