Nicola Bulley latest news update: Husband of missing dog walker says family in ‘unprecedented hell’
The head of a specialist diving company looking for the missing Nicola Bulley speaks up
Someone in the village must know about Nicola Bulley’s disappearance, Paul Ansell, Nicola Bulley’s partner, claimed in an interview on Channel 5.
Speaking to Dan Walker, Mr Ansell said: “Whatever I think happened must be someone who knows the area, who knows it. And the fact that nothing was seen or heard, I really think it’s something in the village.”
Mr Ansell explained that he and his wife had taken the same walk for years. “And you see the same faces every day, and on that very odd occasion when you see someone you know, you who you don’t know, them, they stick out like a sore thumb.”
Mr Ansell also got emotional while discussing his wife’s disappearance.
“It’s horrifying because you guys don’t just vanish into thin air. It’s absolutely impossible. So something happened.”
He further begged to intensify the search for his partner.
“My plea now is personal, I want every house, every garage, every outbuilding, the land to be looked at. I want everything to be searched. I want everything to be scrutinized, every bit of it. And me, you won’t appease me with anything else. That, that’s what I want.”
Local people lined the street in St Michael’s on Wyre with banners showing Ms Bulley’s face and pleas for help.
“The local community are coming out again today to raise that profile and trying to refresh anyone’s memory, dash cam footage of Garstang Road which is just outside the village of St Michael on Wyre just off the bridge that crosses They are going,” said Emma White, a friend of Ms Bulley, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Friday.
“It’s a pretty important part of the village, so people would remember walking past it. Did you see anything?”
“We have banners, we have posters with Nikki’s face on them, we have a moving eight-foot LED board with her face on it and the words ‘Bring Nikki home’.”
Ms White added: “It’s just a rollercoaster ride, it’s almost like torture – the desperation, the unimaginable frustration in the sense that everyone has come together and worked so hard: the police, the community, the local people.”
“You expect to be rewarded for your hard work, so all we need is something, anything, some information that can lead us to another investigation.”
Joseph RachmannFebruary 11, 2023 10:41 am
The search remains focused on the River Wyre and is working on the theory that Mrs Bulley fell into it. Lancashire Police are leading the search, assisted by specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, Mountain Rescue and the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. Sniffer dogs, drones and police helicopters were also deployed.
However, Ms Bulley’s family continue to wonder if she fell into the river. Speaking to the press, her broken husband Paul Ansell insisted his “gut feeling” was that she wasn’t in the flow.
Joseph RachmannFebruary 11, 2023 10:02 am
Mark Bishop, 64, disappeared on January 7, 2023. He was last seen near an Aldi supermarket in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
Police believe he may have fallen into the nearby river after crossing a bridge.
His niece Claire Arbuthnott, who lives in Edinburgh, said: “We are very unhappy because the police have said for the last few weeks that he fell in the river and that is all they can tell us.”
She added: “Certainly my uncle is as important as this poor woman. My mom, Mark’s sister, cries almost every time we mention his name.”
Joseph RachmannFebruary 11, 2023 09:03
Someone in the village must know about Nicola Bulley’s disappearance, Paul Ansell, Nicola Bulley’s partner, claimed in an interview on Channel 5.
Speaking to Channel 5’s Dan Walker, Mr Ansell said: “Whatever I think happened must be someone who knows the area, who knows it. And the fact that nothing was seen or heard, I really think it’s something in the village.”
Mr Ansell explained that he and his wife had taken the same walk for years. “And you see the same faces every day, and on that very odd occasion when you see someone you know, you who you don’t know, them, they stick out like a sore thumb.”
Mr Ansell also got emotional while discussing his wife’s disappearance.
“It’s horrifying because you guys don’t just vanish into thin air. It’s absolutely impossible. So something happened.”
He further begged to intensify the search for his partner.
“My plea now is personal, I want every house, every garage, every outbuilding, the land to be looked at. I want everything to be searched. I want everything to be scrutinized, every bit of it. And me, you won’t appease me with anything else. That, that’s what I want.”
