Found Deceased UK - Nicola Bulley Last Seen Walking Dog Near River - St Michaels on Wyre (Lancashire) #4

[PeggyHenry]

So the dog wasn’t at the rivers edge looking worried? It was going from the bench to the gate? I wonder what happened the moment that gate was opened and the dog was taken out? MOO, mine would have pulled like mad to get to me if that was the last place she’d seen me(and I didn’t come back for her) JMO

If Nicola had accidentally fallen in the water then the dog would have lingered at the point of entry. If the dog was agitating between bench and gate it almost gives a clue that he last saw Nicola at the gate.

 

[Cattydcat]

Firstly, I just want to say I can’t even begin to understand what Nicola’s family are going through. Missing persons cases just are the worse nightmare. The pain on her fathers face just was so heartbreaking in that press.

The teams call - I use it daily. Camera is always off by default and my company has it set so if you join a call with lots of people already on, you are by default at mute. If I am invited to the meeting, I simply have to press join to get on when it flashes on my screen. Anyone who has the phone could do that although witness states they saw Nicola after that so imagine she was the one who joined.

 

[Taskforce88]

As to why the dog wasn't wet, is it possible that NB didn't reach the beachy area in the furthest away field and had turned back towards the bench? She was supposedly spotted near this location by a witness. Did something make her turn back I wonder.

Most of the river walk is 'steep' embankment and the shingle area is easy access for the dog to get into the water. Lots of photos show this to be the dogs favourite spot in the water.

 

[Cluella DeVille]

What did she tie the dog up with I wonder, if the harness and lead were found down towards the river?

Yes that's very unclear and questions in my mind too....If Willow wasn't wearing a collar what would the lead have been attached to tie her up, were the harness clips done up or loose?

 

[scottishgal]

email at 8.53am to boss ?

Moo That is a lot of multi-tasking. If I were to type and walk at the same time (in full winter wear in marshy winter fields /river path / not a concrete even pavement -and even then) I have sometimes felt out of balance (granted I wouldnt call myself fit)
In addition to minding the dog and waving / saying hi to two known people in the community - all in half hour.

She sounds like a lovely very hard working person, trying to get so much done that morning and that is probably an everyday morning in most working mother's lives of our age. THis one really hits hard for me.

 

[PeggyHenry]

But, to me anyway, Willow wanted through that gate! Why?

Yes…. I agree.

 

[Esse123]

The police said her phone was found at the bench, which implies it wasn't on the bench but on the ground, that suggests she dropped it, if she had been going to pick up dog poo surely she would have laid it on the bench or put it in her pocket and if she rushed towards the river dropping her phone (bearing in mind Willow wasn't in the river so not rushing to rescue her dog) and accidentally fell down the bank surely there would have been some signs of this on the bank?

 

[kittythehare]

<modsnip - rude> She could doggy paddle the bench area easily..
ETA: there's posts saying things that suggest Willow is either submissive or a bit dim, I don't buy either personally
Again no proof that Nicola tripped, slid, tumbled - no imprint down there...no surfaced Fitbit, necklace, welly...3 hours later the river is searched
People are posting making scenarios based on the presser where police state drowning is their main working theory, but there's no evidence of any theory being substantial, yet
This is Websleuths - a million ideas about why Nikki could be at the bank edge or how she may have tumbled, how Willow fits in, are accepting something that is unsubstantiated and admittedly a forerunner so far...just repetitive and not critical, imho jmo etc

I'm with you on the dog because I know dogs.
Something must have drawn Nicole to the edge but I doubt it was the dog as the dog didn't enter the water as far as we know.
I have seen patients die suddenly and dramatically. It's possible.
Not unheard of.
I can see why a dramatic fall wouldn't leave a mark on the bank and I don't know whether the bank material would have provided a footprint or not.

The facts as presented are that she entered the park but she did not leave it.
It has been searched multiple times and police have also completed the 1km search which included everything in it's wake, buildings gardens etc etc .
They came up empty.

I think it's possible if not likely that they will extend to a 2 km search.
Even experienced searchers can miss very easily no matter how careful and thorough they are. It happens.
Dogs miss. SAR dogs and cadaver dogs need to be very very good to make the grade.

They can still miss.

If she's not in the park and nobody missed anything and the dogs didn't miss either and LE have combed and recombed and re combed again all CCTV footage of all exits except the one and if the chances of it being the one are between zero and almost zero, where can she possibly be except in the water?
It's a finite space. She's either out of the water or in the water.

And I'm certainly considering murder but murder doesn't disappear a body. And I'm considering all types of murder for all reasons and none.
It would be sheer idiocy not to.
What are the possibilities based on that alone, bare bones and streamlined to zero?

 

[Cluella DeVille]

so crucial.

The main problem with any of the non drowning theories is the very small window for somebody to deal with NB and then possibly plant the phone and harness before this witness found them both.

<modsnip>

Unless there were more than one somebody involved in 'dealing with NB'?

 

[Cluella DeVille]

yes, definitely agree, not much space in front of the bench before you could easily slip down the bank

Though it seems to be a popular and well used area, be interesting to hear whether anyone else who uses it has slipped down the bank or narrowly avoided doing so

 

[PeggyHenry]

It's very highly charged emotionally and mebbe not so easy to come back to a place of balance.
It's a really rocky ride.
I've been in this headspace before on cases here.
Desperately wanting it and the gods wont play ball..
It's a hard station but truthfully I wouldn't have it any other way.
Sometimes I think it might be of some help to the victim, Nicola and her grieving loved ones to take up the mantle, share the pain.
Buddhists call it Tonglen, I think..

