Nicola Bulley‘s family face the agonising wait for a body that was found in the river to be identified more than three weeks on.
The 45-year-old vanished while on a dog walk on January 27 soon after dropping off her two young children at school in St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire.
Her phone was found on a bench overlooking the River Wyre and springer spaniel Willow had been left wandering nearby.
Investigators say they are keeping an open mind about what happened, but have been working off the main hypothesis that she accidentally fell into the water and have ruled out foul play.
Yesterday, Lancashire Police confirmed a body was found in the river in St Michael’s near where Nicola went missing on January 27.
While formal identification has not been completed, Nicola’s family have been informed of the news and are said to be in “agony”.
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Below is a day-by-day timeline of Nicola’s disappearance and the search.
January 27
At 8.26am on Friday, January 27, Nicola left her home in Inskip with her two daughters, aged six and nine, dropping them off at school and engaging in a brief conversation with another parent around 15 minutes later.
Leaving her car park at the school, she took 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 and at 8.53am sent an email to her boss.
It’s understood she then texted her friend about meeting up later in the week at 8.57am and then logged into a work conference call at 9.01am.
She was seen by a second witness at 9.10am, the last known sighting before her phone was found on a bench at 9.33am, with the dog wandering nearby.
Nicola’s partner Paul Ansell was eventually contacted at around 10.50am and police were called before a search was launched the same day.
January 28
Lancashire Constabulary deployed drones, helicopters and police search dogs as part of the major missing person operation.
They were assisted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as the Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team and the North West underwater search team.
The grounds of a seemingly unoccupied house were searched before the owner is said to have arrived and agreed to check inside.
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January 29
Local residents held a meeting at the village hall around 10.30am to organise searches, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, attracting over 100 villagers, including Paul.
Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as “extremely dangerous” and saying that activity in these areas presented “a genuine risk to the public”.
Volunteer searchers were told to move up the river and work in a pincer movement, while professionals moved downstream.
January 30
Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Constabulary said police were “keeping a really open mind about what could have happened”, and that they were not treating Ms Bulley’s disappearance as suspicious.
She said Nicola’s phone was found on a bench with a work teams call still on the screen.
Supt Riley said there was no evidence of any criminal activity or that Nicola has been attacked.
January 31
Nicola Bulley’s sister Louise Cunningham and parents Ernest, 73, and Dot, 72 in tears as they appear on TV.
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a potential witness, a man who had been walking a small white fluffy dog near the River Wyre at the time of Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
He is understood to have lived locally and been a regular on the route but had not seen Nicola on the day she vanished.
Her family released a statement saying they had been “overwhelmed by the support” in their community, and that her daughters were “desperate to have their mummy back home safe”.
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Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
February 1
Ms Bulley’s parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley spoke to The Mirror about the “horror” they faced over the possibility of never seeing her again.
They said they had urged the police to reconsider whether Nicola may have been abducted or attacked, but were told this was unlikely.
February 2
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a second witness who they had identified with the help of the public using CCTV but they told police they did not have any further information to aid their inquiry.
Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit searched the area close to where Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was found, while police divers scoured the River Wyre.
Nicola’s family were interviewed on TV, with her sister appealing for anyone with information to come forward and “get my sister back”.
February 3
Lancashire Police confirmed for the first time it was working on the hypothesis that Nicola may have fallen into the river.
Supt Riley urged against speculation but said it was “possible” that an “issue” with her dog may have led her to the water’s edge and urged the public to look out for Nicola’s clothing.
Friends also shared heartfelt appeals via television interviews, including Emma White, who said Nicola’s daughters were continually asking where she was – while partner Paul also gave a televised interview.
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February 4
Emma cast doubt on the police theory that she fell into a river, saying it was based on “limited information”.
In a Facebook post, Ms Cunningham urged people to “keep an open mind” as there is “no evidence whatsoever” Nicola went in the water.