Joseph RachmannFebruary 11, 2023 08:13
A total of nine women have been reported missing to the police. The oldest case is Fatima Mohamed-Ali, 52 years old, who disappeared without a trace seven years ago, on February 12, 2016.
She left her home shortly after her husband left home for work and was last seen on CCTV around 7.58am that morning. She did not take any personal items such as a purse, money or keys.
Sussex Police had searched woodland and rivers in and around Newhaven as part of the investigation.
Joseph RachmannFebruary 11, 2023 07:56
Remembering the timeline of her disappearance
8:26 a.m. – Nicola leaves her home address with her children
8.40am – Nicola takes the kids to school and has a quick chat with another parent.
8.43am – Nicola walked along the path by the River Wyre towards the Tor/Bank in the lower field after taking her children to school
8:47 a.m. (approximately) – A dog walker – someone who knows Nicola – spotted her walking her dog in the lower field. Their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field across the river path
8:53 am – She emailed her boss
8:59 a.m. – She texted a friend
9:01 am – She logged into a Teams call
9.10am (approximately) – A witness – someone who knows Nicola – saw her walking her dog Willow in the upper field. Work is being done today to determine exactly what time that was.
9.20- Your phone was back in the bank area
9:30 am – The Teams call ended but Nicola stayed logged on
9:33 a.m. (Approx.) – Nicolas Handy and Willow were found by another dog walker on a bank by the river.
Friends of Nicola Bulley hold appeal posters along Main Street in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre (Owen Humphreys/PA)
(PA wire)
Sam RkainaFebruary 11, 2023 07:00
“So-called experts and ill-informed speculation”
Police investigators also criticized “speculation and conspiracy theories” that the case has attracted.
“Our priority during this investigation has been to find Nicola and provide answers for her family,” the spokesman said. “They will continue to be supported by specially trained officials and updated regularly.
“Unfortunately, we continue to experience unprovoked and hurtful abuse of innocent people, including witnesses and local businesses, which is totally unacceptable
“We continue to see a vast amount of commentary from so-called experts, ill-informed speculation and conspiracy theories damaging to the investigation, the community of St. Michael and, worst of all, Nicola’s family. It has to stop.”
Sam RkainaFebruary 11, 2023 06:01
Police downplay meaning of ‘red van’
Lancashire Police said: “We are aware of reports in the media of a red van that has been reported to us.
“We would like to stress that while this has been reported to us and we are currently trying to identify the owner, there is nothing to indicate this was anything other than one of many hundreds of vehicles in the area that morning.
“The investigative team is working through hundreds of pieces of information, and reports like this in the media can distract them from serious inquiries.”
Sam RkainaFebruary 11, 2023 5:03 am
Force insists – once again – that there is no evidence of third-party involvement
“During this investigation, we have openly considered what could have happened to Nicola and we continue to examine all possible scenarios in order to eliminate them,” the police statement continued. “We review our decisions regularly.
“Based on all the work we’ve done to date, we continue to believe that Nicola may have fallen into the river for whatever reason, but we continue to investigate all possible leads and that includes looking at CCTV and dashcam footage and talking to people who do it provides us with information.
“It remains that at this time in all the extensive investigations we have conducted there is absolutely nothing to indicate that anything unforeseen has happened or that a third party is involved in Nicolas’ disappearance, but the investigation is ongoing.”
The Police Search and Rescue team on the riverbank near the Shard Bridge on the River Wyre in Lancashire (PA)
(PA wire)
Sam RkainaFebruary 11, 2023 4:02 am
Police declare “less activity” on the river
Lancashire Police issued a detailed new statement on the ongoing search on Friday night.
It said: “It has now been exactly two weeks since Nicola Bulley went missing and our search for the mother of two continues.
“Special resources including underwater search teams, mounted drones and the police helicopter will be out today as we comb the River Wyre and down and out to sea.
“People may have seen less police activity in the last day or two than before around the river above the weir at St that area of the river that becomes tidal and then goes out to shore.”
Sam RkainaFebruary 11, 2023 03:03