✕CloseEx-detective says police have ‘destroyed’ Nicola Bulley’s reputation
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Nicola Bulley’s partner has spoken of his “agony” after a body was found in the river near where the mother-of-two went missing.
The body was found around a mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping her daughters at school.
A man and woman walking their dog on Sunday morning found the body and called police.
No formal identification has yet taken place but Ms Bulley’s family have been told about the discovery, police said.
Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell has since told Sky News of his “agony”, adding: “We’re all together, we have to be strong.”
Meanwhile, diving expert Paul Faulding – who led a private search of the river and previously said he didn’t believe Ms Bulley was in the water – spoke out about the discovery.
Mr Faulding said his team had only cleared the area around the bench where her phone was found, and that the tidal section beyond the weir was “an open book”.
“All I can say is when we searched she was not on the bottom of that river,” he told MailOnline. “We weren’t searching the reeds, our job was to search the water.”
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Forensic expert defends search team’s operations after body found
The forensic expert who assisted police in the search for Nicola Bulley has defended his team’s operations after a body was found near to where the mother-of-two went missing.
Peter Faulding led a private team of divers to assist police in the search for Ms Bulley, using sonar technology to see if anything was in the river that could help with the hunt, but came up empty-handed.
In a statement shared this morning, Mr Faulding first offered his “thoughts” to “the family and friends of Nicola Bulley at this very difficult time”, despite formal identification of the body not having taken place.
He went on: “The SGI underwater search team was tasked with searching the river upsteam of weir in the non tidal part of the river, past the bench where Nicola’s phone was found and a mile upstream past this point. For three days, using high frequency side scan sonar, we thoroughly search the riverbed and can categorically confirm that Nicola was not laying on the riverbed on the days that we searched.
Peter Faulding and his team search the river
(PA Wire)
“We did search the stretch of river where Nicola was found for four hours on our first day and then upstream past the weir on the subsequent two days. The police underwater search teams and land search teams were searching for three full weeks and were also unable to find Nicola.
“Unfortunately it was a member of the public that made a grim discovery, unconfirmed as yet to be Nicola,” Mr Faulding said.
He went on: “Sadly, the discovery was not found in the river but in the reeds at the side of the river which was not part of our remit as the side scan sonar does not penetrate reeds above or below the water. A riverbank and wade search would be the only way to search this area and we were not involved or tasked with that search.
“The difference between these two search areas has caused a lot of confusion and unfair criticism towards myself and my team at Specialist Group International (SGI).”
Emily Atkinson20 February 2023 10:001676886047
Nicola Bulley case a ‘watershed’ moment for policing, says former chief
As efforts continue to identify the body found near to where Nicola Bulley went missing, we hear more from Bob Eastwood’s interview with Today…
The former chief superintendent for Lancashire Police says he believes the case of the missing mother-of-two to be a “watershed moment” in how police deal with significant public and media interest.
Mr Eastwood said it would be especially crucial in how police deal in the future with those that “do not represent media organisations.”
He also hit out at “the use of so-called specialists who I think in this case imposed themselves on the investigation and Nicola‘s family.
“I’m hoping their consciences are currently in overdrive,” Mr Eastwood said, accusing them of having “fed into a lot of people’s obsession”.
He also told BBC Radio 4: “Only yesterday there were people purporting to be the media that quite clearly weren’t and they were climbing over the fence to take pictures of the body that the police were recovering. This is something else.”
Emily Atkinson20 February 2023 09:401676884847
Lancashire Police’s dislosure of Nicola Bulley’s private life made former chief ‘cringe’
Detectives’ decision to disclose details of Nicola Bulley’s personal life was the “right” move, the former chief superintendent of Lancashire Police said — but admitted the initial release made him “cringe”.
Asked about the personal information the force released about Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and menopause, Bob Eastwood told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “When I first heard the police had released that, I cringed, but I didn’t say anything, I didn’t put anything out on my own social media because I didn’t know the full facts and didn’t know why they had taken those steps.
“Some hours later the family gave a press release indicating they were aware the information was to be given out and they’d given the information out because somebody had sold a story to the press and that information was going to be given out as an exclusive.
