POLICE were too quick to declare that missing Nicola Bulley was in the River Wyre, a diving expert involved in the case has claimed.
Peter Faulding, who dropped out of the search for the mum-of-two but last night offered to re-join, reckons cops should have kept an open mind instead of jumping to conclusions.
He told the Daily Mail: "I think the worst mistake the police have made was to declare early on that she’s in the river rather than saying 'let’s keep lines of enquiry open'.
"This is a lady who knew this area intimately, she was slim and fit, and if she had fallen she could have grabbed on to the bank."
Mortgage adviser Nicola, 45, vanished while out walking her dog next to the river in St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27.
That morning, she dropped her two daughters off at school and joined a work call just after 9am.
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She was last seen in a field with her Springer Spaniel Willow along the River Wyre at 9.10am.
Her phone, which was still connected to the Teams meeting, the pup, its lead and harness were found around 25 minutes later.
Detectives quickly said they suspected Nicola, from Inskip, may have accidentally fallen into the water and drowned.
This remains their hypothesis, though they insist they are "open" to all possibilities.
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Faulding, who has worked on a series of high-profile missing person cases, joined the hunt with his Specialist Group International (SGI).
Its members scoured the water and surrounding area for several days.
But after finding nothing, Faulding claimed a third party could be involved and suggested Nicola's phone could have been placed on a bench next to the river as a "decoy".
The expert, who has located scores of bodies, including cases where the police have failed to, said: "After 25 years of doing this kind of work, after hundreds of cases, I am well and truly baffled.
"When people drown they generally go down where they are.
"We normally find them within five to 10 metres of where they went down even after a few days.
"The police have nothing to go on.
"All they have is a mobile phone at the moment and they said it could possibly be a decoy."
NOT GIVING UP
SGI offered its services for free to help provide Nicola's family some answers.
But days of work produced no trace of the missing mum and Faulding ended his involvement.
Last night, he revealed he is continuing to consult with the family and has offered to carry out investigations on land.
Faulding told The Telegraph: "I’ve offered to go up privately and put my investigative mind to it.
"I’m visiting in my own time to discuss looking at other areas without interfering with the police operation.
"Normally you carry out land searches, that’s what the family want."
Nicola's partner Paul Ansell and pals are convinced she is not in the river so will likely take him up on the proposal.
Charlotte Drake, who has lived next door to the couple for five years, said: "We’ve all said from 11am on day one 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."
I am 100 per cent convinced it's not the river
Paul, who told Channel 5 that his family was going through "unprecedented hell", added: "Extensive searching, as you're probably aware, has gone on in that river and the underwater rescue teams have thankfully found absolutely nothing.
"Personally, I am 100 per cent convinced it's not the river, that's my opinion.
"You cannot walk your dog down a river and just vanish into thin air.
"Something happened that day, something."
Other friends have also cast doubt on the assumption.
Heather Gibbons told Times Radio: "Nikki’s a strong swimmer.
"She does that walk frequently. She doesn’t generally go near the river on that walk."
And Nicola's sister Louise Cunningham wrote on Facebook: "There is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it’s just a theory."
Details being probed by police as part of the investigation include reports of two men trying to hide their faces near Nicola's dog-walking route the day before she went missing.
A local said the pair were carrying fishing rods and appeared to be wearing hats or hoods, adding: "It was very strange. It made me uneasy."
Cops are also trawling through CCTV from the area and trying to trace the owner of a shabby-looking red van spotted outside a barn on the morning Nicola vanished.
Tree surgeon Denis Rowlandson, 47, said of the vehicle: "I don’t know anybody with a red van who should be parked outside that barn or near the entrance
"There’s no reason to be there at all without my permission."
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Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27.
For immediate sightings, call 999.
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