Found Deceased UK - Nicola Bulley Last Seen Walking Dog Near River - St Michaels on Wyre (Lancashire) #15

[JennieM]

Bulley’s family said they had been aware in advance that the force was planning to release personal information about “our Nikki” but stopped short of saying they had approved it.

Police release of Nicola Bulley’s personal details ‘as sexist as it comes’

Former victims’ commissioner Vera Baird says revelations risk hampering future missing person cases

www.theguardian.com

 

[JeremyBentham]

Sorry if I've missed it, but was the release of the personal information about NB done at the request of the family or did the police take it upon themselves to release that information? Or do we not know for sure. If it was the family, could the police release that information whether the family said it was okay or not?

 

[Mycroft42]

At first I thought it was prearranged but he seemed reluctant and said he had given a statement to police. Maybe they expected to meet him if they knew his routine.

Yeah me too - re-reading the transcript I think they have previously spoken to him on at least one occasion and they have seen each other quite a lot (hence the 'do you live here' comment). They knew what he'd likely say and they knew his daily route so they knew they'd bump into him.

His rambling confused comments about finding the phone are not really helpful and I'm not sure if we can gain anything from them. What he says appears to run counter to what LP are saying but since they haven't ever mentioned him I guess they've excluded what he says as unreliable JMO

 

[Firstsnow4]

It was a set up interview - there is no way they'd just happen to bump into one of the witnesses and in fact the male reporter actually states that they'd had a conversation previously.

Anyway the BBM bits are now raising my confusion levels.

9:33 witness Penny rang the blokes wife??? Why was his wife trying to ring him? What things were happening?? They looked at the phone wallpaper and knew who it belonged too? Did they both stay there until Paul arrived? Or just him? Or neither? Who contacted the school?

Maybe he's just very unreliable which is why LP haven't mentioned him at all.

That does make me wonder whether someone is hiding/protecting NB because she wanted to leave PA due to whatever reason. That would tie in with PA saying someone local knows something. IMO.

It does also make me question if anyone actually got that close to NB on the walk that day (after dropping kids off) to have actually seen her. Could one of her similar looking friends swapped with her after dropping the kids off and done the walk. I don’t know I’m sure we have chatted about this before. Going round in circles again.

 

[Andreee]

Even if they did consult the family at a later stage that day and got their approval, this is a family in utter turmoil.

The family cannot be expected to make the correct decisions in terms of investigation process / publicity / outcomes.

So perhaps it was in the family's wishes that this information was released but Nicola's family is putting their blind faith and following advice.

I agree completely with this. In fact, I have never seen this level of disclosure of personal health issues given out by LE during an investigation like this ever here in N. America! With the family's ok or not! There was no need for it! Not right IMO.

 

[geelongcate]

UK newspapers do not report on anyone’s medical issues as per the IPSO rules. Similar rules have been in place since 1992. The only exceptions are with the permission of the subject or if they are selling their medical story, as celebs often do to raise awareness or give the interview fee to charity.
UK newspapers do not photograph children without parental permission, whether the kids of a prince or plumber, which is why children faces get pixelated from, say, Facebook posts. The IPSO rules are worth a read. The reporting of Nicola has been of her struggles with alcohol, not necking bottles, and reported sensitively. The police press conference made the drink/menopause able to be reported.

Interesting, thanks. So does that mean the press would've been unlikely (or even unable) to print a story on her alcohol/menopause issues anyway, if the police hadn't officially announced them?

 

[Firstsnow4]

At first I thought it was prearranged but he seemed reluctant and said he had given a statement to police. Maybe they expected to meet him if they knew his routine.

Scavengers on the hunt! IMO.

 

[Mycroft42]

It does ADD to the confused accounts, though, as the original witness said that this very man ("the gent") "sees a phone on the floor". He's now telling reporters that he saw actually the phone *on the bench*. Yet again, as clear as mud...sigh...

Well the reporter does lead the witness somewhat - the bloke doesn't actually say that. The reporter ask him if he saw the phone on the bench and he replies 'yeah'

 

[Firstsnow4]

Do we know where the gentleman who was interviewed this morning entered onto the path? Was it from Blackpool Ln/Garstang Rd or from the caravan park/Allotment Ln?

The reason I ask is because at approx. 9.30am the caravan park owner AND the gentleman were walking on the towpath towards the gate and bench, and obviously neither of them saw NB walking along the path. If the gentleman had entered the path on Blackpool Ln it would make it that much more difficult for NB to have left that way without being seen.

Yes I raised this point in an earlier thread - if they had both come via allotment lane she would have been missed by both witnesses. IMO.

 

[JeremyBentham]

If NB has walked away, it would have had to have been planned in advance, so you would think there would be texts, calls, emails to someone to make arrangements for the day, as I highly doubt she just walked off on her own and got on a bus/taxi. So how much weight does that theory hold do we think, as it would have needed to have been someone she trusted.

