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The body found in a Lancashire river has been identified as the missing mother of two, Nicola Bulley, police said.
The body was found in the River Wyre on Sunday morning, about a mile from where the mother-of-two was last seen.
She had been walking her dog in St Michael on Wyre after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27.
Here is a timeline of events after her disappearance:
– January 27th
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At 8.26am Ms Bulley left her home with her two daughters, aged six and nine, took them to school and about 15 minutes later had a brief conversation with another parent, Lancashire Police said.
Then at 8.43am she was walking her spaniel Willow along the path by the River Wyre and headed towards a gate and bench in the lower field.
She was spotted by a dog walker who knew her around 8.50am and their pets briefly interacted before separating, according to police.
At 8:53 a.m., Ms. Bulley emailed her boss, followed by a message to her friends six minutes later, before logging onto a Microsoft Teams call at 9:01 a.m.
She was seen by a second witness at 9.10am, the last known sighting.
Her phone was back in the bank area at 9.20am before the team’s call ended 10 minutes later, with her cellphone remaining logged on after the call.
At 9:33 a.m., another dog walker found her phone on a bench by the river while Willow darted back and forth between the two.
According to police, she was wearing a black coat by Engelbert Strauss, black jeans and long green hiking socks tucked into her pants under ankle-length green rubber boots.
Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she wore a light blue Fitbit activity tracker.
At 10.50am, Ms Bulley’s family and the school where her children were attending were notified of her disappearance.
Lancashire Constabulary launched an inquiry into Ms Bulley’s whereabouts the same day and asked witnesses to contact them.
– January 28th
Lancashire Constabulary deployed drones, helicopters and police search dogs as part of the major missing persons operation.
They were assisted by the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team and the North West Underwater Search Team.
– January 29
According to reports from The Mirror, local residents held a meeting at the community center at 10.30am on Sunday to organize a search for Ms Bulley and around 100 people joined.
Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as “extremely dangerous” and saying activity in these areas posed “a real risk to the public”.
– January 30th
Superintendent Sally Riley of Lancashire Constabulary said police were “really open-minded about what could have happened” and they are not treating Ms Bulley’s disappearance as suspicious.
– 31 January
Lancashire Police spoke to 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 get their mother home safely.”
– February 1st
Ms Bulley’s parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley, spoke to The Mirror about the “horror” they were facing at the possibility of never seeing her again.
Her father told the newspaper: “We’re just afraid to think we’ll never see her again, if the worst came to the worst and she was never found, how are we going to deal with that for the rest of our lives?”
– February 2nd
Lancashire Constabulary spoke to a second witness, whom they identified with the help of the public using CCTV, but they told police they had no further information to help their investigation.
Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine Support Unit searched the area near where Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was found, while police divers searched the River Wyre.
Meanwhile, Ms Bulley’s family appealed to the public to help her find her.
Speaking to Sky News, her sister Louise Cunningham said: “There has to be someone who knows something and all we ask is, no matter how small or large, if you remember something that doesn’t seem right then please contact the police.
“Report and get my sister back.”
Ms Bulley’s father said his family hoped her interview would “spark a light” that would lead to her being found.
– 3 February
Lancashire Police said they were working on a hypothesis that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre.
Ms Riley pushed speculation but said it was “possible” that a “problem” with Ms Bulley’s dog led her to the water’s edge.
She urged the public to look out for items of clothing Ms Bulley had last worn and gave an extensive list.
Ms Bulley’s friends also shared heartfelt appeals over TV interviews, including Emma White, who told the BBC Ms Bulley’s daughters kept asking where she was.
– February 4th
Ms White questioned the police’s theory that she fell into a river, telling Sky News it was based on “limited information”.
She said: “When we’re talking about a life we can’t base it on a hypothesis, we certainly need that factual evidence.
“The family and we all hold on to that, unfortunately, we are no further than last Friday.”
In a Facebook post, Ms Cunningham urged people to “keep an open mind” as there is “no evidence at all” that the dog walker fell in the river.
On the same day, Lancashire Police announced they were locating a “key witness” who was seen pushing a pram near where Ms Bulley disappeared on the morning of her disappearance.
– February 5th
The woman identified by the police as a “key witness” came forward.
The force insisted they were being “treated very much as a witness” as they warned of “completely unacceptable” speculation and abuse on social media.
Peter Faulding, head of the Underwater Search Specialists Group International (SGI), began searching the river after being called by Ms Bulley’s family.
– February 6th
Ms Bulley’s friends said they hoped the help of a specialist underwater rescue team would provide the family with answers.
Speaking to broadcasters, Ms White said the family had asked Mr Faulding and his company for help.
She told BBC Breakfast: “Following the police hypothesis that Nicola was in the river, we need evidence to back that up either way and I believe Peter and his amazing equipment … will come and sweep the riverbed and give us.” Answer.”
Meanwhile, Ms Bulley’s partner Mr Ansell said in a statement released by Lancashire Police: “It has now been 10 days since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who desperately miss their mother and need her back.
“This has been such a tough time for the girls, but also for me and all of Nicola’s family and friends, as well as the wider community, and I want to thank them for their love and support.”
– February 10th
Police urged people not to indulge in comments and conspiracy theories about Ms Bulley’s disappearance as speculation mounts online.
– February 15
Police held a press conference on the case and said the mother-of-two had been listed as a “high-risk” missing person immediately after she was reported missing due to “vulnerabilities”.
They later revealed Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause.
– February 16
In a statement released by Lancashire Police, Ms Bulley’s family said focus had “been diverted from the search for Nikki and more to speculation and rumor surrounding her private life” and called for an end.
Lancashire Police referred the police watchdog over the contact the force had with Ms Bulley before her disappearance.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman called for an “explanation” for the police’s disclosure of Ms Bulley’s private information.
– February 17
Lancashire Police announced they were conducting an internal review into how they were handling Ms Bulley’s disappearance and the Information Commissioner said he would be taking disclosure questions to the force.
– February 18th
Ms Braverman met with police leaders to discuss the conduct of the investigation after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also expressed “concern” about the revelation.
– 19th of February
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, who appeared on the morning broadcast, described the police disclosure as “shocking”, while shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who also wrote to the force about the handling of the case, expressed concern at the “unusual” level Privacy repeated information released about Ms. Bulley.
Lancashire Police announced later on Sunday that they had found a body.
–20. February
The force confirmed the body had been identified as Ms. Bulley.
In a statement, Ms Bulley’s family said they were “the center of our world,” adding that they “would never be able to comprehend what Nikki went through in her final moments and that will never leave us.” .
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