A team of police divers unexpectedly returned to the stretch of the River Wyre in Lancashire where mother-of-two Nicola Bulley vanished in January.
The 45-year-old mortgage adviser vanished while walking her dog Willow after dropping her young daughters off at primary school on 27 January, sparking a huge police search operation by land, water and air and intense media and public interest, with social media fanatics descending on the area to join the manhunt.
Her body was finally found among reeds and undergrowth on 19 February by two members of the public.
The police divers were spotted resuming their activities in the river near St Michael’s on Wyre on 4 April and a brief clip was uploaded to YouTube by passerby Maria Solarz. In the video, the team can be seen wading in the water close to the bench and weir where Ms Bulley was last seen on the morning of her disappearance.
Lancashire Police said in a statement: “We can confirm we are carrying out some work on the direction of HM Coroner.”
Police issued a statement on Friday, revealing why officers returned to the River Wyre, and hit out at “misinformed speculation” over the renewed presence of officers at the scene.
A Lancashire Constabulary spokesperson said: “There has been misinformed speculation over the past few days relating to police activity in the River Wyre.
“As previously stated, police divers were acting under instruction of HM Senior Coroner and had been asked to assess the riverbanks in the vicinity of where Nicola Bulley went missing.
“They had not been tasked either to perform any further searches within the river or along the banks or to locate any articles. This activity is to assist with the coronial process.”
An inquest into Ms Bulley’s death is to be held at County Hall in Preston on 26 June.
Senior coroner Dr James Adeley said at an inquest opener that surgeon Andrew Ian Edwards had examined Ms Bulley’s dental records and that the remaining evidence gathered by police and the post-mortem examination required “further evaluation”.
HM Coroner’s Office said in a statement following the conclusion of the search: “The investigation will take time to complete to ensure that as complete a picture as possible of the facts concerning Ms Bulley’s death is presented at the inquest. This will assist the family in understanding what occurred.
“As part of this process, HM Senior Coroner has requested Lancashire Constabulary produce information gathered during the search for Ms Bulley so it can be considered as part of the investigation.”
Lancashire Police has not revealed precisely what its diving team is looking for in the Wyre, although one expert has suggested they are in pursuit of a specific item.
Dr Richard Shepherd, an experienced forensic pathologist, told The Mirror: “I’m really struggling to see what they could be looking, for now, that would affect or influence the cause of death.
“When Nicola’s body was found it would have been taken to the morgue and a formal post-mortem [examination] would have been carried out where it would have looked for natural diseases, any injuries, and samples would have been taken for alcohol drugs.”
He added: “They must have a reason to do it though – my guess is there is something like an artefact of some sort that they are trying to make sure to find it.
“My sense is they want to be absolutely sure that something they can’t quite locate isn’t still in the river. My feeling is they are looking for something specific.”
Dr Shepherd said he felt it was “unlikely” that a reconstruction was being carried out as it would be too difficult to recreate the exact conditions in play.
A senior police source quoted by The Daily Mail has meanwhile said the decision to send divers back to the water illustrates just how seriously the county coroner is taking the investigation.
“The coroner clearly wants more answers and potential evidence,” they said.
