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

[in2thegate]

This gets more and more bizarre by the minute this disappearance. Whatever has happened we have to remember the family and friends who are no doubt besides themselves with worry.

 

[JimmyBets]

I would like to know the physical condition of NB’s mobile phone. Had she been assaulted there would be a strong chance it has contacted her assailant - if it was in her hand it could have been used as a weapon in self defence. Was it damaged? Any signs of blood? Or, was it wet or muddy?
This would indicate it had been on the ground at some point and then picked up and placed on the bench.
if you had attacked someone would you really stop to pick up their phone increasing the chance of leaving further evidence?

Dash-cam footage - instant and repeated requests for this. LE know NB was on her usual walking route so the repeated requests suggest they think she left that field/walking area in some way and are looking for evidence from the road to support this theory

 

[Woodburnbay]

Yes I want to know exactly who reported the sighting because the police officer is also asking for dashcam to see if she was captured - “Supt Sally Riley appealed to anyone who was driving through St Michael’s at around 9.15am on January 27 to examine their dashcam footage to see if they had captured Nicola as she began her walk on the road bridge over the river."

Do you think the police are disputing the sighting by the member of the public? Or they want to see whether she was with anyone or being followed?

Was she not on a conference call that she joined at 9:01. If she was spotted at 09:15 was she with phone and on call?

 

[Tanzanite]

I think a lot here want may this to be more mysterious than it is. I get it, the mysteries give us hope she may still be alive, and we are all hoping thats the outcome.

But, we've got someone thats gone missing next to a near freezing, fast flowing river. I just hope that if she did go in the river that they're able to recover her.

<modsnip>

If the police thought she'd fallen into the river, there would be immense police activity concentrated on the body of water by now, I would assume.

Has there been any disclosure of what the work meeting/call was about?

 

[Firstsnow4]

Well she was seen by a witness at around 9:15am with her dog in tow walking in the direction of the river so I would assume it was her that was on the call given that she logged on at 9:01am with the same phone found on a bench at around 10:30am.

But we don’t know how reliable that witness is or if they did see NB.

 

[in2thegate]

I would like to know the physical condition of NB’s mobile phone. Had she been assaulted there would be a strong chance it has contacted her assailant - if it was in her hand it could have been used as a weapon in self defence. Was it damaged? Any signs of blood? Or, was it wet or muddy?
This would indicate it had been on the ground at some point and then picked up and placed on the bench.
if you had attacked someone would you really stop to pick up their phone increasing the chance of leaving further evidence?

Dash-cam footage - instant and repeated requests for this. LE know NB was on her usual walking route so the repeated requests suggest they think she left that field/walking area in some way and are looking for evidence from the road to support this theory

Very good point. if there was mud on it it would mean that the phone was on the floor, someone picked it up and left it there to hopefully be returned to the owner ? If no mud, it would mean that it was left there in a panic or accident. I also saw someone say can whoever was on the teams call with her verify that it was actually her in possession of the phone ?

 

[Edinlass]

Yes very true maybe the need for dashcam footage

But we don’t know how reliable that witness is or if they did see NB.

 

[RusselSprout]

@JimmyBets youve just made me think something, maybe she didnt place the phone and dog lead on the bench. What do you do when you find a glove, for example, in the park, you leave it somewhere noticeable, like a bench, everybody does this. Maybe someone, possibly man with fluffy dog, found it and placed them on the bench.

 

[Firstsnow4]

Was she not on a conference call that she joined at 9:01. If she was spotted at 09:15 was she with phone and on call?

Assuming it was her that joined the call. And assuming that the witness is reliable and had actually seen NB. Just playing devils advocate.

 

[Edinlass]

Very good point. if there was mud on it it would mean that the phone was on the floor, someone picked it up and left it there to hopefully be returned to the owner ? If no mud, it would mean that it was left there in a panic or accident. I also so someone say can whoever was on the teams call with her verify that it was actually her in possession of the phone ?

No verification according to her boss she was muted and camera off.

