Two weeks on from the disappearance, the children of missing Nicola Bulley have been left "deflated" by the constant uncertainty. Lancashire Police said officers are keeping an “open mind” while continuing to appeal for information about Ms Bulley, who disappeared on January 27 while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre.
The force is continuing to search the River Wyre towards the sea at Morecambe Bay, working on one hypothesis that the 45-year-old, from Inskip, could have fallen in. Their search has been aided by specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue, and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, with sniffer dogs, drones, and police helicopters deployed.
Ms Buley's friend pal Emma White has spoken about the impact on her two children in an appearance on Good Morning Britain, reports Birmingham Live. Ms White said the pair are "resilient" but dealing with a lot of emotions.
She said: "I think children are quite resilient aren't they, but they are obviously asking questions each day. The girls, when they get home from school, ask 'any news on mummy?' and Paul has to say 'no'. Paul says he can see the little girls just deflate. The little girl is saying 'Is my mummy famous?' and I didn't quite know how to answer that myself… for the wrong reasons.
"Just bring Nikki home, come to the sofa, with the girls, with Willow and you can have that happy story because that's what we're keeping hope for."
Her partner, Paul Ansell said he wants to keep "all options open" about her disappearance, but his "gut instinct" tells him she is not in the river. He told Dan Walker on Channel 5 last night that he was keeping his hopes up for the kids.
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He described Ms Bulley as "fun", "loving", "the most loyal friend you could ever have" and an "exceptional mum" who "absolutely adores our girls". "She's just a pillar of strength to our family and without her, the hole is bigger than you can possibly imagine," he told 5 News in a 75-minute documentary interview on Friday night.
