Police have tracked down a potential witness in the search for missing dog walker Nicola Bulley.
Officers issued another appeal for a possible key witness earlier today as the hunt for the 45-year-old mortgage advisor, who was last seen around 9.20am on Friday, January 27, rages on.
Nicola was logged into a work call and had been walking her brown springer spaniel Willow before her disappearance, which has sparked a massive manhunt along the River Wyre in the village of St Michael’s, Lancashire.
A CCTV image of a woman in a red coat walking a white dog was released by Lancashire Constabulary. She was believed to have been in St Michael’s on Wyre when Nicola disappeared last week, reports the Mirror.
In an update, the force said she has since been identified, but reinforced that there is nothing to suggest that any third party was involved in Nicola's disappearance.
The woman had been photographed wearing a red and white coat and walking a small white dog around shortly before 9am close to where Nicola was last spotted.
Earlier today, police divers returned to the place where Nicola was last seen to carry out an extensive new search of the area.
A team of divers foraged beneath the surface of the River Wyre while others combed the banks and a fire service boat team, alongside a specialist search dog, scoured the water surface.
A member of the public raised the alarm not long after Nicola was last seen on Friday after they recognised her dog, Willow, running loose without a harness on.
The mum's mobile phone was also found nearby. It is believed she had been on a work call around the time she went missing, but had her camera off and microphone muted.
She had just dropped off her two daughters, aged six and nine, at the local school and after going missing her phone was found on a park bench nearby, along with the harness and lead for her dog.
Timeline of Nicola Bulley's last known movements
8.43am: Nicola walked along the path by the River Wyre, having dropped her children off at school
8:50am (approximately): A dog-walker, known to Nicola, saw her walking around the lower field with her dog. Their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field via the river path
8.53am: Nicola sent an email to her boss
9.01am: She logged into a Teams call
9.10am (approximately): A witness, somebody who knows Nicola, saw her on the upper field walking her dog Willow Work is ongoing today to establish exactly what time this was.
9.30am: The Teams call ended but Nicola stayed logged on
9.35am (approximately): Nicola’s mobile phone and Willow were found at a bench by the river by another dog-walker
Speaking on Sky News, Nicola's family broke down in tears as they said they were "stuck in a nightmare" after she "vanished into thin air".
Nicola's sister Louise Cunningham, speaking to Sky News today, said: "I just can't... if I'm being honest, it feels like I'm just stuck in a nightmare.
"We're going round and round in circles trying to piece together what could have possibly happened and we've just got to keep such an open mind with everything because we just have no idea where she is.
"It's like she's just vanished into thin air. There's no evidence to point us in any direction.
"Obviously, my hope is that she's still out there. Something's happened and she's... I don't know, needed to take herself off for whatever reason."
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