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

[Cicane]

I’m leaning towards tying the dog to the bench and wandering off in a state of agitation to another perhaps deeper part of the river…
Or tying the dog to the bench and then getting into a canoe of some kind?? I know people do canoe around there.
Dog then slips his harness after struggling but there is no sign of her. JMO

The more I think about this the more I feel it’s the case.

1. If she went in the water the dog would follow, he’d be muddy and wet. Plus it wasn’t deep.

2. If he went in the water and she followed he’d be muddy and wet and there would be signs, plus it wasn’t deep.

3. If she’d been taken or something bad had happened involving a third party the dog would have followed and gone crazy.

4. Why would she remove the harness at that point in the walk?

I think either she has tied him to the bench or someone else has. This would also explain the police urgency, due the fact his harness and lead were found tied to the bench along with her phone, he’d clearly slipped them. So maybe she followed the rules and didn’t let him off lead. In my opinion.

 

[in2thegate]

The more I think about this the more I feel it’s the case.

1. If she went in the water the dog would follow, he’d be muddy and wet. Plus it wasn’t deep.

2. If he went in the water and she followed he’d be muddy and wet and there would be signs, plus it wasn’t deep.

3. If she’d been taken or something bad had happened involving a third party the dog would have followed and gone crazy.

4. Why would she remove the harness at that point?

I think either she has tied him to the bench or someone else has. This would also explain the police urgency, the fact his harness and lead were found tied to the bench along with her phone and he’d clearly slipped them. So maybe she followed the rules and didn’t let him off lead. In my opinion.

This is a good point. I never thought that maybe someone else tied Willow to the bench. Possibly the same person who left the phone there ? Obviously pure speculation. IMO

 

[pineapple23]

Is it common for a mortgage and protection advisor to have a teams call for so long first thing in the morning ?

Edit - only asking as i know nothing about teams or the role of a mortgage advisor!

I don't know but it has been corroborated by her company.

 

[Sara11272]

Is it common for a mortgage and protection advisor to have a teams call for so long first thing in the morning ?

Edit - only asking as i know nothing about teams or the role of a mortgage advisor!

I don’t know anything about mortgage advisors either, but I would think it’s feasible that a company/department might have a weekly catch up, say, first thing every Friday.

If that’s the case it’s potentially a big meeting where - in our company at least - most people would stay muted/off camera. So nothing too unusual there.

But as someone else said, would be interesting to know the content of that call. A typical weekly catch up would leave you in a v different state of mind to, for instance, an ad hoc all-company call that told everyone half the company’s jobs were going.

Not suggesting this happened here, but an example of how a big call might affect listeners differently depending on its content.

 

[pineapple23]

Reportedly they have searched a nearby abandoned house.

Police search ‘abandoned’ house near where missing mum’s phone found

Ms Bulley went missing last Friday morning, with her mobile phone found on a bench near to where she was last seen.

www.express.co.uk

On the one hand not good if significant, but on the other hand it offers the possibility of a better outcome than the river scenario

 

[Firstsnow4]

I don’t know anything about mortgage advisors either, but I would think it’s feasible that a company/department might have a weekly catch up, say, first thing every Friday.

If that’s the case it’s potentially a big meeting where - in our company at least - most people would stay muted/off camera. So nothing too unusual there.

But as someone else said, would be interesting to know the content of that call. A typical weekly catch up would leave you in a v different state of mind to, for instance, an ad hoc all-company call that told everyone half the company’s jobs were going.

Not suggesting this happened here, but an example of how a big call might affect listeners differently depending on its content.

I know mortgage advisors are under a lot of pressure at the moment due to the high interest rates on products. A relative of mine has had to find another job because her company is not making money due to the stagnation in the housing market. JMO.

 

[Villa1]

All of this sound possible but as a dog owner I would have brought my dog along to the emergency

This is something I keep thinking about like yourself my dog would be with me ,as the thought of just walking away would crush me . Willow looks like a dog who has a great life and is loved and enjoyed by NB and the family . Maybe putting too much of my feelings into it but feel this would be so hard for a dog lover.

 

[leuraman]

I think the dog and phone are distractions, I am unsure if she was even there. Might have finished here walk and gone home. Someone else could have placed the dog and phone.

 

[DFR3217]

Did anyone see her sat on the bench? I'm starting to wonder if she was attacked somewhere else, and the dog and phone put on the bench by the river to make it look as she might have chosen to go missing, in some way.

 

[Firstsnow4]

I think the dog and phone are distractions, I am unsure if she was even there. Might have finished here walk and gone home. Someone else could have placed the dog and phone.

Yes I agree they could have been staged. She could have dropped the kids at the school which was corroborated by witnesses and then returned home or left the area for whatever reason. The witness may have been mistaken about who they saw at 9.15am (hence the need for dashcam footage to confirm) or perhaps the witness invented that she was seen (as a distraction). We don’t know who this witness is. Maybe the key witness found last night will be able to help by negating the original sighting. Im still leaning towards foul play by someone known to her. JMO.

