The sad news that a body has been found by police looking for missing mum-of-two Nicola Bulley comes three weeks and two days after she disappeared. The 45-year-old had dropped her children off at school and was walking her dog Willow when she was last seen by fellow dog walkers.
The mortgage advisor, from Inskip in Lancashire, went missing on January 27 in St Michael's on Wyre. Rumours, speculation and conspiracy surrounded Nicola's disappearance, though police remained firm that while they were keeping an open mind, their main hypothesis was that Nicola had somehow entered the river. The news that a body has been discovered less than a mile from the bench where her phone was found should hopefully give her family some of the answers they have so desperately needed. As always with cases where bodies are discovered, it has not yet been officially confirmed as being the body of Nicola Bulley.
Friday, January 27
At 8.26am Nicola was seen on her Ring doorbell leaving home to take her two daughters, aged six and nine, to school. According to police, she was wearing a black Engelbert Strauss coat, black jeans and had long green walking socks tucked into her trousers under ankle length green wellington boots. Her hair was tied into a ponytail and she was wearing a pale blue Fitbit fitness tracker.
Nicola dropped her children off at school, spoke to another parent in the playground and then took her spaniel, Willow, for a walk along the path by the River Wyre at 8.43am, heading towards a gate and bench in the lower field. It was an area she knew well and would often be seen walking her dog there.
Nicola was seen by a dog walker who knew her at around 8.50am, and their pets interacted briefly before they parted ways, according to police. Three minutes later, Ms Bulley sent an email to her boss, followed by a message to her friends six minutes later, before logging on to a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am. It was reported that she didn't put her microphone or camera on, which was normal.
The last known sighting of Nicola was at 9.10am by another person walking in the area. Her phone was back in the area of the bench at 9.20am before the Teams call ended 10 minutes later, with her mobile remaining logged on after the call.
At 9.33am, another dog walker found her phone on a bench beside the river, with Willow darting between the two. At 10.50am, Ms Bulley's family and the school attended by her children were told about her disappearance. Lancashire Constabulary launched an investigation into Ms Bulley's whereabouts on the same day and appealed for witnesses to contact them.
January 28
Lancashire Constabulary sent out drones, helicopters and police search dogs as part of a major missing person operation. Nicola was immediately deemed as a high-risk and vulnerable missing person, though this was not widely known until a press conference held earlier this week by Lancashire Police Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson and Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith. At the start of the investigation police were assisted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team and the North West underwater search team.
January 29
Local residents held a meeting at the village hall to organise a search for Ms Bulley at 10.30am on Sunday, according to reports from The Mirror, and around 100 people joined in. Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as "extremely dangerous" and saying that activity in these areas presented "a genuine risk to the public".
January 30
Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Constabulary said police were "keeping a really open mind about what could have happened", and that they were not treating Ms Bulley's disappearance as suspicious.
January 31
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a potential witness, a man who had been walking a small white fluffy dog near the River Wyre at the time of Ms Bulley's disappearance. Her family released a statement saying they had been "overwhelmed by the support" in their community, and that her daughters were "desperate to have their mummy back home safe".
February 1
Ms Bulley's parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley, spoke to The Mirror about the "horror" they faced over the possibility of never seeing her again. Her father told the newspaper: "We just dread to think we will never see her again, if the worst came to the worst and she was never found, how will we deal with that for the rest of our lives?"
February 2
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a second witness who they had identified with the help of the public using CCTV but they told police they did not have any further information to aid their inquiry. Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit searched the area close to where Ms Bulley's mobile phone was found, while police divers scoured the River Wyre. Meanwhile, Ms Bulley's family appealed to the public for help tracing her.
Speaking with Sky News, her sister Louise Cunningham said: "There has got to be somebody who knows something and all we are asking is, no matter how small or big, if there is anything you remember that doesn't seem right, then please reach out to the police. Get in touch and get my sister back."
Ms Bulley's father said his family hoped their interview would "spark a light" that would lead to her being found.
February 3
Two weeks after Nicola disappeared, Lancashire Police said it was working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre. Ms Riley urged against speculation, but said it was "possible" that an "issue" with Ms Bulley's dog may have led her to the water's edge. She urged the public to look out for items of clothing Ms Bulley was last seen wearing, and gave an extensive list.
Ms Bulley's friends also shared heartfelt appeals via television interviews, including Emma White, who told the BBC that Ms Bulley's daughters were continually asking where she was.
Emma, who has known Nikki for 10 years, told BBC Breakfast: "Seven days on, we are just hoping that someone who might have passed last Friday, might remember that they saw something. We just need a glimmer of hope and some information."
February 4
Emma White cast doubt on the police theory that she fell into a river, telling Sky News it was based on "limited information". She said: "When we are talking about a life we can't base it on a hypothesis, surely we need this factual evidence. That's what the family and all of us are holding on to, that we are sadly no further on than last Friday."
In a Facebook post, Ms Cunningham urged people to "keep an open mind" as there is "no evidence whatsoever" that the dog walker fell in the river. On the same day, Lancashire Police announced it wanted to trace a "key witness" who was seen pushing a pram in the area near where Ms Bulley went missing on the morning of her disappearance.
February 5
The woman described as a "key witness" by police came forward. The force insisted she was "very much being treated as a witness" as it warned against "totally unacceptable" speculation and abuse on social media.
Peter Faulding, leader of underwater search experts Specialist Group International (SGI), began searching the river after being called in by Ms Bulley's family.
February 6
Ms Bulley's friends said they hoped the help of a specialist underwater rescue team would give the family answers. Speaking to broadcasters, Ms White said the family had asked Mr Faulding and his company for help.
She told BBC Breakfast: "Following the hypothesis of the police that Nicola was in the river, we need some evidence to back that up either way and I feel Peter and his amazing bit of kit... is going to come and sweep the river bed and give us answers."
Meanwhile, Ms Bulley's partner Mr Ansell, in a statement released through Lancashire Police, said: "It's been 10 days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back. This has been such a tough time for the girls especially but also for me and all of Nicola's family and friends, as well as the wider community and I want to thank them for their love and support."
February 7
Peter Faulding described the case as "baffling" and the most "unusual" case he has investigated in his 25 years in the job. His searches of the river did not find any clues, he said. Later in February, after police held a press conference and released details of Nicola's health at the time of her disappearance, he admitted he would have handled the case differently.
February 10
Police urged people to refrain from indulging in commentary and conspiracy theories about Ms Bulley's disappearance as speculation increases online with large numbers of people on social media, especially TikTok, broadcasting their own theories about what had happened to Ms Bulley.
February 15
Police held a press conference over the case and say the mother-of-two was classed as a "high-risk" missing person immediately after she was reported missing due to "vulnerabilities." They later disclosed Ms Bulley's struggles with alcohol and perimenopause, a decision which was highly criticised.
February 16
In a statement released through Lancashire Police, Ms Bulley's family said the focus had become "distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her private life" and called for it to end. Lancashire Police referred itself to the police watchdog over contact the force had with Ms Bulley prior to her disappearance. Home Secretary Suella Braverman demanded an "explanation" for the disclosure of Ms Bulley's private information by the force.
February 17
Lancashire Police announced it was conducting an internal review into the handling of Ms Bulley's disappearance and the Information Commissioner said he would ask the force questions about the disclosure.
February 18
Ms Braverman met with police leaders to discuss the handling of the investigation after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also expressed "concerns" about the revealing of personal information.
February 19
Roads around the area where Nicola went missing were closed off and police divers were seen arriving in the area. On Sunday afternoon Lancashire Police announced the sad news they had found a body.
Read next:
