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

[jiminy]

Look at the dog's harness - it's like a thick band over the dog's chest, and has a considerable amount of material over the back...do we really think a dog could back out of that design? Just musing no thoughts either way.

From the pics I’ve seen, it looks like a Julius K9 style so yeah, incredibly easy to get out of. As a matter of fact most harnesses are easily escapable if the dog is panicked or clever enough. Lower head and reverse hard against the lead pressure and it’s done.

 

[Loobyloo]

“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.

This quote from the Lancashire Telegraph bothers me. Other reports cited in the thread say that the dog was spotted by a friend & then the police were called, & it was the police (not the dog-spotting friend) who later found the phone & lead/harness on the bench.

There's something amiss with the order of events here. If the friend found the dog by the bench, s/he would presumably also have seen the phone etc., so that's one puzzle.

Also how/why is the school involved? Why would the friend have gone to the school (a good distance away) rather than contacting Mr A or the police? To recognise whose dog it was, s/he must have been a close friend - wouldn't s/he have had Mr A's number? Was s/he expecting to find Nicola at the school?

Something just doesn't add up here.

 

[Distorted Vision]

I'm new to Web Sleuths.

I thought that contacting the school was strange too. There are several aspects of this case that don't add up to me.

The Police seem to be certain this is not a criminal matter and that NB has gone missing. How are they so certain? They seem to be saying this with a lot of confidence but no evidence to support this.

If NB are planned to go missing out of her own free will. It seems a very odd way of going about it. Taking the dog for a walk and abandoning it. We don't know her mental state but she seemed to be happy with two young daughters.

My initial gut feeling that her dog was in trouble, she put her phone down to avoid getting it damaged and there was an accident and she drowned in the river. But if this was the case wouldn't the Police have found her body by now?

She walked this route regularly. An abductor could have pre-planned it. But I don't know feasible it is. How many people are in the area at that time of day? It was early in the morning.

Just my thoughts.

 

[wens67]

And if it wasn’t her dog in danger then could it have been a person feigning an illness or accident?

Could be someone pretending to have lost their dog and asking for help. I walk my cockapoo and have breaks on benches. If someone came to me asking for urgent help I would probably just put phone down and harness and lead would already be there.

<modsnip - no source link for info stated as fact>

 

[wens67]

Something so very off about this. I have a spaniel and he never leaves my side. He would absolutely follow me if I turned in the opposite direction or whatever. My guess is that she has tied up her dog to the bench and simply gone ( I don’t know where ) willow has eventually slipped the harness and she has stayed where she last saw NB.
It’s her children that changes that theory …. You couldn’t as a mum walk away from two little girls surely ?

Also I don't think man she lives with is her, husband, it said boyfriend in Daily Mail., so not definite children are his.

Police found missing mother-of-two's phone still connected to call Police found missing mother-of-two's phone still connected to call

 

[PIShaz]

If you look at her FB she seems to post at least every couple of days...until the start of December, then nothing....could have changed privacy settings perhaps, but does make you wonder whether there's something in her private life which might explain her disappearance without any signs of an attack

Thank you for sharing this info about NB’s FB posting habits. I was just thinking, that you might also stop posting/ change privacy settings, etc. if you felt that you were being stalked online or that someone was taking an unhealthy interest in your posts…

 

[GML1981]

Also I don't think man she lives with is her, husband, it said boyfriend in Daily Mail., so not definite children are his.

Police found missing mother-of-two's phone still connected to call Police found missing mother-of-two's phone still connected to call

Looking at Nicola’s FB there is post regarding her relationship status which a friend commented on, nicola replied to say they had been together 12 years so presume the children are his (aged 9 and 6)

Update: also confirmed in this article

https://www.lep.co.uk/news/nicola-bulley-missing-dog-walker-has-two-little-girls-who-need-their-mummy-home-partner-says-4007033?fbclid=IwAR1sJp2DYK4tQytLamJQnY2ZhswWk35DoGQTWLuA00d9NyupfFxiZhr05rc

 

[BaronessWombat]

Also how/why is the school involved? Why would the friend have gone to the school (a good distance away) rather than contacting Mr A or the police? To recognise whose dog it was, s/he must have been a close friend - wouldn't s/he have had Mr A's number? Was s/he expecting to find Nicola at the school?

The "friend" might just be a fellow school parent who recognised the dog from the school run and didn't have her number. Or tried her number and no answer, and didn't have any other contact details. The school would have been the logical place to take the dog to get the phone numbers.

