A body has been found in the River Wyre in the ongoing search for Nicola Bulley, police have confirmed – 23 days after she went missing.
Officers were scrambled to a site at the riverside shortly before noon on Sunday February 19 after receiving a tip-off from two walkers who spotted something in the water. A police helicopter and drones were seen hovering over an embankment around a mile from where the 45-year-old was last seen on January 27.
Shortly afterwards police divers and Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, the lead officer in the case, were seen arriving at the scene, followed by a Lancashire Police crime scene investigation van. The Mirror reports that a body has been found, per Lancashire Police.
A tent has since been erected at the roadside a short walk from the river. The identity of the body is yet to be confirmed.
In a statement, Lancashire Police said: "This morning, Sunday, 19 February, you may be aware of police activity around the river near to St Michaels. We want to provide you with an update on that activity.
"We were called today at 11:36am to reports of a body in the River Wyre, close to Rawcliffe Road. An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body.
"No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time. Procedures to identify the body are on-going.
"We are currently treating the death as unexplained. Nicola’s family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy is respected."
Andrew Snowden, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, said: "My thoughts are with Nicola’s family and friends at a difficult time. I’d like to thank the @LancsPolice officers and staff working on scene and across the Force. Please can we see respect and privacy for Nicola’s family and friends and the Police as they go about their work."
Police have been pursuing a theory that the mum-of-two and mortgage advisor fell into the River Wyre within a 10-minute window between her last sighting and her phone being discovered on a nearby park bench. The phone was discovered still connected to a Microsoft Teams work call, while family pup Willow was found running off-lead.
Nicola had last been seen at 9.10am on January 27, shortly after dropping her children off at school in St Michael's on Wyre. Doorbell footage from a neighbour showed her loading Willow into the back of the family car four miles away in Inskip.
She was last seen wearing a long, knee length black quilted gilet with a hood. She was also wearing a black Engelbert Strauss coat underneath which had long sleeves and came to her waist, black jeans and long green walking socks tucked into her jeans and green wellington boots.
Within an hour, she had disappeared without trace, prompting a widespread search effort along the banks of the Wyre that captured the nation's attention. In the weeks since she disappeared, police have sought out and spoken to a number of key eyewitnesses in a bid to ascertain what had happened to the mum.
In all, police have spoken to hundreds of people and received over 1,500 pieces of information related to their inquiries. Officers leading the case have consistently stressed that they were continuing to treat Nicola's disappearance as a missing person's case, and have stated on several occasions that they do not believe the case involved any "third-party involvement".
Professional divers were brought in to scour the riverbed of the Wyre, which leads to Morecambe Bay and out to the Irish Sea, but those efforts came to naught and were called off earlier this month. Detectives also said there had been blindspots in CCTV footage covering the area where Nicola was last seen – meaning her last known movements still remain a mystery.
As the search continued, Lancashire Police intensified their appeals for more information on Nicola, leading to controversial disclosures about her personal issues in the weeks before she vanished. The force was criticised after revealing that the mum had been struggling with alcohol and her use of hormone replacement therapy to cope with the peri-menopause.
Officers later disclosed that they had been called out her home on January 10, which resulted in no further action. Lancashire Police chiefs have mounted an internal investigation into the disclosures and referred themselves to police watchdogs over the January 10 visit.
However, Nicola's family said they had been made aware of the information being released beforehand and authorised it, despite knowing "Nikki would have not wanted this".
The disappearance had attracted a number of amateur detectives who posted content about the case on social networks such as TikTok, sharing often unverified and unproven theories on what happened to her. Speculation on social media about Nicola and her family, including partner Paul Ansell, prompted her relatives to release a strongly worded statement condemning those spreading "appalling" stories.
Their statement read: "It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing. We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and Paul’s private life.
"As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki. Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her.
"This is appalling and needs to stop. The police know the truth about Nikki and now the public need to focus on finding her.
"The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life. Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers.
"Nikki is such a wonderful daughter, sister , partner and mother and is missed dearly - we all need you back in our lives. Nikki, we hope you are reading this and know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle.
"We all need you home. You can reach out to us, or you can contact MissingPeople.org.uk. Don’t be scared, we all love you so very much."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
