Details of the last text message that missing Nicola Bulley sent out before vanishing three weeks ago has been released.
The 45-year-old mum of two disappeared shortly after dropping her two daughters, aged nine and six, off at school January 27 - before she was last seen walking her dog alongside the River Wyre in St Michael's in Lancashire.
The mortgage adviser's phone was found later on a nearby bench, still logged onto a works meeting call - which had ended at 9.30am.
Read more: Police identify body pulled from River Wyre as missing mum Nicola Bulley
Nicola's dog was also found wandering alone 'bone dry' and agitated on the trail with her harness on the floor. Just half an hour previously, the mum-of-two is understood to have texted a friend about meeting up sometime that week with her children.
A friend who lives in the village - who did not wish to be named - told the Mirror: "She booked a playdate, 8.57, she sent a text message to a friend whose mortgage she had just recently signed off on to arrange for the girls to go for tea this week."
The friend said this indicates she had no intention of voluntarily disappearing, adding: "You wouldn’t have done that if you were going to get up and go missing."
She said the information was revealed during a meeting at the village hall on Sunday morning at around 10.30am before residents headed out on their first mass organised search. The revelation comes as Lancashire Police is set to conduct an internal review into their investigation on Ms Bulley's disappearance.
The force confirmed a date had been set for the review, which will be conducted by their Head of Crime, Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables. Police came under fire for what was labelled a 'sexist' error when they disclosed information about Ms Bulley's struggles with alcohol and the menopause.
Former victims' commissioner Dame Vera Baird told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she believed the force had made a 'dreadful error' in releasing details of the missing mother-of-two's vulnerabilities. A source close to the Home Secretary said Suella Braverman was also 'concerned', demanding an explanation from police on Thursday.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it had received a referral from the force regarding the contact officers had with Ms Bulley on January 10 - before she went missing. In a statement confirming the internal review, 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.
"She is also PIP 4 accredited and has attended the national reviewer course."
Information Commissioner John Edwards said he will be asking Lancashire Police about its decision to disclose Ms Bulley's struggles with alcohol and HRT. He said in a statement: "Data protection law exists to ensure people's personal information is used properly and fairly. This includes ensuring personal details are not disclosed inappropriately.
"Given the high-profile nature of this case, we will be asking Lancashire Police to set out how they reached the decision to disclose this information in due course."
Ms Bulley's family urged people to stop "making wild theories up" about her and called for an end to the 'speculation and rumours' about her private life in a statement issued on Thursday. The decision by the force to reveal details of Ms Bulley's "vulnerabilities" had earlier been criticised by MPs and campaign groups.
The Conservative police and crime commissioner for Lancashire, Andrew Snowden, said the force was being 'as transparent as they can be' following the press conference.
On February 3, the force told the public of its main hypothesis that Ms Bulley had fallen into the River Wyre in a '10-minute window' between 9.10am and 9.20am on the day she disappeared. The search for her has since been extended to the sea but she has not been found.
Read next:
- Nicola Bulley: Live updates as search expert makes U-turn over missing mum
- Nicola Bulley's final three conversations before missing mum vanished shared by police
- Nicola Bulley latest as police say there is still 'no evidence' of third-party involvement
- Nicola Bulley's sister makes urgent plea as widespread search for missing mum continues
- Nicola Bulley: Former DCI says seven key questions must be answered
