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

[GML1981]

If you look at the article and scroll through the photos it states it’s opposite the bench on the other side of a river but there is a 10ft wall so probably not relevant IMO. https://www.lep.co.uk/news/nicola-b...um-who-vanished-while-walking-her-dog-4009946

Thank you, I didn’t scroll that far down to read that part. It doesn’t look like the 10 foot wall goes all around the property however seeing it’s on the other side of the river it does seem very unlikely someone could abduct her and take her over there?

 

[WhoIsThatGuy]

Assuming that NB was allegedly at the bench/river area, and exploring possible reasons as to why or how she could enter the water, why would she throw a ball downhill towards or into a river for the dog to retrieve, unless the dog could swim? If she threw anything for the dog to retrieve, I'm assuming the dog could swim. If the dog could swim, she would not need to enter the water to retrieve or try to save the dog.

 

[SleutherRuth]

The wording of the article about the ‘abandoned’ house is very strange to me:

“We didn’t go into the house, as a volunteer search and rescue team we don’t actually go into buildings. We might go into a barn or something.

"We leave that to the police. While the team was searching the grounds, the owner was there for some reason, and we asked him to go in and he had a quick look around and she wasn’t there."”

If the house is abandoned, why was the owner suddenly there? All very strange IMO

 

[DetectiveLawless]

The dog should be taken back to the bench/area Springers are good at hunting.

 

[suzyjackson]

The wording of the article about the ‘abandoned’ house is very strange to me:

“We didn’t go into the house, as a volunteer search and rescue team we don’t actually go into buildings. We might go into a barn or something.

"We leave that to the police. While the team was searching the grounds, the owner was there for some reason, and we asked him to go in and he had a quick look around and she wasn’t there."”

If the house is abandoned, why was the owner suddenly there? All very strange IMO

It sounds like the word abandoned is media speak for not currently lived in, maybe work is being done, I doubt that the owner being there is suspicious, the bit you've bolded in just a turn of phrase imo because the person speaking has no idea why the owner was there

 

[sriraaacha]

The dog should be taken back to the bench/area Springers are good at hunting.

Yes! Exactly what I was thinking. They should just take the dog back to the location and see where it goes and what it does.

 

[Grouse]

The wife of 70yo man says there was 3 people in the field that day from what her husband saw. So NB, 70yo and……???

the woman who found the dog?

 

[Lincolnshirelad]

This poor guy was most likely popping back to the house to do some work and all of a sudden his house is all over the Sun news paper and made the main headlines with everyone talking about him.

Although theres no mention of being inside yet, thats the interesting part. If that was my house I would welcome everyone in asap and make it very vocal they have looked / been present helping the search to immediately exclude myself!

 

[infinit]

Good point. There probably would have been skid marks but I'm not sure how wet the bank was?
Or where she entered the water or even if.
There are medical emergencies that will cause a person to just drop. Cardiac or cerebral in origin.
Damar Hamlin is a recent incident many people witnessed on live TV. After that it's about depth, river bed base, water movement subsequently...

I'm not sure if there has been any forensic investigation done of the bank in fairness? I assume the risk to life will have taken precedent over investigative integrity so there are going to have been Police, searchers, family etc all walking up and around this area looking for her. Trying to figure out what could have been her vs others might be a challenge.

JMO.

 

[DollyDD]

Anyone else think - those jackets are full body length, full of insultation. Enough to make someone float... or if the jacket has come off it would surely be found?

I’m really sorry to say I don’t think so. I once washed a padded insulated jacket in the washing machine (cold wash) and it was a disaster. It didn’t spin properly - I think due to the weight of it once soaked - and it was almost impossible to lift it out it was so heavy. Just my experience though. I guess it depends on the type of padding/filling

 

[heartandsoul]

Although theres no mention of being inside yet, thats the interesting part. If that was my house I would welcome everyone in asap and make it very vocal they have looked / been present helping the search to immediately exclude myself!