 

[Sarahlou]

This quote from the Lancashire Telegraph bothers me. Other reports cited in the thread say that the dog was spotted by a friend & then the police were called, & it was the police (not the dog-spotting friend) who later found the phone & lead/harness on the bench.

There's something amiss with the order of events here. If the friend found the dog by the bench, s/he would presumably also have seen the phone etc., so that's one puzzle.

Also how/why is the school involved? Why would the friend have gone to the school (a good distance away) rather than contacting Mr A or the police? To recognise whose dog it was, s/he must have been a close friend - wouldn't s/he have had Mr A's number? Was s/he expecting to find Nicola at the school?

Something just doesn't add up here.

They might have phoned the school. You don't have to be a close friend to recognise a dog, so I wouldn't say it was odd at all that they didn't have Mr A's phone number.

 

[•Star•]

Have lurked here for nearly 20 years, never posted, bit scared!
Living in a small country village with a primary school I see lots of people walking their dog same time each day. Know them enough to say hi, enough to know their child attends their school. However if I found their dog, I wouldn’t know their number or where they live and my first thought would be to phone the school.
But there are definite inconsistencies in the reporting of where the dog was found and by whom, and the phone. If the phone was found by the police on the bench, and the dog was between the bench and the river, who saw the dog and reported it? Did the police come straight away? Don’t know if that’s already been asked!

 

[mdf14]

Thank you for sharing this info about NB’s FB posting habits. I was just thinking, that you might also stop posting/ change privacy settings, etc. if you felt that you were being stalked online or that someone was taking an unhealthy interest in your posts…

Yes I thought that too. Many men are likely to find her attractive and as a mortgage adviser she would meet strangers regularly. Hopefully it's not as sinister as this when the truth is uncovered

 

[Besidethesea]

The "friend" might just be a fellow school parent who recognised the dog from the school run and didn't have her number. Or tried her number and no answer, and didn't have any other contact details. The school would have been the logical place to take the dog to get the phone numbers.

This is exactly what I assumed the linkage with school to be

 

[JumpingFrog]

"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.

Partner of missing Nicola Bulley says her ‘little girls need their mummy home'

Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, says Nicola, who has been missing since Friday (January 27) has “two little girls that need their mummy…

www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

& Police said Willow was found "between the bench and the river"** (**haven't got link atm)

I've been wondering what's going on. We're limited to what we can say on WS of course.
- why do police want dashcam footage?
- evidence of Willow clawing her way out of the river/NB falling down the bank?
- was the sound always turned off on the Teams work conference call?
- how did she get the girls to school in the morning -- her own car or her partner's car? Who saw her?
- the finding the phone, dog, dog lead etc unattended and ringing school is very strange
- some wording/quotes are very strange (police and otherwise)
- if NB walked away the dog would follow. If something happened to her (accidental or otherwise) that dog would be going crackers!
- if they dog doesn't know the person's scent then they won't follow them/follow their trail imho just saying
- no, I don't believe that the dog backed out of her harness when she was tethered up. A vest harness and a retractable lead. No way imo.

 

[•Star•]

Presumably the harness would need to be under tension ie tethered to the bench for the dog to back out of it, not just left on top of the bench?
Thanks for explaining the order of how things were reported and by who - I haven’t figured out how to quote or thank people yet!

 

[shadwell]

No new developments overnight as far as I can see. Reposting yesterday’s Lancashire police press conference for those joining today:

 

[StillDiggin]

Missing mother-of-two, 45, called path where she walked dog 'spooky'

A woman who vanished while walking her dog warned of her usual 'spooky' route just weeks before she vanished.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[CJS83]

Also agree all logic points towards tragic accident.

JMO, but LE also think sad drowning, but have discovered something in her personal life that makes it possible she may have chosen to disappear so they need to check this theory too.
They seem quite certain not a crime ie stalker.

Could be another person, mental health or other illness, financial difficulties etc

This could tie with change to social media habits.

Two things, just musing/speculation
1. Phone found dialed into call/webinar. Many people use their own phone for work purposes, but some still have two seperate phones. I think unlikely in this case as partner says 'her phone' was found, rather than the more obvious phrase 'her work phone'.

