Page 14 | Missing woman

MyOldCaravan · 2023-01-30T21:12:33+00:00

BBC News - Nicola Bulley: Partner describes perpetual hell over missing mum [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-64450243]] Just been reading about this. How awful for her partner and children. Really hope she is found soon

kinkytoes · 02/02/2023 07:51

If i was a dog walker in the area I'd want to know why the police are so sure it's not third party involvement. Can't really trust them on their word alone any more can we?

The saddest part of this mystery is that the dog knows what happened but can't tell anyone.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 02/02/2023 07:54

kinkytoes · 02/02/2023 07:51

If i was a dog walker in the area I'd want to know why the police are so sure it's not third party involvement. Can't really trust them on their word alone any more can we?

The saddest part of this mystery is that the dog knows what happened but can't tell anyone.

would you expect to be told if doing so meant divulging someone's personal medical information?

Peverellshire · 02/02/2023 08:03

Did she meet (regularly) someone on her walk? The police saying it was too ‘isolated’ for her to be ‘taken’ is curious. Possibly, the police have a parallel line of enquiry they are following up to this end? It might make them more confident an abduction by a ‘stranger’ is less likely? (Needing to ‘rule out’ a ‘river accident’ in parallel? Possibly the witness key as he saw her with someone. The police have said, I believe, if she was ‘taken’ the probability is it was by someone she ‘knew’. Wider family have asked her to ‘come home’, apparently. Hopefully news later today, & even more hopefully, good news…

kinkytoes · 02/02/2023 08:05

Yes i would. We don't need details do we? Just a broad explanation to reassure locals. Everyone is speculating about it anyway.

MayThe4th · 02/02/2023 08:16

Really? You're slagging off her friends and family and making up rubbish about "jeopardising the investigation" whilst simultaneously posting the exact tabloid nonsense you claim to avoid at all costs. Embarrassing. at no point have I slagged off her friends or family. But the media approaching them for comment and publishing the fact that they believe she was abducted absolutely could jeopardise an investigation.

That’s not down to the family, that is down to the vultures who work for the tabloids. You can bet your bottom dollar that the journalists have voiced their questions in such a way as to get the answers they want.

The family are grief stricken. Of course they’re going to talk to the press if they’re approached. But I highly doubt the parents went to the press and said “we think she was abducted,” far more likely that a tabloid journalist approached them and asked “do you think she could have been abducted?” And then having published whatever answer they gave as “the parents believe she was abducted.”

Let’s not pretend that the words journalist and integrity belong in the same sentence. The tabloids don’t care about this woman.All the tabloids care about is whether they can be the ones to solve the mystery.

itsnote · 02/02/2023 08:21

@MayThe4th you're preaching to the converted. (Apart from the bit where you suggest that her family could've jeopardised an investigation since you, like the rest of us, have no idea why anybody has said anything.)

So why on earth are you spreading the silly sensational stuff they've printed?

TintyMinty · 02/02/2023 08:24

We don’t know if she ever was at the bench.

We know she was seen by others (a couple she laughed and joked with? An elderly man with a white dog?) at 9:15 on the tow path assuming a distance from the bench.

The police always have to keep an open mind but balance resources where the probability lies.

If they were 100% sure she had fallen in the river they wouldn’t be asking for dashcam footage from the village - seems they are covering all bases.

itsnote · 02/02/2023 08:28

@MayThe4th

"tbh it sounds as if he either wanted to be in the limelight and have his voice heard so to speak"

"And the parents talking to the tabloids could well jeopardise any enquiry in that direction."

Both examples of you talking negatively about her friends and family. Yet for all you know the Police might have asked them to say that in a media interview.

TintyMinty · 02/02/2023 08:28

MayThe4th · 02/02/2023 08:16

Really? You're slagging off her friends and family and making up rubbish about "jeopardising the investigation" whilst simultaneously posting the exact tabloid nonsense you claim to avoid at all costs. Embarrassing. at no point have I slagged off her friends or family. But the media approaching them for comment and publishing the fact that they believe she was abducted absolutely could jeopardise an investigation.

