I offer the following initial observations, without inference, someone with local knowledge or more extensive knowledge of the area might make some use of the information.
That little loop in the river is definitely has at least one unsavoury incident in the past.
The local anglers complained about a baby seal eating too many fish , and immediately afterwards a gunman illegally shot the protected Animal in the head.
The police claimed to be investigating but I’m not sure what the outcome was.
But in this case there no evidence of a shooting and the dog was unharmed.
I don’t have any specific information on the incident but the initial media coverage immediately raised concerns.
The no evidence of criminality assertion so early on isn’t unusual, but it generally applies to obvious suicides, accidents etc or where the release of information would compromise an investigation or operational security.
The local of any attempt to preserve a potential crime scene or even the scene of a fatal accident is unfortunate and surprising.
Tbh my first thought perhaps the woman had run away and the police were aware of her whereabouts. Obviously that wasn’t the case.
The village has does have some interesting features. There’s a rather popular Gun club. A good number of local people from a range of backgrounds enjoy the clay shooting.
You can look it up.
It’s listed as a local attraction in the advertising for a nearby caravan park.
I guess my concern is that I’ve seen some disturbing attitudes develop rural gun owners previously. The consequences in two cases I encountered were tragic, but the concerns were longstanding.
I’m not suggesting Bailey was shot, but the incident with the seal indicates at least one possibly local individual with a disregard both for the law, who was willing to shoot a a baby seal in the head and leave it near the towpath by the bridge , so walkers or children could find it.
More disturbing was the local angling club publicly complaining about the seal and then failing to immediately condemn the shooting when approached for comment.
To be honest I wouldn’t want to go anywhere near that place.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: The young male harbour seal's body was found by a passer-by on the side of the River Wyre in Great Eccleston, near Fleetwood.
www.dailymail.co.uk
Look at the location on the map.
As some here have already noted the timeline from when the teams call connected but remained muted is worth exploring in the context of the alleged route taken.