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A former detective who exposed Jimmy Savile is set to join the search for Nicola Bulley.
Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog in a field near the river in St Michael’s on Wyre on 27 January.
Journalist Mark Williams-Thomas, who both exposed the prolific sex offender and investigated the missing Madeleine McCann’s kidnap suspect Christian Brueckner, said he hoped to “dismiss some of the inaccuracies” aired by armchair detectives.
It comes after a witness told police he saw two men acting suspiciously near the route that Ms Bulley regularly walked her dog on the day before her disappearance.
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”.
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- ‘I feel a need to get vindication for the victim’: Meet the armchair detectives determined to solve the Nicola Bulley case
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Offensive voicemail sent to local councillor
A local councillor reportedly received a late-night “offensive” voicemail about the missing 45-year-old mother-of-two who disappeared on 27 January.
Nicola Bulley, a mortgage adviser, was last seen near the River Wyre river at around 9.20am, after dropping her daughters aged six and nine, at the school in the village.
Five of the six members of the Inskip-with-Sowerby parish council received phone calls, The Mirror reported, citing sources.
The “mystery phone calls” were made between 12.45am and 3am on Saturday. “The police have got a copy of that call,” the source was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Describing the content of the message, the source added: “Offensive, I wouldn’t say it was abusive, I would say it was offensive.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar14 February 2023 04:301676347200
Meet the armchair detectives determined to solve the Nicola Bulley case
The wisdom of crowds always has a few outliers – and this crowd is enormous. Right at this moment a cacophony of ideas are being pitched and skewered by armchair detectives in thousands of posts on Reddit and other websites. Their objective?
To explain the high-profile disappearance of Nicola Bulley, a 45-year-old mother-of-two who went missing while walking her dog along the river near St Michael’s on the Wyre on 27 January.
Ben Bryant writes:
Meet the armchair detectives determined to solve the Nicola Bulley case
Since the disappearance of the mother-of-two last month, budding Sherlocks have flooded online discussion boards to try to solve the case and point fingers – leading to police frustration. Ben Bryant speaks to them
Liam James14 February 2023 04:001676345452
Police spotted at caravan site near where Nicola Bulley disappeared
Police have been spotted at the caravan park near where Nicola Bulley vanished on 27 January.
Officers were spotted at the Wyreside Farm Park Caravan Site yesterday, near where the 45-year-old missing woman disappeared while walking her dog.
There has been a major search of the area and river using sniffer dogs and diving teams after her mobile phone and dog were found but she failed to return home.
Kate Plummer has more.
Nicola Bulley: Police spotted at caravan site near where dog walker disappeared
Officers were spotted today at Wyreside Farm Park Caravan Site
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar14 February 2023 03:301676340000
Witness ‘saw two suspicious men’ before Nicola Bulley’s disappearance
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, it has been claimed.
The witness, who did not wish to share his account publicly, said he spotted the pair outside the church in St Michael’s on Wyre and on a nearby bridge on 26 January.
A worker at a local garage said the witness gave information to police after officers asked for anyone who had been in the area around the time the mother-of-two was last seen to come forward, according to The Sun.
The paper reported that police had requested footage from St Michael’s Garage last Thursday that covered the 24 hours before Ms Bulley disappeared.
Witness ‘saw two suspicious men’ before Nicola Bulley’s disappearance
Police told men were hanging around local church and bridge over River Wyre, say reports
Liam James14 February 2023 02:001676332800
Former detectives share 8 key clues in Nicola Bulley’s disappearance – from fitbit to phone
Former detectives have shared eight key areas they think police should be investigating in order to gain insights into Nicola Bulley’s disappearance.
The search for the mother-of-two has entered its third week and despite combing the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, opening more than 500 lines of inquiry and looking all the way to Morecambe Bay, police are still at a loss as to what happened to Ms Bulley.
Lancashire Constabulary over the weekend expanded their search to include the 24 hours before the last sighting of Ms Bulley, which came as she walked her dog Willow on a route she used regularly.
Ex-detectives share 8 key clues in Nicola Bulley disappearance from fitbit to phone
Police should look at phone, Fitbit, other paths and more to find missing dog walker, say ex-cops
Liam James14 February 2023 00:001676327400
Ex-detective who exposed Jimmy Saville’s crimes joins hunt for Nicola Bulley
A former detective who exposed Jimmy Saville’s history of abuse has joined the search for missing dogwalker Nicola Bulley (Maryam Zakir-Hussain writes).
Mother-of-two Ms Bulley has been missing for more than a fortnight after she vanished walking her dog alongside the River Wyre in Lancashire on 27 January. Police are no closer to finding her, despite weeks of searching the river and the area around it.
Now, ex-Surrey Police officer Mark Williams-Thomas has said he will head to the last spot Ms Bulley was sighted to begin his own search.
Ex-detective who exposed Jimmy Saville’s crimes joins hunt for Nicola Bulley
Author of ‘Hunting Killers’ says he will ‘explore all the options’ in missing dogwalker disappearance
Liam James13 February 2023 22:301676322921
Nicola Bulley described as ‘most beautiful person, inside and out’ by concerned friends
A next-door neighbour of Nicola Bulley described her friend as “without doubt the most beautiful person, inside and out who would do anything for anyone”.
Charlotte Drake, whose children regularly play with Ms Bulley’s, told the Metro: “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.
“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.”
Ms Drake also dismissed speculation that Ms Bulley’s car keys were left in the ignition, saying the missing mother had them with her – something Mr Ansell wanted the public to know.
Emily Atkinson13 February 2023 21:151676319321
Police should have treated Nicola Bulley case like murder or abduction, says ex-cop
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas said he believed police should have treated the Nicola Bulley case as if an abduction or murder had taken place.
Mr Williams-Thomas, who is known for exposing Jimmy Saville’s sexual abuse history, said: “This would now be a critical incident being dealt with as suspicious, if it had been down to me.
“Within 48 hours I would have treated this in the same fashion as a murder or abduction. I think police have been right to say they have an open mind – the problem that they have got is that they also said it wasn’t criminal.”
Liam James13 February 2023 20:151676315721
Nicola Bulley: Lack of slip marks doesn’t rule out river fall, says ex-cop
A former Metropolitan Police officer said he supported the police view that Ms Bulley fell in the river, after intense speculation over other potential explanations for the missing dog walker’s disappearance.
“Every picture I see of that river bank shows the edge is a sheer drop. So the lack of foot slip marks or any disturbed ground doesn’t stop me thinking she has fallen in. I think it is most likely she is in that river,” he told Mail Online.
However, he said it was strange that diving experts were searching a specific area. He said: “She has been missing for over 14 days now – she could be four miles away.”
He added: “They must do everything they can to stop a body getting to the sea where it will be lost.”
Liam James13 February 2023 19:151676312133
Messages left for Nicola
Yesterday, family and friends of Nicola showed she has not been forgotten by leaving yellow ribbons with handwritten messages on a bridge close to where she disappeared.
Ribbons with messages including “We need you home Nicola”, “praying for your safe return” and “I love you” have been tied to a footbridge over the River Wyre. A large poster with a photograph of Ms Bulley has also been attached to the railings.
Emily Atkinson13 February 2023 18:15
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