A friend of Nicola Bulley's revealed she struggled with deciding whether or not to tell the mum's young daughter she was missing. The 45-year-old mortgage advisor was last seen walking her dog in St Michael's on Wyre on January 27 after she dropped her daughters, aged six and nine, at school.
Police confirmed that a body was found on Sunday morning in the river Wyre but formal identification is yet to take place, the Mirror reports. Days after the mum-of-two disappeared, Nadia Fell had been looking after her friend's six-year-old daughter as the search continued.
Speaking of how hard it was to not tell the youngster what was happening, she said: “She didn’t know what was going on at that point, everyone was like, 'Just let’s not tell her. Everyone was holding on to a little bit of hope. I was sitting there thinking, 'Your world is soon going to fall apart' and it was just horrible.
"The basic line is that she’s missing, she’s lost and she [her daughter] understands those words.” Lancashire Police discovered a body in the river on Sunday morning after two dog walkers reported that they had found human remains.
It was found less than a mile downstream from where Nicola was last seen but formal identification is still to take place to confirm the identity. Nicola's devastated family have come together following the news as they said 'We have to be strong' while they await any further updates.
Sky News correspondent Inzamam Rashid said he had been in touch with Ms Bulley's partner, Paul Ansell over text. He wrote in a message: "No words right now, just agony. We're all together, we have to be strong".
The search for Ms Bulley who went missing over three weeks ago has captured the entire nation due to the bizarre circumstances of her disappearance.
On Sunday, a police spokesman said officers were called to reports of a body in the river at around 11.35am. A statement said: "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 ongoing.
"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."
It is understood that the 'female' body was discovered by a man and a woman walking their dog.
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