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

[Snoopster]

There are some pictures here that show a bench pretty close to the river bank with a missing poster on the tree behind

https://twitter.com/x/status/1620066302646964229

I wonder how open it is in this area - could someone have been hiding in wait. JMO.

Is this the bench where her phone was found?

 

[shadwell]

There are some pictures here that show a bench pretty close to the river bank with a missing poster on the tree behind

https://twitter.com/x/status/1620066302646964229

I wonder how open it is in this area - could someone have been hiding in wait. JMO.

Best I can tell (based on the dormer windows of the house) that bench is on the left hand bend upstream of the weir:

53°51'50.4"N 2°48'55.0"W

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[Firstsnow4]

Is this the bench where her phone was found?

I’m not sure but this is from MSM.

 

[shadwell]

You raise a good point. But the dog was found on the road to my recollection. The road pretty far up stream to where (I think) that bench is.so the dog may have well followed her. Or followed a car with her in it.

My understanding from the press conference was that it was found between the bench and the river.

 

[Firstsnow4]

Best I can tell (based on the dormer windows of the house) that bench is on the left hand bend upstream of the weir:

53°51'50.4"N 2°48'55.0"W

maps.app.goo.gl

View attachment 398744

Blimey excellent sleuthing!

 

[shadwell]

Also, in that police conference. Did anyone find it a bit weird the Supt sidestepped the car question.

She was asked if NB had/could be driving a car of any description or something similar and the Supt sort of just closed her mouth for a moment and then said NB was last seen on foot.

Not - Her car is at home, she doesn't have access to a car, she doesn't drive, the car is yet to be located but looks like X, the car was found in a nearby parking lot, we are interested in this car seen in the area etc etc.

She just sort of... Dodged it without giving any useful information. Found that kind of interesting.

Eh, I'm going to put a small coin on Full Agatha Christie and hope I'm right - as that means everyone is okay, <modsnip - not victim friendly>

Hmm. The dog was running loose when found. If she just walked away, would it not have followed her?

 

[Firstsnow4]

My understanding from the press conference was that it was found between the bench and the river.

According to the press conference the dog was found loose and some distance away. Towards the end the policewoman talks about the phone and dog.

 

[Normal Norm]

I wonder if something was said on the conference call that upset Nicola.

ETA - I am clutching at straws to explain what appears to be a very abrupt disappearance. I am sure the other people on the call are devastated by what has happened.

 

[shadwell]

Blimey excellent sleuthing!

Thanks - though we don’t know for sure that is the bench, I suppose. If it were and she went in the river, I would have expected her to be found at the weir (barring unusually high water).

 

[shadwell]

According to the press conference the dog was found loose and some distance away. Towards the end the policewoman talks about the phone and dog.

Hmm. I wonder where I got that idea from, then. Will check back.

 

[Firstsnow4]

Hmm. I wonder where I got that idea from, then. Will check back.

I think one of the news articles stated that but the policewoman defo said it was found some distance away.

 

[shadwell]

I think one of the news articles stated that but the policewoman defo said it was found some distance away.

“The dog was loose and the dog was between the river and the bench.” 01:43 in the GB News video:

 

[Firstsnow4]

“The dog was loose and the dog was between the river and the bench.” 01:43 in the GB News video:

Who knows what is correct then - I would hope the police have the correct information. As an aside this article shows the bench at a different angle Missing dog walker was on work Teams call when she vanished
It does look very steep there.

 

[tedtink]

Missing dog walker has ‘little girls who need their mummy home’, partner says

Nicola Bulley, 45, went missing on Friday morning – with her mobile phone found on a bench near to where she was last seen by the River Wyre.

www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell, speaking from the family home in Inskip, Lancashire, said he spent all of Sunday searching for the mother-of-two.

The engineer, who has been in a relationship with Ms Bulley for 12 years, said: “It is just perpetual hell. It is just utter disbelief.

“We are living through this but it doesn’t feel real.

Ms Bulley did the school run before heading for the dog walk on Friday, police indicated.

“I got a call from the school regarding somebody who had found Willow, and Nikki’s phone and the dog lead and harness on the bench,” Mr Ansell, who then called the police, said.

