A DOGWALKER has told how she watched police divers descend on the River Wyre months after Nicola Bulley’s body was found.
Maria Solarz captured the moment specialist cops swooped in to search the water to try confirm the tragic mum's cause of death.
Nicola's body was found in the river on February 20 – three weeks after she vanished.
Last week Ms Solarz had been walking her dog with her young son and a friend when she saw cops swoop in where she was found.
The area is less than a mile from where Nicola was last seen on January 27, after a tip-off from two dog walkers.
Speaking on YouTube she explained: “We passed the bench where she was last seen and got to the Wyre.
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“We were talking about the case and whether it seemed like she could have been able to float over the Wyre or not.
“Out of nowhere these divers came along and we saw a plain clothed detective on the bank.
“I didn’t want to get my phone out straight away. He was just kind of stood there for a little bit a few feet away from us.
“We didn’t say anything and I kind of waited until he walked past. Then I got my phone out.
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“It just felt awkward. I had to get my dog on the lead because as soon as he saw the divers get in the water he wanted to hop in with them.
“I thought if they’re back in the river and they’re investigating then maybe they don’t see it as an the open and shut case?”
The clip Ms Solarz took shows several officers in the water where Nicola’s body was discovered.
She continued: “They were wading through. Then when they got to the Wyre they couldn’t actually float over it – they had to climb over it.
“It is encouraging to see that they are in there. We were there altogether for an hour and a half. It wasn’t hugely busy.”
Yesterday Police revealed Dr James Adeley, HM Senior Coroner for Lancashire asked them to conduct the investigative work.
A spokesman for HM Coroner said: “The investigation will take time to complete to ensure that as complete a picture as possible of the facts concerning Ms Bulley's death is presented at the inquest.
"This will assist the family in understanding what occurred.
"As part of this process, HM Senior Coroner has requested Lancashire Constabulary produce information gathered during the search for Ms Bulley so it can be considered as part of the investigation.”
A police spokesperson added: “We can confirm this is us carrying out some work at the direction of HM Coroner."
An inquest into Nicola's death is to be heard on Monday, June 26 at County Hall in Preston.
Nicola's disappearance sparked a mystery after her mobile was found on a bench still connected to a work conference call.
Nicola's pet springer spaniel Willow was also found – but there was no trace still of the mum-of-two.
On Sunday February 20, Police searching for Nicola confirmed a body had been found less than a mile from where she was last seen more than three weeks earlier.
An extensive search was launched to find the mum-of-two, involving police, firefighters, mountain rescue, underwater teams and the local community.
Officers scoured wooded areas, ditches, water margins and the grounds of an abandoned house.
A specialist search was also launched by dive expert Peter Faulding, who used £50,000 sonar equipment to scour the water.
He later pulled out of the hunt, saying he did not believe Nicola was in the river as she could have "stood up" if she fell in.
Nicola's disappearance sparked a huge amount of speculation online with web sleuths flocking to the area she was last seen in an attempt to crack the case.
For her funeral last month a no fly zone was put in place over the church – so sick TikTok sleuths couldn’t film her funeral using drones.
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The move comes after a sleuth was arrested for filming and uploading footage of Nicola’s body being recovered from the River.
Curtis Arnold, 34, of Kidderminster, Worc, was detained on suspicion of malicious communications offences and perverting the course of justice.
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