Found Deceased UK - Nicola Bulley, 45, last seen walking her dog on footpath by the river, Inskip, Lancashire, 27 Jan 2023

[wens67]

Hi, I'm new here. Me and my sister can't stop thinking about NB and what has happened. Think it resonates when you are mum's yourself. We are also very interested in sleuthing ourselves and regularly find us looking at all angles of incidents like these.

Many have shared the same thoughts we've had:
- Phone placed on bench, rather than being 'dropped nearby'
- Dog loose (I have spaniels, they occasionally run off, but they stay close if well trained and can get in and out of water without any cause for concern)
- This is a route known so well by NB
- For a woman to intentionally leave her daughters... people do, but there must be some strong evidence for abandonment if the police don't feel that it was an 'attack'
- Stranger attack would have left a body, think the case of the PCSO in Kent and Rachel Nickell in London... the dog stays close too.
- School calling... odd - my children's school wouldn't call unless there was some issue at drop off. A child worried or concern for mother's welfare at drop off?
- 915am there would have been many walkers, I walk my dogs every day and I see the same walkers most days at the same time. We dog owners are creatures of habit!
-

A point that I haven't seen mentioned 10 mins from last sighting (who was the witness incidentally; other walker? Driver on nearby bridge?) is RNAS Inskip; presumably with surrounding MOD land? Potentially harder to search?

Can anyone tell me, while distressing, we don't tend to see TV appeals anymore, is there are reason for this? Presumably it's down to family and police resources?

I don't believe she went in the water. I have a cockerpoo and often walk her near a local river. I also take breaks and sit on a bench. Dogs, especially spaniels, are intelligent and creatures of habit. When I sit down for a break my cockapoo just has a rest too and stays close by, I don't think her dog would have wandered too far away from her, especially into the water as its still quite cold.

As the spaniel was loose I don't understand how it has stayed put if she has walked off. My dog would instantly have followed me.

 

[Firstsnow4]

Maybe someone is ‘helping’ her with a planned disappearance?
Police also said she had ‘links to Thornton Cleveleys’ and I wondered if that was a hint?

Very good point. I wondered why they mentioned Thornton Cleveleys.

 

[WiseOwl]

If she has deliberately gone missing surely she would have just dropped the girls off at school and then carried on driving. Why would you take a dog with you and then leave it. It just doesn't make sense. Something really off about it. It all seems too staged to me. I just have a gut feeling about this and wonder if the Police do too but are trying to divert attention.

I agree with you, it makes no sense for Nicola to just 'go off the grid' and leave the dog behind in such a public place - why would she do that?

IMO either she has had an accident and fallen in the river or something else has happened to her.

 

[Sweeper2000]

I am glad to see someone type this message. The whole thing just doesnt seem right at all. If she was planning to leave, why walk the dog ? Surely leaving the dog at home would be a better idea ? The only thing i can think of is if something was mentioned on the call she was on and her head just went and it was a split second decision. I have just got this terrible feeling. The theory as well about her slipping and falling into the river doesnt sit well with me either, on the strava photos, Willow - the spaniel - is quite at home in the water. I wonder whether there could have been some difficulty with another dog walker ? No evident. JMO

part of her routine to walk the dog. Walking the dog also gives her a opportunity to go missing and be undetected for awhile. Presumably if she was intending to go missing, while walking the dog and was expecting a long work call she could have mentioned the call to family and said “will be on a call later so expect me to be busy for a while”. Family wouldn’t think she was missing for a couple of hours, giving herself time to get away without an alarm being raised. Jmo though. In line I think with the phone being deliberately left behind and on call so can’t be traced in whatever vehicle she left in.
jmo. If she did intend to run away.

 

[WiseOwl]

Hi, I'm new here. Me and my sister can't stop thinking about NB and what has happened. Think it resonates when you are mum's yourself. We are also very interested in sleuthing ourselves and regularly find us looking at all angles of incidents like these.

Many have shared the same thoughts we've had:
- Phone placed on bench, rather than being 'dropped nearby'
- Dog loose (I have spaniels, they occasionally run off, but they stay close if well trained and can get in and out of water without any cause for concern)
- This is a route known so well by NB
- For a woman to intentionally leave her daughters... people do, but there must be some strong evidence for abandonment if the police don't feel that it was an 'attack'
- Stranger attack would have left a body, think the case of the PCSO in Kent and Rachel Nickell in London... the dog stays close too.
- School calling... odd - my children's school wouldn't call unless there was some issue at drop off. A child worried or concern for mother's welfare at drop off?
- 915am there would have been many walkers, I walk my dogs every day and I see the same walkers most days at the same time. We dog owners are creatures of habit!
-

A point that I haven't seen mentioned 10 mins from last sighting (who was the witness incidentally; other walker? Driver on nearby bridge?) is RNAS Inskip; presumably with surrounding MOD land? Potentially harder to search?

Can anyone tell me, while distressing, we don't tend to see TV appeals anymore, is there are reason for this? Presumably it's down to family and police resources?