 

[scottishgal]

My hunch is that she had a dizzy spell or even something like a sudden brain bleed/ anuerysm that made her first lose consciousness and then sort of roll into the water after passing out. Maybe the fact that she was already potentially /perhaps not breathing when she fell in means it was different from a drowning in that no water in lungs etc - perhaps made a difference to the way the water carried her.

What are the chances of reaching the sea and never being found ? As a woman in her 40s , going through pre menopause - and high blood pressure since the age of 40 - these are worries I myself often have , passing out when alone etc maybe hence projecting this could be the case. But seems more likely to me given the phone neatly placed on bench (feel this would have been taken if a third person foul play had happened at the scene to make it look like she left voluntarily) . I think the chances of her uppping and leaving , as a mid 40s woman with kid/s myself - are almost zero , if not zero. No way IMO

 

[Villa1]

I think the dog and phone are distractions, I am unsure if she was even there. Might have finished here walk and gone home. Someone else could have placed the dog and phone.

There is so many possibilities with this situation , I think I've come up with four so far , but her not being there at all is one I haven't explore in my many thoughts of what could have happened . So if she was never there ,there would have to be people willing to lie about seeing her ? Would someone
risk going to this bench and being seen , to plant the dog, the dogs stuff and her phone ? .

 

[SanT88]

I don’t know how a perp could plant a dog. Potential 1 on 1 attack plus dog is a lot for a perp to deal with IMO. Not saying it can’t happen, of course anything is possible but if this is the case it must have involved someone who was capable of dealing with the potential scenario or who knew the dog perhaps? I do think the quick police response could be telling and they just have had a reason to react so quickly.

 

[Coconutty]

I’m often on very long Teams meetings and no one says hello or goodbye. No red flags for me on that one.

 

[LemonMint]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>
<modsnip>
'Abandoned' home near where missing Nicola Bulley's phone found searched

I think the search crew just meant unusual circumstances in this case: no car involved, her mobile phone being found connected to Teams meeting etc.

 

[Firstsnow4]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>

I think we need to be careful when referring to MSM. If you listen to the original presser, the policewoman clearly states there was no car. It’s only MSM that are reporting this. I would trust the police have the correct info.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1620054445525450753

 

[sriraaacha]

Just heard about this case earlier. Seems strange and worrying. Don't think the outcome is going to be positive regardless of what happened, but actually in this case I feel as though it's more likely it was an accidental death rather than anything else, especially with involvement of another person.

Really hope she's found safe though.

 

[DazN]

Questions I'm still asking:

Who took the kids to school? I have not heard one person actually say they saw her at the school that morning. When my wife takes our kids to school she will be there for at least half an hour chatting to people, so someone would have seen her, even to wave to.

Was her car parked at the school or not?

The phone, lead and harness feel like they were meant to be found. Maybe to provide 'proof' she was there? The Teams call and the phone feel like red herrings.

The response by the person who found the dog. If they found the dog by the bench as reported they would have found the phone etc. If they found the dog elsewhere (running loose as also reported), maybe the school would be a good first call as
she probably parked her car there.

The response by PA when told the dog had been found was ringing 999?

The swift response by the Police. What did PA tell them that made them act that way?

 

[Villa1]

I don’t know how a perp could plant a dog. Potential 1 on 1 attack plus dog is a lot for a perp to deal with IMO. Not saying it can’t happen, of course anything is possible but if this is the case it must have involved someone who was capable of dealing with the potential scenario or who knew the dog perhaps? I do think the quick police response could be telling and they just have had a reason to react so quickly.

Maybe why the dog was tied up ? Leave your phone leave your dog maybe had no choice .

 

[DollyDD]

Hi everyone, First time poster here….

I think it will have been treated seriously when her phone was found. We are all pretty much attached to our phones these days, so to find a phone not with the owner suggests something unusual has happened.

If I was to try to retrieve a ball or my dog from near the waters edge, having to bend down and I was wearing a long padded coat as has been described, I would take it off first as it would be likely to get dirty/wet that close to the water and get in the way of bending down. But maybe that’s just me.

I am confused about where the dog was found; the media reports aren’t clear. There is a map posted earlier somewhere that suggests it was found further away from the river, further away than the phone/harness bench. It has been described as being found between the river and a bench but it may be a different bench. To know that location would help.

I am also puzzled about the car. There seem mixed reports about where the car was left or if indeed it has been found at all. I know that cameras will pick up the registration plate on certain roads. But maybe it hasn’t been precisely located?

Just my thoughts. Hope I haven’t broken any rules. Such a sad story and I am obviously hoping she is found soon.