Page 25 | Missing Woman Nicola Bulley 5

ofwarren · 2023-02-08T20:38:30+00:00

A new thread about the disappearance of Nicola Bulley in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire.

SueG60 · 09/02/2023 11:53

MeinKraft · 09/02/2023 11:35

@SueG60 yeah, it's quite common where I live anyway. A car will be found near a river or beach and the person will often have been found to have had suicidal thoughts etc before. Had a quick google there and the National Water Safety Forum says that there were 631 drownings in 2020 in the UK, of which 232 were presumed non accidental.

wow, thats way more than I thought. You'd have to jump off a cliff into the sea or something though, you wouldn't just go for a paddle in a shallowish river and try and submerge yourself.

Also, you just mentioned they drive there... there would be signs that was what they were planning, odd behaviour etc beforehand. I don't think you'd randomly choose to kill yourself by throwing yourself in a river while out walking if you hadn't pre planned, there would be signs which would be obvious in hindsight, and there's no signs at all in this case based on anything the police/people she knew, have said.

LadyHarmby · 09/02/2023 11:54

confounded234 · 09/02/2023 11:43

This is probably the most egregious example of over confidence and defensiveness from SI Riley. "we don't expect there to be in this inquiry". A very strange statement to make. Is she a fortune teller or has she got information she hasn't shared with anyone including the family yet?

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She’s got information that hasn’t been shared publicly, I would guess. Which makes it a reasonable thing to say.

confounded234 · 09/02/2023 11:54

MaggieFS · 09/02/2023 11:50

I've caught up on this thread and the precious one. Two comments

as with other pp, my Fitbit only syncs with my phone when I choose to open the app which I do about once a week. No schedule. Random timings. Nothing unusual about this.
pp suggesting it's it was too shallow for drowning or her coat may have provided buoyancy or that she was a strong swimmer would do well do to read up on the effects of cold water shock. rnli.org/safety/know-the-risks/cold-water-shock
It's sadly normal for heavy winter clothing to act as a weight when waterlogged.

Although a completely different river, I am reminded of this sad case whereby a rowing coach drowned and despite the best efforts of search teams wasn't located for five weeks until the nature took its course and his body arose to the surface. Despite being within the tidal Thames, he was found barely a couple of hundred metres from where he was last seen.
Body of rowing coach Michael Hill found in River Thames www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-31797143

It would seem that if she has entered the water, it's a very different river whether upstream or downstream of the weir.

Yes the fitbit is a red herring. As you say, it only syncs manually. and needs to be within 20 feet of the phone and out of water. Bluetooth doesn't work through water. When you go for a swim with a heart rate chest strap, you have to have one that stores the heart rate data and then syncs after the swim.

So the fitbit will be utterly useless. Unless they have found it of course, which seems highly unlikely.

confounded234 · 09/02/2023 11:55

LadyHarmby · 09/02/2023 11:54

She’s got information that hasn’t been shared publicly, I would guess. Which makes it a reasonable thing to say.

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But we then go back to why she hasn't shared it with the family, who clearly do not believe she is in the water? If it's a missing person, not criminal, why keep it all secret?

Eatentoomanyroses · 09/02/2023 11:55

ouse · 09/02/2023 11:46

Interesting to note the comment above about her Strava page being public until around November. Same seems to be true of her Facebook page where you can see lots of family snaps uploaded until early December. One does wonder if there was cause in her personal life to become more aware of what she shared online around that time. As others have said it has made me reflect a little on my own privacy settings.

Expressing sincere concern for her and her loved ones, and wishing strength to all involved in the search. Also, with thanks to the previous posters who have so articulately captured my own thoughts on why this is has caught my attention in the way it has - beyond the obvious sadness of a much loved mother, daughter, friend etc vanishing without a trace. The comments about misogyny, recent murders of women, wanting to feel safe when we’re out doing normal things like walking our dogs after taking our kids to school, and so forth really spoke to me. I appreciate you setting these outs and rebutting the general “armchair detective” and “hysterical Mumsnetters” narrative.

Wasn’t she doing some kind of fundraising and had her fb open for a time because of that?

