Remains found after 23 days of extensive search for Nicola Bulley

How was the body missed? Remains found in hunt for missing Nicola Bulley were caught in reeds less than a mile from where she vanished – after 23 days of extensive searches by police divers and experts with underwater sonar

  • A body has been found by police in hunt for missing mother following tip off 
  • The mother-of-two, 45, vanished while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre 

Police retrieved an unidentified body from a river earlier today in the search for missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley – more than three weeks after the mortgage advisor vanished. 

The mystery has baffled Britain and multiple investigators, who launched an extensive search after the 45-year-old disappeared while walking her dog Willow on Friday, January 27, in the tiny Lancashire village of St Michael’s on Wyre.

Senior Investigating Officer Rebecca Smith confirmed that a discovery was made this afternoon but the force added they are unable to confirm whether the body is missing Ms Bulley as they wait for formal identification to be carried out.

The search for Ms Bulley has seen exhaustive searches of the waterways and even the sea around Morecambe Bay. Sonar was used, a special dive team was employed along with search and rescue experts, while volunteers also scoured the vicinity. 

It is unknown at present whether investigators had previously explored the stretch of river in which a body was found.  

Mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, 45, disappeared while walking her dog Willow on January 27 in the tiny Lancashire village of St Michael’s on Wyre

Underwater forensic diver Peter Faulding’s private team from Specialist Group International (SGI) carried out sweeps of the river over three days

Lancashire Police has so far insisted there is ‘no evidence’ of foul play.

On the day Nicola’s family reported her missing, Lancashire Constabulary deployed drones, helicopters and police search dogs in the surrounding areas of her disappearance. 

Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit searched the area close to where Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was found, while police divers scoured the River Wyre. 

After a week of searching, Lancashire Police said it was working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley had fallen into the River Wyre.

However, much speculation has been made about this line of enquiry. 

Ms Bulley’s family and friends repeatedly appealed to the public to continue to come forward with information, adding they did not agree with the police’s theory.

Partner Paul Ansell said last week he was ‘100 percent’ convinced she was not in the water.

Mick Neville, a former Scotland Yard detective, claimed that if the 45-year-old mother fallen or slipped into the Lancashire waterway, there would have been clear marks on the riverbank showing this.

 

 A police diving team pictured today at the River Wyre near St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire

The sun sets this evening over the bench near St.Michael on Wyre, Lancashire, where Nicola Bulley’s phone was found after her disappearance

The bench has been a focal point for much of the investigation into Nicola Bulley’s disappearance

Yellow ribbons and daffodils adorn the footbridge over the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre this evening following the discovery of a body

Tributes were left by members of the public close to the spot where a body was found today

A police helicopter hovers over the River Wyre following the discovery of a body earlier today

Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith (right) pictured with another  officer on the road, close to the police cordon

Police stand near a Crime Scene Investigation van parked near the river Wyre today

The view was echoed by Peter Faulding from Specialist Group International (SGI), an underwater forensic diver whose private team has carried out sweeps of the river over three days.

He claimed Ms Bulley could have ‘easily’ stood up in the 2ft deep flowing waters, with rocks on the riverbed providing a stable base.

During the search, a £55,000 sonar was used by divers from SGI who used the kit to scan the waterways of St Michael’s on Wyre village in Lancashire.

The device was towed beside an inflatable dinghy that carries a small team of staff. It sends out high-frequency pulses that help to map large areas of a seafloor or a riverbed to detect any object at the bottom.

Last week, two boats with specialist police teams searched the coast off Morecambe Bay, around 20 miles from where Nicola was last seen, with police suggesting finding her ‘in the open sea becomes more of a possibility’. 

A third vessel, a large orange lifeboat, was also seen patrolling the bay, with a team of rescue workers on board.

Divers spent days hunting through the River Wyre in an effort to try and find the missing mother-of-two

A £55,000 sonar was used by divers from SGI who used the kit to scan the waterways of St Michael’s on Wyre village in Lancashire

Two police boats prepare to depart from Morecambe Bay as the search for Nicola moved to the sea

A lifeboat swept the river Wyre multiple times where it meets the estuary of Morecambe Bay, in Lancashire, two weeks on from missing Nicola Bulley

After searches of the river came to nothing, diving expert Mr Faulding claimed he would start a new search on land in an attempt to find where she ‘could have been buried’.

Peter Faulding said the operation to find the missing mother needed to be expanded to woodland surrounding the River Wyre as he insisted: ‘If someone’s in the woods I will find them.’

Mr Faulding claimed it was time to ‘consider all options’ and this week vowed to look at ‘possible deposition sites’ – especially since there was a report of ‘suspicious people hanging around’ the area where she disappeared.

