The daughters of missing Nicola Bulley have been left "deflated" as they continue to wait for their mum to come home following over two weeks of agony, a friend has said.
The girls, aged six and nine, last saw their mum when she dropped them off at school on January 27. She then went to walk the family dog and vanished later that morning.
Emma White, who is friends with the missing mum-of-two, said the girls "need their mummy" to return home and constantly ask their dad, Paul Ansell, when she is returning, reports the Mirror.
In a heartbreaking revelation, the friend said Nicola's youngest has been asking whether her mum is now famous as her disappearance has been widely reported in the media - a question nobody knows how to answer.
Talking on Good Morning Britain, Ms White described Nicola's disappearance as a "rollercoaster of emotions".
She said her daughters and Nicola's children are friends and, despite being "resilient", they always ask questions.
Ms White said: "I think children are quite resilient aren't they, but they are obviously asking questions each day.
"The girls, when they get home from school, ask 'any news on mummy?' and Paul has to say 'no'. Paul says he can see the little girls just deflate.
"The little girl is saying 'Is my mummy famous?' and I didn't quite know how to answer that myself… for the wrong reasons."
She added: "Just bring Nikki home, come to the sofa, with the girls, with Willow and you can have that happy story because that's what we're keeping hope for."
The search for Nicola has today entered the 16th day with police saying officers are keeping an "open mind" while continuing to appeal for information.
It comes as after her heartbroken partner Paul said his "gut instinct" is that she is not in the River Wyre, where she was last seen.
Lancashire Police is continuing to search the rivers towards the sea at Morecambe Bay, working on one hypothesis that the 45-year-old, from Inskip, could have fallen in.
Their search has been aided by specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue, and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, with sniffer dogs, drones, and police helicopters deployed.
Nicola vanished while walking her springer spaniel Willow near the river, shortly after dropping her daughters at school. The mortgage adviser's phone was found on a bench overlooking the river, still connected to a work call.
Police have discounted foul play and are treating the incident as a missing person inquiry.
On Thursday, the focus of their search switched from St Michael's to around 10 miles downstream where the river empties into the sea at Morecambe Bay, with patrol and rescue boats spotted in the area.
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