Found Deceased UK - Nicola Bulley Last Seen Walking Dog Near River - St Michaels on Wyre (Lancashire) #10

[Nikynoo]

also there is something called under currents which is different movement than a floating stick

and they are mostly in the middle too, whereas unless N did a flying jump into the midde of the river (which is hardly a fall, so unlikely) , the ones to watch are near the riverbanks.

 

[ginnyw]

Hi all, some Strava sleuthing from me. I'm a Strava subscriber which gives me access to 'segment' data and leaderboards. Basically a segment is a route, usually a short section, whereby if you pass through that segment it logs your data on the leaderboard.

Looking at NB's strava and her usual route, as per on Jan 27th, there are a few segments. On closer look at the data for these segments it shows someone, on the 27th, doing a very similar route, from the village.

Their walk starts at 10.24 and finishes at 11.31 Their route appears to differ from NB in that they head down stream along the river first then back, then to the area of bench/fields - if a body did travel downstream from bench area around that time, there could be a possibility of them noticing something floating down stream as they'd be walking in the same direction as the river flow for 20-30 ish minutes? Looking at the data this person does this route every day, except the few days following Jan 27th. They have 0 followers and follow 0 people.

Anyway my point is that they potentially could have either known NB or seen her previously or that day (potential witness) or a good chance that if a body travelled downstream at the time they were walking downstream for 15-20 mins, there could have been a good chance they'd have noticed, and if not, does that support the 'not in the river' line of thinking.

I hope I've explained what I'm saying ok but i'm happy to discuss, provide more info as I found it interesting. Thinking of NBs family, what an awful and sad case.

That is extremely good sleuthing. I hope that information is welcomed by the police.

 

[Beckxsy]

Just looking at the strava report I'm not sure what particular day it would be but it shows walking on what I can only presume is is the hall lane I believe. Did she sometimes park further down away from the school

 

[DancingMuse]

My opinion on the dog behaviour is: it was off routing around, out of sight, as spaniels do and when it returned NB was no longer there causing the "agitated" state it was found in.

Couldn't agree more, EH. Searching a 1 km radious from the bench (assuming that NB put the phone on the bench herself) seemed a good idea at the time.

However, now that 2 weeks have gone by:
a) It makes me wonder that maybe NB was worried by what she thought was Willow doing something which resulted in (perhaps) chickens being attacked.
b) NB puts her phone down on the bench, jumps up, runs towards the sound (mistaking it for something that Willow was doing.)
c) NB continues to pursue the direction she thinks Willow is in, maybe a fair distance, into the next property, along the river.
d) Willow returns to the bench from the opposite direction, finding her mistress gone.
e) NB falls somewhere in the reeds along the river, or in some hidden or sunken area on a property, and is rendered unconscious.

Now that 2 weeks have gone by, I just wish they would search THE DRY LAND, completely, in a 2 mile radius from the Fields where NB was last seen.

MOO.

 

[Firstsnow4]

Still worth mentioning!
I would send the tip as you did in your original post.
No harm.

It was @RonBacardi who found it so will let him send the tip.

 

[calmdownjudy]

When the witness found the phone, could she hear the meeting taking place? Do we know that information?

I'm not from the UK, so maybe it's a little different, but if I saw a phone on the ground and a dog running around, I don't think I would even think the two were related. I'd probably assume someone dropped their phone and someone else was letting their dog run around. I wouldn't even touch the phone either, I'd leave it there so the owner could retrace their steps and find it when they realized it was missing.

 

[wackyw]

Yes they do a similar but longer walk every day more or less apart from 28th and 29th Jan and some other odd days. But it’s normally a lot later around 10.30 onwards. Plus I don’t think you would track and log your route if you were about to kidnap a woman.
Could have been a potential witness though imo.

I hope this info doesn't leak onto Twitter/FB/wherever to be seen by the "tourist vigilantes".
There might be an innocent villager wandering into trouble tomorrow ......

 

[cottonweaver]

Yes they do a similar but longer walk every day more or less apart from 28th and 29th Jan and some other odd days. But it’s normally a lot later around 10.30 onwards. Plus I don’t think you would track and log your route if you were about to kidnap a woman.
Could have been a potential witness though imo.

Ah!

 

[PeggyHenry]

Agreed, and they wouldn't have known she was muted either if that was the case. So I agree, she must have gone somewhere other than the bench and not made it back.

Unless the third party knew she was on that call. Knew it was a good time.

 

[Luke84]

it's part of the reason I found that whole argument of ' the phone was left as decoy' hard to believe (Peter Faulding and another ' talking head' were promoting it.

A methodical perpetrator who is the type to leave a decoy, how would he know she was muted and off camera and thus the Teams people couldn't hear a struggle, screams etc?

I played through that scenario in my head, too. It's been made very clear that she was not actively participating in this regular Teams call so her routine may involve dialling in and putting the phone aside (surely LE checked that she was in fact on loudspeaker when the phone was discovered!). How far away would she typically move from her phone whilst on the call? Was she even interested in what was being discussed on the call or would she largely ignore it? Difficult to say.

