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

[Edinlass]

Yes I think that’s a good point and one we have raised before. Is the purpose of the dashcam to corroborate the sighting? Or to see if she was with anyone else whilst walking, was anyone following her, any other sightings of her that morning etc.

It sure has, but as new people join info needs relayed over and over and over some more. I’ve been here so long to know.

I’m now thinking about Libby squire - she went into the river hull (albeit unconscious at the very least) and found 7 weeks in the humber. I am not sure how alike these two rivers are but I checked the depth and the river hull is between 1.52m - 3.60m so relatively deeper maybe fast flowing anyway 7 weeks and lucky to be found.

 

[dormouse]

I’d be interested to know whether NB usually joined work calls with camera off/muted

Agreed. It’s also crucial to know what kind of call it was. I have joined calls with hundreds of people in a very passive role, but if I logged on to our regular team calls with no audio or video, I’m sure my boss would get concerned very quickly.

 

[Sjöberg]

How does this not sound odd. I mean who was on the conference call, did they not see how she ended it? She didn't terminate the call? Feels off

As I am working from home 95% of the time, I also often log on to the Teams meeting with my camera off and my audio muted, as I am stomping around the kitchen in my PJs and cooking breakfast, might have even forgotten about the meeting until a notification pops up on my screen. Meaning, that neither is logging on to a Teams call without audio/video odd to me (after all she was walking her dog at the time and her background noise and moving video would be distracting to others), nor is the idea that someone other than her could have pressed "join" on a Teams event notification outlandish to me - a stranger, unlikely, but someone that knew her routines well, yeah, totally could have.

If it was a longer meeting (that meetings with loads of people tend to be - and you are more likely to just silently listen in on these), IMO it could have even not been over yet by the time her phone was found! Or, as others sign off at the end, how long do you stay connected to the call after a meeting if you do not sign off? I know you can accidentally log on again to random old meetings if you klick on the wrong place (whoops), so it's not like they are disabled after the meeting time in the calendar is over or if you're the only person there. Any input, fellow Teams users?

 

[annpats]

It seems to me the most logical thing is that she is in the river. However, it seems slow moving and not super deep. So I'd think she'd need to be unconscious going in, or perhaps a medical emergency while in the water? I'd think she set her phone down and didn't think she would be long to just leave it sitting there on the call. So whatever happened, happened quick. All MOO!

It's not a straight drop into the water, it's a slow roling embankment covered with grasses and bracken.
I can't see how she fell in.
If she was pushed or there was a fight on the tow path there would be evidence there....marks in the mud, crumpled down foliage, a trail in the bracken etc.

 

[Canadianmom2three]

I'm looking at it like this.

I do not think she went into the river. I also believe the police do not think this. We shall soon find out.

<modsnip>

But on the off chance that is not what has happened to NB, I'm going to focus my effort and way of trying to help solve this by looking at other avenues. <modsnip>

Now because I do not think she went in to the river, I have to look at things from a top down view and think of any possibility that does not revolve around her falling into the river.

Please look back at some of my earlier posts regarding red flags and red herrings.

If you take the river theory out, maybe it will make the red flags and red herrings I am speaking of stand out brighter

Another option I can think of is that someone was calling for help and she put her phone down to attend and something happened then? But wouldn't the dog follow? I think whatever happened, it was unsuspecting and/or quick.

I am open to her not being in the river, but the dog staying there is what gets me. My dog would follow me.

MOO

 

[annpats]

Agreed. It’s also crucial to know what kind of call it was. I have joined calls with hundreds of people in a very passive role, but if I logged on to our regular team calls with no audio or video, I’m sure my boss would get concerned very quickly.

<modsnip>
But perhaps one that she felt like listening into, keeping a-breast of things in the office.

She'd only worked for that mortgage company since Feb 2022, so less that a year.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

She was on mute and camera off

So sorry I missed that bit but just caught up now. Thankyou for clarifying this for me

 

[Bolton91]

I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned already, but is it possible that the approx 9.15am witness is also the person who later found the items at the bench and Willow? They could have been known to NB, got chatting earlier on NB’s walk, gone their separate ways and then the witness - perhaps walking a similar route themselves - found the items and recognised them as NB’s? Otherwise it really is strange that whoever found the items/dog knew which school to contact about it all, if they weren’t familiar with NB and her life in general. (I hope this makes sense, I’m tired!)

