Missing Woman Nicola Bulley 6

[ofwarren]

These threads are to discuss the disappearance of Nicola Bulley from St Michael's on Wyre.

No speculation without evidence please.

Here are some frequently asked questions, with answers:

1.Where do Nicola and her husband work?

They both work from home which is why he was at home on the day she went missing.

2.Where was the dog harness found / the phone?

Dog harness was found near the river edge not the bench, phone was on on/near the bench.

1. Has the river been searched?

Yes by the police and volunteers from the Specialist Search team

1. Had the dog been in the water, and maybe Ms Bulley went in after her?

Willow appeared distressed but ‘bone dry’, according to the woman who found her. There was no sign of her having gone in the river.

1. Why would she leave her phone on the bench?

Nicola’s phone was found on the bench, still connected to a conference call. So whatever happened, there was no time to end the call or to alert others on the call.

1. Why was she on mute with no video for her business meeting?

This was not unusual, She used to go on work meeting calls with video off and microphone

1. Where was her partner while she was out walking their dog?

He was at home at the time.

1. What about this abandoned house?

Its not abandoned. Its owned by a lovely family who have lived in the village for generations and would do anything they can to help in the search for Nikki.
It has been searched, inside and outside, from top to bottom by the police. This has been clarified with the family themselves and also with the police.
They have never refused entry to the police or told them they need a warrant to search.

1. Did Nicola have a dog ball with her?

No she didn’t she used to but stopped taking a dog ball on walks.

10. Was she swept out to sea?

The police Seargent has said it’s now a possibility Nicola’s body could have drifted out to sea.

11. We’re CCTV cameras working in the area:

The CCTV camera which would have captured everything unfortunately wasn’t working. But the police are actively working to identify 700 motorists travelling in the Garstang Road area on the 27TH of January.

12. Are there any other paths she could have gone down?

Apart from the river, there are only three exits, two of which are covered by CCTV. On her way in, she was seen by several people. No one saw her leave.

It is possible to disappear although it's more difficult nowadays. I did it. I meticulously planned how I was going to do it but not when. And then one day I just did it. I'd reached breaking point. I was missing for almost 3 weeks and then I went home.

If Nicola has gone missing by choice (I still think she has fallen into the river) she may not want to be found.

PF was clear that he has only searched the stretch of river where police say she fell in. And if she did enter the river in that stretch I believe he said it's unlikely that that her body would have drifted over the weir in his opinion.

So if Nicola is found out at sea it doesn't necessarily mean that PF was wrong. It could mean that she entered the water at a different point beyond the weir, and the bench area is a false assumption by the police.

I'm ruling certain scenarios out based on what we know

That sounds logical, but it's really not. On that basis every scenario gets ruled out on that basis, as there are gaps in all of them.

Police are still pursuing with an open mind.

So I think that it is premature (and overly dogmatic) to be ruling anything out

@YourWinter made a good point.

In most high-profile missing person cases that I remember, close family often seem to make a direct-to-camera appeal directed at the missing person / persons potentially holding them.

Any particular reason why that wouldn't / hasn't happened here?

Yes, I was wondering that too, but for a different reason. Whatever direction they approached in, we can rule out Nicola leaving by, as she would have been seen. Also, at what point along that route did the bench come in to clear sight, and was she paying any attention in that direction (would she have noticed movement/heard splash of a fall)

Quote from SR - pretty definitive:
“It does remain our belief that Nicola sadly fell into the river and that this is a missing persons inquiry.”

Can you link the source please?

This has been doing the rounds on SM, but no-one's been able to show that it's an official enquiry (either by it being a police appeal, or someone saying on record "I was asked about......")

I agree. He's only working to the main hypothesis being followed by the police (as are their own div team). If that's wrong then it changes everything.

Emma White was on R4 earlier. She spoke so well. Nikki has a formidable group of friends involved in driving this .

Probably because the police are being so rigid with the water theory - appealing directly to Nikki, or anyone involved doesn't fit their hypothesis.

Thank you for sharing your story and I hope that whatever you felt the need to withdraw from is resolved.

If Nicola has gone missing by choice (I still think she has fallen into the river) she may not want to be found.

That’s right and if she is the police have to respect her right to privacy if that’s what she wants - they will not be allowed to even tell the family where she is if that’s what she wants.

He searched from the weir downstream on the first day.

Odd in itself considering his strong assertion that a body can't go over the weir.

If Nicola turns up tomorrow at the sea - SGI - is going to be a laughing stock. Would you take that risk and put your neck so firmly on the line, if you didn't think you were 100% right?

Not necessarily. He's not saying she's not in the water, he's saying she's not above the weir, and that conditions mean that a drowned, sunken body would not pass over. He does not say she could not have entered to the river lower down.

There appears to be an absence of forensic evidence on the riverbank showing entry point (so sign of slip, marks in soft earth, broken vegetation) so no-one knows for sure that she went in, or if she went in.

Grateful if one of the locals could confirm: it looks to me from maps as if you can reach the weir and a shortish stretch of river beyond before reaching any areas covered by CCTV. Is that correct?

He searched from the weir downstream on the first day

Did he? I thought he searched from the putative entry point downstream to the weir (and not beyond it)

Last week an article was posted in the Times with updates on Nicola’s last known movements. A man commented that he lived in the area and that morning had seen a van parked up nearby (I read the comment myself shortly after it was posted). He said he told the police but didn’t feel they were very interested. The Times removed the commenting function a few hours later. I believe this is where it has come from. Not sure if the red tops have just picked this up from the Times comment or if he has actually gone to the press himself to talk about it. My guess is the former.

I have noticed this and it seems that none of the family have spoken to the media in over a week and the only people communicating - Emma, Heather, Tilly, Jill - are friends and we are not clear if they have coordinated with the families or police or have their permission (in some incidents it appears they clearly haven’t as they have withdrawn their inaccurate info etc)

No, he started from the weir on the first day. Next day he did from the bench to the weir and then from the bench upstream.

Her sister’s appeal a few days ago had the exact same wording as one of her friends, so I’m guessing the family are replying in her friends to do the public campaigning, understandably.

*relying

Odd in itself considering his strong assertion that a body can't go over the weir.

No at all. He's following police instructions as part of their team. With the length of time that had elapsed since Nicola's disappearance, the police probably considered it reasonable to assume that her body could have moved to that point in the river. Their searches of Morecambe bay yesterday support that line of thought. It doesn't mean other experts agree with that.

apologies for the DM link but PF has shared this on twitter : www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11732703/The-CCTV-blindspots-surrounding-area-Nicola-Bulley.html

The red tops are all running this story - but in these versions it’s a 55 year old woman witness (of the van) who was walking to a cake shop and saw a tatty red van parked on Hall Lane outside a barn - she said she saw this on the day of the disappearance and reported it online but was not communicated with and then reported it again last week.

When asked about this police have said they are pursuing all lines of enquiry.

IMHO if this was the abduction vehicle they are unlikely to then park it right in the village centre with their victim inside.

“Police searching for missing Lancashire mum Nicola Bulley could be trying to trace a "tatty red van" which was seen parked close to where she disappeared two weeks ago.”

www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/nicola-bulley-search-fresh-lead-26203460

He wasn't part of their team.

it is so awful that people are so disbelieving that she fell in the water,
when there is no body there is hope - must be so agonising.

What about any fields containing livestock such as cows? If she had entered a field to get her dog back, and got kicked by a cow.