Police divers, crime scene investigators and the top cop leading the Nicola Bulley missing person case have arrived at the site of a new search after officers received a tip-off from two walkers.
Police cars raced to the scene at the edge of the River Wyre, near St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire, earlier on Sunday, sealing off nearby roads in a matter of moments. Force drones and a helicopter have been seen hovering over an outcrop of trees and undergrowth around a mile from where the mum was last seen on January 27.
A photographer at the scene told the Mirror: "It all happened so fast. Police have sealed all the roads off. It's fair to say a massive search is underway."
Images from the scene show the intensive search effort being instigated by Lancashire Police more than three weeks after the mum was last seen, shortly after dropping her daughters off at school. It is understood that the force sealed off a nearby road after receiving a call at around 11.50am.
A man and a woman were seen standing alongside the waterway, pointing at a particular spot in the water. Dive teams have been seen arriving at the scene this afternoon, along with Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, the senior investigating officer on the case and a crime scene investigation van.
Lancashire Police is yet to issue a statement on the nature of the lead. However, the search comes over three weeks after Ms Bulley disappeared.
Investigations have centred on the River Wyre. Police have been pursuing a theory that she fell into the river within a 10-minute window between her last sighting and her phone being discovered on a nearby park bench.
After she vanished, Nicola's phone, still connected to a Microsoft Teams work call for her job as a mortgage adviser, was found just over 20 minutes later on a bench overlooking the riverbank, with family pup Willow running loose.
The search for her has since been extended to Morecambe Bay, at the edge of the Irish Sea. The mum's disappearance has captured the nation's attention, with many visiting the site of her disappearance to conduct their own searches, or to leave messages of support.
However, social media detectives' theories have prompted her family have called for a stop to "speculation and rumour". In a statement issued by Lancashire Police, the family said: "The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life."
Ms Bulley's father Ernie Bulley has said "every day is a struggle" since his daughter vanished. Speaking to Sky News on Friday, he said: "[We're] no further on from three weeks ago. [We] just need a breakthrough to give us some hope."
Lancashire Police has come under fire for some of the disclosures it has made about the 45-year-old following her disappearance. Unspecified "vulnerabilities" alluded to in a police press conference were later made public as problems with alcohol and the menopause in an official police release.
The force has mounted an internal investigation into the disclosure. It has also referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, England's policing watchdog, over contact officers had with Nicola on January 10, more than two weeks before she disappeared.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has contacted police leaders about the investigation as the Prime Minister said he too was "concerned" by the revelation.
Appearing on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt described the ordeal as "horrific" for the family, saying: "It's quite shocking. And I think that both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are right to raise concerns about this."
She added: "And I think it really does grate with a lot of women and we have to put up with all kinds of sexist behaviour in all kinds of settings. And I think to have it play out in this kind of environment is why people are so upset."
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