“Knowing policing as I do, I suspect that they made that decision in order to prevent somebody releasing it in that way. It was unpleasant information to hear but I think in all the circumstances, from what I know and believe, I think the police were right to do so.”
He added that the move “took away” a story that was going to create “even more dramas” that police have had to deal with “on a colossal scale” in the case.
Emily Atkinson20 February 2023 09:201676883647
Watch: Everything we know about Nicola Bulley’s disappearance so far
✕Everything we know about Nicola Bulley's disappearance so farEmily Atkinson20 February 2023 09:001676882447
Where was Nicola Bulley last seen?
A body has been found in the River Wyre near where mother-of-two Nicola Bulley went missing
Lancashire Police said a formal identification is yet to be carried out but the 45-year-old mortgage adviser’s family have been informed.
The body was found around a mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre.
On the morning of 27 January, Ms Bulley left her home with her two daughters, aged six and nine, dropping them off at school and engaging in a brief conversation with another parent around 15 minutes later.
Martha McCardy has the full story:
Where was Nicola Bulley last seen before she went missing?
Body found by divers in River Wyre on Sunday
Emily Atkinson20 February 2023 08:401676881069
Yellow ribbons and daffodils adorn the bench and bridge near to where Nicols Bulley went missing
Police recovered a body from the River Wyre on Sunday as the police investigation to find Ms Bulley, 45, who disappeared while walking her dog along the banks of the River Wyre, continues.
Emily Atkinson20 February 2023 08:171676878849
Body found by dog walkers
Two dog walkers found what is believed to be the body of Nicola Bulley just a mile down river from where she went missing, it is understood.
Despite a huge police land, water and air search over the last three weeks it was a man and a woman who spotted a body in the water.
A police spokesman said officers were called to reports of a body in the river close to Rawcliffe Road at around 11.35am on Sunday.
A man was overheard telling police: “It was a body. It is down there. It was a body of a woman. There is definitely a body down there”.
A police diving team at the River Wyre near St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire (Jason Roberts/PA)
(PA Wire)
Rich Booth20 February 2023 07:401676876427
Where was Nicola Bulley last seen?
A body has been found in the River Wyre near where mother-of-two Nicola Bulley went missing
Lancashire Police said a formal identification is yet to be carried out but the 45-year-old mortgage adviser’s family have been informed.
The body was found around a mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre.
Report:
Where was Nicola Bulley last seen before she went missing?
Body found by divers in River Wyre on Sunday
Namita Singh20 February 2023 07:001676875227
Nicola Bulley’s friend describes her as ‘the most amazing mum’
A friend of Nicola Bulley has described the missing mother-of-two as “the most amazing mum ever” as she urged online critics to stop spreading false rumours.
Rishi Sunak and his home secretary have expressed “concern” over Lancashire Police’s decision to disclose private details about “specific vulnerabilities” that saw them immeiately label the 45-year-old a high-risk missing person after her disappearance on 27 January.
The force revealed on Wednesday that Ms Bulley had been struggling with alcohol use and symptoms of the peri-menopause, prompting alarm that the disclosure could spark pernicious false rumours on social media.
In comments reported by the Mail on Sunday, her friend Nadia Fell said: “Nikki is a normal mum. We all have ups and downs and being a mum is hard. Every day is a lesson. The menopause can be really tough.”
Report:
Nicola Bulley’s friend describes her as ‘the most amazing mum’
Senior politicians question decision to disclose private health information about missing 45-year-old
Namita Singh20 February 2023 06:401676874027
Lancashire Police statement in full as divers find body in search for Nicola Bulley
Divers searching for missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley have found a body in the river, police have confirmed.
The 45-year-old vanished in St Michael’s on Wyre while walking her dog after dropping her daughters at school on 27 January.
Lancashire Police confirmed on Sunday a body had been recovered from the River Wyre, near where Ms Bulley went missing.
While no formal identification has been carried out yet, Ms Bulley’s family have been informed of the discovery.
Read Lancashire Police’s statement in full in this report:
Nicola Bulley: Lancashire Police statement in full as divers find body
Body found near where the missing mother vanished in St Michael’s on Wyre
Namita Singh20 February 2023 06:20
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