“We take the kids to school and take the dog down there – either myself or Nikki – nearly every day.”

Ms Bulley, a mortgage adviser, has lived in Lancashire for 25 years but is originally from near Chelmsford, Essex, and has a southern accent.

She was last seen by a member of the public at about 9.15am, police said.

Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Police told a press conference that fears for Ms Bulley are growing as time passes.


“All we can say is we need to find her. She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home.

“We have got to get some good news now.”

Mr Ansell said he or Ms Bulley, also known as Nikki, would drop the children, aged nine and six, off at a local primary school before taking Willow for a walk along the river nearby.

She said: “The police are keeping a really open mind about what could have happened but we do believe that the likelihood is that Nicola has gone missing and this is not a crime inquiry.

“We’ve mounted a really intensive operation to try to find Nicola.

“We’ve got a large area to search.

“People do go missing but clearly as time goes on we become more and more concerned for Nicola.

“But we’re very much hoping that we will find something to try to bring her home safe and well soon.

“We appeal for anyone who may have been driving through the village of St Michael’s last Friday morning at about 9.15am or who may have dashcam footage that could be of use to us, or people who may have been dog-walking in the area or on the tow path, to come forward.

 

[Firstsnow4]

Missing dog walker has ‘little girls who need their mummy home’, partner says

Nicola Bulley, 45, went missing on Friday morning – with her mobile phone found on a bench near to where she was last seen by the River Wyre.

www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell, speaking from the family home in Inskip, Lancashire, said he spent all of Sunday searching for the mother-of-two.

The engineer, who has been in a relationship with Ms Bulley for 12 years, said: “It is just perpetual hell. It is just utter disbelief.

“We are living through this but it doesn’t feel real.

Ms Bulley did the school run before heading for the dog walk on Friday, police indicated.

“I got a call from the school regarding somebody who had found Willow, and Nikki’s phone and the dog lead and harness on the bench,” Mr Ansell, who then called the police, said.

“We take the kids to school and take the dog down there – either myself or Nikki – nearly every day.”

Ms Bulley, a mortgage adviser, has lived in Lancashire for 25 years but is originally from near Chelmsford, Essex, and has a southern accent.

She was last seen by a member of the public at about 9.15am, police said.

Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Police told a press conference that fears for Ms Bulley are growing as time passes.


“All we can say is we need to find her. She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home.

“We have got to get some good news now.”

Mr Ansell said he or Ms Bulley, also known as Nikki, would drop the children, aged nine and six, off at a local primary school before taking Willow for a walk along the river nearby.

I note that in this article it says the dogs lead and harness were on the bench - yet if you look at the photo of the tree by the bench in question in this article Missing dog walker was on work Teams call when she vanished it says that dogs should be on leads at all times. I wonder if willow got loose from her harness whilst NB was on her teams call and she chased the dog and slipped into the river. The bank does look steep there. JMO.

 

[tedtink]

Does anyone here use a dog harness and would you take it off during a walk or just detach the lead from the harness ? My dog wears a collar, which is left on, when off the lead.

 

[Pinkizzy]

Reports say that she was seen near Garstang Road, which is a straight part of the river

 

[in2thegate]

Does anyone here use a dog harness and would you take it off during a walk or just detach the lead from the harness ? My dog wears a collar, which is left on, when off the lead.

I dont use a harness with my current 2 but i did with my old dog, when let off it would just be unclipped.
It seems so strange that the harness was left as well, i think something happened to NB and the dog was spooked and slipped away - possibly attached to the bench ? JMO

 

[in2thegate]

This is someone who walked this route everyday with her dog, not only familiar with her but also Willow. Willow would have been familiar with any cows or sheep etc.

 

[shadwell]

I note that in this article it says the dogs lead and harness were on the bench - yet if you look at the photo of the tree by the bench in question in this article Missing dog walker was on work Teams call when she vanished it says that dogs should be on leads at all times. I wonder if willow got loose from her harness whilst NB was on her teams call and she chased the dog and slipped into the river. The bank does look steep there. JMO.

My interpretation of that would be that dogs had to be on leads beyond that point - so the bench would be the last point at which the dog could run loose. IIRC there are photos of the dog off the lead along that stretch of path on NB’s FB page.