As Ms Bulley’s family grew more concerned after failed attempts to find her, police moved search teams to the coast with officers on horseback spotted patrolling coastal pathways on horseback in Knott End-on-Sea, Lancashire.

Ms Bulley’s distraught partner attempted to remain composed as he told the media he was trying to protect his daughters

Mounted police in Knott End-on-Sea are pictured on Monday as they took part in the search for missing Nicola Bulley

Officers on patrol close to where Ms Bulley was last seen 

Search teams, accompanied by sniffer dogs, spent Friday tirelessly checking the banks of the River Wyre in Hambledon, which is about seven miles to the west of where Nicola was last seen 

Police also quizzed residents and businesses, while appealing for doorbell and CCTV footage in a hope to find the crucial clue that could unlock the mystery of the missing mother.

But Lancashire Police faced backlash for ‘wasting’ the first 24 hours of the investigation by not carrying out door-to-door inquiries and jumping to the conclusion Nicola fell into the river.

Speaking to Channel 5 earlier this month, Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell said he is convinced she never went in the river and called for police to re-focus on searching the nearby land, including door-to-door searches.

On Monday this week, police were seen going door-to-door at the Wyreside Farm Park caravan site, yards from where the mother of two went missing on Jan 27.

After finding a body today police spokesman 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 tent has been erected and a wide cordon remains in place. 

A police diving team at the River Wyre near St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, on Sunday as police continue their search for missing woman Nicola Bulley, 45

Around a dozen vehicles remain at the scene where police located a body

Police scrambled a huge search after the two walkers spotted the body. Detective superintendent Smith arrived moments before police confirmed the heartbreaking discovery.

The male walker was seen ashen faced as he talked to police and pointed at an outcrop of trees and undergrowth along the bank, saying: ‘There’s definitely a body there’.

By 1pm on Sunday police drones and a helicopter hovered over the outcrop of trees and undergrowth, while police divers took to the banks of the river Wyre.

Soon afterwards, Lancashire Police confirmed that a body had been located in the river. 

Home Secretary Suella Braverman described developments in the case of Nicola Bulley as ‘heart-breaking and distressing’ after a body was found in the River Wyre.

She tweeted: ‘These are heart-breaking and distressing developments. My thoughts remain with Nicola’s family at this extremely difficult time.’

A member of the public today appears to point towards a spot in the undergrowth by the river Wyre while police watch on

At least three police cars and a van rushed to the scene, with other cars soon following

Police erected a tent (left) at the scene shortly before they confirmed the discovery of a body

Before the discovery was confirmed, a witness said: ‘I drove down Rawcliffe Road for almost a mile. I noticed a man and a woman and two police officers on the embankment.

‘I pulled off at about 11.50am and I heard the man talking to police about something in the undergrowth.

‘Police cars were flying down the road with the blues and twos going. A police officer pulled up a few minutes later and got his drone out.

‘Five minutes later the police helicopter arrived. Officers then asked to me get out so I moved 200 yards down the road.

‘I could still clearly see the man pointing at the riverbank. Then more police cars raced down with the blues and twos going. They cleared the entire road.’

The man and woman were later seen sat on a wall by the scene looking ashen faced and vaping.

The 45-year-old mother-of-two was last seen on January 27 while walking her dog by the river in St Michael’s-on-Wyre after dropping her daughters – aged six and nine – at school.

A massive police presence descended on the village three weeks ago with dozens of officers, divers, search experts and high-tech equipment including drones.

Specialist searchers including Peter Faulding, who scoured the river using sonar equipment, also spent days in the area.

Mr Faulding took the unusual move of publicly stating he did not believe Ms Bulley was in the river, as it was so shallow she could simply have ‘stood up’ if she fell in.

After the news of Sunday’s discovery, Mr Faulding tweeted: ‘Our thoughts are with Nicola’s family and friends at this difficult time.’

Police officers were seen pointing towards the river from a vantage point next to a CSI van

Multiple police cars were pictured at the scene as the helicopter flew overhead

Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, the senior investigating officer in Ms Bulley’s case, arrives at the scene of the search

Police officers and divers were pictured at the scene on Sunday afternoon, although it is unclear what, if anything, has been found

Lancashire Police issued the update on its Facebook page and requested Ms Bulley’s family’s privacy be respected

Read more: Detective from ‘British FBI’ who worked on case of murdered PCSO Julia James and morgue monster David Fuller is called in to help solve disappearance of Nicola Bulley

Her partner Paul Ansell, 44, has maintained hope she is still alive despite officers saying their main working hypothesis remains that Ms Bulley is in the river.

