Missing Woman Nicola Bulley 8

[ofwarren]

Here's the new thread

My phone is playing up. I wrote a FAQ and then it crashed and I lost it all.

I'm also dealing with a child on the spectrum who is bouncing off the walls this evening so I apologise for not being around much.

The family appear happy with his involvement and he has decades of experience in this kind of thing, plus he's worked on high profie cases.

Interviews keep Nicola's disappearance in the public eye, which is important because the media are fickle and if there's no one to interview and nothing to report, it'll drop out of the news cycle.

I'm unsure about him being able to search land (as in permissions etc.), but if the family want him to do it, and he's happy to do it and able to do it, then that's the important thing. It may be a waste of time if she did enter the river and was swept away, but no one knows that as yet.

There was a Strava account mentioned on websleuths. Apparently, based on Strava segments, it showed someone from the village take a very similar route to the one you've described just the time Nicola went missing. It was suggested they may have seen a body in the water if it had been floating.

*Just after, sorry.

That's a contour line

I think it makes the possibility of her going into the water after the weir higher. Either on purpose or forced

It's shallower past the weir than at the bench. And the tide was fully out.

Yes, I agree. I don't think the bench area is a very likely scenario at all now.

Well we know that there were other dog walkers in the area, and statements had been given to police about timings of when dogs interacted, when she was seen in upper field, and when belongings were found. I'm not sure that the Strava segment would refer to yet another person (unseen by those known to be present) - much more likely it's from one of those already known about

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nicola-bulley-sister-urgent-plea-b2281217.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=Main&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=Echobox&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1676298562

Nicola Bulley’s sister shares urgent plea as search for missing dog walker enters third week
Nicola Bulley’s sister Louise Cunningham is urging people to ‘please keep sharing’ the campaign to bring her home on Facebook

Well we know that there were other dog walkers in the area, and statements had been given to police about timings of when dogs interacted, when she was seen in upper field, and when belongings were found. I'm not sure that the Strava segment would refer to yet another person (unseen by those known to be present) - much more likely it's from one of those already known about

This was after the time Nicola's phone etc were reported - maybe around 10:30 IIRC. The poster stated that the person walked for around 20 min along the river bank area then came back to the bench area and exited. I'm not a Strava subscriber so can't check the segment data to verify this information.

Sorry, were found by the lady.

Very odd. Extremely unlikely they are suspicious as why put it on Strava..? But surely a very important witness. I’m sure the police will have taken statements.

The thing with PF going back apart from his specialism is that it keeps up the publicity , as he’s so happy to speak to media, and also keeps the pressure on the police - they aren’t going to want him to solve this and not them !

they aren’t going to want him to solve this and not them !

Very true!!!

@ofwarren Firstly thank you for these threads, I have been watching and reading up to now and appreciating a haven from other SM sites.

Regarding the gate/style fence question and whether Willow was trapped behind the kissing gate. This video from 8mins 50 ish to 12 mins roughly, really shows the area well and dispels the myth that Willow would have been trapped. Basically the fence to the right of the kissing gate (as you approach the bench from behind) has huge gaps and a spaniel can easily get through and then through the fence the other side. Also the stile is easily passable by a spaniel. There appears to be a kissing gate, then a stile, then another gate into the field.

It's not a competition. Everybody involved wants to find Nicola.

Very helpful
Thank you

I didn't realise you meant later on!

I have only free Strava, so cannot look at segment leaderboards, other than the 'all time' top ten (all/women/men) and none of those are from this year - you have to pay to subscribe to see 'this year' (all/women/men), today, following or by age, weight or club membership.

But I can see the map of the two segments that appear for the walk - they are the same route - one going easterly and one westerly, and (going west) it starts at the bend in the river by the bench, go along the (inland) towpath, follow it as it flicks up towards the road, but then turn left to rejoin the river path after the bend after the weir. So not hugely close to the river.

But yes, it is possible that Strava would log someone who is there. You can set your privacy controls so your results are not added to segment leaderboards, but if you have not done that, anyone with a paid subscription can see your best effort on that segment. On the free version it does not give the time the runner/walker did the segment, just the date and how long it took them

I would hope that someone who was by the bench and on the path to the west of it has come forward to say what they did/didn't see

This is where I think these threads go too far. That 'Trapped by the Gate!' Video is just unnecessary speculation. No need for an exclamation mark. It's not a true crime drama.

The thing I find most unlikely about Nicola going into the river and drowning is the weir. Say she had washed that way she would have to get up and over the weir, in bulky clothing. Very unlikely this would have happened straight away due to the slow flow. If a body washed over the weir surely it would be visible? It seems so unlikely she would have been swept over this shallow stretch with everyone in the area looking for her and no one see. Not impossible but seems so unlikely.

One of the things mentioned by a pp- I can’t find now whether it was clarified ?
That the woman who found Willow (and tied her to the bench with string) had said Willow already had the string on her collar . Do we know if this is true ?
Because that does then make more sense in terms of why she didn’t just put the dog’s lead back on, and also opens up various possibilities, eg someone trying to steal Willow, and Nicola running after them, or someone else finding Willow and tying her up unsuccessfully, or someone deliberately leading Willow away to entice Nicola . Willow had a lead and harness, so there seems no reason why she would have had the string put on by Nicola herself. It would all suggest someone else being involved .

Just to be clear, I am not endorsing anything else in that video, I just found that particular section useful in understanding the layout of the gates etc.

Don't worry @seaChele that poster doesn't agree with the threads full stop.
Thank you for sharing the video, it was interesting.

And also as a PP pointed out, the water on the other side of the weir is shallow.

twitter.com/MirrorBreaking_/status/1625151338236596225?t=jfg52yMPuH3zVy69nY_F6w&s=19

BREAKING Police have been seen searching a caravan site near to where Nicola Bulley went missing over two weeks ago