Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley say their lines are "inundated with false information, accusations and rumour". Lancashire Police held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon (February 15).
The 45-year-old mum-of-two disappeared while walking her springer spaniel, Willow, by the River Wyre in St Michael's, Lancashire, on January 27. Nicola had dropped her daughters, aged six and nine, at school that morning.
The Manchester Evening News reports Nicola's phone found on a bench was still connected to a video call. Despite a huge search of the river and surrounding countryside by Lancashire Police, no trace of her has been found.
Read more: Nicola Bulley press conference update - eight new pieces of information
At a press conference on February 3, the force first told the public of its "main working hypothesis" that the mortgage adviser fell in the river during a "10-minute window” between 9.10am and 9.20am that day. The force said her disappearance was not being treated as suspicious.
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson and Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith led another conference on Wednesday and provided a number of updates on the investigation, as well as answering questions from the media. Here are some of the key points that came out of it.
Nicola classed as a high-risk missing person due to 'number of vulnerabilities'
Det Supt Smith told the press conference: "Based on a specific number of vulnerabilities we were made aware of, Nicola was graded as high-risk. She was immediately treated as a missing person.
"A number of hypothesises were formed. Those included one - she went into the river, two - third party involvement, three - she left the area voluntarily.
"Those hypothesis are being regularly reviewed. I said my main working hypothesis was that Nicola went into the river. That remains my working hypothesis."
Questioned by members of the press about Nicola's "vulnerabilities", Assistant Chf Con Lawson said that it remains a "personal" and "private" matter. Det Supt Smith added: "I hope with all my heart we find her alive. My working hypothesis is that the likelihood is that Nicola has unfortunately gone into the river.
"I can't be 100% certain because it's a live investigation. There is not one single piece of information to suggest she left the fields"
Police gaining access to Nicola's phone
Officers are gaining access to Nicola's phone. They warned that it may appear online when they do so.
"My main working line of enquiry at the moment based on the information and vulnerabilities given to us, that is my main working hypothesis (that Nicola entered the water) at this time," Det Supt Smith said. "That doesn't mean we are not continuing to follow every line of enquiry."
Police say still there is still no evidence of criminal or third-party involvement
Det Supt Smith added: "With the information we have there is not a single piece of evidence to suggest any third-party involvement. We know that Nicola entered the field and made a couple of messages on her phone, one to her boss and one to her friend making a play date.
"At 9.01am, we know she logged into Teams. This was a perfectly normal call. She would never have a camera or microphone on. We know at this time there were a number of dog walkers. We have a number of key witnesses who know Nicola so there is no miscommunication about the identification of who was in that field.
"We have viewed an extensive area of CCTV which helped us pin down Nicola's movements and key witnesses." She also added that it was "normal" that Nicola's dog Willow did not have a harness on when he was discovered.
"It was really normal for Willow not to have a harness on. We know that from digital data at some time around 9.30am, her handset had moved towards the bench," she said.
"There have been questions about her phone. I would like to point out that it's really normal for Nicola to be holding her phone out in front of her and we know from a witness she was doing.
"At 9.33am, a local dog walker came across the bench and found Willow untied. The mobile phone is found still logged onto the Teams call and Willow's harness is halfway between the bench and river side. The witness makes a number of calls to people as she doesn't know who the phone or dog belongs to."
Updates given on red van, glove and derelict house
Det Supt Smith told of "persistent myths" about the case and stated that a glove found near to where Nicola disappeared does not belong to her. She said: "The derelict house which is across the other side of the river has been searched three times, with the permission of the owner, and Nicola is not in there.
"The red van, we're really grateful to members of the public for ringing into the inquiry, we wouldn't have got this far without everyone's help. But it's also really obvious that we are being inundated with false information, accusations and rumours which is distracting us from our work.
"In terms of the glove that has been recovered, you'll no doubt be aware that TikTokers have been playing their own private detectives and have been in the area. A glove has been recovered that is not believed to be relevant to the investigation, it is not Nicola's but we have got that in our possession."
She added: "All this speculation is affecting Nicola's family. I have met the family on a number of occasions and they are kept regularly updated.
"There are dedicated liaison officers who have spent a significant amount of time with the family. My absolute priority is to provide answers to Nicola's two daughter's about where her mummy is. I would ask you to respect the family's privacy."
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