Nicola Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell does not believe she fell in the river, a diver who was part of a team which undertook an exhaustive river search has claimed. The 45-year-old has not been seen since she dropped her two daughters off at school and took her springer spaniel Willow for a walk along the River Wyre near the village of St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire, where she lives.
During a press conference earlier earlier this week, Lancashire Police Superintendent Sally Riley said their “main working hypothesis” was that Ms Bulley had had “sadly fallen” into the river – while stressing she was “keeping an open mind” and appealing for more witnesses.
However, Peter Faulding, who lead a team of specialist divers which searched four miles of the river around the bench where her phone was found following her disappearance, remains unconvinced, not least because of the shallowness of the water.
Mr Faulding explained he had taken Paul Ansell, Ms Bulley’s partner of 12 years, to the stretch of the river next to the bench in question.
He added: “He’s very upset and he was in tears yesterday. He’s very emotional, obviously.
“He was shocked at how shallow the rocks were yesterday. He thought it was really deep there.
“If she had gone in she would have landed on the rocks.”
Mr Faulding continued: “The family thanked us for being here.
“They said ‘You’ve given us confidence now’ and his belief is that Nicola has not gone in that river.”
Mr Faulding’s comments came in the wake of the reports that a “shabby looking” red van had been spotted in the area before Ms Bulley’s disappearance, parked a few hundreds yards from the school which her children, aged six and nine, attend.
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The focus of the police search on Thursday switched from St Michael’s to around 10 miles downstream where the river empties into the sea at Morecambe Bay, with police patrol boats and rescue boats spotted on the river and in the bay.
Speaking today, Heather Gibbons, a close friend of Ms Bulley’s, said: “At the moment the police have been clear as to what their working hypothesis is, but it is exactly that, it is a hypothesis.
“I have spoken to police along with other friends and family and they have made it clear all avenues are still open.
“They are encouraging everyone to keep open-minded, the words were, they have not got their blinkers on.
“We are hopeful, we’re still holding on to hope.”