 

[geelongcate]

So LP shot from the hip with this one rather than - over the past three weeks - consulting with people who know on these matters to ensure that the release of information was legal and morally right?

A "vulnerable person due to depression or mental health" would have been much better imo.

Agreed, surely there's standard official language they can use in such cases which doesn't go into intimate detail about a person's problems.

Lancs Police need to hire an experienced media communications person (or sack the one they have!).

 

[MsBetsy]

and there's me wondering if I was jumping to conclusions yesterday!

'Williams Thomas said Lancashire Police only revealed details of Nicola's vulnerability after he told them he had information about police having being called to her home just weeks before she went missing'

So he got hold of the Jan 10th arrest details - from somebody ( A leak from LP? or perhaps from the sort of person who was planning to go to the media with a story - family statement yesterday about ' threatening to sell stories)

U turn within the 6 hours.

He stated that police did not label Nicola as being high risk until yesterday?

I thought they considered her high risk from the beginning?

 

[Mycroft42]

Do we know where the gentleman who was interviewed this morning entered onto the path? Was it from Blackpool Ln/Garstang Rd or from the caravan park/Allotment Ln?

The reason I ask is because at approx. 9.30am the caravan park owner AND the gentleman were walking on the towpath towards the gate and bench, and obviously neither of them saw NB walking along the path. If the gentleman had entered the path on Blackpool Ln it would make it that much more difficult for NB to have left that way without being seen.

They were coming from Blackpool Lane/Garstang Road as the 9:33 witness says (via friend via reporter) that she came through the kissing gate and the man followed her through.

It's not a very big area though so they'd not have taken long to walk down the River Path but it certainly would limit the time NB could have walked out that way.

I think she went across the river JMO.

 

[JennieM]

Sorry if I've missed it, but was the release of the personal information about NB done at the request of the family or did the police take it upon themselves to release that information? Or do we not know for sure. If it was the family, could the police release that information whether the family said it was okay or not?

We don't really know. The family said they were aware, but we don't know if the police got their approval or not.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Yes I raised this point in an earlier thread - if they had both come via allotment lane she would have been missed by both witnesses. IMO.

This is my thinking. NB would have had a tiny window of opportunity, but IF she could have left by the main path, there can't have been any witnesses on the path when she did it. It's a fairly long path so that's a big risk to take if you don't want to be seen. If the gentleman walked along the path from Blackpool Ln, IMO he almost certainly would have crossed paths with NB given the small timeframe involved.

 

[Agatha3]

Interesting, thanks. So does that mean the press would've been unlikely (or even unable) to print a story on her alcohol/menopause issues anyway, if the police hadn't officially announced them?

Tricky, as in the circumstances this knowledge could be in the public interest. Hypothetically, drink-driving, a fight or anti-social behaviour. But no newspaper would publish this lightly, and only if in public interest or if family gave permission. Again, tricky, as are the family entitled to give info on Nikki when she cannot reply. I think this set of circumstances is unprecedented in lots of ways. If I were to write this information, I would first put it in a polite letter and ask the family liaison officer to hand it to the next of kin, and put a query in to the police. The response to these would determine the next move.

 

[Sherl]

Gosh I am sorry.



impulse? Maybe sat on bench, staring at the water, contemplating life.

Yes I can see that's a possibility. It could be something she had in the back of her mind that day, given how well organised she was that morning.
It does beg the question as to why her partner feels 100% sure she is not in the river.
The whole situation since her private circumstances were revealed make me so feel incredibly sad for her girls, it was terrible already but this is just horrendous.

 

[Firstsnow4]

This is my thinking. NB would have had a tiny window of opportunity, but IF she could have left by the main path, there can't have been any witnesses on the path when she did it. It's a fairly long path so that's a big risk to take if you don't want to be seen. If the gentleman walked along the path from Blackpool Ln, IMO he almost certainly would have crossed paths with NB given the small timeframe involved.

Yes unless she was hiding somewhere initially and then moved at a later date. But very slim timeline. I still think she may have crossed the river. That would tie in with the police saying ‘entered the river’. And also presumably cctv from further afield hasn’t been checked. IMO.

 

[abovethestorm]

Sorry if I've missed it, but was the release of the personal information about NB done at the request of the family or did the police take it upon themselves to release that information? Or do we not know for sure. If it was the family, could the police release that information whether the family said it was okay or not?

Sounds like the latter, IMO.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

They were coming from Blackpool Lane/Garstang Road as the 9:33 witness says (via friend via reporter) that she came through the kissing gate and the man followed her through.

It's not a very big area though so they'd not have taken long to walk down the River Path but it certainly would limit the time NB could have walked out that way.

I think she went across the river JMO.

The kissing gate leads both to the caravan park and to Blackpool Ln, so they would have come onto the field from that direction regardless of which path they entered from. But which path they entered from is important because it could alter NB's chances of being able to leave without being seen.