✕CloseNicola Bulley was listed ‘high risk’ due to number of ‘specific vulnerabilities’
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Police are facing backlash and accusations of ‘victim blaming’ after revealing Nicola Bulley’s personal struggles.
This evening Lancashire Police announced the missing mother had faced “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by “ongoing struggles with the menopause”.
It was significantly more detail than detectives had released at a press conference just hours earlier, when they simply referred to “vulnerabilities” that made her a “high risk” missing person.
But the decision to disclose such private information has been criticised, with MPs including Stella Creasy and Alicia Kearns among those questioning the move.
The revelations, in a new online statement, follow a defensive press conference by Lancashire Police on Wednesday that criticised online speculation about the case that detectives claim has hampered search efforts.
Ms Bulley disappeared on 27 January while walking her dog Willow along the River Wyre in Saint Michael’s on Wyre and has not been seen since.
Anyone with information or footage is asked to submit information through the Major Incident Public Portal (MiPP) at Public Portal (mipp.police.uk)
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Police accused of ‘victim blaming’ as MPs condemn decision to reveal Nicola Bulley’s struggles
Police have been accused of “victim blaming” as MPs and other high-profile figures question the decision to make Nicola Bulley’s personal struggles public.
Lancashire Constabulary took the unusual step of giving details about the missing mother’s private life “to avoid any further speculation or misinterpretation” about the investigation into her disappearance.
Tory MP Alicia Kearns is among those denouncing the force’s decision to share Ms Bulley’s struggles, when it is not clear how doing so will help the ongoing search.
Emily Atkinsonhas more on the revelations made by police, leading to backlash:
Nicola Bulley has had ‘issues with alcohol’ police reveal three weeks into search
Police previously called out to incident at family home in January weeks before disappearance, detectives have also revealed
Namita Singh16 February 2023 04:151676531751
In video: Ex-detective Peter Bleksley criticses police handling of Nicola Bulley case
✕'Ham fisted': Ex-detective Peter Bleksley criticses police handling of Nicola Bulley caseNamita Singh16 February 2023 07:151676530802
Dive expert says case ‘could have been handled better' by police
Speaking to Jeremy Kyle on TalkTV on Wednesday evening, forensics expert Peter Faulding claimed that if his team had been made aware of police concerns for Mr Bulley’s “vulnerabilities” he would have taken a different approach to his part of the search.
“If I had been given that information it wouldn’t have been given to the media,” he said. “It would have been confidential and I would have changed my whole search strategy.
“I assumed that Nicola had slipped into the river and it’s only two foot deep at the bottom of the bank – that’s why I’ve been so adamant that she’s not in that part of the river, we thoroughly searched it.
“If she had jumped in, or intended to take her own life, or walked off, or wherever she is, that would change my whole plan.
“She could have ended up in the sea. But it’s changed this and it’s really annoyed me.
“This is an awful case and I just wish it had been handled a lot better in the first place by giving certain information that would have helped us target that search in specific areas.”
Sam Rkaina16 February 2023 07:001676529946
'I would have changed my whole search strategy'
Peter Faulding criticised the police for not disclosing the personal struggle of Nicola Bulley to his team.
Speaking to Jeremy Kyle on TalkTV yesterday, he explained: “If I had been given that information it wouldn’t have been given to the media. It would have been confidential and I would have changed my whole search strategy.
“I assumed that Nicola had slipped into the river and it’s only two foot deep at the bottom of the bank – that’s why I’ve been so adamant that she’s not in that part of the river, we thoroughly searched it.
Peter Faulding and his team search the river
(PA Wire)
“If she had jumped in, or intended to take her own life, or walked off, or wherever she is, that would change my whole plan.
“She could have ended up in the sea. But it’s changed this and it’s really annoyed me.
“This is an awful case and I just wish it had been handled a lot better in the first place by giving certain information that would have helped us target that search in specific areas.”
Namita Singh16 February 2023 06:451676529002
Dashcam footage appeal
Due to the lack of CCTV footage on the river path, which has been the main focus of officers, the force has appealed for dashcam footage from motorists and cyclists.
