Nicola Bulley's sister has hit out at the police theory that the mum-of-two has fallen into the river.
Louise Cunnigham took to Facebook to share a new appeal following a press conference from Lancashire Police on Friday, February 3. During the press conference, Superintendent Sally Riley confirmed to the press that the 45-year-old was believed to have fallen into the river.
She said: "Our main working hypothesis is that Nicola has sadly fallen into the river, that there is no third party or criminal involvement and this is not suspicious. This is particularly important because speculation otherwise can be really distressing for the family and for Nicola's children."
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The mortgage adviser went missing last Friday morning while walking the family dog along the River Wyre in St Michael's-on-Wyre in Lancashire. Police and search and rescue teams have been looking for Nicola since then and one week on, the police gathered the press where they announced they don't believe she left the riverbank.
Her phone is believed to have been placed on a nearby bench at around 9.20am while on a Microsoft Teams conference call. The phone was later found shortly after 9.30am.
Following extensive enquiries, police have searched 15km of the river as well as a 1km radius of ground around the bench where Nicola's phone was last seen. Hours after the press conference, Nicola's sister posted: "Please keep sharing my Nikki.
"Off the back of the latest police media update, please can I add there is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it’s just a theory. Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully, the police confirmed the case is far from over."
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