More details have emerged about two men who were reportedly seen acting suspiciously near the river in Lancashire where Nicola Bulley disappeared.
The witness who saw the two men told a national newspaper they were "carrying fishing rods" and "were trying to hide their faces". The man, who did not want to be named, told The Sun: “It was very strange. It made me uneasy.”
He said that he saw the two men at round 7.45am on the day before Nicola vanished. The man told The Sun "they could just have been two normal fishermen" - but "they seemed to want to hide their faces, which struck me as odd".
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Describing their behaviour as "strange", the man told the Sun he initially "thought they must be poachers". However, when he heard about Nicola's disappearance he decided to report his experience to the police.
However, he said police did not take a statement from him for another nine days. He told The Sun: "It's frustrating, it would have been much better if I had been spoken to straight away as it was fresher in my mind."
Nicola's friends and family have been leaving yellow ribbons with handwritten messages on a bridge close to where she disappeared.
Ribbons with messages including “We need you home Nicola”, “praying for your safe return” and “I love you” have been tied to a footbridge over the River Wyre.
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A large poster with a photograph of Ms Bulley has also been attached to the railings. It comes as the search for Ms Bulley, 45, a mortgage adviser from Inskip, has entered the 17th day. Lancashire Police are continuing to trawl the River Wyre towards the sea at Morecambe Bay, working on one hypothesis that Ms Bulley could have fallen in.
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The search has been aided by specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, with sniffer dogs, drones and police helicopters. Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, said he wants to keep “all options open” about her disappearance, but his “gut instinct” tells him she is not in the river.
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He described Ms Bulley as “fun”, “loving”, “the most loyal friend you could ever have” and an “exceptional mum” who “absolutely adores our girls”.