Ms Bulley vanished after dropping off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27 in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.

She was last seen at 9.10am taking her usual route with her springer spaniel Willow, alongside the River Wyre, shortly after dropping her girls, aged nine and six, off at school. 

Her phone, still connected to a work call, was found just over 20 minutes later on a bench overlooking the riverbank, with her dog running loose.

Speaking about the new search, former Scotland Yard Detective Peter Bleksley told Sky News: ‘If ever there’s a sign of information that is received by the police… then seeing lots of resources deployed in a fairly short space of time is not uncommon.’

A police helicopter is reported to have circled overhead for around 25 minutes

Diving and search specialists discuss the situation with one another from the side of the bank

Four members of the police appeared to be involved in a search of the River Wyre on Sunday

A Lancashire officer observes the ground near to the spot the two walkers pointed police to

A police helicopter was pictured over St Michael’s on Wyre for the first time in days

Nicola Bulley, 45, from Inskip, Lancashire, was last seen on the morning of Friday January 27, when she was spotted walking her dog on a footpath by the River Wyre off Garstang Road in St Michael’s on Wrye

Nicola Bulley’s sister shared a heartbreaking message on Friday, appealing for Ms Bulley to ‘come home now’

A police helicopter hovers over the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire today as police continue their search for missing woman Nicola Bulley

Underwater search expert Peter Faulding scans the River Wyre using sonar equipment earlier this month

The last time Nicola Bulley was caught on CCTV she was accompanied by Willow on the morning of her disappearance

On February 3, Lancashire Police told the public of its main hypothesis that Ms Bulley had fallen into the River Wyre in a ’10-minute window’ between 9.10am and 9.20am on the day she disappeared. 

But multiple experts and Ms Bulley’s own family said they did not believe this to be true. 

This week they held a second press conference in which they referenced individual ‘vulnerabilities’ that meant she had immediately been classed as a ‘high-risk’ missing persons case.

But hours later they issued a shock statement detailing Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol, brought on by significant symptoms of being peri-menopausal and having stopped taking her HRT medication. 

Ms Bulley’s family said in a statement on Friday that they feared her decision to stop taking her hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs may have played a factor in her disappearance.

‘Due to the perimenopause Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help but this was giving her intense headaches which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT thinking that may have helped her but only ended up causing this crisis,’ the statement said.

They added: ‘Nikki is such a wonderful daughter, sister, partner and mother and is missed dearly – we all need you back in our lives.

‘Nikki, we hope you are reading this and know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle. We all need you home.’

Today’s news came after it was revealed overnight one of the UK’s top detectives was personally advising Lancashire Police on the case. 

The unnamed detective from the NCA, often referred to as Britain’s FBI, has worked on some of the UK’s most high-profile cases including killer and morgue monster David Fuller and the murder of PCSO Julia James, the organisation told MailOnline. 

The police have so far failed to find Ms Bulley, 45, after she vanished without a trace while walking her springer spaniel, named Willow, more than three weeks ago.

Lancashire Police have also received the aid of a forensic psychologist and dog behavioural expert.

It comes amid fierce criticism of police for releasing personal health details about Ms Bulley this week, including from Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt and PM Rishi Sunak.

Criticism of the force has been mounting since the 45-year-old’s disappearance on January 27.

Police officers have been combing the area for more than three weeks for the missing mother

Officers spent hours trawling the river, riverbanks and fields nearby

Police search teams on the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire on February 5

Ms Bulley’s phone was found on this bench in St Michael’s on Wyre, with Willow’s harness on the floor nearby 

Specialist Group International, led by Peter Faulding, search a stretch of the River Wyre where Nicola Pulley went missing at St Michael’s on Wyre

Lancashire Police have launched a probe into their investigation, which appears to have stalled, but have raised questions by not taking up offers from other forces such as the Metropolitan Police to conduct the review instead.

This week police publicly divulged information about Nicola Bulley’s battles with alcohol brought on by the menopause – a decision critics blasted as ‘sexist’.

Former police officers have also questioned why basic actions such as closing off the area where Ms Bulley’s phone and dog were discovered for forensic examination were not completed.

The force has confirmed a date has been set for the internal review, which will be conducted by their Head of Crime, Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables – but that date has not been made public.

On Friday Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley offered to conduct a review on behalf of the force, but Lancashire Police were criticised after deciding to do it themselves.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has also received a referral from the force regarding the contact officers had with Ms Bulley on January 10 – before she went missing.

Meanwhile PM Rishi Sunak, speaking about the release of personal details after Lancashire Police announced it will conduct an internal review, said he is ‘pleased police are looking at how that happened in the investigation’.

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