At Press Conference police said the below, I think their belief is she may have entered the water elsewhere. IMO We can almost certainly say she DID NOT enter the water by the bench. SR at Press Conference:
We can say with confidence, therefore, that we believe Nicola remained in the riverside area. I understand that this is frustrating for those observing the investigation when the river has been searched and Nicola has not been found. That does not mean, however, that Nicola was not in the river at some point due to the tidal flow of the river. For this reason, our search of the river and the river banks extends out to the sea, particularly the area from Knott End, out towards Morecambe.
Which leaves a couple of scenarios, IMO the window of opportunity at the bench is FAR too small for an elaborate, sophisticated abduction in broad daylight in a crowded dog walking spot. Not to say, if two individuals etc collaborating etc and meticulously planning, they wouldn't pick a better time and location?
One scenario, is in the immediate vicinity, it seems there are some unanswered questions and confusion around what happened and who discovered, and reported the dog etc and how that all played out. There was allegedly a man on the scene who speculated about Nicola having a 'medical accident', surely that is really strange, the woman witness has only just arrived on the scene, too and it seems others followed.
www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/nicola-bulley-laughing-joking-just-26135864
"The gent has looked on the floor and two feet from the bench there’s a phone," she said. "I think she’s either been faffing about at the edge of the river because the dog’s been smelling fishing bait and she’s slipped or she’s had a medical episode."
So, circa 9:33am we have, what, 6 people (?) on the scene, by the bench, and then the dog and phone both stay bench side for two hours?