Police watchdogs have launched an investigation into a welfare check on Nicola Bulley carried out days before she was last seen – as it emerged that the force tasked with finding her will be subject to a full investigation.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct says it will assess the actions of officers on January 10 this year after Lancashire Police referred itself to the regulator last week. The force said it sent a car to Ms Bulley's home in Inskip, four miles from where she went missing, to carry out a welfare check that day.
Officers have since revealed that Ms Bulley, whose body was recovered from the River Wyre on Sunday after more than three weeks of searching, had a set of "vulnerabilities" that had classed her as a "high risk" individual. These were later disclosed as problems with alcohol and hormone replacement therapy she was taking to deal with the effects of menopause – a revelation that prompted furious criticism of the force.
