Searches for missing mother Nicola Bulley have entered an 18th day after her heartbroken husband said his “gut instinct” is that she is not in the river.
Lancashire Police said officers are keeping an “open mind” while continuing to appeal for information about Nicola, who disappeared on January 27 while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre.
The force is continuing to search the River Wyre towards the sea at Morecambe Bay, working on one hypothesis that the 45-year-old, from Inskip, could have fallen in.
Their 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.
Nicola vanished while walking her springer spaniel Willow near the river, shortly after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school.
Police have discounted foul play and are treating the incident as a missing person inquiry.
Nicola’s partner, Paul Ansell said he wants to keep “all options open” about her disappearance, but his “gut instinct” tells him she is not in the river.
He described Ms Bulley as “fun”, “loving”, “the most loyal friend you could ever have” and an “exceptional mum” who “absolutely adores our girls”.
As Nicola’s disappearance still remains a mystery over two weeks on, here are all the clues we know so far.
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Lancashire Constabulary / SWNS.C)
Mum texted her friend a significant message before going missing
Nicola is understood to have texted a friend about meeting up with her kids in a message sent minutes before she vanished.
A pal 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 before residents headed out on their first mass organised search.
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Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
Nicola was last seen wearing a gilet jacket, jeans and wellies
The mum was last seen wearing a long, quilted, ankle-length gilet, and underneath that another coat, as well as further clothing.
Other items of clothing included tight-fitting black jeans, long green walking socks, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit.
Julie Mackay, a retired Detective Superintendent who previously solved a 32-year-old murder, backed police’s theory that Nicola could have fallen into the river, saying her clothes would have weighed her down.
She said: “Generally wearing winter clothes makes it more difficult to get out it will weigh you down.
“The cold water shock alone will knock you sideways even for an experienced swimmer. That cold water shock very quickly disorientates you and with winter clothes it’s heavy and panic will set in.”
Supt Sally Riley, who is heading the search, also said Nicola’s wellies could have contributed to her falling in the river.
She added: “One would assume they fill with water when someone enters a river so all of that clothing is heavy, particularly on someone who is of slight build and only 5 foot three.”
Mum was sighted by a number of witnesses on her way to riverbank
At 8.26am on January 27, Nicola left her home to drop off her two daughters at school, engaging in a brief conversation with another parent around 15 minutes later.
The mum took her dog Willow for a walk at 8.43am along the river path, and was seen by a dog walker who knew her at around 8.50am.
She is then believed to have walked long a path past a lower and upper field and a hedgerow before being sighted at approximately 9.10am on the morning of January 27.
The 9.10am sighting is thought to be the last time she was seen before her disappearance.
Nicola logged onto a work meeting at 9.01am
The mortgage adviser was taking part in a Microsoft Teams meeting shortly before she vanished – although it appears she was muted with her camera turned off.
Nicola sent an e-mail to her employer at 8.53am, before logging onto the call at 9.01am.
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PA)
Ben Pociecha, the director of Exclusively Mortgages, previously told The Telegraph: “It seems as if she was muted and didn’t have her camera on. She was listening in whilst walking her dog.
“There were numerous parties involved in this. A lot of people attended the call. The police are investigating the call.”
Nicola’s phone was found on a bench still logged onto call
The missing mum’s mobile was still on the work call when it was found on a bench by a dog walker.
Her dog’s harness was also found on the floor next to the river.
Nicola’s partner, Paul Ansell, has said he believes her phone being found on the bench could be just a “decoy”.
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Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
Channel 5’s Dan Walker asked him: “But these are things that you naturally would think about because, you know, the team’s call was still active at the time, wasn’t it?
“And Willow’s harness is on the floor and, you know, I’m sure these are things that constantly you are thinking about.”
Mr Ansell replied: “We always felt that the mobile phone and the harness could possibly be a decoy. Again, we don’t have evidence.”
Witness ‘saw 2 suspicious men trying to hide their faces’ on route
A witness who claimed he saw two men acting suspiciously near Nicola’s dog-walk route says they were “trying to hide their faces”, it has been reported.
They said they were carrying fishing rods and appeared to be wearing hats or hoods, which hid their faces.
The witness told The Sun: “I first saw them at around 7.45am on my way to work on the Thursday, the day before Nicola Bulley vanished. I drive that way every day, so know the road well.
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PA)
“I saw two men wearing dark clothing and hoods or hats and carrying fishing rods.
“They could have been just two normal fishermen and if I had seen their faces I wouldn’t have thought anything of it.
“But I remembered that they seemed to want to hide their faces, which struck me as odd.”
Lancashire Police had previously ruled out foul play and believe it likely she fell into the river.
Nicola’s dog was found ‘bone dry’ next to river ‘in an agitated state’
Willow was found by another dog walker wandering around on her own, while her harness and Nicola’s phone were found near a bench close to the water.
A local told the MailOnline: “I know the woman who found Willow. She said the dog was near the river bank and close to the bench that Nicola’s phone was found.
“Willow was bone dry and so hadn’t been into the water but the dog was in an agitated state.”
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Channel 5)
Supt Sally Riley earlier said: “I don’t wish to speculate, in that we don’t know, but it is possible as the dog was loose and off the lead.
“There may have been an issue with the dog that led her to the water’s edge, she puts her phone down to go and deal with the dog momentarily, and Nicola may have fallen in.
“We assume the dog didn’t get into the river, but we don’t know why Nicola may have if she did.”
Police told about ‘tatty red van’ seen on same day mum vanished
A concerned resident reportedly spotted a suspicious-looking vehicle, believed to be a Renault, outside a barn in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27.
The witness contacted the police to report a suspicious “red van” parked in the village close to where Bulley went missing.
The 55-year-old witness, who had not been named, told The Times they saw the “tatty red van in Hall Lane outside a barn”.
“I didn’t think anything at the time, but when I saw Nicola had gone missing, I called 101 and spoke to an operator.
“I contacted the police again on Friday and spoke to a police officer. It could have been a Renault van.”
The St Michaels on Wyre resident said the vehicle was the “sort of van you can live in”.