A warm welcome to Websleuths, cress_sleuth!

 

[3point5]

I don't believe she went in the water. I have a cockerpoo and often walk her near a local river. I also take breaks and sit on a bench. Dogs, especially spaniels, are intelligent and creatures of habit. When I sit down for a break my cockapoo just has a rest too and stays close by, I don't think her dog would have wandered too far away from her, especially into the water as its still quite cold.

As the spaniel was loose I don't understand how it has stayed put if she has walked off. My dog would instantly have followed me.

To counter this, here's my springer spaniel. Every time we walk past here she jumps in even though she can't get out again without us helping her. Not all springers are created equal

 

[Cicane]

Odd that they’ve hinted about her links to the other place.. I’ve just read the dog’s lead and harness were found on the bench. Do you think she could have let him off knowing he’d run away for a play and then disappeared in the meantime? If he’d gone into the water he would have still been wet, it was was a cold day.

 

[Smccat]

yeh that’s a legal requirement for any enterprise using something that can be hazardous to human health Ie the fishing club hiring the waters. You could have a mile of water that’s one foot deep and then a ten feet of a dip that goes to ten feet depth and you would need signs warning everyone who uses that water in the club of that dip. Really can’t say though, could be deep . All in all this is very concerNing. Would take a bet and say it looks safe enough to be able to fall in and get out again assuming a fall hadnt knocked her unconscious.

im not Sure about the weather, haven’t had any serious rain in London for a while now. It takes about a week for a river to drain the rainfall off significantly and about two of no rain at all to clear to no rain levels. Moo.

I live about 10 mins away. Not overly familiar with that stretch of walk though unfortunately. The weather was a bright start with sun on and off until about 11am then went dull. No rain though. 3 /4 degrees. (I didn't remember this I had to look it up, ha).

Just catching up since last night.

 

[Lincolnshirelad]

8:45-9am - Are school drop off as school starts at 9am
9:01 - Logged onto the call
9:15 - Last spotted walking

So she was walking while listening to the call, so distracted most likely with headphones or on loudspeaker / phone to ear.

 

[Sweeper2000]

I live about 10 mins away. Not overly familiar with that stretch of walk though unfortunately. The weather was a bright start with sun on and off until about 11am then went dull. No rain though. 3 /4 degrees. (I didn't remember this I had to look it up, ha).

Just catching up since last night.

good to know. It can take a day or two for any rain to flow into the river so assuming no rain preceding wouldnt show up for a while. Any significant rain before it? Light rain for a few days can increase the volume by a few inches Maybe depending on volume of rain a foot. Jmo

 

[cress_sleuth]

I wrote such a long ramble on my first post, my question in last para might have been missed:

Can anyone tell me, while distressing, why don't we tend to see TV appeals anymore? Presumably it's down to family and/or police resources?

If there was any evidence pointing solely to her running off then a TV appeal would surely be beneficial to get her to make contact. Equally if they had no reason to believe she was in the water, why search the water?

My other point which would be helpful if any locals could give insight on is that I've worked out that 10 mins from last sighting is RNAS Inskip; is there anything still there? is it MOD land? Potentially harder to search? I guess highly unlikely of anything sinister here, I'm trying to work out local land surrounding her regular walk.

<modsnip - social media comments not allowed>

Perhaps problems with business.... mortgages a nightmare at the moment, had she let someone down perhaps?

 

[Sweeper2000]

I wrote such a long ramble on my first post, my question in last para might have been missed:

Can anyone tell me, while distressing, why don't we tend to see TV appeals anymore? Presumably it's down to family and/or police resources?

If there was any evidence pointing solely to her running off then a TV appeal would surely be beneficial to get her to make contact. Equally if they had no reason to believe she was in the water, why search the water?

My other point which would be helpful if any locals could give insight on is that I've worked out that 10 mins from last sighting is RNAS Inskip; is there anything still there? is it MOD land? Potentially harder to search? I guess highly unlikely of anything sinister here, I'm trying to work out local land surrounding her regular walk.

<modsnip - social media comments not allowed>

Perhaps problems with business.... mortgages a nightmare at the moment, had she let someone down perhaps?

you would probably have a better chance of finding a police appeal on local tv. Asking people in Devon about a missing person up north is more or less pointless. Needs to be relevant to the local area.

they would search any body of water if a person goes missing unexpectedly by it. Regardless of indications that they fell in. Routine checks. Need to tick off potentials on the checklist. Narrow the search down.

 

[WiseOwl]

8:45-9am - Are school drop off as school starts at 9am
9:01 - Logged onto the call
9:15 - Last spotted walking

So she was walking while listening to the call, so distracted most likely with headphones or on loudspeaker / phone to ear.

Do we know any of the following?