That’s not down to the family, that is down to the vultures who work for the tabloids. You can bet your bottom dollar that the journalists have voiced their questions in such a way as to get the answers they want.

The family are grief stricken. Of course they’re going to talk to the press if they’re approached. But I highly doubt the parents went to the press and said “we think she was abducted,” far more likely that a tabloid journalist approached them and asked “do you think she could have been abducted?” And then having published whatever answer they gave as “the parents believe she was abducted.”

Let’s not pretend that the words journalist and integrity belong in the same sentence. The tabloids don’t care about this woman.All the tabloids care about is whether they can be the ones to solve the mystery.

I would assume that the police would have advised the parents to speak to the media or not?

Someone posted something about her BIL posting on LinkedIn - saying “obviously I can’t say much”…… which indicates IMHO that the family are being advised what to say and what not to say?

MayThe4th · 02/02/2023 08:29

They would also check the river in case she had been harmed and then thrown into the river to make it look like an accident.

As I said upthread, they will say that there is no evidence of a 3rd party having been involved because there currently is no evidence (that we know of) of a third party having been involved. That doesn’t mean they don’t think that one might be, just that they don’t currently have enough evidence to say so out loud.

Peverellshire · 02/02/2023 08:36

@TintyMinty going out on a limb to ‘reassure’ (?) local public not treating at as a ‘criminal’ investigation almost immediately & with some seeming assurance to that end, is unusual.

TintyMinty · 02/02/2023 08:40

Peverellshire · 02/02/2023 08:36

@TintyMinty going out on a limb to ‘reassure’ (?) local public not treating at as a ‘criminal’ investigation almost immediately & with some seeming assurance to that end, is unusual.

Have the police reassured the locals?

If so it’s likely because the are 100% certain it was:

an accident
suicide
choice to disappear

foul play by someone she knows who they have under surveillance and therefore is not a risk to locals.

itsnote · 02/02/2023 08:41

@MayThe4th that's nice. It's not what they have said though in this case so, much like the tabloid stuff, is irrelevant.

northernlites · 02/02/2023 09:03

I'm a local and to my knowledge the police have not explicitly said it's safe to go walking alone in this area, they’ve not said it’s unsafe either.
I currently would not going walking alone though, as I don’t feel reassured.

The volunteer searches are not allowed to go alone, but in pairs, this may be due to that fact that volunteers are not familiar with the river also though?

HaveYouSeenNancy · 02/02/2023 09:12

TimeZen · 02/02/2023 07:32

I don't think any loving dog owner, which she obviously is would leave their dog in a way that would distress them, it goes against all instincts.

There is just now way she would have taken Willow on a walk and just left her there distressed fending for herself if she needed to disappear due to a difficult home life for example.

The fact her parents are saying she was taken could mean that someone else, early on, told the police something e.g. about her mental health that convinced them there was no 3rd party involved but the parents have clearly a different opinion to the person who gave the police this information.

Yes, that all seems so strange. I've had two springers and (if you're the only human around) it's almost impossible to walk away from them unless you're playing training games and have treats. However, they would go to anyone; their assumption is that everyone loves them and they were very easily bribed with food. They also love water but itsnote has explained that the drop was too high for Willow to follow if NB fell. I just can't see how a dog lover would involve their dog in a distressing situation deliberately, so I also think the mental health angle doesn't make sense.

ImprobablePuffin · 02/02/2023 09:33

XelaM · 01/02/2023 23:19

I find it more believable that the dog was distracted by someone (my dog would forget I existed for anything edible) and then took her to the caravan park whilst the dog was distracted. That's why the dog was so distressed looking for her when she was gone.

This would make more sense to me than her drowning in shallow waters without there being any trace or wanting to disappear leaving her dog to fend for herself outside.

