Image of witness released in missing mum searchon February 2, 2023 at 3:30 pm

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

A new CCTV image is released of a potential witness in the disappearance of Nicola Bulley.

Witness soughtImage source, Lancashire Police

Detectives searching for a missing mother who vanished on a riverside dog walk want to speak to a woman in a red coat who was seen in the area.

Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen walking next to the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, at about 09:15 GMT last Friday.

A major search involving police divers has been continuing, but no trace has been found.

Lancashire Police said the potential witness was walking a small white dog.

Officers said the woman, who was captured on CCTV at about 08:50 on Allotment Lane, close to where Ms Bulley was last seen, might have information to help the investigation.

She was wearing a red and white coat with a fur hood, light-coloured trousers and a light bobble hat and was walking a small white dog.

Nicola Bulley

Image source, Police handout

Presentational grey line

Timeline of events

  • 08:43 – Ms Bulley walked along the path by the River Wyre, having dropped her children off at school
  • 08:50 – A dog-walker who knows Ms Bulley saw her walking along the lower field. Their two dogs interacted briefly
  • 08:53 – Ms Bulley sent an email to her boss
  • 09:01 – She logged into a Teams call
  • About 09:10 – Somebody who knows Ms Bulley saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow.
  • 09:30 – The Teams call ended but she stayed logged on
  • About 09:35 – Ms Bulley’s mobile phone and dog Willow were found at a bench by the river
Presentational grey line

Officers were alerted after Ms Bulley’s dog was found running loose off Garstang Road.

Her phone was later found on a bench, still connected to a work call.

A harness and lead for her springer spaniel, Willow, was also discovered on the bench.

Map

Lancashire Police said officers were keeping an “open mind” about what happened, but did not believe Ms Bulley had been attacked.

There is nothing to suggest any third party involvement in Ms Bulley’s disappearance, the force added.

Supt Sally Riley said: “We know that Nicola going missing has caused a great deal of concern for the wider local community, as well as obviously being an awful time for her family.

“I appreciate that there are unanswered questions about what has happened to Nicola, but I would urge people not to speculate or spread false rumours.”

A key witness, who was walking a white fluffy dog in the area, was located and spoken to on Tuesday.

Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, 44, said the family was in a “perpetual hell” with two girls “desperate to have their mummy back”.

Ms Bulley’s parents earlier told the Mirror her two daughters, aged six and nine, who she had just dropped off at school, were “sobbing their hearts out” because “mummy is lost”.

Presentational grey line

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

Related Internet Links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
- Advertisement -

Discover

Sponsor

Latest

Largest ever Irish drug seizure after ship raidedon September 27, 2023 at 10:50 am

Irish authorities say that more than €150m of suspected cocaine has been seized from a cargo ship.22 minutes agoIrish authorities have seized €157m (£136m)...

Who is Deborah Birx — the doctor whose reaction when Trump suggested people inject disinfectants has gone viral?

For those who haven’t been tuning in to the daily White House coronavirus press briefings over the past several weeks, the woman now going...

Covid-19: Pregnant women should be offered jab and UK infections back at September levelson April 16, 2021 at 4:43 pm

Five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Friday evening.Sue Whitehead, 67, and Geoff Shaw, 72, have been dance partners for...

Pope and protestant leaders denounce anti-gay lawson February 5, 2023 at 7:44 pm

Pope Francis said laws which criminalise homosexuality were a sin and "an injustice".Image source, ReutersPope Francis and the leaders of protestant churches in England...

Cost of living: What do Covid, Ukraine and droughts have to do with my bills?on September 3, 2022 at 1:06 am

How Covid, Ukraine, climate change and relations with China are all pushing up prices.How Covid, Ukraine, climate change and relations with China are all...