1. Who dropped the kids off at school - Nicola or her partner?
2. Who was it who last saw her walking at 9.15?
3. How long was it between this last sighting of Nicola and the sighting of the dog on it's own?
4. Who was it who spotted the dog and phoned the school?
5. What time was this phone call to the school?
6. What time did the school contact Nicola's partner?
7. Where was he when he received this call?

TIA

 

[todders]

So the only person to see Nicola on her walk was this one witness up to this point. We do not have any details on the sighting whether they recognised her from a distance or they had spoken to her walked past her or anything else. Do we know that she definitely dropped the kids off at school ? was she seen by anyone else at the school ? What if Nicola was never on the path at all ? We know her phone was though and the dog was there along with the lead and harness. Did something happen before the walk that we know nothing about at his point.

 

[Grouse]

Agree with the police. Raises two possibilities imo. Phone was placed on bench and deliberately left, phone was placed on bench and she had no opportunity to retrieve it.

<rsbm>

I find it hard to imagine NB would have deliberately left her phone like that, and the fact it was determined to be still connected to a call presumably means it was not locked? Might not be the case here ,but most people under the age of about 50 these days seem to do banking and card payments via their phones so that would potentially leave your finances at risk as well.

 

[Dowls90]

Sky news are just reporting the police are wanting to speak to a man aged around 70, well built, 6ft and walking a fluffy dog in the area at the time.

 

[Smccat]

Something so very off about this. I have a spaniel and he never leaves my side. He would absolutely follow me if I turned in the opposite direction or whatever. My guess is that she has tied up her dog to the bench and simply gone ( I don’t know where ) willow has eventually slipped the harness and she has stayed where she last saw NB.
It’s her children that changes that theory …. You couldn’t as a mum walk away from two little girls surely ?

If Nicola had planned to walk off that day... she could have left the dog at home.

Potentially the kids could have had the news the dog was also gone. It could have got spooked and ran for miles and gotten injured or lost, tried to get home and gotten killed by a car crossing a busy road, could have been stolen....

If I you could have prevented potentially losing the family dog, you would surely? I am not judging with this question, just using it to say why I am leaning away from planned walk off.

If she was not in her right mind anything, any thoughts, and any ideas are all possible. I've not seen or read anything that this may be the case and the police have not alluded to it.

It's very, very lucky Willow was found in any case. I am glad she was.

Where are you Nicola?

 

[SpursGyal]

Searches are today continuing for missing mum of two Nicola Bulley.

And as part of our efforts to find her we are appealing for a potentially key witness to come forward.

Nicola was last seen on Friday morning (January 27th) at around 9.20 am on the footpath by the river off Garstang Road in St Michael’s on Wyre. However, she has not been seen or heard from since then.

We are especially keen to find a witness we believe was in the area at the time Nicola went missing. He is described as a man aged around 70, white, six ft tall, well-built who was walking a small white fluffy dog on a lead. He spoke to a woman in the area before walking in the direction of Rowanwater. If this is you, or if you know who this could be, please get in touch.

A search of the area involving police specialist resources, working alongside colleagues from the Coastguard and Bowland Mountain Rescue, is continuing.

In a statement Nicola’s family said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support from our community and would like to thank everyone for their ongoing efforts to help us find Nicola.

“The girls are desperate to have their mummy back home safe with them and your ongoing efforts have provided comfort to them whilst we await news on Nicola.

“We ask for anyone who thinks they may have any Information that may help the police find Nicola to please come forward and help them with their enquiries.”

Nicola is white, 5ft 3ins tall, 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.

Immediately before going missing Nicola was walking her brown Spaniel dog Willow. Willow was found close to where Nicola was last seen, along with Nicola’s mobile phone.

Supt Sally Riley said: “We remain extremely concerned for Nicola and we continue to do everything we can to try and find her and to provide some answers for her family who are obviously beside themselves with worry. I must stress at this time that this remains a missing person inquiry and at this time there is nothing to suggest any third-party involvement in Nicola’s disappearance.

“We appreciate there is also a great deal of concern in the local community, and we appreciate people want to help. However, parts of the riverbank are treacherous, and we would ask that nobody puts themselves in danger and that the police and partner agencies’ efforts to find Nicola are not compromised.

“If anybody has any questions or concerns, they are welcome to speak to officers in the area.”

Anybody who has seen Nicola, or has information about where she might be, is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30th. For immediate sightings please call 999.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=558675666299049&id=100064698606332

 

[Sweeper2000]

<rsbm>

I find it hard to imagine NB would have deliberately left her phone like that, and the fact it was determined to be still connected to a call presumably means it was not locked? Might not be the case here ,but most people under the age of about 50 these days seem to do banking and card payments via their phones so that would potentially leave your finances at risk as well.

phone is traceable. Most people know that. It is also a strong personal link to a life she may have wanted to get away from. If indeed she did want to get away from it all.

 

[GML1981]

Sky news are just reporting the police are wanting to speak to a man aged around 70, well built, 6ft and walking a fluffy dog in the area at the time.

Do you have a link for this please? I tried searching on line but couldn’t see it yet.