It is said that police searching for missing mum Nicola Bulley have attempted to draft in the help of a dog whisperer and behavioural profiler.
The 45-year-old mortgage advisor was last seen at 9.10am on January 27, walking her springer spaniel Willow in the village of St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire.
Her phone was soon after found on a nearby bench, still connected to a Teams meeting, while her 'bone dry' and 'agitated' dog was found running loose.
Read more: Police identify body pulled from River Wyre as missing mum Nicola Bulley
The Mirror reports Lancashire Police has so far failed to solve Ms Bulley's mysterious disappearance, previously saying that its main working hypothesis is that she fell into the River Wyre in a '10-minute window'. It has also recently come under fire for making Ms Bulley's struggles with alcohol and the menopause public, and has set a date for an internal review into their investigation.
As pressure mounts on the force, it has reportedly drafted in a behavioural profiling expert and a forensic clinical psychologist. Police have also made contact with a dog behavioural specialist to collect any information from Ms Bulley's springer spaniel, reports the Sunday Times.
It has further drafted in the help of a detective who worked on the case of murdered police community support officer Julia James, according to the paper. The move comes as Ms Bulley's father Ernie Bulley says 'every day is a struggle' since his daughter vanished.
He told Sky News on Friday: "[We're] no further on from three weeks ago. [We] just need a breakthrough to give us some hope."
In a press conference on Wednesday, Lancashire Police revealed Ms Bulley was classed as a 'high-risk' missing person immediately after her partner reported her disappearance 'based on a number of specific vulnerabilities'. They later added in a statement that she had been struggling with alcohol issues and the menopause, and had stopped taking HRT medication.
Information Commissioner John Edwards has said he will be asking the force about its decision to make the information public, adding: "Data protection law exists to ensure people's personal information is used properly and fairly. This includes ensuring personal details are not disclosed inappropriately."
Former victims' commissioner Dame Vera Baird said she believed the force had made a 'dreadful error' in releasing the details, and Rishi Sunak said he was 'concerned that private information was put into the public domain', telling broadcasters: "I'm pleased that the police are looking at how that happened in the investigation.
"Obviously my thoughts are with Nicola's friends and family and the focus must now be on continuing to try and find her."
A Lancashire Police spokeswoman said: "A review of the investigation is diarised and will be conducted by our Head of Crime Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables."
Read next:
- Nicola Bulley's last text message she sent just minutes before she disappeared
- Nicola Bulley's family releases fresh statement as search runs into third week
- Nicola Bulley: Live updates as search expert makes U-turn over missing mum
- Nicola Bulley's final three conversations before missing mum vanished shared by police
- Nicola Bulley latest as police say there is still 'no evidence' of third-party involvement
