New photo of Nicola Bulley and her dog on day she vanished is released as cops share major update about her movements
POLICE searching for missing Nicola Bulley have released a new CCTV image of the mum from the day she vanished.
Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, at around 9.15am on January 27.
Since then, there has been no trace of the mum with search efforts ramping up today.
Lancashire Police have now released further CCTV images of Nicola from the day she disappeared.
The mum can be seen with her dog Willow walking towards her car as she prepares to do the school run.
In a separate image, she approaches the car’s open boot in the clothes she was last seen in.
Police also released a heartbreaking new statement from Nicola’s partner Paul Ansell.
And as part of our continuing efforts, we are again appealing for anyone with dashcam or other footage to submit it to us.
Our working hypothesis remains that Nicola, 45, sadly fell into the river for some reason, but we remain open minded, and we are continuing to carry out a huge number of enquiries.
Our priority throughout this investigation has been on finding Nicola and providing answers for her family. They are being supported by specially trained officers.
He said: “It’s been ten days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back.
“This has been such a tough time for the girls especially but also for me and all of Nicola’s family and friends, as well as the wider community and I want to thank them for their love and support.
“We are also really grateful to Peter and his team from SGI for coming up and helping support the work of Lancashire Police as they continue their investigation.
“If anyone has any information which could help find Nicola, I urge them to get in touch with the police and help us provide the answers we all so badly need.”
Lancashire Police also revealed more about Nicola’s final movements.
They said she did not leave the field where she was walking Willow via Rowanwater, either through the site itself or via the piece of land at the side.
Nicola also did not return to the fields along Allotment Lane or via the path at the rear of the Grapes pub onto Garstang Road.
Officers are now focusing on a river path that leads from the fields back to Garstang Road and are appealing for drivers to come forward.
Anyone who travelled down the road on that day will also receive a letter from police requesting dashcam footage.
Officers have released a timeline of the missing mum’s final movements before she disappeared.
Nicola began her walk along the towpath to the River Wyre at 8.43am after dropping her two children off at school.
Police say around seven minutes later, a dog walker who knows Nicola saw her walking around the lower field with her springer spaniel Willow.
The witness said their two dogs interacted briefly before she left Nicola via the river path.
At 8.53am, the mum sent an email to her boss at Exclusively Mortgages.
She then logged into a Teams call at 9.01am and was seen around nine minutes later on the upper field walking Willow.
Police say at 9.30am, the work call ended but Nicola stayed logged on.
At around 9.35am, the mobile and Willow were found at a bench by the river but there was no sign of Nicola.
Police said previously their “main working hypothesis” is that Nicola had “sadly fallen in the river”.
Private divers from Specialist Group International (SGI) are today scouring the river using Sonar.
Detective Supt Rebecca Smith said: “The team working on this investigation are completely dedicated and determined to find Nicola.
“As a mother myself, I can’t even begin to imagine what her two children are going through.
“Please be reassured that our sole focus is Nicola and that we are doing everything we can to find her.
“It is not possible to provide every piece of information to the public because to do so would detract from the investigation, but I’d like to thank everyone who has assisted us so far and for the support provided to Nicola’s family at this extremely difficult time.
“They are being supported and updated throughout.”
Nicola has been described as white, 5ft 3ins tall with light-brown shoulder-length hair.
She was last seen wearing an ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket with a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat underneath and black tight-fitting jeans.
She had long green walking socks tucked into her jeans, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit on.
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, or ring 999 for immediate sightings.
