Nicola Bulley’s disappearance may never be solved for a ‘tragic’ reason, ex-top cop says

MISSING Nicola Bulley's disappearance may never be solved, a top former cop has claimed.

Nicola, 45, was last seen in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, at around 9.15am on January 27.

Since there has been no trace of the mum-of-two, with police working towards the theory she fell in the river.

Now the former director of standards at the Met Police has said the case could remain unsolved.

When asked by if police may need to accept Nicola may never be found, Stephen Roberts said: "Absolutely that's the case."

He added: "We can think back over decades to missing persons cases where the person who disappeared was never found.

"Sometimes that is so. Sometimes there simply isn't any evidence, any physical evidence, any human evidence of what has happened to an individual.

"Sometimes, tragically, we and families are left with that mystery that is never solved."

Missing persons expert Charlie Hedges has suggested Nicola could have "gone off-grid".

He said the river has been searched with "no outcome" or indication Nicola was there so "we need to keep our minds open to all options".

Charlie added: "I mean, nobody goes missing without a reason and understanding what's going on in someone's life is really, really important.

"All lines of action need to be followed. It may be that she just took the decision to go off. It's not that easy to go off the grid in today's world."

The ex-cop's comments come amid growing criticism of Lancashire Police's handling of the investigation.

Rishi Sunak has now waded in to express his concern at officers revealing personal information about Nicola.

In a press conference on Wednesday, officers revealed Nicola was classed as high risk due to "specific vulnerabilities".

They later said Nicola had been struggling with alcohol issues and the menopause and had stopped taking HRT medication.

The PM said he was "concerned that private information was put into the public domain".

He added: "I'm pleased that the police are looking at how that happened in the investigation.

"Obviously my thoughts are with Nicola's friends and family and the focus must now be on continuing to try and find her."

An internal review has now been launched into the investigation by Lancashire Police.

The force has also referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

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.