SwishSwishBisch · 09/02/2023 11:55

Sorry if it’s been asked and answered. I’m not a dog owner either, so this might be an obvious question but I have been wondering in all the reporting of Willow’s harness being found, whether that also included the leash, or is the leash missing as well?

confounded234 · 09/02/2023 11:56

SwishSwishBisch · 09/02/2023 11:55

Sorry if it’s been asked and answered. I’m not a dog owner either, so this might be an obvious question but I have been wondering in all the reporting of Willow’s harness being found, whether that also included the leash, or is the leash missing as well?

No both were at the bench on the floor

SirVixofVixHall · 09/02/2023 11:58

Peverellshire · 09/02/2023 11:27

@ofwarren I wonder if it was Nicola, sadly, that secured the dog to the bench originally, to stop him following her. It almost feels like we have a totally false narrative around the bench from the strange man that appears in the early reports and not elsewhere and numerous people telling others in a way that feels nonsensical. Have things got very muddled here?

The dog wasn’t secured, it was found running about, with the lead and harness together on the ground nearer the water. So she didn’t tie it to the bench, as even if it had become untied it wouldn’t have been able to get out of the harness and lead . If it had wriggled out of the harness by backing up, as my dog can, then the harness would have been still tied to the bench. Dogs can’t get out of a harness unless it has some traction by being attached to something else.

Plitvice · 09/02/2023 11:58

It is awkward because they likely cannot share certain details until they are absolutely sure that she is gone but until they find some kind of evidence of this then they cannot fully rule out that she is still around.
Therefore, it sounds to the public like they are incompetent or liars when they are expressing what they can within tight parameters agreed with family with the welfare of her daughters being paramount.

urbanbuddha · 09/02/2023 11:59

Oaktree55 · 09/02/2023 08:51

Just because it’s not tidal before the weir doesn’t mean there aren’t strong currents particularly given previous rain and fact she had that long ankle length coat on which may have changed how she floated giving enough buoyancy to go over she was very slight!

She wasn’t wearing an ankle length coat, even although at the beginning Supt. Riley said it could have been a contributory factor.

Mirabai · 09/02/2023 11:59

SirVixofVixHall · 09/02/2023 11:58

The dog wasn’t secured, it was found running about, with the lead and harness together on the ground nearer the water. So she didn’t tie it to the bench, as even if it had become untied it wouldn’t have been able to get out of the harness and lead . If it had wriggled out of the harness by backing up, as my dog can, then the harness would have been still tied to the bench. Dogs can’t get out of a harness unless it has some traction by being attached to something else.

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The harness was part way between the bench and the water. Not actually “near” the water as such.

Kennykenkencat · 09/02/2023 11:59

I wonder if someone put her phone etc on the bench so people would be looking there instead of elsewhere

AlpacaBag · 09/02/2023 12:00

confounded234 · 09/02/2023 11:21

Where is the evidence she left the keys in the car? I've seen no mention of that.

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I just read it on this thread I think - just googled it and can't find any "official" mention so not sure where it's come from

Kennykenkencat · 09/02/2023 12:01

Maybe to look like she could have gone in the water and removed the dogs harness because that is what they thought she would do

Sugarfree23 · 09/02/2023 12:01

confounded234 · 09/02/2023 11:29

To be fair, divers were in the next day I think, maybe even earlier.

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Going by the specialist diver Peter? If I've got his name right the police divers were in the river the afternoon she went missing. He was very complimentary to them describing them as excellent divers. He's convinced if she'd gone in near the bench where they searched that afternoon they'd have found her.

confounded234 · 09/02/2023 12:03

Sugarfree23 · 09/02/2023 12:01

Going by the specialist diver Peter? If I've got his name right the police divers were in the river the afternoon she went missing. He was very complimentary to them describing them as excellent divers. He's convinced if she'd gone in near the bench where they searched that afternoon they'd have found her.

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I think in the timeline shown in some newspapers it says they went in on the 28th, day after. I can't remember exactly, but it definitely was within 24-48 hours

GlacindaTheTroll · 09/02/2023 12:03

Peverellshire · 09/02/2023 11:30

Give it time...

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A heck of a lot of time.

The sorts of chips that dogs have are passive devices, that are "read" when you put a reader wand near the dog, and you need the reader to be no more than 50cm from the chip.

This is because they are sited for life and have no battery. They just respond if illuminated by a reader.

For something to transmit a location, it needs a battery or other power source. Something big enough to do the job can't really be implanted (and may not even be safe)

If you voluntarily wear a GPS watch or carry a smart phone, then your location can probably be found because they transmit. But even for those with the very longest battery life, and someone who isn't using many functions, you're looking at a couple of weeks tops.

