A former detective who exposed Jimmy Savile has questioned the theory that missing mum Nicola Bulley has fallen into the river and believes that she could have been taken by force.
Mark Williams-Thomas has queried why police were so certain from an early stage that the 45-year-old dog walker did not leave the area.
Mum-of-two Nicola went missing two weeks ago while walking her springer spaniel Willow in the Lancashire village of St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire, on January 27.
Her mobile phone, which was still connected to a work call, was found on a bench near the river with her dog nearby, but no trace of Nicola has been found since.
Police are working on the theory that Nicola entered the water and say there is no reason to believe third-party involvement, but Mr Williams-Thomas, who now produces crime documentaries, said he is worried that maybe evidence is being sought to back up a hypothesis.
"From very early on police were certain Nicola Bulley 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," he said.
He added he is "not saying that has happened here" over Ms Bulley being abducted but spoke of the "opportunistic" window of "10 to 15 seconds" that an "offender" could have taken.
Speaking on the Talking True Crime UK podcast, the ex-cop continued: "One of the things that police have talked about is this window of opportunity.
"During that period of time it is an opportunity for an offender or a third party or for that individual to disappear. That window of opportunity is the time period where there is no sighting of the individual concerned.
"In Nicola's case, they say there is a window of opportunity of about 10 minutes. Probably slightly more than that. Opportunistically, things just fall into place."
Lancashire Police said the scale of the missing person inquiry is "unprecedented", involving 40 detectives and following 500 lines of inquiry.
Former Met Police Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville, who was in charge of a missing person unit, has said there are "several possibilities".
He told TalkTV: "It is a very tragic case and I feel for the family, and there are several possibilities. The police believe she went into the water, she could also have decided to vanish herself. There is the possibility she was either taken by force by someone who either didn't know her, or someone who she did.
"These are the four things the police will be looking for. They seem to be going on the theory that she fell into the river, but from what they are saying, Lancashire Police are not putting all their eggs in one basket and they are examining several possibilities. They are doing a good job. There has been some mistakes along the way, but they are doing a good job."
He added: "There are very few people who vanish without a trace. They must have realised something was really seriously wrong quite early on, and that bench was not sealed off. That was an opportunity lost."
Meanwhile the search continues and friends have gathered for another roadside appeal two weeks on from her disappearance.