2. Understand mortgage lending is now a highly regulated industry & advisors/brokers must have clean credit. Unmanageable debt/CCJs/bankruptcy could see them struck off & unable to practice (if self employed) or likely moved to a lower grade role within their bank, if employed.

 

[Besidethesea]

"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.

Partner of missing Nicola Bulley says her ‘little girls need their mummy home'

Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, says Nicola, who has been missing since Friday (January 27) has “two little girls that need their mummy…

www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

& Police said Willow was found "between the bench and the river"** (**haven't got link atm)

I've been wondering what's going on. We're limited to what we can say on WS of course.
- why do police want dashcam footage?
- evidence of Willow clawing her way out of the river/NB falling down the bank?
- was the sound always turned off on the Teams work conference call?
- how did she get the girls to school in the morning -- her own car or her partner's car? Who saw her?
- the finding the phone, dog, dog lead etc unattended and ringing school is very strange
- some wording/quotes are very strange (police and otherwise)
- if NB walked away the dog would follow. If something happened to her (accidental or otherwise) that dog would be going crackers!
- if they dog doesn't know the person's scent then they won't follow them/follow their trail imho just saying
- no, I don't believe that the dog backed out of her harness when she was tethered up. A vest harness and a retractable lead. No way imo.

Plea for dashcam footage wouldn't be to try and spot any accident where she was walking / where the dog was found, it isn't visible from any road (I'm local).

I've said it upthread but worth mentioning again what I know of the river (I live next to it). That stretch is very narrow, maybe 5m at the most bank to bank. At the time frame of this incident, it was low tide (09:30am was low tide at the estuary about 5 miles north west) and it was a pretty calm morning. Yes -there will be odd little patches of that river bank which deeper than the 0.5m average the flood watch website is saying the river level has been for around 10 days, and it's winding and there might be odd patches of currents. And yes people drown in shallow water. But. I would honestly be very surprised if she fell in, drowned and hasn't been recovered since (given the water -based manpower which has gone into the search for 4 full days now). I don't believe a body will have been carried far by the water on that stretch.

Imo she's left that bench and the area either of her own accord or otherwise.

 

[JumpingFrog]

Plea for dashcam footage wouldn't be to try and spot any accident where she was walking / where the fog was found, it isn't visible from any road (I'm local).

I've said it upthread but worth mentioning again what I know of the river (I live next to it). That stretch is very narrow, maybe 5m at the most bank to bank. At the time frame of this incident, it was low tide (09:30am was low tide at the estuary about 5 miles north west) amd it was a pretty calm morning. Yes there will be odd little patches of that river bank which will be deeper than the 0.5m average the flood watch website is saying the river level has been for around 10 days, and it's windy and there might be odd patches of currents. And yes people drown in shallow water. But. I would honestly be very surprised if she fell in, drowned and hasn't been recovered since (given the water -based manpower which has gone into the search for 4 full days now).
Imo she's left that bench and the area either of her own accord or otherwise.

Thank you so much for sharing. I hope that NB is found safe and healthy very very soon. I really feel for her and family, and your community by extension it's very worrying.

Where I refer to dashcam footage, maybe it's to place her at the area. And no one else...likewise, to have proof of her route from school to the bridge and onto her walk.

 

[Lincolnshirelad]

This quote from the Lancashire Telegraph bothers me. Other reports cited in the thread say that the dog was spotted by a friend & then the police were called, & it was the police (not the dog-spotting friend) who later found the phone & lead/harness on the bench.

There's something amiss with the order of events here. If the friend found the dog by the bench, s/he would presumably also have seen the phone etc., so that's one puzzle.

Also how/why is the school involved? Why would the friend have gone to the school (a good distance away) rather than contacting Mr A or the police? To recognise whose dog it was, s/he must have been a close friend - wouldn't s/he have had Mr A's number? Was s/he expecting to find Nicola at the school?

Something just doesn't add up here.

I live in a very small village - school has just about 30 kids total. If anything happens in the village the main point of contact would be the school if you didnt know their details (especially if you are used to seeing her on the school run). We are extremely close to the school and teachers are often friends - my sons teacher is my wifes friend and lives in the village so I would 100% call her.

Calling the police in the UK is not something you will commonly do in those areas as there might only be a small amount of police covering the rural area and we dont want to bother their already busy schedule. If you get broken into here, sometimes it might be a day or two before the police visit unless its really bad break in.

You have to realise that at that point, all they thought was the dog had got loose and wouldn't of immediately presumed something is wrong.