Nicola Bulley: All the clues we have so far as specialist diving team join search (Image: Facebook)
The investigation into the disappearance of Nicola Bulley, aged 45, has captivated the nation as authorities work tirelessly to track her down. As the search for the missing mum-of-two enters its tenth day, and a specialist team of divers takes to the River Wyre to help the search, we take a look at all the clues revealed so far.
Timeline of events
First, let’s look at the sequence of events on the tragic day that Ms Bulley first disappeared, according to police.
8.43am – Ms Bulley walked along a path by the River Wyre after dropping her children off at school.
Around 8:50am – Someone who knows Ms Bulley stopped with their dog to say hello as Nicola was walking around the lower field with her dog.
8.53am – Nicola sent an email to her boss.
9.01am – She logged into a Teams call.
Around 9.10am – Another witness spots Nicola with her dog.
9.30am – The Teams call ended but she remained online.
Around 9.35am – Nicola’s mobile phone and dog were found by another dog walker by the river.
Police currently believe she may have fallen into the River Wyre (Image: PA)
Police released CCTV of Ms Bulley on the day of her disappearance (Image: Police Handout)
Ms Bulley’s clothing
In a press conference, Superintendent Sally Riley told reporters that Ms Bulley was wearing: “An ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket, a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat which was worn underneath the gilet, tight-fitting black jeans, long green walking socks tucked into her jeans, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit.”
The River Wyre
Yesterday Express.co.uk revealed that specialist underwater search team Specialist Group International (SGI) offered their services to Lancashire Police for free to comb the river, after they were contacted by Ms Bulley’s distraught family. They said they are confident they will be able to recover her from the river, if she is there.
This represented a crucial development in the search as the river near to where the missing mum was last sighted has become a key point in police’s inquiries.
Lancashire Police have it is “possible” Ms Bulley fell into the river while trying to retrieve a tennis ball for her dog, but was weighed down by the two coats she was wearing and other items underneath.
A specialist investigation team has begun to search the river (Image: PA)
Superintendent Sally Riley told the MailOnline: “I don’t wish to speculate but the facts are that she was wearing a quilted, ankle-length gilet, which is a big coat, and underneath that there was another coat and then under that coat more clothing. She was also wearing ankle-length wellingtons. One would assume they fill with water when someone enters a river so all of that clothing is heavy, particularly on someone who is of slight build and only 5 foot three.”
However, according to Ms Bulley’s friend Tilly Ann, she was an “incredibly strong swimmer.”
Forensics expert Peter Faulding, who is currently leading SGI to search the river, believes she was not in there, remarking: “Even the clothing feels odd, no one spoke about how deep the water is actually at the bottom of the bank where it went in. I’ve heard rumours it’s 18 inches deep at the edge. I mean, the clothing she was wearing was not woolly clothing that absorbs water quickly.”
“She seems a very fit person. Why were there no screams? Why were there no marks?”
But a representative of St Michael’s Angling Association told the Times how dangerous the River Wyre was, saying: “The combination of the depth and how cold it is at this time of year makes it very dangerous. I certainly would not want to fall in there and I’m a very strong swimmer.”
READ MORE: Nicola Bulley friend says she is an ‘incredibly strong swimmer’ [REVEAL]
Willow the dog
Ms Bulley had been walking her cocker spaniel Willow when she disappeared. While the police have suggested that the mum-of-two fell into the river when reaching for the dog’s ball after it fell in, Willow was found shortly after her disappearance, without his harness and “bone-dry”.
Since her disappearance, photos she shared to the Strava app on separate walks have shown her beloved pet wearing its harness on the route even when the spaniel’s lead had been removed.
But while many people have speculated that this means Nicola did not fall into the river because her dog was dry, dog behaviour expert Ross McCarthy says it is not as simple as that, telling Express.co.uk: “Dogs go into fight or flight as we do, but they may not perceive the same dangers as us…presumably this dog has been walked along the canal and water often and been discouraged from going in or naturally just avoided going in.”
Ms Ann said of this claim: “The dog never has her harness on for a chunk of that walk, it’s removed at the gate of the top field and then put back on at the gate when they leave. They very rarely take the ball out for walks with Willow now because she is very very protective over the ball and haven’t done for a while.”
DON’T MISS: Nicola Bulley’s daughter asks ‘where is mummy and is she coming home?’ [REVEAL]
Nicola Bulley’s daughters trying to keep life as normal as possible [INSIGHT]
Nicola Bulley search boost as ‘world’s best’ sonar being brought in [ANALYSIS]
Nicola Bulley and her dog, Willow (Image: Facebook)
The harness and lead were found on a bench near where Ms Bulley was last seen, next to her phone.
Nicola’s phone and her fitbit
When Ms Bulley disappeared, she had two pieces of technology on her person that could provide answers to her worried family: her phone, and her Fitbit device. Her phone was discovered on a bench near where Ms Bulley was last seen, still connected to a work conference call. She had not left the meeting when it ended.
Meanwhile, Fitbit told Express.co.uk that they could provide law enforcement with data from the device that was worn by Ms Bulley when she disappeared.
A spokesperson for Fitbit confirmed that “under defined and specifically prescribed legal procedures, data may be requested and provided in support of law enforcement requests”.
Police are said to be looking at whether they can use Nicola’s Fitbit data to track her movements on the day she went missing. Friend of Nicola’s, Emma White, told the Sun that police were working to get the data off the fitness watch.
She said: “The Fitbit had not been synced since Tuesday. The police are trying other ways to try to get information from it.”
The specialist team is using sonar to help find Ms Bulley (Image: PA)
Missing clues: The ten-minute gap and lost CCTV footage
Police have identified a key ten-minute gap in their knowledge of Ms Bulley’s movements on the day she disappeared. The gap is between 9.10am when she was last seen, and 9.20am, which is when police believe her phone was placed on the bench where it was later found.
Another key piece of missing information is the CCTV camera, which “would have seen everything” according to Ms Ann, but was the only one broken in that area. Lancashire Police have admitted that “blackspots” have affected their investigation.
Ms Ann explained: “There’s CCTV at the back of the caravan park. The only camera that isn’t working is the one that would have seen everything.”
Lancashire Police said of the claim: “We can’t comment on specific parts of the enquiry. CCTV/dash cam footage etc is something the investigating team have been focusing on and we continue to ask the public’s help for that.”
Police believe it is “very unlikely” that a third party was involved, but Nicola’s sister has urged investigators to keep an “open mind”. The search for Nicola Bulley continues.
