Police were called to Nicola Bulley's home 17 days before she disappeared.
The mum-of-two went missing after dropping her children off at school and logging into a Teams call while walking her springer spaniel, Willow, in the village of St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27.
Detective Supt Rebecca Smith said Nicola, 45, was graded as a "high risk" missing person due to information provided by her partner Paul Ansell and "specific vulnerabilities" officers were made aware of.
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In a press conference on Wednesday, police did not specify what those vulnerabilities were. However, hours later police released a statement going into detail about the health issues Nicola had to "avoid any further speculation".
After speaking to Nicola's partner Paul and family, police said it is clear "Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months."
As a result of these issues, police said officers and health professionals attended a report of concern for welfare at Nicola’s home address on January 10, which is being investigated.
Lancashire Police said: "Today we held a live press conference to provide some updates in relation to our search for missing mum Nicola Bulley. We described how Nicola had some vulnerabilities at the time she went missing and we just wanted to expand on that a little.
"It's really unusual for us to go into this level of detail about someone’s private life, but we felt it was important to clarify what we meant when we talked about vulnerabilities to avoid any further speculation or misinterpretation.
"Sadly, it is clear from speaking to Paul and the family that Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months.
"This caused some real challenges for Paul and the family. As a result of those issues, a response car staffed by both police and health professionals attended a report of concern for welfare at Nicola’s home address on January 10th.
"No one has been arrested in relation to this incident, but it is being investigated. We have explained to Nicola’s family why we have released this further information and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."
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