Heartless online trolls are said to have hacked into the social media account of Paul Ansell, the boyfriend of missing Nicola Bulley.
The keyboard warriors are believed to have gained access to the engineer's Pinterest account and posted sexually explicit photographs of women.
Several images appeared on Saturday including topless models in lingerie and pictures of an actress in a bikini.
The posts sparked concern from other online users amid speculation Paul's account had been broken into.
Lancashire Police were alerted to the posts by the Sunday Express and launched an investigation, confirming his account had been hacked.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Paul Ansell’s Pinterest account has been accessed by a third party and is being closed down. We are investigating the matter.”
The account was later disabled.
On Saturday, internet sleuths also sparked anger by filming as they searched an area close to where the mum vanished.
Two so-called amateur detectives posted a YouTube video of themselves digging up woodland near the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancs.
It comes despite repeated calls from police for such activity to stop.
Heartbroken Paul, 44, has already been forced to hit back at online abuse he has received.
As part of the Channel 5 programme Vanished: Where is Nicola Bulley? he was asked how he felt about accusations levelled against him from trolls.
He said “it would be upsetting” but only “if I let myself read it all”.
He continued: “I have seen some stuff. Most people have been amazing.
“You’re always going to get that two per cent of people that for whatever reason say and do not very nice things.
“But I don’t want to give any energy to that.” Emma White, a friend of Nicola’s, said some people on social media have made “hurtful comments”.
It comes just days after senior police officers urged people to stay away from the area- stating fake theories and speculation had made the investigation “incredibly difficult”.
Local council chief Michael Vincent told the Sunday Mirror: “It’s almost as though social media idiocy and reality have become blurred.
“We’ve had these weirdos, these ghouls, trying people’s door handles, peering through their windows.
“There has to be an element of decency. We can’t allow social media to be a place where there is no morality.”
The police search for Nicola has now entered its fourth week.
She vanished while walking her springer spaniel Willow along the bank of the river after taking her daughters, aged six and nine, to school in St Michael's.
The mum was last seen at 9.10am on January 27 taking her usual route with the couple's dog.
Around 20 minutes later, her mobile phone was found on a bench near the water.
Police are still working on a main hypothesis that she entered the water close to where her phone was found.
Volunteer group Specialist Search Dogs posted on Facebook that it was contacted by Lancashire Police on Wednesday “to assist a high-profile search operation for a missing person”, sending out two teams.
There are currently some 40 detectives and dozens of specialist searchers working to find Nicola.
However, the force has hinted the huge search operation could soon have to be scaled back or called off.
ACC Peter Lawson said: “I retain all hope, but the reality is there will be a point at which I need to review... the extent and proportionality of continuing to deploy significant search resources around the river and land-based options we have.”
Police also said they had approached Fitbit to try to obtain data from Nicola’s watch but had exhausted all enquiries in relation to it and no data to show her activities after she vanished had been obtained.
The force has come under fire over its investigation after last Wednesday it said Nicola was a high-risk missing person from the outset due to a number of vulnerabilities, which it would not go into for privacy reasons.
Later that day it confirmed she had issues with alcohol due to problems with the menopause, drawing criticism from several quarters, including Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
It also emerged police attended her address in Inskip on January 10 due to a report of concern for welfare.
Former police officers have mixed views on the force’s handling of the case.
Ex-Met detective Peter Bleksley said: “Police should have sealed off the scene for a full forensic search once her phone was found. If she hasn’t gone in the water, they will have lost that opportunity forever.”
But former Met detective Dave McKelvey said: “We should not dissect the police investigation while it’s live as we don’t know what they do or don’t know.”