My experience here has been confined to Esther Dingley and Claudia Lawrence. Very different cases but all three have similar features. It amazes me how cases divide opinion so much and we all have different takes.
As I’m a 3 times a day spaniel walker. I know their behaviours well, particularly relating to ball and water. So for me, she didn’t fall in the water. If this had been her second day out walking Willow then yes, she may have tried to retrieve a ball from a bank. It sounds as if Nicola was multi tasking (as we do), reading emails, listening to meeting, planning day, thinking about the new mortgage etc. Willow would have just been entertaining himself snd keeping an eye on his owner.
What if she got to bench and someone was waiting for her. She was taken through the gate and her belongings left on the bench. Leaving Willow aghast.
If someone was waiting for her then where would they wait to meet her? The bench seems an obvious place.

 

[duscle]

Maybe someone who was dressed like her, ie. put her gilet on? So if seen from a distance by someone they would assume it was her walking across the field with the dog? In this scenario it would take 2 people to be involved who would have to hope against hope they didn't encounter another dog walker face to face. And presumably the dog would have had to have been secured at the bench area to prevent it following the 2nd person leaving the scene?

<modsnip>

<modsnip - rude> People just can't accept the fact she had an accident as it kills the whole 'who dunnit' mystery that many here love to talk about.

Let me guess, the fellow dog walker who knew her and chatted with her in the park that morning is also in on the abduction?

 

[heatherc]

Though it seems to be a popular and well used area, be interesting to hear whether anyone else who uses it has slipped down the bank or narrowly avoided doing so

This is what I was trying to find out yesterday and I didn't find much.

 

[MissTwiddle]

If Nicola had accidentally fallen in the water then the dog would have lingered at the point of entry. If the dog was agitating between bench and gate it almost gives a clue that he last saw Nicola at the gate.

I agree, in my experience of dogs this is the most likely.

A fall/trip/push into the river would likely have Willow wimpering or barking at the entry site.

Would it be the witness who tied Willow to the bench that gave this description of the dog’s behaviour? If so, it would be interesting to know what Willow did when un-harnessed.

 

[heatherc]

In terms of her knowing the area like the back of hand so she couldn't of slipped in, I think maybe when we are so familiar with something it could lead to blind spots. To go alone and have other distractions at play shows she was obviously comfortable with the area, imo.

 

[JeremyBentham]

She might not have slipped down the bank at all. She might have simply walked down to the edge for some reason, to check something, recover something etc, and lost her balance and just gone in without leaving any noticeable marks on the ground. The dog may have been elsewhere so didn't actually see her fall in which is why it didn't jump in after, or just didn't even if it did she her fall in.

Lots still focusing on the phone placement. The placement of the phone is perfectly normal to me and something I do when out on calls. I put the phone down as don't need to be holding it, but don't put it my pocket as there's active call, and can glance at the screen for messages from the Teams call. If something made her need to be close to the river edge, she would have wanted to leave her phone up where it's safe, or felt she needed both hands free to negotiate her way down the bank and possibly retrieve an item.

 

[cottonweaver]

I live a few yards from a river, it's not as deep as the River Wyre but it's regularly fast flowing in winter ( uplands) so I tend to notice river accidents more than I would if I didn't, particularly cause we walk our dog very close to it.

Just had a look at the stats to get the bigger picture& see if they are actually increasing

• "Inland open waters, such as rivers, canals,lakes, reservoirs and quarries continue to be the leading locations with 58% of deaths (N=139). ( leading cause of all water-related deaths)
• Almost half of (43%) people had no intention to enter the water, such as those walking, with causes including slips, trips and falls, being cut off by the tide, or swept in by waves (N= 107).
• Following a concerning increase in water-related deaths last year, over 50 organisations are, for the first time, issuing coordinated water safety advice for those visiting and enjoying waterways and coastlines as part of the #RespectTheWater campaign Public urged to “Respect the Water” as new statistics show drowning deaths increased last year, with more dying inland than around the coast. | National Water Safety Forum"
• At the download charts, there were 23 deaths recorded in rivers for that year, in England alone - 2021- just related to walking or running near a river.

No tennis ball, apparently

https://twitter.com/x/status/1621790281166110721

https://twitter.com/x/status/1621788619622039552

 

[EvaP]

I’m a dog walker and when I walk with others if a tennis ball is lost no one bothers to look for it as the owner will have more at home. Certainly no one would go in water to retrieve it.

Plus NB walked that route nearly every day so knew the route, where obstacles were such as tree roots, close to the river bank, pot holes etc. JMO.

From my dog walks I know exactly where to walk especially along the River Itchen where numerous tree roots line the footpath which could trip you up.

So do I know where tree roots etc are on my walk but doesn’t stop me stumbling on a riverbank walk. People look up occasionally and not down all the time.
<modsnip - rude> If that bank wasn’t dangerous then why the sign, if the water wasn’t deep in places then why the sign, if it’s not tidal in places then why does it end up at the coastline. If someone dressed up as her, why did the walkers not note that when saying their good morning. I’m sorry but this is a young woman’s life. I sadly think that for whatever reason she has had an accident which has resulted in her entering the water and she will be found but for the sake of her two daughters and family I hope I’m wrong, hope the police are wrong and she is found safe and well.

 

[emucalfskin]

Garstang lane has annoyed me, garstang road is one of the main roads in the area, that every local knows, no idea how that was wrong in the press conference! Along with the mention of no cctv in an area that leads out onto garstang road towards the A6 which is a major road in the area, does give me hope that she hasn’t gone into the river

 

[BaronessWombat]

Something not mentioned here yet, IMO the police would also know when the phone was touched by the 9.33am witness and what happened to it until the 999 call from looking at the telephone/gyroscope data.