That she left her phone suggests to me
a) she dropped it and hadn't noticed - unlikely as she was on a call
b) she left it on purpose - either because she was doing something she expected to be brief (like scoop poop), or because had decided to vanish (voluntarily walking to new life, or ending hers) did not want to be tracked, but did want dog to be identified
c) foul play

Mirabai · 09/02/2023 12:03

Although a completely different river, I am reminded of this sad case whereby a rowing coach drowned and despite the best efforts of search teams wasn't located for five weeks until the nature took its course and his body arose to the surface. Despite being within the tidal Thames, he was found barely a couple of hundred metres from where he was last seen

Which rather supports PF’s theory that if she was in the water she would be near where she drowned.

I live near the Thames and I was surprised that he was found so close after such a period. It’s not just tidal it has a fast, strong current.

LadyHarmby · 09/02/2023 12:03

confounded234 · 09/02/2023 11:55

But we then go back to why she hasn't shared it with the family, who clearly do not believe she is in the water? If it's a missing person, not criminal, why keep it all secret?

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Because it’s private information and we don’t need to know. What the police needed from the public is witnesses who saw her that day and so we were given the information we needed for that and nothing more.

Her sister (and only her sister) questioned the police theory last week but has been silent since. Maybe she wasn’t in the loop at the time. Same for her ‘friends’.

JaneJeffer · 09/02/2023 12:05

I know of someone who threw themselves into a river. They were searched for immediately but the body wasn't found for weeks.

That river though seems very shallow at the edges so unless you went in where it's deep you would be seen easily?

Hobbesmanc · 09/02/2023 12:06

It's hard not to become over invested. Mainly because it is really unusual to totally vanish without any trace. Phone. Dog, etc just add to the mystery

I don't think I've ever seen in the UK at least such obsessional social media interest. I don't think it's helped by at least three women claiming to be close friends, Heather, Emma and Tilly, drip feeding a load of communications to the press and the outrageous gaggle of keyboard sleuths, dodgy mystics and tik tok ghouls. Family need to distance themselves.

Is it even legal to name and post pictures of spurious suspects on FB, Reddit, Tik Tok etc? It has the power to wreck lives. MN at least avoids that sort of obscene speculation.

ouse · 09/02/2023 12:06

Eatentoomanyroses · 09/02/2023 11:55

Wasn’t she doing some kind of fundraising and had her fb open for a time because of that?

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I don’t know. I haven’t looked into it. I just did a quick search on Facebook for the latest news and her page popped up. Haven’t looked for long as it felt intrusive. But last post from December. Another poster’s comment here about her Strava being quiet about the same time stood out to me. Not sure I really want to get into speculating about this or attaching significance to it but it’s made me think more about what I’m happy to share online. Public posts on NB’s page suggest her answer was a lot until December then nothing at all. Don’t think necessary to read any more into it and certainly for me what and how much I share ebbs and flows.

hellgirl · 09/02/2023 12:06

SueG60 · 09/02/2023 11:53

wow, thats way more than I thought. You'd have to jump off a cliff into the sea or something though, you wouldn't just go for a paddle in a shallowish river and try and submerge yourself.

Also, you just mentioned they drive there... there would be signs that was what they were planning, odd behaviour etc beforehand. I don't think you'd randomly choose to kill yourself by throwing yourself in a river while out walking if you hadn't pre planned, there would be signs which would be obvious in hindsight, and there's no signs at all in this case based on anything the police/people she knew, have said.

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My brother did a food shop one evening, took his own life the same evening.

There was no pre planning, just a switch went off impulsively.

Plitvice · 09/02/2023 12:08

I disagree. I believe that she would not have voluntarily entered that particular stretch of water if she had intended to take her own life if she had thought it through (which is not a guarantee) . She knew it extremely well and she would have known the likelihood of it being too shallow.

People who end their lives by drowning mostly choose foolproof locations like the father of a family member who drove his car off the edge of a cliff into the sea in Essex and then all those cases around Beachy Head in Sussex.

Hillsmakeyoustrong · 09/02/2023 12:09

Or maybe Nicola did secure the dog to the bench wearing the harness and the dog has has become restless and had the traction to wriggle out of it. The harness and lead could have also come loose with the wriggling which is why it's been found on the floor near the bench. I think the key is they are looking at dash cam footage and further down the river. Extremely sad in any case.