 

[Edinlass]

@JimmyBets youve just made me think something, maybe she didnt place the phone and dog lead on the bench. What do you do when you find a glove, for example, in the park, you leave it somewhere noticeable, like a bench, everybody does this. Maybe someone, possibly man with fluffy dog, found it and placed them on the bench.

Oh wow - now that’s one to think about!

 

[Sarahlou]

<modsnip>

If the police thought she'd fallen into the river, there would be immense police activity concentrated on the body of water by now, I would assume.

Has there been any disclosure of what the work meeting/call was about?

They have had divers searching the river there

 

[Firstsnow4]

Yes very true maybe the need for dashcam footage

I wonder if they need that to corroborate the sighting?! If for example the witness is unreliable. JMO.

 

[Detectivehorseshoe]

I think my initial (and possibly most obvious) assumption was that NB had somehow fallen into the river. But having read other posts about the water not being very deep then it doesn't seem such an obvious outcome. Also, you would have expected the body to have been found already, if the water were shallow.

It just feels like such a mystery. Such a short window of time between the school drop off and (confirmed?) sighting at 0915 and then the discovery of her items and dog an hour later. What could have happened in that window?

I definitely got the feeling that the superintendent was being very deliberate with her answers, pausing between each answer and really considering each answer she gave. I'm sure they do know more than is being disclosed to us IMO.

<modsnip>

Hopefully the new 70 year old witness can help to piece the puzzle together.

 

[Edinlass]

I wonder if they need that to corroborate the sighting?! If for example the witness is unreliable. JMO.

Yes, that could be a possibility.

 

[3point5]

Fast flowing? I thought I read it was pretty still & a shallow area.

The bench is next to the almost 90° bend in the river. From what I've read the water level was 2 - 3ft, but this is below the weir. Levels above the weir (from the fishing video) seem to be closer to 4-5ft.

The river may be slow in parts, but even 2 feet of water moving quickly around a bend is enough to make someone lose their footing.

Well yes I think all can agree we would rather a positive outcome rather than anything sinister. Positive btw is not her being pulled from a river. All avenues have to be discussed otherwise what is the point in sleuthing.

Yes sorry I didn't mean we shouldn't be sleuthing, I was trying to point out why people may be theorising on where she's gone that don't include the water.

 

[PIShaz]

The witness has been found and is being “spoken to”.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1620460259566358528

 

[Tanzanite]

They have had divers searching the river ther

Sorry - yes, thank you. I did see that divers had been deployed in the immediate area with the Mountain rescue and drones etc.

 

[3point5]

The witness has been found and is being “spoken to”.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1620460259566358528

Great news! Hopefully he can shed more light, or at least corroborate the other witness.

 

[Themac101]

The River Wyre at St Michael's is not very deep currently (0.45m) and levels for the last 5 days are similar on the St Michaels's measuring station

Looking on google maps at various points on its route to the sea it doesn't look to me like a big,deep or fast flowing river and it runs about 15 miles to the sea at Fleetwood so if NB did fall in I am a bit surprised she hasn't been found by now, especially given the speed at which the search was launched.

I’ve posted about this earlier so my apologies, you’re right, it’s not deep, I’ve been in it right up to the top of my waders in conditions similar to this in summer, if anything the river is lower now than at points during the warmer months. It’s not overly fast either. That being said as children we were always warned that you can drown in water only a few inches deep. I’m not a scientist so take this with a pinch of salt, but I don’t think the river is deep enough for a body to float very far before becoming visible from the bank. Yes there may be straight stretches where things can float downstream, but not before they’d beach on a sandbank in a bend or bump up against a weir or the protruding bank.

Obviously being close to a river causes your % chance of ending up in a river to go way up. The % chance that someone would fall in, not be able to get out, drown, become snagged in a hole permanently out of view and not be found 3 days later in that particular river is pretty much 0% IMO. I think people might be visualising big, deep rivers like the Severn, Ouse, Thames etc.

I also saw a post here stating that the dog wasn’t wet either. That means one of two possible causes for her ending up in the river is ruled out. Leaving only that she fell in without the involvement of the dog. What are the chances?