Police want to trace a ‘key witness’ who was seen in the area where Nicola Bulley went missing.
CCTV images have been released of a woman, dressed in a yellow coat and pushing a pram, who was in St Michael’s on Wyre on the morning of January 27, when the mum-of-two was last seen.
Search teams from Lancashire Constabulary are continuing to trawl the River Wyre, working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley, from nearby Inskip, could have fallen in when she disappeared.
The mortgage adviser’s family have questioned that theory, with her sister rLouise Cunningham urging people to ‘keep an open mind’.
She wrote on Facebook that there is ‘no evidence whatsoever’ that she entered the water.
In a statement published on the social media site, Lancashire Police said: ‘Officers leading the search for Nicola Bulley, who is missing in St Michael’s on Wyre, need to trace a key witness who they believe was in the area on the morning of Nicola’s disappearance.
‘A woman was seen walking on Garstang Road/Blackpool Road, St Michael’s on the morning of Friday January 27 pushing a pram.
‘She was seen walking from the direction of Allotment Lane towards The Grapes public house at approximately 8.22am and is seen again walking on Allotment Lane towards Garstang Road at 8.41am.
‘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.
‘We are also appealing to anyone who was driving down Blackpool Lane/Garstang Lane on the morning of Friday January 27 between the times of 9am and 10am who has dash cam footage on their vehicles to make contact.’
Anyone with information or footage has been asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30.
Police believe Ms Bulley went missing in ‘a 10-minute window’ while she was walking her dog, Willow, close to the River Wyre, after dropping off her daughters – aged six and nine – at school.
Ms Bulley had logged in to a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am, which ended at 9.30am with her phone still connected to the call.
She was seen by another dog walker at 9.10am – the last known sighting – and police traced telephony records of her mobile phone as it remained on a bench overlooking the river at 9.20am.
The device was found by a dog walker at around 9.35am, with Willow nearby.
Timeline of events in the case of missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley
– January 27
The 45-year-old dropped her daughters, aged six and nine, off at school in the morning before walking her dog, Willow, in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
Lancashire Police have said the mortgage adviser, from nearby Inskip, had been walking along a path beside the River Wyre just before 9am.
She was seen by a dog walker who knew her at around 8.50am, and their pets interacted briefly before they parted ways, according to the force.
At 8.53am, Ms Bulley sent an email to her boss, before logging on to a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am.
She was seen by a second witness at 9.10am, the last known sighting.
By 9.30am, Ms Bulley’s Teams call had ended, but her phone stayed connected to the call.
Approximately five minutes later, another dog walker found her phone on a bench beside the river, with Willow darting between the two.
At 10.50am, Ms Bulley’s family and the school attended by her children were told about her disappearance.
Lancashire Constabulary launched an investigation into Ms Bulley’s whereabouts on the same day and appealed for witnesses to contact them.
– January 28
Lancashire Constabulary deployed drones, helicopters and police search dogs as part of the major missing person operation.
They were assisted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team and the North West underwater search team.
– January 29
Local residents held a meeting at the village hall to organise a search for Ms Bulley at 10.30am on Sunday, according to reports from The Mirror, and around 100 people joined the search.
Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as ‘extremely dangerous’ and saying that activity in these areas presented ‘a genuine risk to the public’.
– January 30
Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Constabulary said police were ‘keeping a really open mind about what could have happened’, and that they were not treating Ms Bulley’s disappearance as suspicious.
– January 31
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a potential witness, a man who had been walking a small white fluffy dog near the River Wyre at the time of Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
Her family released a statement saying they had been ‘overwhelmed by the support’ in their community, and that her daughters were ‘desperate to have their mummy back home safe’.
– February 1
Ms Bulley’s parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley, spoke to The Mirror about the ‘horror’ they faced over the possibility of never seeing her again.
Her father told the newspaper: ‘We just dread to think we will never see her again, if the worst came to the worst and she was never found, how will we deal with that for the rest of our lives.’
– February 2
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a second witness who they had identified with the help of the public using CCTV but they told police they did not have any further information to aid their inquiry.
Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit searched the area close to where Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was found, while police divers scoured the River Wyre.
Meanwhile, Ms Bulley’s family appealed to the public for help tracing her.
Speaking with Sky News, her sister Louise Cunningham said: ‘There has got to be somebody who knows something and all we are asking is, no matter how small or big, if there is anything you remember that doesn’t seem right, then please reach out to the police.
‘Get in touch and get my sister back.’
Ms Bulley’s father said his family hoped their interview would ‘spark a light’ that would lead to her being found.
– February 3
Lancashire Police said they were working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre.
Ms Riley urged against speculation, but said it was ‘possible’ that an ‘issue’ with Ms Bulley’s dog may have led her to the water’s edge.
She urged the public to look out for items of clothing Ms Bulley was last seen wearing, and gave an extensive list.
Ms Bulley’s friends also shared heartfelt appeals via television interviews, including Emma White, who told the BBC that Ms Bulley’s daughters were continually asking where she was.
– February 4
Ms Bulley’s friend, Emma White, casts doubt on the police theory that she fell into a river, telling Sky News it was based on ‘limited information’.
She said: ‘When we are talking about a life we can’t base it on a hypothesis, surely we need this factual evidence.
‘That’s what the family and all of us are holding on to, that we are sadly no further on than last Friday.’
In an interview with The Sun, Ms White said that police were working to get data off Ms Bulley’s Fitbit watch.
‘The Fitbit had not been synced since Tuesday,’ she said.
‘The police are trying other ways to try to get information from it.’
The police search has been aided by specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue, and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service – with sniffer dogs, drones and police helicopters deployed.
Detectives are also working behind the scenes to analyse CCTV and dashcam videos, and members of the public with footage which could be useful have been urged to come forward.
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