I don't know anything about the house beyond the photo posted up thread, but if it's in any state of disrepair, it's possibly not safe to enter without safety equipment and authority etc

 

[Grouse]

I think this a reach to be honest. The police will know if she took the kids to school. There’s tons of witnesses every day that I drop my own kids off that could attest to me being there, let alone her kids are old enough to say.

The police clearly have enough of an idea that she was there to be pulling out expensive river searches almost immediately.

I’m not really sure why you think the 9.15am witness isn’t solid either? Police have established the last known sighting of her is 9.15am. It’s not being reported as a potential sighting. So that’s not a dispute, it’s a fact. It’s not unusual for police to appeal for witnesses, cctv, doorbell and dash cam footage, that doesn’t mean they have concerns about the witness, it means they want to build as big a movement picture as they can of where she went and on what timeline.

I agree. "She was last seen at 9.15am on a footpath by the River Wyre by a man walking his labrador" seems a pretty solid statement to me.

Nicola Bulley was walking her dog as normal — then she vanished

 

[jiminy]

Yes! Exactly what I was thinking. They should just take the dog back to the location and see where it goes and what it does.

I'm really interested in the behaviour of the dog when she was found loose.

 

[Firstsnow4]

I agree. "She was last seen at 9.15am on a footpath by the River Wyre by a man walking his labrador" seems a pretty solid statement to me.

Nicola Bulley was walking her dog as normal — then she vanished

Yes I agree totally now that it has been confirmed. We don’t know if she reached the bench though. There are no further witnesses stating they saw her at the bench. JMO.

 

[in2thegate]

I agree. "She was last seen at 9.15am on a footpath by the River Wyre by a man walking his labrador" seems a pretty solid statement to me.

Nicola Bulley was walking her dog as normal — then she vanished

Did it not say yesterday that the man they were looking to talk to (which they have since located) was a man with a small white dog ? Could the man and his labrador be the 3rd person ?

 

[Sjöberg]

My first idea was, that she's obviously in the river. Having seen the photos of the river and the fact it's mostly knee-deep and that her body has not been found by now (nor any items from her winter clothing)... I start doubting it.

The reaction was rather surprisingly quick from both partner and police. And the vague comments about "no third party involvement" and "connection to several places within the Lancashire area (Inskip, St Michaels and Thornton Cleveleys)". So is there a mental health concern, like ongoing depression or maybe some episodic mania/psychosis? I feel like the latter would be more likely to be communicated in some way ("might be confused", "at risk due to health"). <modsnip - not victim friendly>
Are the statements about no third party for lulling someone into making mistakes or something? Would that be something the police would even do at all?

To make up my mind, I first need a timeline. Who took the kids to the school? When was she actually seen and by who?
And what's the history of her mental health and her relationship?

 

[suzyjackson]

Did it not say yesterday that the man they were looking to talk to (which they have since located) was a man with a small white dog ? Could the man and his labrador be the 3rd person ?

That makes sense, no need now to pursue any theories that she was never there. I think we can be sure that she was.

 

[mrjitty]

Odd case.

 

[Firstsnow4]

That makes sense, no need now to pursue any theories that she was never there. I think we can be sure that she was.

Yes I agree - I wonder how far she got after being witnessed though. Just because the phone, harness and lead were found at the bench doesn’t mean she put them there or was ever there. If it was a common route for her, then any stalker or someone known to her could have placed them there. Although I do appreciate they are currently saying no third party involvement and I haven’t ruled out slipping in the river, falling unconscious and drowning. JMO.

 

[sherlyholmes]

Was her camera on for the Teams call or not? Do we know if anybody actually spoke to her during the call? If he phone was placed on the bench by say an abductor they would have had to essentially unlock it with her pin or finger print before hand too.

Its a interesting one thats for sure.

<modsnip - not victim friendly> Hopefully the witness spoken to isn't confusing the days or someone actually spoke to her Friday morning when she dropped the kids off or during the conference call just to rule that out.