The search for Nicola Bulley continues, with the mother-of-two having now been missing for over two weeks. Nicola - known as Nikki - disappeared on January 27 while out walking her dog, and has not been seen since.
A huge search around the area of St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire has taken place since her disappearance, but has so far proved fruitless. Nicola's partner Paul Ansell has spoken to Dan Walker about her disappearance in a Channel 5 interview, saying that he wants to keep "all options open".
Mr Ansell described his partner as "the most loyal friend you could ever have" and an "exceptional mum" to their two daughters. He said the family is going through "unprecedented hell" since Nicola's disappearance.
READ MORE: Nicola Bulley seen playing with children in heartbreaking footage before she vanished
Nicola dropped her two daughters, aged six and nine, at school before taking their dog for a walk along the towpath overlooking the River Wyre. She had been on a work conference call - with her microphone muted and her camera turned off - which her phone was still logged into when it was found on a bench along the path.
Her dog, Willow, was also found near the bench but was dry, with investigators believing the dog had not been in the water. Lancashire Police have dismissed theories that Ms Bulley had been a victim of crime, but detectives have said they remained "fully open-minded" to any information that could indicate Nicola's whereabouts, or what could have happened.
Police are working on the theory that Nicola could have entered the water and have ruled out third party involvement. While this theory has been backed by an ex-detective, another former detective has raised questions about it. Here is what we have learned about Nicola's disappearance in the past few days.
Reports of a witness saying they saw two suspicious men
In an article published by The Sun, it was reported that two men were spotted acting suspiciously in St Michael's on Wyre the day before Nicola disappeared. A witness is said to have come forward to police after spotting the men outside the local church. The report said that the same witness told police that they saw one of the men in the vicinity of her usual route on the morning she vanished.
Police have extended the investigation to the day before Nicola went missing
Police have widened their investigation to include the day before Nicola went missing an returned to St Michael’s on Wyre last week to request CCTV from the day before the 45-year-old disappeared, BirminghamLive reports.
Now, garage workers in the village have confirmed cops are tracing Ms Bulley's footsteps from January 26 onwards. “Two smartly dressed officers came in following up, a man and a woman," one told the Sun newspaper.
“They wanted the CCTV from the day before Nicola vanished and to take statements of any activity we had seen from that day. These officers were different to the ones in uniform, they seemed very assertive.” The search for Ms Bulley continues, having now been extended to Morecambe Bay.
Paul Ansell does not believe Nicola is in the river
Ms Bulley's partner, Paul Ansell, told Channel 5 that he is "100 per cent" convinced that she did not fall into the river. Speaking of the search, he said: "Extensive searching, you know, as you're probably aware, has gone on in that river. The fact that the divers and underwater rescue team and all that were in that river on the day, and thankfully found absolutely nothing, in the part where you would have to presume is her last known location."
He continued: "Personally, I am 100 per cent convinced it's not the river, that's my opinion". Mr Ansell spoke on the programme 'Vanished: Where is Nicola Bulley?' and said his "gut instinct" tells him she is not in the river but that he wanted to keep "all options open" about the disappearance. You can read more from the interview here.
He believes a local person is responsible for the disappearance
In the interview, Paul said that everyone in the town is familiar to them but added that he believes someone local is aware of what's happened than an outsider.. Speaking to presenter Dan Walker, he said: "We've walked down there for years and I mean years, you know, when we, me and Nikki, met 12 years ago, we used to walk our dogs that we had, you know, that Nikki had, when I met her.
"We used to take the dogs down there 12 years ago. Since the children have gone to the school, we've done it every week. It's about as well known a walk to us as you could possibly do. You see the same faces every single day, and on the very odd occasion when you see somebody that you don't know they stand out like a sore thumb.
"Everyone's the same. So whatever has happened, in my eyes, has to be somebody who knows the local area. The fact that nothing's been seen or heard, I just truly believe that it's something in the village."
But an ex-detective backs theory that Nicola is in the river
Police have said that their "main working hypothesis" is that Ms Bulley fell into the river, but searches have failed to locate her. The hypothesis has been backed by ex-Detective Superintendent, Julie Mackay, who says she supports the theory based on three factors: that no new information has given them a reason to think otherwise; it is unlikely to be criminal based on the time she disappeared; and the winter conditions would make it harder to find her.
Speaking to The Mirror, the former Det Supt said she didn't believe a criminal act had been committed, saying that a criminal act would usually be from an opportunist. "It's rare they would camp out the area, check the route, the CCTV and do it at all around 9am," she said of cases where women have been attacked or murdered by a stranger.
Ms Mackay added that the possibility that Nicola entered the Wyre and had been carried out to sea is "still quite possible." She added that, if Nicola went into the river, her clothes would have weighed her down. You can read more about Julie Mackay's comments here.
Another former detective questions theory
However, the theory that Ms Bulley fell into the Wyre has been questioned by a former detective who exposed Jimmy Savile. Mark Williams-Thomas has questioned why police were certain from early on that she had not left the location near the river.
Mr Williams-Thomas, who now produces crim documentaries, said: ""From very early on police were certain #NicolaBulley did not leave the location. I have always questioned this, they could not be certain about this given every exit route is NOT covered by working CCTV . This plays into my worry of looking for evidence to support a hypothesis."
Claims police made 'crucial mistake' from day one
A former murder detective has criticised the investigation into the disappearance. Detective chief inspector Simon Harding was quoted in a national newspaper, claiming that Lancashire Police made mistakes from the moment they became involved in investigating Ms Bulley's disappearance.
Mr Harding that he had observed that no cordon had been put in place in the area where Ms Bulley went missing and asked why her "out of character" disappearance wasn't picked up on immediately. The former detective also questioned why police are adhering to the theory of no third party involvement, saying that, as CCTV did not cover all the routes around the area, "you simply cannot be sure that someone else is not involved".
Writing in The Sunday Times, Mr Harding Simon said: "It is now crystal clear that those closest to the investigation — her family and close friends — simply do not believe the hypothesis put to them. The trust and confidence of the family and the general public in this investigation is now very low." You can read more about Mr Harding's comments here.
Police 'making efforts' to identify owner of a red van
Following reports of witnesses saying that they had seen a "tatty red van" in the area that they considered to be suspicious, police have said that are are 'making efforts' to identify the owner. However, they played down reports from witnesses in a statement posted on Twitter.
The force wrote: "We continue to see hurtful abuse of innocent people, including witnesses and local businesses. There is also a huge amount of commentary from so-called experts and conspiracy theories which are damaging to the investigation and, worst of all, to Nicola's family. It must stop."
The post continued: "We are aware of reports in the media about a red van being reported to us and we would like to stress that whilst we are making efforts to identify the owner, at this time there is nothing to suggest this was anything other than one of many hundreds of vehicles in the area that morning."
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