The Nicola Bulley missing person case could be solved with help from 'armchair detectives', an expert has said. Detective Martyn Underhill - a veteran of 50 murder cases - said locals with knowledge of 'little intricacies' could be vital in helping police find out what happened to the mum-of-two.
Members of the public flocked to St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire over the weekend in an effort to help find the 45-year-old who went missing there on Friday January 27. She disappeared while walking her dog in the village.
But huge interest among the public can be a double-edged sword too. Mr Underhill's comments, reported in the Mail Online, also highlighted the risk of well-meaning people inadvertently destroying evidence.
Speaking to the Sky News Daily Podcast, he said: "The one thing I've learnt, and I've worked on 50 murders and I'm now lecturing on murders in university, is you cannot beat local knowledge. They know little intricacies - a little tree that's got a root that sticks out that someone will trip up on if they walked over it.
"It is silly things like that can become absolutely crucial in solving a murder or a missing person. You need armchair detectives."
The detective, who worked on the search for murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne in 2000, continued: "We had over 1,000 people a day turning up trying to help find Sarah and over 500 psychics contacting us saying they want to help. The problems have got bigger since Sarah because of technology... The public literally stomp all over your evidence.
"Nine out of 10 missing people are solved by the public, not by the police. But equally, you have to manage that expectation.
"And I call it the tail wagging the dog. You have to have clear strategies in place that the public feel like they're being involved - [so] the armchair detectives don't feel rejected."
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Mr Underhill pointed to a number of factors he believes are driving public interest in Nicola's disappearance to a level above the 'average' missing persons case in the UK. "One is the beautiful photo of Nicola standing in front of the river where she disappeared, which is ironic and eye-catching," he said.
"Then you've got the mobile phone story which is really unusual - that she is actually meant to be engaged in a Teams phone call at the time she disappeared and her phone is still there. And then you have got the other public interest. The public always take an interest in animals. There's a beautiful dog found at the scene."
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