A close friend of missing dog walker has shared some facts about her disappearance while pleading with trolls to stop causing "hurt and distress." Nicola Bulley has been missing since January 27 as police struggle to come up with a conclusive explanation of what happened to her.
Investigators had suggested she may have fallen into the River Wyre in Lancashire while retrieving a ball for her dog Willow but the family have cast doubt over this theory. Nicola's sister Louise Cunningham has urged the public to keep an "open mind", while friend Heather Gibbons said they are "not willing at this stage to accept" the river fall theory.
The Mirror reports that a family friend has now shared the terrible toll the disappearance has had on Nicola's family, and listed 11 points she believes the public should know. Tilly Ann, said that the only CCTV camera "that would have seen everything" isn't working, and said it was normal for Nicola's dog to have her harness removed.
Writing on Facebook, Tilly Ann said she had permission from Nicola's "incredibly close" family before posting. She said Nicola's sister Louise is "pretty much living" with her sibling's partner Paul Ansell and the couple's daughters as the search for their mum goes into a tenth day.
Describing the impact on Paul she wrote: "We can see the hurt and pain and can see how much he's struggling to hold back the tears. He is completely focusing on his girls because if he even stops to think about anything else, he will lose it and he doesn't want to worry his girls even more than they already are."
Tilly has told how she has been "shocked and appalled" by the coverage of her friend's disappearance and listed points she believes the public should know.
She wrote:
- Paul and Nikki both mostly work from home which is why he was at home that day. They have CCTV and there is a reason why Paul has never been a suspect. Family and friends need these accusations to stop immediately. The fact that I've had to write this is disgusting to be honest
- They both do this walk regularly and Paul is very well known in the community and very well recognised
- The dog never has her harness on for a chunk of that walk, it's removed at the gate of the top field and then put back on at the gate when they leave
- They very rarely take the ball out for walks with Willow now because she is very very protective over the ball and haven't done for a while
- Nikki quite often would put her phone on loudspeaker when talking
- The dog was found very close to the bench and the harness. The harness was found on the floor not on the bench
- Nikki is an incredibly strong swimmer
- Nikki drove to the school and then left her car there and walked to the river
- The dog was dry when found
- The dog has since been back
- 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
She added: "What her familys need right now is as much positivity as possible please."
Police and search specialists from HM Coastguard and the fire service continue to scour the area looking for clues to explain what happened.
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