Ex-detective says police ‘destroyed’ Nicola Bulley’s reputation
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Nicola Bulley’s partner has spoken of his “agony” after a body was found in the river near where the mother-of-two went missing.
The body was found about a mile from where Mrs Bulley last walked her dog in St Michael on Wyre after dropping her daughters off at school.
A man and woman walking their dog Sunday morning found the body and called police.
No formal identification has yet taken place, but Ms Bulley’s family have been notified of the discovery, police said.
Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell has since told it Sky news of his “agony,” adding, “We are all together, we must be strong.”
Meanwhile, diving expert Paul Faulding – who led a private search of the river and previously said he didn’t think Ms Bulley was in the water – spoke about the discovery.
Mr Faulding said his team only cleared the area around the bank where her phone was found and that the tidal stretch past the weir was “an open book”.
“All I can say is that she wasn’t at the bottom of that river when she was searching,” he said MailOnline. “We didn’t search the reeds, our job was to search the water.”
Important points
Show last update 1676818404
Police searching for missing mother Nicola Bulley have found a body
A body was found during a search for missing dog walker Nicola Bulley, police said.
No formal identification has yet been carried out, Lancashire Police said.
Procedures to identify the body are ongoing and the force is currently treating the death as unexplained, it said.
my colleague Jane Dalton has more:
Andy Gregory19. February 2023 14:53
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‘Questions need to be asked’ about Lancashire Police’s decision making
Questions “have to be asked” about Lancashire Police’s decision to share the details of their “working hypothesis” in the search for Nicola Bulley, says criminal behavior analyst Laura Richards.
A body was found about a mile from where Ms Bulley last walked her dog in St Michael’s on January 27.
No formal identification has yet taken place, but Ms Bulley’s family have been notified of the discovery.
“Formal identification has to happen first,” Ms Richards said in an interview with LBC. “But I think it raises questions as to why you would share a working hypothesis.”
“There should be several hypotheses that the police worked on before it becomes a theory. That doesn’t mean it has to be shared with the public. It just leads to more speculation, which they don’t want,” she said.
So we don’t know if that’s Nicola, we don’t know how the body got there and I think questions have to be asked if it was how was it missed within a mile when there were three or four teams of specialists, including Peter Faulding, who had searched that stretch of the river.
Laura Richards
“Peter himself said that if he had known about their high risk and specific vulnerabilities, his search parameters would have been different.
“So the questions about their decision-making have to be asked. Why didn’t they share this information with the people who were looking for her? If it really is Nicola.”
Namita Singh20. February 2023 04:00
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Investigation into whether police disclosed personal problems “inappropriately”.
Earlier this week, the force detailed how the mother-of-two was struggling on alcohol and hormone replacement therapy for perimenopause in the run-up to her Jan. 27 disappearance.
Penny Mordaunt condemns ‘drama and distraction’ in Nicola Bulley case
Namita Singh20. February 2023 03:45
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Man who found Nicola Bulley’s phone and dog knew ‘something was wrong’
A dog walker who found Nicola Bulley’s mobile phone on a bench before she was reported missing claimed he “knew something was wrong”.
The man, identified only as Ron, thought when he first spotted the phone that someone had left it there while they were around to relieve themselves.
Lucy Skoulding20. February 2023 03:15
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Exactly where the body was found
A man and woman walking their dog reportedly discovered the body and called police on Sunday.
The body was found on an inconspicuous stretch of river, just around a slight bend about a mile outside of the village, near a tree that had half fallen into the water.
Police previously erected a tent and cordoned off the roadway while police divers were called in, but the road reopened about three hours later after the body was recovered.
The police dive team could be seen searching while a police drone and helicopter flew overhead.
Police are looking in River Wyre
(Jason Roberts/PA Wire)
Lucy Skoulding20. February 2023 02:15
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This is how the three-week search for Nicola Bulley went
Over the past 23 days, Nicola Bulley’s family have made heartbreaking pleas for her return home. They have also condemned the “appalling” speculation about her personal life – revealing that some people have even threatened to sell stories about her.
The search for Ms Bulley began on January 27 when it was discovered she was missing while walking her dog, Willow, by the River Wyre.
Lucy Skoulding20. February 2023 01:15
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Full police statement
Lancashire Police released a statement today after finding a body near where Nicola Bulley went missing.
Said: “We were called at 11.36am today with reports of a body in the River Wyre near Rawcliffe Road.
“An underwater search team and specialized officers subsequently joined the scene, entered the water and unfortunately recovered a body.
“No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we cannot say at this time if this is Nicola Bulley.
“Procedures to identify the body are ongoing.
“We are currently treating the death as unexplained.
“Nicola’s family have been informed of the developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times.
“We ask that their privacy be respected.”
A police appeal poster posted to a gate to a track in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, as police continue their search for missing woman Nicola Bulley, 45
(PA)
Lucy Skoulding20. February 2023 00:15
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Nicola Bulley’s partner says: ‘We have to be strong’
Nicola Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell said they “have to be strong” after it was announced today that an unidentified body was discovered near where the mother went missing.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Ansell said: “We’re all together, we have to be strong.”
He added that he was “in agony” following today’s update on the case.
He said: “No words at the moment, just agony.”
Candles are lit around a photograph of Nicola Bulley and her partner Paul Ansell on an altar at St Michael’s Church in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire (Owen Humphreys/PA).
(PA wire)
Lucy Skoulding19. February 2023 23:15
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Villagers condemn ‘TikTok detectives’
Villagers who lived near where Nicola Bulley disappeared condemned TikTok detectives who were digging up forest near where the mother-of-two went missing last month.
Conspiracy theories were rampant on social media after Ms Bulley disappeared and vigilantes descended on St Michael on Wyre.
Lancashire Police have been forced to urge the public not to get involved in the case and senior investigators said social media sniffer dogs had “distracted” the search for the mother-of-two.
Lucy Skoulding19. February 2023 22:50
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Nicola Bulley’s partner in Agony after divers find body in river
The body was found about a mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping her daughters off at school on January 27.
In a message to a Sky news Correspondent on Sunday evening, Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell, said: “No words at the moment, just agony.”
A man and woman walking their dog reportedly discovered the body and called police on Sunday.
Lucy Skoulding19. February 2023 22:25
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