Lancashire Police then announced it wanted to trace another “key witness” who was seen pushing a pram in the area near where Ms Bulley went missing on the morning of her disappearance.
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Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
February 5
The key witness came forward, with the force insisting she was “very much being treated as a witness” as it warned against “totally unacceptable” speculation and abuse on social media.
Private underwater forensics firm Specialist Group International (SGI) offered their services free of charge after speaking to Nicola’s family.
The police agreed to draft them in to start the following week.
February 6
SGI chief Peter Faulding told the Mirror his high-tech sonar equipment would find Nicola in under an hour if she fell into the water by the bench.
Nicola’s friends expressed renewed hope as SGI launched into the water that morning.
Paul released another new statement, marking 10 days since the disappearance occurred, saying: “I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back.”
February 7
Superintendent Sally Riley said river searchers are now spreading out towards the sea at Morecambe, but reiterated that police do not believe there was any foul play involved in the disappearance.
She said despite over 500 pieces of information currently being reviewed, investigators are yet to find anything conclusive.
She warned members of the public to refrain from taking the law into their own hands when joining the search effort.
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Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
February 8
SGI pulled out of the search and said they were “100 per cent” confident Nicola is not in the immediate stretch of water from the bench after trawling several miles over two days.
Mr Faulding said the case is “baffling” but was glad his team hadn’t found a body as it meant Nicola may still be alive somewhere.
He was pictured at the search scene with Paul.
A group, who are believed to have travelled to Lancashire from the Liverpool area, tried to search a building by the river on Wednesday night for the missing mum-of-two. They were reportedly issued a dispersal order by police.
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February 9
The search operation has now moved to Morecambe Bay with police saw combing the area in boats.
Lancashire Police has said there are currently no further press conferences scheduled as things stand.
Mr Faulding has shared a video of the river from the day of the disappearance which he claims proves Nicola wasn’t in the area by the bench.
February 10
Police were seen trawling underneath a bridge more than seven miles from where the mortgage adviser was last seen.
The Shard Bridge is about halfway to the estuary from the village. Images show specialists in a small boat travelling around and under the road crossing.
The search at point had already expanded to the Morecambe Bay along the Irish Sea.
February 13
Police were seen searching a caravan site near where Nicola disappeared.
The caravan site being visited by officers is believed to be one of several CCTV ‘blind spots’ identified in the search for Ms Bulley.
A friend, named Tilly-Ann, previously wrote in a Facebook post backed by Ms Bulley’s family: “There’s CCTV at the back of the caravan park.
“The only camera that isn’t working is the one that would have seen everything.”
February 15
Police hold a press conference and say Nicola was classed as “high-risk” after she was reported missing due to “vulnerabilities.”
They later clarified that Nicola had struggled with alcohol and perimenopause. The decision to release that level of public information was highly criticised by MPs.
February 16
Police release a statement on behalf of the family, calling for an end to ” speculation and rumours into her private life “.
The police also referred itself to the police watchdog over contact it had with Nicola before she went missing.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman also called for an “explanation” over disclosing Nicola’s private medical information.
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Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
February 18
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed “concerns” about the revealing of personal information.
February 19
Police found a body in the River Wyre – about a mile from Nicola was last seen.
Formal identification has not been carried out but the mortgage adviser’s family have been informed.
Sky News correspondent Inzamam Rashid said: “I’ve been in contact with Nicola’s family via text message, and they are heartbroken by this significant development from Lancashire Police.”
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CHRIS NEILL)
February 20
Mr Faulding releases a statement explaining the reason why his team didn’t find a body was that his equipment “does not penetrate reeds”.
In a statement, he said: “Sadly, the discovery was not found in the river but in the reeds at the side of the river which was not part of our remit as the side scan sonar does not penetrate reeds above or below the water.
“A riverbank and wade search would be the only way to search this area and we were not involved or tasked with that search. The difference between these two search areas has caused a lot of confusion and unfair criticism towards myself and my team at Specialist Group International (SGI).”