I think I agree. This now seems to me to be the most likely scenario. Especially after reports the spaniel was bone dry.

ImprobablePuffin · 02/02/2023 09:40

Peverellshire · 02/02/2023 02:10

Re: the route, it was a regular, habitual walk, same, every time. Shared in detail on an ap, public view.

Yes her Strava was set to public so anyone could see the routes she took everyday. Anyone who studied it would see she could be an easy target as her route and daily routine was so predictable and relatively unchanging.

ImprobablePuffin · 02/02/2023 09:52

northernlites · 02/02/2023 09:03

I'm a local and to my knowledge the police have not explicitly said it's safe to go walking alone in this area, they’ve not said it’s unsafe either.
I currently would not going walking alone though, as I don’t feel reassured.

The volunteer searches are not allowed to go alone, but in pairs, this may be due to that fact that volunteers are not familiar with the river also though?

The reason people searching shouldn't go out alone is because if they get into trouble there's no one to help them if they fall or hurt themselves and therefore time/resources would then be taken away from the investigation to help this other person. It's much easier and safer to go out as a group.

Peverellshire · 02/02/2023 09:55

Yet the police have seemingly all but ruled a third party out @ImprobablePuffin . It’s possible they’ve found she regularly met a friend & they’re privately ruling that line of enquiry out as well as searching in parallel. Poss why the witness was important to find, was she alone (?), sounds like she had company earlier on ‘laughing’ & joking, even if v briefly.

SE13Mummy · 02/02/2023 10:09

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 02/02/2023 06:04

That seem very much a possibili but where would you go? Do you know where she'd been?

Show quote history

No @AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair appeals were updated to say she had been found, was safe and the family had asked for privacy. She has two children too and I remember reading comments about how she would never willingly leave her children.

LilLilLi · 02/02/2023 10:25

I can’t stop thinking about this lady and her poor children.

None of it makes any sense.

TintyMinty · 02/02/2023 10:27

www.lancashire.police.uk/news/2023/january/update-witness-found-as-search-for-missing-nicola-continues/

This was the last update from Lancashire Police on Tuesday.

However I have just heard the radio news this morning saying that they have “stepped up” the search today with drones, helicopters etc.

Also the police will choose what to withhold and what to release as is relevant to resolving the case at that time - they are under no obligation to fully disclose information to the public during an active enquiry - their focus rightly is to the situation.

itsnote · 02/02/2023 10:32

"The reason people searching shouldn't go out alone is because if they get into trouble there's no one to help them if they fall or hurt themselves"

That is one reason you shouldn't search alone but it's not the only one and there's a definite feeling of caution as to whether it's safe in the area now that the river hasn't given up as much as a hat or a shoe.

The police could do with making another statement really, we don't need any personal details but some reassurance would be helpful.

ofwarren · 02/02/2023 10:34

itsnote · 02/02/2023 10:32

"The reason people searching shouldn't go out alone is because if they get into trouble there's no one to help them if they fall or hurt themselves"

That is one reason you shouldn't search alone but it's not the only one and there's a definite feeling of caution as to whether it's safe in the area now that the river hasn't given up as much as a hat or a shoe.

The police could do with making another statement really, we don't need any personal details but some reassurance would be helpful.

Agree with this.
I don't live in the village any more but I'm close enough to feel a bit concerned.
I won't be doing anything alone in quiet areas till I get some reassurance.

Nimblesandbimbles · 02/02/2023 10:46

I was just thinking about this all in relation to the Sarah Everard case & how that was reported. Obviously that got a lot more press coverage in the national news from the get go but didn’t the police also start by saying that there was nothing to suggest another party was involved? I remember a thread on here about it. I know friends & family were saying it was very out of character for her to go missing but I’m sure the police said something along the lines of ‘at this stage there is nothing to suggest that that a third party is involved.’ I can’t remember the exact timeline though.
All very strange & concerning- must be hell for her friends & family.