 

[annpats]

I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned already, but is it possible that the approx 9.15am witness is also the person who later found the items at the bench and Willow? They could have been known to NB, got chatting earlier on NB’s walk, gone their separate ways and then the witness - perhaps walking a similar route themselves - found the items and recognised them as NB’s? Otherwise it really is strange that whoever found the items/dog knew which school to contact about it all, if they weren’t familiar with NB and her life in general. (I hope this makes sense, I’m tired!)

Yes, it makes perfect sense. It may be a very small community there too.
I wonder if the witness partially knew her, or at least saw her around the village often?

I also presume if the witness knew how old Nicola's children were, she would have known they go to the local village primary school.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

As I am working from home 95% of the time, I also often log on to the Teams meeting with my camera off and my audio muted, as I am stomping around the kitchen in my PJs and cooking breakfast, might have even forgotten about the meeting until a notification pops up on my screen. Meaning, that neither is logging on to a Teams call without audio/video odd to me (after all she was walking her dog at the time and her background noise and moving video would be distracting to others), nor is the idea that someone other than her could have pressed "join" on a Teams event notification outlandish to me - a stranger, unlikely, but someone that knew her routines well, yeah, totally could have.

If it was a longer meeting (that meetings with loads of people tend to be - and you are more likely to just silently listen in on these), IMO it could have even not been over yet by the time her phone was found! Or, as others sign off at the end, how long do you stay connected to the call after a meeting if you do not sign off? I know you can accidentally log on again to random old meetings if you klick on the wrong place (whoops), so it's not like they are disabled after the meeting time in the calendar is over or if you're the only person there. Any input, fellow Teams users?

Yeah that makes sense and I've caught up a bit, realise I made some assumptions there. Thankyou for your comments, I can see it is
perfectly reasonable to have camera off with mute on

 

[Kassanddra]

I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned already, but is it possible that the approx 9.15am witness is also the person who later found the items at the bench and Willow? They could have been known to NB, got chatting earlier on NB’s walk, gone their separate ways and then the witness - perhaps walking a similar route themselves - found the items and recognised them as NB’s? Otherwise it really is strange that whoever found the items/dog knew which school to contact about it all, if they weren’t familiar with NB and her life in general. (I hope this makes sense, I’m tired!)

Makes sense. So many questions. I’m also tired!

 

[Cicane]

I don’t understand why she would remove the harness, unless to let the dog swim, but then he’d be wet. This is a really confusing part.

<modsnip - off topic>

Also, if foul play by a stranger, how on earth could she be taken from the bench area and why wouldn’t her dog be going crazy?

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

It sure has, but as new people join info needs relayed over and over and over some more. I’ve been here so long to know.

I’m now thinking about Libby squire - she went into the river hull (albeit unconscious at the very least) and found 7 weeks in the humber. I am not sure how alike these two rivers are but I checked the depth and the river hull is between 1.52m - 3.60m so relatively deeper maybe fast flowing anyway 7 weeks and lucky to be found.

There have been numerous cases of bodies found in rivers - most to be found on WS. But the difference is that aside from suicide, most were young males, it was late at night and they had been out drinking, and it was a number of hours before they were reported missing and searches embarked upon.

Here we know NB was in that area, by the water,<modsnip>

 

[Edinlass]

Agreed. It’s also crucial to know what kind of call it was. I have joined calls with hundreds of people in a very passive role, but if I logged on to our regular team calls with no audio or video, I’m sure my boss would get concerned very quickly.

I think it was a conference call going by what her boss said -

As I am working from home 95% of the time, I also often log on to the Teams meeting with my camera off and my audio muted, as I am stomping around the kitchen in my PJs and cooking breakfast, might have even forgotten about the meeting until a notification pops up on my screen. Meaning, that neither is logging on to a Teams call without audio/video odd to me (after all she was walking her dog at the time and her background noise and moving video would be distracting to others), nor is the idea that someone other than her could have pressed "join" on a Teams event notification outlandish to me - a stranger, unlikely, but someone that knew her routines well, yeah, totally could have.

If it was a longer meeting (that meetings with loads of people tend to be - and you are more likely to just silently listen in on these), IMO it could have even not been over yet by the time her phone was found! Or, as others sign off at the end, how long do you stay connected to the call after a meeting if you do not sign off? I know you can accidentally log on again to random old meetings if you klick on the wrong place (whoops), so it's not like they are disabled after the meeting time in the calendar is over or if you're the only person there. Any input, fellow Teams users?

