Ex-detective says police have ‘destroyed’ Nicola Bulley’s reputation
Nicola Bulley’s partner has spoken of his “agony” after a body was found in the river near where the mother-of-two went missing.
The body was found around a mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping her daughters at school.
A man and woman walking their dog on Sunday morning found the body and called police.
No formal identification has yet taken place but Ms Bulley’s family have been told about the discovery, police said.
Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell has since told Sky News of his “agony”, adding: “We’re all together, we have to be strong.”
Meanwhile, diving expert Paul Faulding – who led a private search of the river and previously said he didn’t believe Ms Bulley was in the water – spoke out about the discovery.
Mr Faulding said his team had only cleared the area around the bench where her phone was found, and that the tidal section beyond the weir was “an open book”.
“All I can say is when we searched she was not on the bottom of that river,” he told MailOnline. “We weren’t searching the reeds, our job was to search the water.”
‘Agony’ for family after body found in river
Nicola Bulley’s partner has told of his “agony” after a body was found in the river near where she went missing.
The body, which has not yet been formally identified, was found on Sunday morning around a mile from where the 45-year-old mortgage adviser was last seen.
She had been walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27.
In a message to Sky News, her partner Paul Ansell said: “No words right now, just agony.
“We’re all together, we have to be strong.”
Timeline of Nicola Bulley disappearance
The 45-year-old was last seen on Friday 27 January at around 9.20am while walking her dog alongside the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
Here is a timeline of how the case has unfolded:
Diving expert breaks silence after body found in Nicola Bulley search
Peter Faulding, head of Specialist Group International, led a team of experts and divers to assist Lancashire Police in searching the river using specialist sonar equipment.
A body has now been found by divers, and although it has not yet been identified, Ms Bulley’s family have been informed of the discovery.
Responding to the news on Sunday evening, Mr Faulding said: “Our thoughts are with Nicola’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
My colleague Lucy Skoulding reports:
Recap: Lancashire Police recover body in river near where Nicola Bulley went missing
Lancashire Police have found a body in the River Wyre near the location Nicola Bulley went missing. Officials confirmed an underwater search team “entered the water and have sadly recovered a body” yesterday.
Police said no formal identification has been carried out yet, and procedures to do so are ongoing.
‘Questions must be asked’ about Lancashire Police’s decision-making
Questions “must be asked” about Lancashire Police’s decision to share the details about their “working hypothesis” in the search for Nicola Bulley, says criminal behavioural analyst Laura Richards.
A body was found around a mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog in St Michael’s on 27 January.
No formal identification has yet taken place but Ms Bulley’s family have been told about the discovery.
“The formal identification needs to take place first and foremost,” said Ms Richards in an interview with LBC. “But I do think it raises questions about why would you share a working hypothesis”.
“There should be multiple hypotheses that the police worked at before it becomes a theory. That does not mean it needs to be shared with the public. That just leads to further speculation which is what they don’t want,” she said.
So we don’t know if that is Nicola, we don’t know how the body got there, and I think there are questions to be asked that if that was her, how was she missed within a mile radius search when there were three or four specialist teams, including Peter Faulding, who had searched that stretch of the river.
“Peter himself said had he known about her being high risk and the specific vulnerabilities, his search parameters would’ve been different.
“So the questions must be asked about their decision-making. Why did they not share that information with the people searching for her? If it is indeed Nicola.”
Investigation into whether police disclosed personal issues ‘inappropriately’
Earlier this week, the force detailed how the mother of two’s had been struggling with alcohol and hormone replacement therapy for perimenopause in the lead-up to her disappearance on January 27.
Man who found Nicola Bulley’s phone and dog knew ‘something wasn’t right’
A dog walker who found Nicola Bulley’s mobile phone on a bench before she had been reported missing has claimed that he “knew something wasn’t right” .
The man, identified only as Ron, thought when he first spotted the phone that someone had left it there while they had gone to relieve themselves nearby.
Exactly where body was found
A man and a woman walking their dog are understood to have discovered the body and called police on Sunday.
The body was found on an unremarkable stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, a mile or so outside the village, close to where a tree had fallen on its side half in the water.
Police had earlier erected a tent and cordoned off the lane while police divers were called in, but the road reopened around three hours later once the body was recovered.
The police diving team could be seen conducting the search while a police drone and helicopter flew above.
Police search in River Wyre
How the three-week search for Nicola Bulley unfolded
The last 23 days have seen Nicola Bulley’s family make heartbreaking appeals for her return home. They have also condemned the “appalling” speculation over her private life – revealing that some people even threatened to sell stories about her.
The search for Ms Bulley began on 27 January when it was discovered she went missing while walking her dog, Willow, by the River Wyre.
Police statement in full
Lancashire Police released a statement today after they found a body close to where Nicola Bulley went missing.
They said: “We were called today at 11:36am to reports of a body in the River Wyre, close to Rawcliffe Road.
“An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body.
“No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time.
“Procedures to identify the body are on-going.
“We are currently treating the death as unexplained.
“Nicola’s family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times.
“We ask that their privacy is respected.”
A police appeal poster placed on a gateway to a track in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, as police continue their search for missing woman Nicola Bulley, 45
Source: independent.co.uk