Nicola Bulley latest news: ‘No sign of a fall’ near river as parents fear dog walker was taken
The parents of Nicola Bulley said there was “no sign” the mother of two fell near the river as they fear someone may have taken her.
Ms Bulley’s parents, Ernest, 73, and Dot, 72, vowed “we will never stop looking for her.”
She was last seen on Friday morning at 9.15am as she walked along a footpath to a river while still logged on to a conference call from a bench where she had been out walking her pet dog, Willow.
Speaking to the Mirror, Ernest said: “There was no sign of a slip or falling in so our thought was ‘has somebody got her’?
“I asked the Sergeant from Fleetwood a few days ago, ‘is there any chance of her being taken’ and she said ‘I don't think that's the case’.
It comes as an “abandoned house” was searched in the investigation for the missing dog walker Nicola Bulley.
Key Points
Police search ‘abandoned house’ for missing dog walker
Key witness found in search for missing dog walker Nicola Bulley
What happened to Nicola Bulley?
Nicola Bulley’s partner in ‘perpetual hell'
09:03 , Liam James
Paul Ansell, partner of Nicola Bulley, said he was in “perpetual hell” as the search for the missing dog walker continued.
Police have been searching the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire for nearly a week after the mother-of-two’s disappearance last Friday morning at 9.15am.
Ms Bulley’s dog was found near the spot she was last seen along with her phone, which was still on a conference call. Her parents fear she was kidnapped.
Speaking to MailOnline yesterday, Mr Ansell said: “It is just perpetual hell. It is just utter disbelief. We are living through this but it doesn’t feel real.
“All we can say is we need to find her,” he said. “She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home. We have got to get some good news now.”
Woman who found Nicola Bulley’s dog speaks for first time
10:08 , Liam James
A business owner who raised the alarm about Nicola Bulley has spoken for the first time of the moment she came across the mum-of-two’s “worried” dog by the side of a river.
The woman, who did not want be named, spotted brown springer spaniel Willow running free on the river bank on Friday morning. She also found Ms Bulley’s phone.
She called her daughter-in-law who notified the missing woman’s long-term partner Paul, who dialled 999.
She said: “I saw the dog and I recognised it, but I suddenly couldn’t think whose dog it was. There was a mobile phone on the bench and there was also something between the bench and the river so I went and looked, and it was a dog harness.
“The dog looked worried so I tied her up and rushed home as I had to go to an appointment.”
The business owner added: “I know of her and her partner because I walk around the river a lot to pass the time. I always say morning to them or comment on how it’s a lovely day but that’s all.
“It’s just awful, I hope to God that it’s not a bad outcome.”
Mystery of mother who vanished during a work conference call
08:45 , Liam James
Walking your dog, going for a coffee, popping out for a run: all normal activities carried out daily with minimal issue (Thomas Kingsley writes).
However, for mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, a walk along the River Wyre has turned into a sizable mystery sparking a missing person investigation after the 45-year-old vanished off Garstang Road in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, leaving just her Spaniel.
Emergency crews including Lancashire Fire and Rescue, Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue team and the North West Underwater Search Team have joined the investigation while Lancashire Police has appealed for a “potentially key witness” to come forward.
Nicola Bulley: Mystery of mortgage adviser who vanished while walking her dog
Drones and helicopter drafted in for search
00:15 , Jane Dalton
Police used drones and a helicopter to help them comb the area.
Grounds of large empty house searched
Wednesday 1 February 2023 23:15 , Jane Dalton
Search teams hunted around a large, unoccupied house as they continued looking for Nicola Bulley.
Kev Camplin, of Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue, said the grounds of a large unoccupied country house, along with a long stretch of the river, including wooded areas and water margins were searched, the Lancashire Evening Post reported.
He said: “The abandoned house is right opposite the bench on the other side of the river, over a 10ft garden wall. It’s quite posh.
“We didn’t go into the house: as a volunteer search and rescue team we don’t actually go into buildings. We might go into a barn or something. We leave that to the police.
“While the team was searching the grounds, the owner was there for some reason, and we asked him to go in and he had a quick look around and she wasn’t there.”
