Missing mum Nicola Bulley 'may have gone off-grid', a missing persons expert has said today (Saturday). The 45-year-old woman disappeared on January 27, with police unable to find any evidence of her whereabouts.
The last time she was seen she had just dropped off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire. Her mobile was later found on a bench still logged into a Microsoft Teams work call, and investigators found her dog, dry, alone and agitated.
Lancashire Police has said its theory is that she fell into the river in a "10-minute window". But missing persons expert Charlie Hedges, whose CV includes working with the National Crime Agency and several UK police forces, believes there is "no indication" that she's in the River Wyre, reports MirrorOnline.
He told GB News: "The river was the most important thing to check out - that's been thoroughly searched with no outcome and no indication that she's there. Nobody goes missing without a reason, and understanding what's going on in someone's life is very, very important.
"It may be that she took the decision to go off, but it's not very easy to go off-grid in today's world."
Meanwhile, Lancashire Police has been under fire as critics accused them of undermining the public's confidence in the authorities for sharing "very personal information" about Ms Bulley.
Former Inspector of the Constabulary, Zoe Billingham, told Sky News: "I think the fact that this very personal information has made its way into the public domain and is being pored over is going to cause people to have an element of doubt over whether or not they will phone the police now if their loved one went missing, which is a terrible thing to happen in the sense that the police are there for us."
She added: "99.9 percent of police officers do a great job for us every day, are here to make us safe and the public should report this in. But to actually have undermined confidence in the police in this way is deeply disturbing."
The force confirmed a date had been set for an internal review into the investigation.
A police spokeswoman said: "A review of the investigation is diarised and will be conducted by our Head of Crime Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables."
Earlier, a source close to Suella Braverman said the Home Secretary had a meeting with Chief Constable Chris Rowley and his senior team yesterday, and "asked to be kept updated on the investigation".
Rishi Sunak said he was "concerned that private information was put into the public domain", telling broadcasters on Friday evening: "I'm pleased that the police are looking at how that happened in the investigation.
"Obviously my thoughts are with Nicola's friends and family and the focus must now be on continuing to try and find her."
Ms Bulley's father Ernie Bulley has said "every day is a struggle" since his daughter vanished while walking her springer spaniel Willow in the village of St Michael's on Wyre on January 27.
He told Sky News: "[We're] no further on from three weeks ago. [We] just need a breakthrough to give us some hope."
In a press conference on Wednesday, Lancashire Police revealed Ms Bulley was classed as a "high-risk" missing person immediately after her partner reported her disappearance "based on a number of specific vulnerabilities". They later added in a statement that she had been struggling with alcohol issues and menopause, and had stopped taking HRT medication.
Information Commissioner John Edwards has said he will be asking the force about its decision to make the information public, adding: "Data protection law exists to ensure people's personal information is used properly and fairly. This includes ensuring personal details are not disclosed inappropriately."
Former victims' commissioner Dame Vera Baird said she believed the force had made a "dreadful error" in releasing the details.
Ms Bulley's family have also called for a stop to "speculation and rumour", adding: "The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life."
The search for her has since been extended to the sea, but she has not been found.
