Police have traced a woman walking a pram as a “key witness”, who was seen near the spot where Nicola Bulley went missing last week.
Lancashire Police put out the appeal yesterday, 4 February, saying that the woman was seen in Garstang Road and Blackpool Road, St Michael’s, on the morning of 27 January pushing a pram. Nicola, 45, disappeared on the same day near the River Wyre, after dropping her children off at school at around 8.30am.
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Police believe that the woman may have walked along the river path where the mortgage adviser went missing between 8.22am and 8.41am. The search for the mum-of-two has entered its10th day, with her partner Paul Ansell talking about his despair after Nicola “vanished into thin air”.
What have police said?
In an update on its Facebook page, Lancashire Police said the woman had come forward “very quickly”. The force added: “We must stress that she was very much being treated as a witness and was one of many people in St Michael’s on Friday, January 27th.
“Our enquiries to find Nicola are extensive and will include speaking to as many members of the public as possible. The speculation and abuse on social media aimed at some people who are merely assisting our enquiry is totally unacceptable.
“We would urge people to remember that we are investigating the disappearance of Nicola, and the priority is Nicola and her family. We want to find her and provide answers to her family.
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“We are also appealing to anyone who was driving down Blackpool Lane/Garstang Lane on the morning of Friday 27 January between the times of 9am and 10am who has dash cam footage on their vehicles to make contact.”
Nicola is white, 5ft 3in, with light brown shoulder-length hair. She speaks with an Essex accent. She was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive-green ankle wellies. Her hair was tied into a ponytail.
Police tape off area
Officers have taped off a footpath leading to the riverside bench where the 45-year-old’s phone was discovered and where her Springer Spaniel dog was found alone, our sister title the Lancashire Post reports.
Police divers are concentrating their search efforts on the stretch of river close to the bench but have yet to find any evidence to suggest she might have entered the water. More officers with underwater search equipment arrived on the scene earlier in the week.
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Before they arrived, flowers were found left on the bench with a hand-written message: “My thoughts and prayers go out to your family and Willow. Love a fellow dog walker.”
Sniffer dogs, drones and a police helicopter have also been used to search the river, which cuts through farmland.
Anybody who has seen Nicola, or has information about where she might be, is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30. For immediate sightings please call 999.
- Friday 27 January, 8:43am: Nicola, having dropped her two daughters, aged six and nine, off at their nearby school, walked her dog along a towpath by the River Wyre. The path was just off Garstang Road in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
- 8:50am (approximately): A local dog walker, who knows Nicola, saw her walking around the lower field. Nicola’s dog, a springer spaniel named Willow, briefly interacted with the witness’s dog. The witness then left the field via the river path.
- 8:53am: Nicola, who works as a mortgage advisor, sent an email to her boss from her phone.
- 8:57am: Nicola sent a text message to a friend whose mortgage she had recently signed off, to arrange a playdate for their daughters. The local, who told The Mirror about the text message, claimed this was evidence that Nicola had no intention of voluntarily disappearing, remarking: “You wouldn’t have done that if you were going to get up and go missing”.
- 9:01am: Nicola logged into a Microsoft Teams call.
- 9:10am: A different witness, who also knows Nicola, saw the mum-of-two with her dog Willow, in the upper field. This is the last known sighting of Nicola.
- 9:20am: Police believe Nicola’s phone was left on a bench at this point - which means there is just a ten-minute window in which the police cannot account for her movements.
- 9:30am: The Teams call which Nicola joined at 9:01am ended. However, Nicola’s phone stayed logged on.
- 9:35am (approximately): Nicola’s dog Willow was found loose by another dog walker, near a bench by the river. Nicola’s mobile phone was found on the bench - still connected to the conference call.
- Later (time unclear): Paul Ansell, Nicola’s partner, received a phone call from the children’s school about someone who had found Willow and Nicola’s phone. He then called the police.