Police searching for Nicola Bulley, who disappeared walking her dog, say they have located the witness.
Image source, Lancashire PoliceDetectives 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.
Image source, Police handout
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
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.
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”.
Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk