The parents of missing mum Nicola Bulley say she was in 'good spirits' in their last conversation with her, as they fear she may have been taken. The mum-of-two, 45, vanished while walking her dog and was last seen on Friday morning (January 27) at around 9.20am alongside the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire.
She had just dropped off her daughters, aged six and nine, at the local school in the village. Ms Bulley’s phone was later found on a park bench nearby, along with the harness and lead for her dog, Willow, a springer spaniel.
Her parents, Ernest, 73, and Dot, 72 have spoken of hearing their grandchildren 'sobbing their hearts out' after being told 'mummy is lost'. They told the Daily Mirror their daughter was in good spirits - and that her disappearance was totally out of character.
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Before her disappearance, Ernest said his daughter had no health problems and was in good spirits enjoying her job.
Recalling their last conversation, he said: "Her mind was great, we picked the children up the Thursday before she went missing, as we do every Thursday.
"We took them home, Nicola had had a meeting with her boss in Garstang and she said can you stay a bit later because I have an important client coming in on Zoom. We said 'no problem' and stayed. She had done her work and she was very upbeat about getting her mortgage sorted.
"I said we better go now and Nicola came to the front door, and I gave her a kiss and told her I loved her and that was the last conversation I had with her."
A major search involving drones, sniffer dogs, specialist divers and a police helicopter has been unable to turn up any more clues, leaving her parents fearing the worst, especially with no evidence of Nicola having fallen into the river.
Ernest said: "There was no sign of a slip or falling in so our thought was 'has somebody got her'? I asked the Sergeant from Fleetwood a few days ago, 'is there any chance of her being taken' and she said 'I don't think that's the case'.
"I said 'how can you know that?', it's such an isolated area, the only way that has happened is if it was someone who knew her."
While Nicola's family live in hope of her turning up, Ernest confessed their worst fears: "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. We will never stop looking."
Lancashire Police have said they are keeping an 'open mind' about what happened, but do not believe Ms Bulley was attacked. Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, 44, described the situation as 'perpetual hell'.
In a statement, her family said: “The girls are desperate to have their mummy back home safe with them and your ongoing efforts have provided comfort to them whilst we await news on Nicola. We ask for anyone who thinks they may have any information that may help the police find Nicola to please come forward and help them with their enquiries.”
Superintendent Sally Riley, of Lancashire Police, said: “I must stress at this time that this remains a missing person inquiry and at this time there is nothing to suggest any third-party involvement in Nicola’s disappearance. We appreciate there is also a great deal of concern in the local community, and we appreciate people want to help.
“However, parts of the riverbank are treacherous, and we would ask that nobody puts themselves in danger and that the police and partner agencies’ efforts to find Nicola are not compromised.” Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30, or call 999 if they have an immediate sighting.
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