Police looking for Nicola Bulley have acted with "shocking naivety" in how information has been released, an ex-detective has said.
The mortgage adviser, 45, was last seen on January 27 walking her brown spaniel Willow near the River Wyre in the village of St Michaels on the Wyre, Lancashire.
Police launched a massive search for the mum, using drones, dogs, and specialist divers and expanding more than 13 miles to Morecambe Bay.
This week police came under scrutiny for publicising that Nicola has struggled with alcohol and it was related to menopause.
Peter Bleksley, a former undercover cop for the Metropolitan Police and star of Channel 4 show Hunted, said the police looking for Nicola have acted with "shocking naivety".
Speaking on TalkTV last night, he said: "With regard to the whole release of this information... I think if the family had endeavoured to keep these matters secret, there's a shocking naivety on behalf of the police."
He also said: "[Lancashire Police] have tried to suppress speculation, all they’ve done is fuel it.
"Today was utterly ludicrous when they said there were private and personal matters which were the vulnerabilities around Nicola. But of course, don’t speculate about them."
On Wednesday, police held a press conference where they said for the first time that the mum-of-two was categorised as "high risk" due to "a number of specific vulnerabilities".
At the time, they did not elaborate and sparked further speculation despite trying to use the press conference to quash any unhelpful theories.
Hours later, the force stated on Facebook that Nicola "in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with menopause".
Lancashire Police came under scrutiny following the announcement. In yesterday's statement, Nicola's family said they were aware that these details would be made public, despite knowing "Nikki would have not wanted this".
In the statement, Nicola's family also directly appealed to the mum, saying to "not be scared" as her girls "want a cuddle".
The family also expanded on Nicola's health to help put an end to further speculation. They described the "appalling" nature of people "threatening to sell stories" about Nicola.
The statement also takes aim at conspiracy theories spreading misinformation saying "it needs to stop".
The original statement from the police about Nicola's health sparked fury among MPs.
Labour's Stella Creasy said: "The decision to disclose this level of detail on a missing person's private life, with no evidence that this is assisting in finding her, is deeply troubling.
"The police need to be much clearer as to why any of this helps find Nicola Bulley or support this investigation."
Conservative MP Alicia Kearns said she was "deeply uncomfortable" with the police releasing details about Ms Bulley's "so-called 'vulnerabilities' on menopause and alcohol".
"I struggle to ascertain how this will assist Police in their search & investigations," she wrote, adding, "I do see how it would assist those wishing to victim-blame or diminish."
