Missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley is likely to have fallen into the river while walking her dog and her disappearance is not being treated as suspicious, police have said.
Nicola, 45, a mortgage adviser from Lancashire, vanished while on a walk by the River Wyre after dropping her daughters, aged nine and six, off at school last Friday, January 27. She was last seen that morning after logging onto a work Teams call, her mobile phone and the lead and harness for her dog Willow were later found on a bench close to the River Wyre.
Lancashire Police have now said that they believe Nicola did not leave the riverside area. Superintendent Sally Riley said: “Our main working hypothesis is that Nicola has suddenly fallen into the river, that there’s no third-party or criminal involvement, and that this is not suspicious but a tragic case of a missing person.”
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She added: “This is particularly important because speculation otherwise can be really distressing for the family and for Nicola’s children.” Local members of the public have been urged to look out along the river for items of clothing that Nicola was last seen wearing.
Police said that inquiries so far had left just a 10-minute window in which Nicola's movements last Friday cannot be accounted for, with Superintendent Riley telling reporters: "We have not found Nicola - but the search continues". On Thursday, emergency services carried out underwater searches in the river next to the bench where her phone was found.
Nicola's springer spaniel Willow was found safe and dry near the bench, so it is not believed that the dog had been in the river. Her family have spoken about the "nightmare" ordeal they have been through within the last week as they continue to issue pleas for anyone who may have information as to her whereabouts to get in touch.
Nicola's sister Louise Cunningham, speaking to Sky News, said: "If I'm being honest, it feels like I'm just stuck in a nightmare. We're going round and round in circles trying to piece together what could have possibly happened and we've just got to keep such an open mind with everything because we just have no idea where she is.
"It's like she's just vanished into thin air. There's no evidence to point us in any direction. Obviously, my hope is that she's still out there. Something's happened and she's... I don't know, needed to take herself off for whatever reason."
She added: "We just want her home. We need her home, her children need her home. It's just absolutely heartbreaking."
Superintendent Riley said on Friday: “It’s now a week since Nicola went missing and her disappearance has understandably caused a huge amount of concern and upset in the local community, as well as being an absolutely awful time for her family.
“As a mum I can’t begin to imagine the suffering they are going through. We are supporting them as best we can and keeping them updated on our efforts to try and find Nicola.”
Nicola is white, 5ft 3ins, with light brown shoulder-length hair, and speaks with an Essex accent. She was last seen wearing a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat, a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive-green ankle wellies, with a pale blue Fitbit.
Anybody who has seen Nicola, or has information about where she might be, is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30. For immediate sightings please call 999.
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