✕CloseSpecialist dive company boss looking for missing Nicola Bulley speaks out
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A witness has told police he saw two men acting suspiciously near the route that Nicola Bulley regularly walked her dog on the day before her disappearance.
Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog in a field near the river in St Michael’s on Wyre on 27 January.
The witness, who did not want to be named, said the “hooded” men were “carrying fishing rods” and “were trying to hide their faces”.
“It was very strange. It made me uneasy,” the witness told The Sun.
The two men were spotted at around 7.45am on the day before Ms Bulley vanished. The witness said “they could just have been two normal fishermen” but “they seemed to want to hide their faces, which struck me as odd”.
Meanwhile, a former police officer from the area claimed that any trace of Ms Bulley beside the river where she was last seen will now have disappeared.
Riverbanks and fields like the one in St Michael’s on Wyre where the mother of two walked are “not very forensically friendly”, the ex-officer said – especially as lots of boot prints from other people will since have been made in the ground.
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Witness ‘saw two hooded men’ before Bulley’s disappearance
A witness has told police he saw two hooded men acting suspiciously near the route that Nicola Bulley regularly walked her dog on the day before her disappearance.
The witness, who did not want to be named, said the men were "carrying fishing rods" and "were trying to hide their faces". “It was very strange. It made me uneasy," the witness told The Sun.
The two men were spotted at around 7.45am on the day before Ms Bulley vanished. The witness said "they could just have been two normal fishermen" but "they seemed to want to hide their faces, which struck me as odd".
Emily Atkinson13 February 2023 06:481676277028
Retired detective reveals three reasons she believes Nicola Bulley is in the river
Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley in Lancashire are right to explore the theory that the mother-of-two is in the River Wyre, a retired detective has said.
Julie Mackay, a former detective inspector at Gloucestershire Police, said no new evidence had emerged to suggest otherwise.
Ms Bulley 45, of Inskip, Lancashire, vanished while walking her dog in a field next to the river in St Michaels on Wyre on the morning of 27 January after dropping her two children off at school.
Matt Mathers reports:
Retired detective reveals three reasons she believes Nicola Bulley is in the river
Ex-superintendent says no new evidence has emerged to suggest Ms Bulley is not in the river as she backs official theory
Emily Atkinson13 February 2023 08:301676276128
Latest images from the River Wyre – where Nicola Bulley was last seen
Emily Atkinson13 February 2023 08:151676275228
Everything we know so far about Nicola Bulley as mother vanishes while walking dog
Police are continuing with a major search for missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley who disappeared one week ago.
Ms Bulley, a mortgage adviser, was last seen near the River Wyre river at around 9.20am, and despite an extensive search has not been located.
The mother-of-two’s distraught family made an emotional appeal for information yesterday, saying they would “do anything” to find her.
Ms Bulley’s sister, Louise Cunningham, told Sky News: “Something has got to have been missed. Somebody must know something. People don’t just vanish into thin air.”
Here is Joe Middleton with everything we know so far:
Everything we know so far as mother vanishes while walking dog
Nicola Bulley, a mortgage adviser, was last seen near the River Wyre river last Friday
Emily Atkinson13 February 2023 08:001676274321
Forensic expert offers to carry out searches on land
A forensic specialist who searched the waters for Nicola Bulley, who went missing last month, has offered to carry out investigations on land.
Peter Faulding, whose Specialist Internationalist Group firm searched a stretch of the river where Ms Bulley was last seen, said he was consulting with the family about carrying out a land search for the 45-year-old.“I’ve offered to go up privately and put my investigative mind to it,” Mr Faulding told The Telegraph.
“I’m visiting in my own time to discuss looking at other areas without interfering with the police operation. Normally you carry out land searches, that’s what the family want.”
He reiterated that it was unlikely that Ms Bulley fell in the river, saying: “On the river on the day it wasn’t running very fast.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with the family and they said she was so cautious, did the same route every day, didn’t go near the river and her Fitbit shows she doesn’t go near the river. She would have to be pushed really hard to be launched out into the middle of the river.”
Emily Atkinson13 February 2023 07:451676273436
Timeline of dog walker’s mysterious disappearance
The last known movements of missing dog walker Nicola Bulley have been revealed by police.
Nicola Bulley, 45, a mortgage adviser, was last seen last Friday morning at around 9.20am while walking her dog alongside the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
8.43am – Nicola walked along the path by the River Wyre, having dropped her children off at school
8:50am (approximately) – A dog-walker – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her walking around the lower field with her dog. Their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field via the river path
8.53am – She sent an email to her boss
9.01am – She logged into a Teams call
9.10am (approximately) – A witness – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow. Work is ongoing today to establish exactly what time this was.
Read more.
Timeline of Nicola Bulley’s mysterious disappearance
Police have released a timeline of Nicola Bulley’s last known movements
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar13 February 2023 07:301676271900
Five things forensics expert claims don’t add up
Peter Faulding, the chief executive of Specialist Group International, which failed to find Nicola Bulley, set out issues that he said were baffling – including why her phone was left on a bench and why police did not seal off the area:
5 things forensics expert claims don’t add up about missing dog walker disappearance
From the mobile phone on the bench to the calmness of her dog, this is what the divers ‘can’t get their head around’
Jane Dalton13 February 2023 07:051676269821
‘Nothing to suggest’ tatty red van spotted on day of Nicola Bulley disappearance is suspicious
There is “nothing to suggest” the red van spotted on the day of Nicola Bulley’s disappearance is suspicious, Lancashire Police have said.
Police have confirmed that they are making efforts to identify the owner but there is no reason to suspect it is anything other than one of many hundreds of vehicles in the area that morning.
A 55-year-old unnamed witness told The Times that they saw a “tatty red van in Hall Lane outside a barn” on the day of Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
The witness said “its the sort of van you can live in” and said the van could have been a Renault.
Martha McHardy has more.
‘Nothing to suggest’ red van spotted on day Bulley vanished is suspicious
Police have confirmed that they are making efforts to identify the owner of the van
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar13 February 2023 06:301676268300
Police widen investigation to include day before disappearance
Lancashire Police have widened their investigation to include the day before Nicola Bulley disappeared, requesting CCTV from a local garage that covers one of the key exit points from the fields where she went missing:
Police widen investigation to include day before Nicola Bulley went missing
Detectives return to the village of St Michael’s on Wyre to request CCTV from the day before she vanished
Jane Dalton13 February 2023 06:051676266236
Partner’s strength a miracle, says friend
A next-door neighbour and close friend of Nicola Bulley has praised the strength of her partner Paul Ansell as “nothing short of a miracle”.
Charlotte Drake, whose children regularly play with Ms Bulley’s, said: “He does not want to break down on camera in view of millions of people watching and where his kids may see it.
“He has to remain strong as he has to hold on to hope we will find Nikki,” she told Metro.co.uk.
Ms Drake also described her friend as “without doubt the most beautiful person, inside and out who would do anything for anyone”.
“We joke she is the sort of mum we all want to be – loving, friendly and just a wonderful human being. Like Paul, we have to remain strong and have hope that we will get Nicola home,” she said.
“As neighbours and friends, we’ve all said from 11am on Day 1 when the police showed up… ‘She’s not in that river’.“My gut feeling remains the same. I honestly believe Nikki is not in the water.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar13 February 2023 05:30
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