Mystery man was in area as Nicola Bulley vanished
Wednesday 1 February 2023 22:15 , Jane Dalton
An unidentified man, aged around 70, white, 6ft tall, well-built, who was walking a small white fluffy dog on a lead, is believed to have been in the area around the time Ms Bulley disappeared. ICYMI:
Nicola Bulley: Mystery of mortgage adviser who vanished while walking her dog
Sniffer dogs boost search effort
Wednesday 1 February 2023 21:15 , Jane Dalton
Sniffer dogs have been drafted in to help rescue teams searching a river for missing Nicola Bulley, who vanished on a dog walk in Lancashire as a major search entered its sixth day.
Residents turned out to help rescue teams and friends organised volunteer search parties to help police look for the missing mortgage adviser.
Police combed the area for clues on the river bank either side of the water.
Passer-by recalls dog running free
Wednesday 1 February 2023 20:15 , Jane Dalton
A passer-by who raised the alarm about missing Nicola Bulley has spoken for the first time of how she came across the mum-of-two’s dog beside a river.
The woman, who did not want be identified, spotted brown springer spaniel Willow running free and the harness on the ground.
She also found Ms Bulley’s mobile phone on a bench, under a tree which has a sign warning of deep water nailed to it.
She called her daughter-in-law who called Ms Bulley‘s long-term partner Paul, who dialled 999.
The woman said: “I saw the dog and I recognised it, but I suddenly couldn’t think whose dog it was.
“There was a mobile phone on the bench and there was also something between the bench and the river so I went and looked, and it was a dog harness.
“The dog looked worried so I tied her up and rushed home as I had to go to an appointment.
“I then went and spoke to my daughter-in-law and she immediately knew who the dog was, alerted the woman’s partner and that was it - the police were on it.”
Parents ‘dread’ thought of never seeing daughter again
Wednesday 1 February 2023 19:15 , Jane Dalton
The parents of missing dog-walker Nicola Bulley have spoken of their “dread” at the thought of never seeing her again.
Ernest and Dot Bulley also spoke of hearing their grandchildren “sobbing their hearts out” after being told “mummy is lost”.
The couple told the Daily Mirror their daughter was in good spirits and her disappearance was totally out of character.
“We just dread to think we will never see her again. If the worst came to the worst and she was never found, how will we deal with that for the rest of our lives?” said Mr Bulley.
Lancashire Police have said they are keeping an “open mind” about what happened, but do not believe Ms Bulley was attacked.
Pictured: Rescue teams continue probe to find Nicola Bulley
Wednesday 1 February 2023 18:15 , Thomas Kingsley
ICYMI: Mystery of mother who vanished during a work conference call
Wednesday 1 February 2023 17:15 , Thomas Kingsley
walking your dog, going for a coffee, popping out for a run: all normal activities carried out daily with minimal issue.
However, for mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, a walk along the River Wyre has turned into a sizable mystery sparking a missing person investigation after the 45-year-old vanished off Garstang Road in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, leaving just her Spaniel.
Emergency crews including Lancashire Fire and Rescue, Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue team and the North West Underwater Search Team have joined the investigation while Lancashire Police has appealed for a “potentially key witness” to come forward.
Read more on the mystery so far, below:
Nicola Bulley: Mystery of mortgage adviser who vanished while walking her dog
‘No sign of a fall’ near river, parents of Nicola Bulley say
Wednesday 1 February 2023 15:24 , Thomas Kingsley
The parents of Nicola Bulley said there was “no sign” the mother of two fell near the river as they fear someone may have taken her.
Recalling their last conversation, he said: “Her mind was great, we picked the children up the Thursday before she went missing, as we do every Thursday.
“We took them home, Nicola had had a meeting with her boss in Garstang and she said can you stay a bit later because I have an important client coming in on Zoom. We said ‘no problem’ and stayed.
“She had done her work and she was very upbeat about getting her mortgage sorted.
“I said we better go now and Nicola came to the front door, and I gave her a kiss and told her I loved her and that was the last conversation I had with her.”
Ernest said: “There was no sign of a slip or falling in so our thought was ‘has somebody got her’?
“I asked the Sergeant from Fleetwood a few days ago, ‘is there any chance of her being taken’ and she said ‘I don’t think that’s the case’.
“I said ‘how can you know that?’, it’s such an isolated area, the only way that has happened is if it was someone who knew her.”
Nicola Bulley's children 'cried their eyes out' after being told 'mummy's lost'
Wednesday 1 February 2023 14:45 , Thomas Kingsley
Nicola Bulley's two young daughters reportedly “cried their eyes out” when their dad explained to them that their mum was lost.
Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell reportedly had to tell their children about what had happened, and her mum Dorothy revealed: “He just said 'mummy's lost.”
