Police searching for missing British mother Nicola Bulley said on Sunday they had found a body.
A body was recovered from the River Wyre near where Bulley went missing, Lancashire Police said. The body has not yet been officially identified, but Bulley’s family has been informed.
“We were called at 11.36am today with reports of a body in the River Wyre near Rawcliffe Road,” police said in a statement.
“An underwater search team and specialized officers subsequently joined the scene, entered the water and unfortunately recovered a body.
“Nicola’s family have been informed of the developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult time. We ask that their privacy be respected.”
Bulley went missing in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre on the morning of January 27. Police say she walked her dog after taking her two children to school.
A short time later, her dog was found wandering alone and her phone was discovered on a bench by the river, still logged on on a group call. But a three-week search by Lancashire Police for the 45-year-old mother of two has yielded no results.
The case stunned the public and attracted widespread media attention, with police also – unusually – deciding to reveal that Bulley was struggling with drinking problems and menopause at the time of her disappearance.
Last week investigators saw harsh criticism from the public, which they say is pedaling “enduring myths”.
Lancashire Police Superintendent Rebecca Smith told reporters on Wednesday that the social media frenzy had “significantly distracted” the investigation. “In 29 years of police service, I’ve never seen anything like it.
“Some of it was quite shocking and very hurtful to the family. Of course we can’t ignore anything and we checked everything that came in, but of course it distracted us a lot.”
Lancashire Police themselves have come under fire for their decision to release personal details about Bulley, beginning with Smith’s comments at a press conference on Wednesday: “As soon as she was reported missing, according to the information her partner Paul provided to police and based on a number of specific vulnerabilities that were brought to our attention, Nicola was classified as high risk.”
Police later that evening clarified that she had “suffered from some significant problems with alcohol in the past” while her menopause “reemerged in recent months”.
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