✕CloseSpecialist dive company boss looking for missing Nicola Bulley speaks out
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The partner of missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley has said the family is going through “unprecedented hell” but will never give up hope of finding her.
In a television special due to be aired on Friday evening, Paul Ansell said despite the awful situation his hope and postivity are “stronger than ever” and he is “never, ever going to let go”.
“Nikki would never give up on us ever,” he said. “She wouldn’t give up on anybody. And we’re not gonna ever give up on her like, we’re going to find her.”
It comes as police may be searching for a “tatty red van” after a local resident noticed the vehicle parked in the village on the morning Nicola Bulley went missing.
The 55-year-old witness, who has not been named, said they saw “tatty red van in Hall Lane outside a barn”.
“I didn’t think anything at the time, but when I saw Nicola had gone missing, I called 101 and spoke to an operator,” he told The Times.
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Show latest update
Update from Lancashire Police
Lancashire Police have posted an update on the search for missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley.
The force said their belief remains that Ms Bulley has fallen in the river, but they are investigating all possible leads, including reviewing CCTV, dashcam footage and talking to witnesses.
The statement added that officers do not believe anything “untoward has happened or that there is any third-party involvement” in Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
It added: “Our priority throughout this investigation has been on finding Nicola and providing answers for her family. They continue to be supported and regularly updated by specially trained officers.
“Unfortunately, we continue to see groundless and hurtful abuse of innocent people, including witnesses and local businesses, which is totally unacceptable.
“We also continue to see a huge amount of commentary from so-called experts, ill-informed speculation and conspiracy theories which is damaging to the investigation, the community of St Michael’s and, worst of all, to Nicola’s family. It must stop.”
Joe Middleton10 February 2023 17:421676049608
Missing Nicola Bulley’s partner says ‘something happened that day’ as family ‘in hell’
The partner of missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley has said the family is going through “unprecedented hell” but will never give up hope of finding her.
In a television special due to be aired on Friday evening, Paul Ansell said despite the awful situation his hope and postivity are “stronger than ever” and he is “never, ever going to let go”.
“Nikki would never give up on us ever,” he said. “She wouldn’t give up on anybody. And we’re not gonna ever give up on her like, we’re going to find her.”
Nicola Bulley’s partner says ‘something happened that day’ as family ‘in hell’
Paul Ansell tells ‘Vanished: What Happened To Nicola Bulley’ the family will never give up the search in 75 minute special
Joe Middleton10 February 2023 17:201676045707
The CCTV blind spots that could hold key to Nicola Bulley’s disappearance
A number of CCTV blindspots have been identified as the hunt for missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley continues.
Ms Bulley, 45, vanished while walking her springer spaniel dog Willow, alongside the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre on January 27.
She had dropped off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school and was on her usual walk when she disappeared, her phone was found on a bench overlooking the river.
My colleague Joe Middleton reports:
The CCTV blind spots that could hold key to Nicola Bulley’s disappearance
Police admitted that there is still a ‘possibility’ Nicola Bulley left the area by a path not covered by CCTV
Emily Atkinson10 February 2023 16:151676041861
Nicola Bulley’s partner ‘does not believe’ the missing mum fell into the river
The parter of missing mother Nicola Bulley does not believe she fell into the river, a diving expert has reported.
Paul Faulding, a forensic expert who was leading the underwater search for the 45-year-old, said Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, was “shocked at how shallow the rocks were” when they went to see the area.
“He thought it was really deep there. If she had gone in she would have landed on the rocks,” Mr Faulding told The Sun.
“The family thanked us for being here. They said ‘You’ve given us confidence now’ and his belief is that Nicola has not gone in that river.”
Partner of missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, Paul Ansell, (right) visiting the riverside with Peter Faulding, the underwater search expert called in by the family to help with the search in the River Wyre
(PA Wire)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain10 February 2023 15:111676041222
Church candles lit in hope of new clues on missing mother
Candles were lit around a photo of Nicola Bulley and Paul Ansell on an altar at St Michael’s Church in St Michael’s on Wyre during the vigil by friends and neighbours
(PA)
Jane Dalton10 February 2023 15:001676039143
Wait is hell above hell, says close friend
A close friend of missing Nicola Bulley has told of the “agony” of waiting for news and Ms Bulley’s family’s desperation for news, following an emotional vigil at their local village church.
Heather Gibbons said: “It’s an agonising wait, it’s almost a hell above hell, because the unknown is unbearable.
“So, this morning at 10 o’clock we just opened the church for people to come and to light a candle, just to have a chance to come, a space to collect their thoughts, to be together.” Read more:
Friend of missing mother Nicola Bulley speaks of ‘agonising wait’ for news
Police believe the 45-year-old fell in the River Wyre while walking her dog on January 27.
Jane Dalton10 February 2023 14:251676035479
‘My husband went for a walk like Nicola Bulley a year ago – people don’t just vanish’
The wife of a man who went missing a year ago has urged the family of Nicola Bulley to “keep the faith”, saying “people don’t just vanish”.
Lucy Creaney said she still believes her husband, Finn Creaney, who went missing nearly a year ago after he started a solo hike in Loch Naver, Sutherland, is still alive.
She has urged Ms Bulley’s family to say positive as the search for the missing dog walker was expanded to the sea – some 12 miles downriver from where she was last seen.
Mr Creaney was dropped off by a family member at a caravan park near the start of where he hoped to embark on a solo hike on 25 March.
‘My husband went for a walk like Nicola Bulley – people don’t just vanish’
Lucy Creaney urged the family of Nicola Bulley to “keep the faith”, saying “people don’t just vanish”
Maryam Zakir-Hussain10 February 2023 13:241676031861
Nicola Bulley’s friend says she won’t give up on search
Two weeks after the mum-of-two disappeared, a friend said she will keep searching until she can bring Nicola Bulley’s children good news.
Emma White told BBC Breakfast: “We just want to bring them that news that we’ve found mummy.”
Watch the clip here:
Maryam Zakir-Hussain10 February 2023 12:241676028630
The baffling 10-minute window shrouding Nicola Bulley’s disappearance in mystery
From the last place she was sighted at approximately 9.10am, and where her phone was seen at 9.20am, there is a baffling 10-minute window where Ms Bulley could have walked or driven to the surrounding areas.
We have mapped out the rough radius where the 45-year-old could have walked and driven to in those 10-minutes.
The baffling 10-minute window shrouding Nicola Bulley’s disappearance in mystery
We map out the rough radius where the 45-year-old could have walked and driven in those unaccounted minutes
Maryam Zakir-Hussain10 February 2023 11:301676026438
Friends of missing woman Nicola Bulley hold missing person appeal posters along the village main road
Friends of missing woman Nicola Bulley hold missing person appeal posters along the main road in the village in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain10 February 2023 10:53
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