The Sun reports that his dad David added: “They cried their eyes out.”
Missing mother would ‘never leave her two girls’, says friend
Wednesday 1 February 2023 13:45 , Thomas Kingsley
Heather Gibbons, a friend, told Sky News: “You go from being hopeful to heartbroken, and just trying to be strong, because all we want is to find her for her girls and for Paul.”
She added: “You want to hold on to the hope that no news is good news.
“But knowing Nikki, we just know that if she could be at home with her girls, we very firmly believe that’s where she would be. Her family are everything.”
Another friend, Emma White, described Ms Bulley as “the kindest, beautiful, lovely human being inside and out”, adding that her partner, Paul, was “being strong as possible” for the couple’s two children, aged nine and six.
“We don’t know why she’s gone missing, where she is, we just want her home,” she said.
Missing mother’s family issue desperate plea
Wednesday 1 February 2023 13:00 , Thomas Kingsley
Nicola Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell, speaking from the family home in Inskip, Lancashire, said he spent all of Sunday searching for the mother-of-two.
The engineer, who has been in a relationship with Ms Bulley for 12 years, said: “It is just perpetual hell. It is just utter disbelief.
“We are living through this but it doesn’t feel real.
“All we can say is we need to find her. She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home.
“We have got to get some good news now.”
Mr Ansell said he or Ms Bulley, also known as Nikki, would drop the children, aged nine and six, off at a local primary school before taking Willow for a walk along the river nearby.
Ms Bulley did the school run before heading for the dog walk on Friday, police indicated.
“I got a call from the school regarding somebody who had found Willow, and Nikki’s phone and the dog lead and harness on the bench,” Mr Ansell, who then called the police, said.
“We take the kids to school and take the dog down there – either myself or Nikki – nearly every day.”
What happened to Nicola Bulley?
Wednesday 1 February 2023 12:24 , Thomas Kingsley
Emergency crews including Lancashire Fire and Rescue, Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue team and the North West Underwater Search Team have have been part of the investigation to find missing mother Nicola Bulley.
Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell, speaking from the family home in Inskip, Lancashire, said he spent all of Sunday searching for the mother-of-two.
The engineer, who has been in a relationship with Ms Bulley for 12 years, said: “It is just perpetual hell. It is just utter disbelief.
Ms Bulley has been missing for five days now since the morning of 27 January when she was walking her brown spaniel after 9.15am.
Police have released an appeal describing the mother’s physical appearance: a 5ft3 white woman with light brown shoulder-length hair wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive green ankle wellington boots. Her hair was in a ponytail.
Still, there is no clarity on where Ms Bulley could be.
Read the full story here
Key witness found in search for missing dog walker Nicola Bulley
Wednesday 1 February 2023 12:20 , Thomas Kingsley
Police have found a key witness in the search for missing dog walker Nicola Bulley.
Officers from Lancashire Constabulary said on Tuesday morning they were looking to talk to an elderly male dog walker who was seen in the area at the time of Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
In the evening they put out a statement saying: “He has since been located and is currently being spoken to. Our thanks to those who shared our appeal.”
In a statement Nicola’s family said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support from our community and would like to thank everyone for their ongoing efforts to help us find Nicola.
“The girls are desperate to have their mummy back home safe with them and your ongoing efforts have provided comfort to them whilst we await news on Nicola.
“We ask for anyone who thinks they may have any Information that may help the police find Nicola to please come forward and help them with their enquiries.”
Police search ‘abandoned house’ for missing dog walker
Wednesday 1 February 2023 12:17 , Thomas Kingsley
An “old abandoned” house has been searched in a bid to locate missing dog walker Nicola Bulley.
Teams scoured the area near Garstang Road in St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire as they tried to trace the 45-year-old.
Kev Camplin, of Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue, said the grounds of a large unoccupied country house, along with a long stretch of the river, including wooded areas and water margins were searched.
He said: “The abandoned house is right opposite the bench on the other side of the river, over a 10ft garden wall. It’s quite posh.
“We didn’t go into the house, as a volunteer search and rescue team we don’t actually go into buildings. We might go into a barn or something.
“We leave that to the police. While the team was searching the grounds, the owner was there for some reason, and we asked him to go in and he had a quick look around and she wasn’t there.”
Welcome
Wednesday 1 February 2023 12:15 , Thomas Kingsley
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live blog on the search for missing Lancashire mother, Nicola Bulley. Follow our blog for all the latest updates from the investigation.
