It has now been 11 days since dog walker and mum-of-two Nicola Bulley went missing. Lancashire police held a press conference on Tuesday to update the public on their search.
A specialist underwater rescue team has been brought in over the last two days to help search the river near the path where 45-year-old Nicola was last seen walking her dog Willow. The Specialist Group International are using sonar scanners to search the river bed, so far nothing of importance has been discovered.
Superintendent Sally Riley led a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to reflect on the search over the last couple of days. She insisted that police are still working on their theory that Nicola was in the river, despite search specialist Peter Faulding suggesting the lack of any discovery is "very strange."
Read more: Nicola Bulley updates: Seven things dive expert Peter Faulding says don't add up
These are the key points from the police update on Nicola Bulley:
1. Police are "open minded to any information" to where Nicola is
Supt Sally Riley said that house to house enquiries have been carried out in the village over the last 11 days. She also added that Nicola's Fitbit and mobile phone data have been examined.
Supt Riley said the police force have identified 700 vehicles that were passing the village that day that may have useful information to them. She said that the force have wrote to the owners of these vehicles to query as to whether they have any information that could help their enquiries.
Supt Riley said the appeal for drivers who drove through the village on that day is in order to close the gap that Nicola may have left the riverside via Garston Lane. This is the only exit not covered by CCTV. It is hoped that by contacting the drivers of 700 vehicles that have been identified, police will be able to close this as a potential exit that she may have took.
2. They still believe Nicola fell into the river
Supt Riley said: "Our work around the search of the river and the river bank continues and this includes many pieces of different technical equipment. As I said on Friday, the river is a complex area to search, it is not a still water it is a fast flowing moving water which is tidal in parts.
"This makes it particularly complex. We have already discounted particular areas of the river but as they are tidal we have re-searched them to make sure nothing has been washed back into those search areas. We have six people searching the river banks every day, these are specially trained search officers, who are systematically, methodically searching the river bank and open ground."
She added divers are also working with SGI to search the river itself. She said: "It does remain our belief that Nicola sadly fell into the river, and this is a missing person enquiry."
3. Search extended to the sea
The search of the river has now been extended down to the sea, in particular the Morecombe Bay area, which Supt Riley described as particularly large. She added: "We will stop searching the river when all the experts and our own staff confirm there is nothing further to be gained from that."
4. Urged the public not to speculate online
Supt Riley asked members of the public not to speculate about the case online or on social media. She said: ""This is particularly hurtful to her family, her children and partner Paul, her parents, her sister and her friends. It is distracting to the police enquiry. We will not tolerate online abuse for anyone including innocent witnesses nor family or friends."
5. Extra detail to the known timeline that fills in some gaps
- 8.26am Nicola left her home address with her children
- 8.40am Nicola dropped her children off at school
- 8.43am seen on the river path towards the gate and bench on lower field
- 8.47am someone who knows Nicola saw her with dog, and two dogs briefly interacted
- 8.53am she sent email to boss
- 8.59am she sent message to friend
- 9.01am she logged onto teams call
- 9.10am last confirmed siting of Nicola
- 9.20am Her phone was on the bench located by GPS
- 9.30am Teams call ended
9.33am Nicola's phone and dog were found by a witness
6. Empty properties along the river have been checked by police
Responding to a question from a journalist who asked about why Supt Riley warned people not to break into any houses, Supt Riley said: "There are some properties along the riverside which are empty or derelict. It may be criminal if you are breaking in or causing damage. We have gone into derelict property including ones on the river side with the permission of those owners and searched the area, inlcuding the grounds
"Because there is no criminal element yet identified and we don't expect there to be, we are not expecting to go into houses."
7. Where to contact if you have any information
Supt Riley said there is now a specific email to aid the investigation. Anyone who believes they have any information that could hellp should email: nicolabulleyinvestigation@lancashire.police.uk
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