Det Supt Smith said every piece of footage has been reviewed, but none of it has indicated that Ms Bulley was there.
She added: “From the iron bridge to the school there is nothing there, which is why it’s so important for the dash cam.
“Because even though they’re going to be tiny bite-size information, they’re not going to be as good as CCTV – we need to be able to piece together as much of that road as we can.”
A “substantial” number of the 700 drivers who went through the village on the morning Ms Bulley disappeared have been contacted.
However, there has been no sign of her on any of the footage received.
Sam Rkaina16 February 2023 06:301676528146
Forensic expert slams police for not disclosing Nicola Bulley as 'high risk'
The forensic expert who assisted police in the search for Nicola Bulley claims police did not tell his team that the dog walker was considered “high risk” as soon as the missing persons case was launched after she disappeared on 27 January.
Peter Faulding said having this knowledge would have changed his team’s “whole search strategy”.
Last week he 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.
Faulding, left, with Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell on a visit to the riverside
(PA)
Taking to Twitter after learning of the news that Ms Bulley had struggled with alcohol problems, Mr Faulding said: “Update re Nicola Bulley. I can confirm that my usually trusted team and I were not passed this crucial information during our search, which would have changed search strategy.”
Namita Singh16 February 2023 06:151676527232
Updated timeline as police reveal they visited home weeks before she vanished
Police are still searching for missing dog walker Nicola Bulley, who disappeared hree weeks ago after dropping her daughters off at school.
A Lancashire Police press conference on Wednesday revealed new details of an incident in the weeks before Ms Bulley vanished.
Click here for the full timeline of the case so far.
Sam Rkaina16 February 2023 06:001676526346
Police debunk eight ‘persistent myths’ about Nicola Bulley’s disappearance
Nicola Bulley’s disappearance while walking her dog in a sleepy Lancashire village has captured the nation’s attention on rare scale, with social media sleuths pouring over every known detail of the case.
The 45-year-old vanished on the morning of 27 January, as she took her springer spaniel along the familiar river path at St Michael’s on Wyre, shortly after dropping her daughters – aged six and nine – off at school nearby.
In a bid to confront this “distracting” speculation – and criticism of their investigation – Lancashire Police called a press conference to update the public on “exactly we have done over the last 19 days”.
Report:
Police debunk eight ‘persistent myths’ about Nicola Bulley’s disappearance
Police warn they are being ‘inundated with false information, accusations and rumours’
Namita Singh16 February 2023 05:451676525402
Police explain CCTV situation
Det Supt Smith said officers have viewed a “substantial amount of CCTV, which has helped them “pin down” some of Ms Bulley’s movements.
However, they cannot “complete” every step she made as the area has footage that covers just parts of the route she took.
The detective said: “The area at the top of the field, Rowanwater, has CCTV that covers the gate that enters the field and the front of the site.
“That is working, the site managers have been cooperating with us and supporting this investigation at every stage.
“We can say that Nicola has not entered that area or left.”
Footage also shows she did not go down Allotment Lane or via the path at the rear of the Grapes pub onto Garstang Road, the senior officer said.
Det Supt Smith added: “What I can say – which we’ve established only yesterday – was that if Nicola had left out of the river path and turned right, she has not reached the Grapes pub.”
Officers have been “trawling” the area for more footage, but parts of the nearby main road are not covered.
Sam Rkaina16 February 2023 05:301676524509
In Video: Online myths and conjecture ‘distracting’ from Nicola Bulley investigation, say police
Online myths ‘distracting’ from Nicola Bulley investigation, say police
Detectives searching for Nicola Bulley have warned the public to stop theorising and 'distracting' the police from the search for Nicola Bulley. Lancashire Police provided an update on their search for the mother-of-two, 45, on Wednesday, saying there is “not a single piece of information or evidence to suggest that there is any third-party involvement” in Ms Bulley’s disappearance. Officers said they were grateful for members of the public ringing in with information, but added that they were being “inundated” with rumours and accusations. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Namita Singh16 February 2023 05:15
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