I also work from home and 80% of the time I am on mute and camera off, I speak when I need to or asked to. I feel this was more a conference call going by what her boss said about the call so just listening in whilst going about her day. So yes when a call ends and everyone leaves you are still essentially on the call until you hit the leave button, or the meeting would end and the host would shut the meeting down. Maybe though when the phone was found it was just on the teams/zoom app and everyone had left but I suspect it was still running that’s why I think it was a large conference type call rather than say a small office team meeting. These are usually over in half hour/hour max imo.

Also, another reason it would have been still going is wouldn’t it have went to her lock screen had it ended.

 

[BentleyPup]

Hey all

First time posting so please bear with me as I orientate myself with rules etc.

I’ve lurked on websleuth for years but I felt compelled to contribute to discussion on this one.

<modsnip>

My initial thoughts on this case was that an unfortunate accident on the river but I’m veering away from that. I believe she would have been found given the extremely quick response to her being missing.

There’s a lack of known evidence around the personal circumstances and I wonder if they play a bigger role .. possibly within a relationship. Again there’s no evidence to suggest anyone has been involved but I don’t think it can be ruled out.

 

[Tanzanite]

I'm just pondering a few things, thoughts sparked by other posters here and so on. Although I don't think this is an abduction, I would observe that anyone watching her on the phone wouldn't know that she was on mute. She would have appeared to be taking a call, one would think. I don't think it's relevant anyway, tbh.

I still have the slightest, barest prickle of hope here. It's one of the rare times that the absence of a body could be a positive sign. <modsnip>. What I've heard from the police and other reporting of friends and so on, that still seems most likely to me. <modsnip> Although every hour that goes by, that possibility diminishes.

I'm less convinced that she has fallen into the water. Perhaps she knew a deeper, faster flowing part of the river and had the intention of going into the water in that possible fugue state. I hear, and believe completely, that she was devoted to her family, and wouldn't do anything to intentionally traumatise or worry them, <modsnip>

 

[Sarahlou]

It seems to me the most logical thing is that she is in the river. However, it seems slow moving and not super deep. So I'd think she'd need to be unconscious going in, or perhaps a medical emergency while in the water? I'd think she set her phone down and didn't think she would be long to just leave it sitting there on the call. So whatever happened, happened quick. All MOO!

I agree that it's the most logical answer. Seems like it would be quite difficult to pin point how she got in there though if there's no evidence of anything that happened there.

 

[Alyce]

Seems to clarify the witness went to the police, didnt have to be * found*




Less than two hours after the appeal was issued, cops said the man — described as 6ft, well-built and walking a small white fluffy dog on a lead — had come forward and offered assistance.

Missing mum's daughters broke down in tears as dad told them 'mummy's lost'

THE two young daughters of a missing woman broke down in tears as their distraught dad told them: “Mummy’s lost.” Nicola Bulley, 45, vanished on Friday morning while walking her dog. Nicola’s partn…

www.thesun.co.uk

 

[3point5]

The fact that she placed the phone down still connected seems as if something suddenly caught her attention, ie maybe the dog doing something, or someone trying to take the dog - that kind of scenario. It doesn't seem to be the action of someone who was going to intentionally harm themselves.

Im wondering if she sat at the bench, placed her phone down to take the dogs harness off so it could go and swim, and then that's when whatever has happened has happened (my personal theory that the dog has ran off or got in trouble near the water and she's gone in).

It seems to me the most logical thing is that she is in the river. However, it seems slow moving and not super deep. So I'd think she'd need to be unconscious going in, or perhaps a medical emergency while in the water? I'd think she set her phone down and didn't think she would be long to just leave it sitting there on the call. So whatever happened, happened quick. All MOO!

Cold water shock can hit hard and fast too. I'm not sure what the temperature of the water was, but given the recent temps you've got to assume single figures. You go into that in thick clothing and you've not for long until you're I'm trouble IMO.

 

[Alyce]

A friend who runs a local caravan park raised the alarm when they spotted the family’s brown springer spaniel Willow running free.

When asked if Nicola was a strong swimmer, father-in-law David said: “I believe so, yes.”

Missing mum's daughters broke down in tears as dad told them 'mummy's lost'

THE two young daughters of a missing woman broke down in tears as their distraught dad told them: “Mummy’s lost.” Nicola Bulley, 45, vanished on Friday morning while walking her dog. Nicola’s partn…

www.thesun.co.uk