Five unanswered questions in Nicola Bulley’s mysterious disappearance after dog walker vanished six days ago
MYSTERY has surrounded the disappearance of a missing mum who vanished almost a week ago without a trace.
Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen walking her dog in St Michael’s in Wyre, Lancashire, at around 9.15am on Friday.
Since then, the mum-of-two’s family have been left in agony as they search for answers.
Nicola’s two young daughters repeatedly ask when their “mummy” is coming home while partner Paul Ansell described her disappearance as “perpetual hell”.
Her parents are now questioning whether someone has “got her” as each day searching for the mum turns up no evidence.
But Lancashire Police believe there is no sign of foul play and are treating the case as a missing person’s inquiry.
The force is urging anyone who sees her to call 999 immediately.
As the search enters its sixth day, these are the five most baffling clues surrounding Nicola’s disappearance.
1. Final phonecall
Nicola’s employer Exclusively Mortgages confirmed she had logged on to a team meeting on her mobile.
The mum’s microphone and camera were off as she walked on the towpath along the River Wyre but she was still connected.
Ben Pociecha, the director of Exclusively Mortgages, said: “It seems as if she was muted and didn’t have her camera on. She was listening in whilst walking her dog.
“There were numerous parties involved in this. A lot of people attended the call.
“The police are investigating the call.”
2. Nicola’s dog is found alone without harness
Nicola’s pet springer spaniel Willow was discovered without its owner and its harness on.
The missing mum regularly shared images of her walks with Willow along the river on app Strava.
In each one, the dog is mostly wearing its harness – even when by the water.
Yet the harness was found along with Willow’s lead on the floor next to a river by a passer-by.
The witness said: “The dog looked worried so I tied her up and rushed home as I had to go to an appointment.
“I then went and spoke to my daughter-in-law and she immediately knew who the dog was, alerted the woman’s partner and that was it – the police were on it.”
3. The mum’s phone is discovered
Nicola’s mobile was also discovered by the passer-by on a bench heading towards Wyreside Farm Caravan Park.
Chillingly, when her phone was discovered after her disappearance it was still “active”.
Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Police said: “It was on a meeting call, and that was still live it was connected to the conference call and that hadn’t been terminated.”
4. Nicola seemed ‘normal’ in last sighting
Police have tracked down a “potentially key witness” who may have been the last person to see Nicola at around 9.15am.
He was in the area at the time Nicola went missing while walking his own dog.
His wife told : “In the field there were about three people, including my husband. He said there was nothing unusual about her and she seemed completely normal.
“I’d often see her and say hello. I always thought she looked very nicely dressed, in her bobble hat and smart Wellington boots.
“It’s just horrible to know she’s missing.”
Nicola’s “normal” state in her last sighting tallies with dad Ernest’s own revelation of the last time he spoke with his daughter.
He told the : “Her mind was great, we picked the children up the Thursday before she went missing, as we do every Thursday.
“We took them home, Nicola had had a meeting with her boss in Garstang and she said can you stay a bit later because I have an important client coming in on Zoom. We said, ‘No problem’ and stayed.
“She had done her work and she was very upbeat about getting her mortgage sorted.
“I said we better go now and Nicola came to the front door, and I gave her a kiss and told her I loved her and that was the last conversation I had with her.”
The mum was also making plans for the future with her family including booking a spa.
5. Search near abandoned home
Police are searching the perimeter of an abandoned listed home close to where Nicola vanished.
The handsome property is located across the river from where Willow and the mum’s phone were found.
A mountain rescue team roped in to help with the search combed through the house’s grounds but did not go inside.
The owner was said to be there “for some reason” and instead offered to go in an take a “quick look around”.
He then informed the search group that Nicola “wasn’t there”.
Nicola has been described as white, 5ft 3ins tall with light-brown shoulder-length hair
She was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive green ankle wellies with her hair in a ponytail.
Nicola has an Essex accent and links to the Thornton-Cleveleys area near Blackpool.
Anybody with information about where she might be is asked to call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27.
