Nicola Bulley: Police searching for missing dog walker appeal for 'key' witness

Police searching for Nicola Bulley have appealed for a “key” witness who they believe was in the area on the morning of the mother-of-two’s disappearance.

The witness is a woman seen pushing a pram on the morning of Friday 27 January, when Ms Bulley went missing.

A Lancashire Police spokesperson said: “It is believed that the female in question may have walked along the river path during these times and so detectives want to speak to her and urge her to get in touch.”

Officers believe Ms Bulley fell into the River Wyre while she was walking her dog.

However her family and friends have claimed there is “no evidence whatsoever” behind the police’s theory.

The woman was seen walking along Garstang Road / Blackpool Lane in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, from the direction of Allotment Lane towards the Grapes pub, at around 8.22am.

She is again seen walking on Allotment Lane towards Garstang Road just under 20 minutes later at 8.41am.

It is believed the woman could have walked along the river path during these times – with detectives urging her to get in touch.

Anyone who was driving or cycling down Blackpool Lane / Garstang Lane on 27 January between 9am and 10am and has dashcam footage is also asked to contact police.

The force spokesperson added that it was crucial to gather as much footage as possible from the area on that morning to “review every piece meticulously” and establish whether Nicola can be seen.

“We know from the footage we are currently reviewing, that this is a busy road, particularly at that time in the morning,” they added.

“There will be many people who were in that area at the time who may not think they can help, however we would urge you not to make that decision yourself and to come forward so we can have as much material as possible to assist the investigation.”

Crucial 10-minute window

Ms Bulley, 45, was last seen walking her dog on a footpath by the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Friday morning.

Police are focusing their investigation on a crucial 10-minute window when the mortgage advisor’s movements are unaccounted for between 9.10am and 9.20am.

A timeline pieced together by the force found she logged into a work conference call on Microsoft Teams at 9.01am.

Nine minutes later a witness who knows Ms Bulley said they saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow, which was off her lead.

This is the last confirmed sighting of her.

At 9.20am, police believe her phone was left on a bench by the river.

At 9.30am, the work conference call ended but she stayed connected – before her phone was found three minutes later on the bench by another dog walker.

We will ‘never lose hope’

Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, vowed to “never lose hope” on Friday, a week after she “vanished into thin air”.

He said he was focused on supporting their daughters, aged six and nine, but added: “I don’t know how I am coping.

“I don’t want to think about that.”

Friends and family told Sky News correspondent Katerina Vittozzi it was “too soon for condolences”, and say they are not ready to accept the police’s theory that Ms Bulley fell into the river.

They have now set up a community search hub at the village tennis club where people are invited to take a map of the local area and try and help.

‘It’s too soon for condolences’ say Nicola Bulley’s friends and family

This is a small Lancashire town in a desperate search, where no one wants to give up looking.

Nicola Bulley’s friends say it’s too soon for condolences, that the police’s theory, that Nicola fell into the river, is not one they can, as yet, accept.

Ms Bulley’s friend, Heather Gibbons, told Sky News: “As far as we are aware, there is no evidence that she is in that water.”

She praised the police for the “incredible” amount of resources devoted to the river, but added: “This is not adding up and it’s not adding up on a huge, huge scale, which makes you think, ‘well then, there has to still be hope’, because we’re missing something, something is not making sense.”

Now Mrs Bulley’s friends and family have established a community search hub in the village tennis club, where people can come, take a map of the local area and try and help.

Lal Kilpatrick, a search volunteer who has known the missing mother-of-two for 20 years, said she wanted to help during what she described as a “distressing time for the family”.

Meanwhile strangers are also offering their support, including Lee Ward, who has never met Ms Bulley or her family but felt compelled to help.

“I saw it on the news, it eats you up inside thinking what they are going through,” Mr Ward told Sky News.

For Nicola Bulley’s friends and family, there are still far more questions than answers right now.

The police investigation has been extensive, it has covered 15km of rivers all the way down to the sea but it’s still here, the fields where Nicola was last seen, and where her phone and dog were found, that continues to draw people, all with the same question – what happened that morning?

Specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service have been deployed to assist the search, in addition to sniffer dogs, drones and police helicopters.