Police held a press conference to update the public on the state of the investigation into the disappearance of Nicola Bulley, which has left the nation baffled. Nicola, a mum of two young girls, vanished on January 27 as she walked her dog after dropping her daughters - aged six and nine - off at school.
Police strongly defended their approach to the investigation today (Feb 15), and said they had always had an open mind about what had happened to her. But said the most likely hypothesis was that she had fallen into the water and no third party was involved.
They revealed that ‘vulnerabilities’ which had been made clear to them by her family meant that she was classed as a ‘high risk’ missing person, but refused to elaborate on what they were. Police were scathing of ‘amateur detectives’ chasing Youtube and Tiktok hits who were proving a distraction to their officers.
Read more: Nicola Bulley's partner Paul Ansell frustrated with police, says forensic expert Peter Faulding
Here are some of the key points covered in today’s press conference led by Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson, and Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, which took place at Lancashire Police HQ.
Nicola Bulley had ‘vulnerabilities’:
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, the lead investigator in the Nicola Bulley case, refused to give more details of the mother-of-two’s “individual vulnerabilities”, which meant that her case was immediately classified as ‘high risk’. Referring to Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell, she told a press conference: “It’s normal in any missing person investigation that you obviously gather as much information at an early stage about the person in question, which is no different and we did that with Paul.
“I’m not going to go into the details of those individual vulnerabilities. I’ve asked you to respect the family, who are going through unimaginable pain and distress at this moment. But those vulnerabilities based our decision-making in terms of grading Nicola as high risk and have continued to form part of my investigation throughout.”
Asked if she hoped to find her alive, Det Supt Smith said: “I hope with all my heart that we find Nicola Bulley alive more than anything.”
Police believe there is no third party involved:
Lancashire Police Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson said there is still “no evidence to indicate a criminal aspect or third party involvement”. Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith said that when Nicola Bulley was reported missing, police graded her as ‘high risk’.
She said: “She was immediately treated as a misper [missing person].” It was only on the Monday that Det Supt Smith was appointed. She explained there were three hypotheses when she went missing.
She told the press conference: “Number one that she possibly could have gone into the river. That there could have been third party involvement. And lastly that she could have left the area voluntarily.
"At the initial stages based on the information received I made it clear that it was my working hypothesis at that time based on all the fact that the main hypothesis I was working on at that time was that Nicola had gone in the river. This has been misconstrued in the press who said that that was what I said.
"I said that was my main working hypothesis at that time and that is my main working hypothesis. We have always been open minded."
Tiktokers:
Amateur sleuths and social media video-makers have “distracted significantly” from police efforts to find missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, the lead investigator in the case has said. At a press conference at Lancashire Police HQ on, the BBC asked if “social media video makers and wannabe detectives have been an annoyance or a hindrance in the enquiry”.
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith said: “Yes, it has significantly distracted the investigation. In 29 years’ police service I’ve never seen anything like it.
“Some of it’s been quite shocking and really hurtful to the family. Obviously, we can’t disregard anything and we’ve reviewed everything that’s come in but of course it has distracted us significantly.
“But as long as we are prioritising, which we do constantly on the information that’s coming in, that will not distract us from the priority actions that we’ve been completing.”
Nicola’s phone:
When Nicola entered the field she made two text messages - one to her boss and one to a friend arranging a playdate. She logged onto a work teams call, which Det Supt Smith said was normal.
She explained it was for information and that there was no evidence from Nicola on the call. Det Supt Smith said they were sure that Nicola on her Teams call had her phone held out in front of her.
Derelict house:
Det Supt Smith said on the issue of the derelict house which people have been speculating has not been searched: “The derelict house which is on the other side of the river has been searched three times with the permission of the owner and Nicola is not in there.”
Red van:
A suspicious ‘scruffy red van’ had been reported by some witnesses as being in the area at the time. Det Supt Smith said: “I think it’s also really obvious we are being inundated with false information, accusations and rumours which is distracting us from our work.
"The red van it has been reported that it was in the area on the Morning, the 27th, like many other hundreds of cars that morning. We’re continuing to make inquiries to track down that van but from my perspective with all the other facts and information on this case I do not believe that to be suspicious.”
‘Suspicious fishermen’:
Det Supt Smith referred to: “Fishermen seen that morning who again were described as ‘suspicious’. I myself do not find it suspicious that fishermen would be in the area of a river that morning or carrying fishing rods.
"But there was some suggestion that one of these males might have been looking to cover his face. We have made numerous appeals for these fishermen to come forward we have made contact with the local angling clubs and we have also ascertained the time of the witness passing down that road and checked the CCTV at The Grapes pub and we can’t see any of those fishermen at that time.”
Glove recovered:
Det Supt Smith said: “You’ll be no doubt aware that Tiktokers have been in the area and playing their own private detectives and have been in the area. A glove has been recovered that is not believed to be relevant to the investigation. It is not Nicolas but we have got that in our possession.”
Read next:
- Reports Nicola Bulley police have been given 'stained' glove found yards from where she vanished
- Nicola Bulley latest as partner Paul Ansell asks Mercedes to track car keys
- 'Offensive' Nicola Bulley voicemail investigated by police after series of 'mystery phone calls'
- Nicola Bulley police search caravan site near bench where her phone was found
- Read more Nottingham news
