One of Nicola Bulley's friends has taken to social media to dispel myths surrounding the 'abandoned house' near the spot where the mum of two went missing. Numerous social media posts have demanded police search the property, and a group of men from Liverpool turned up at the site on Wednesday determined to have a look for themselves.
Calls for police to look at the house have increased since dive experts ruled out the missing mum being in the river. But police and Nicola's friends have pointed out the 'social media speculation' is hindering the search for the missing dog walker.
Nicola's friend, Heather Gibbons, shared four facts about the building, including that it is 'not abandoned' and 'has been searched' thoroughly by police, reports LancsLive. Ms Gibbons said it is 'owned by a lovely family' who 'would do anything they can to help in the search for Nikki' and stressed that they have 'never refused entry to the police or told them they need a warrant to search'.
Her Facebook post read: "Lets talk about this 'abandoned house.' I'm a friend of Nikki's who has been involved every single day in this search.
"I want absolutely nothing more than to get her back home to her family. I can't actually express in words how desperately I want to know she is safe and to get her home to her girls and Paul.
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
"Since day one when speaking with the press/media I have shared how incredibly thankful we are as friends and family for people who have turned out to help us in our search for Nikki, its meant the absolute world and it continues to do so. But this abandoned house, here are some facts that need to be known.
- Its not abandoned. Its owned by a lovely family who have lived in this village for generations and would do anything they can to help in the search for Nikki.
- It HAS been searched, inside and outside, from top to bottom by the police. I have clarified this with the family themselves and also with the police.
- They have never refused entry to the police or told them they need a warrant to search.
- Its not 'strange' that they were around when the police/rescue teams turned up, the police had knocked on their door and asked them to be around.
"Tonight multiple police units are out in St Michaels dealing with people trespassing, not only on this families land but also others. We are at the point where people coming to 'help' look for Nikki in this way is actually doing the complete opposite.
"You're taking police time and resources away from the investigation. You're letting speculation take away from the actual facts.
"We are at the point where this type of 'help' is making people who live in St Michaels feel unsafe. Please don't let this continue to happen."
In a press conference on Tuesday, Superintendent Sally Riley said: "There are some properties along the riverside which are empty or derelict. Whilst it may be well-intentioned that people think that that could be a line of inquiry, I would ask them to desist from doing that.
"In some cases it may be criminal if they are breaking in and causing damage or committing a burglary."
She said officers have searched riverside properties with the permission of owners. She added: "Because there is no criminal element yet identified, and we don't expect there to be in this inquiry, then we're not starting to go into houses because that's not where the inquiry is leading us."
Superintendent Riley described the search as “unprecedented”, with 40 detectives following 500 lines of inquiry, with thousands of pieces of information coming in from the public.