It makes sense to have the phone out of your pockets on loudspeaker when on a call (muffled sound, accidental unmuting) unless you wear headphones so her behaviour with regards to the call appears very much expected.

Would a perpetrator intentionally approach while she is on the call? That seems unlikely as she could quickly unmute and call for help. The phone being on the bench also negates the theory that she was lured away on false pretences as she surely would have taken her phone with her.

 

[DaFroome]

The Strava app is interesting.

NB’s account has a long history of activity on the same route. It’s very clear, and with photos.

The map that underlies the route seems to be an application labelled Mapbox that shows hundreds of qps tracking traces from presumably many people over time in that geographical setting. A handful of traces go into the river from the bench location.

Is this the sort of information that can be gathered as background traces from digital devices and which might inform the police in a more detailed way, and which might be relevant to their understanding of this case.

I’m no expert, but the Strava account shows it clearly.

 

[russeverton]

it's part of the reason I found that whole argument of ' the phone was left as decoy' hard to believe (Peter Faulding and another ' talking head' were promoting it.)

A methodical perpetrator who is the type to leave a decoy, how would he know she was muted and off camera and thus the Teams people couldn't hear a struggle, screams etc? Risky move

If you are hidden and appear brandishing a gun or knife and signal to her to be silent. Maybe hes not methodical maybe he didnt care if anyone heard a scream

it's part of the reason I found that whole argument of ' the phone was left as decoy' hard to believe (Peter Faulding and another ' talking head' were promoting it.)

A methodical perpetrator who is the type to leave a decoy, how would he know she was muted and off camera and thus the Teams people couldn't hear a struggle, screams etc? Risky move

If he was well hidden with a weapon and came out and signalled her to be silent. Maybe hes not that methodical and didnt care if she screamed as he would of grabbed her and been away in 10 mins

 

[PeggyHenry]

Hi all, some Strava sleuthing from me. I'm a Strava subscriber which gives me access to 'segment' data and leaderboards. Basically a segment is a route, usually a short section, whereby if you pass through that segment it logs your data on the leaderboard.

Looking at NB's strava and her usual route, as per on Jan 27th, there are a few segments. On closer look at the data for these segments it shows someone, on the 27th, doing a very similar route, from the village.

Their walk starts at 10.24 and finishes at 11.31 Their route appears to differ from NB in that they head down stream along the river first then back, then to the area of bench/fields - if a body did travel downstream from bench area around that time, there could be a possibility of them noticing something floating down stream as they'd be walking in the same direction as the river flow for 20-30 ish minutes? Looking at the data this person does this route every day, except the few days following Jan 27th. They have 0 followers and follow 0 people.

Anyway my point is that they potentially could have either known NB or seen her previously or that day (potential witness) or a good chance that if a body travelled downstream at the time they were walking downstream for 15-20 mins, there could have been a good chance they'd have noticed, and if not, does that support the 'not in the river' line of thinking.

I hope I've explained what I'm saying ok but i'm happy to discuss, provide more info as I found it interesting. Thinking of NBs family, what an awful and sad case.

Very interesting .. Strava can certainly show who was in the vicinity. Great idea

 

[rhino]

When the witness found the phone, could she hear the meeting taking place? Do we know that information?

From the police timeline it looks as if the teams meeting ended a few minutes before the witness arrived (9.30 to 9.33 IIRC).

 

[Davieson]

Have Lancashire Police given any indication of how long they mayl continue with the search. Resources are finite after all.

 

[Davieson]

Very interesting .. Strava can certainly show who was in the vicinity. Great idea

Only if you were logged in

 

[Fishwick]

Of course PF is in the studio.

 

[Luke84]

Unless the third party knew she was on that call. Knew it was a good time.

It almost feels that way. She probably didn't sit down anywhere prior to that but was walking across the field, playing with the dog. This is really the only time for the perpetrator to strike, possibly unnoticed and from behind.

 

[PeggyHenry]

If you are hidden and appear brandishing a gun or knife and signal to her to be silent. Maybe hes not methodical maybe he didnt care if anyone heard a scream

If he was well hidden with a weapon and came out and signalled her to be silent. Maybe hes not that methodical and didnt care if she screamed as he would of grabbed her and been away in 10 mins

I tend to think leaving the phone as a decoy would be risky for the perpetrator. He/she risks valuable get away time, risks being seen etc. items were likely left behind to remove possibility of phone being tracked.
Everything would take place very quickly with little time to plan. Most important the dog needed to be left behind and unable to follow her.

 

[PeggyHenry]

It almost feels that way. She probably didn't sit down anywhere prior to that but was walking across the field, playing with the dog. This is really the only time for the perpetrator to strike, possibly unnoticed and from behind.

Yes do you mean whilst she was listening to meeting, sitting on bench facing river?