Nicola Bulley’s loved ones have left yellow ribbons and handwritten notes on the footbridge in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, where the 45-year-old vanished more than two weeks ago. The mother-of-two has left no signs of life since January 27 after walking her brown spaniel Willow to St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire, shortly after dropping her two daughters off at school. Family and friends have made sure she is not forgotten as the police search for her continues.
“We need you home, Nicola,” “praying for your safe return,” and “I love you” are among the ribbons that have been tied to a footbridge that crosses the River Wyre.
Ms Bulley’s image was also shown prominently on a poster fastened to the railings.
Her partner, Paul Ansell, was also spotted putting a yellow ribbon on the bridge. On Friday, he said he and his family have been going through “unprecedented hell” since she disappeared on a Friday morning.
Speaking on the Channel 5 programme, Vanished: Where is Nicola Bulley?, Mr Ansell added: “Nikki would never give up on us ever. She wouldn’t give up on anybody. And we’re not gonna ever give up on her like, we’re going to find her.
“There has to be a way to find out what happened, there has to be. You cannot, you cannot walk your dog down a river and just vanish into thin air. Something happened that day, something.”
Neighbour and close friend Charlotte Drake applauded Mr Ansell for his “strength” in a message of support on social media.
She wrote: “The strength this man [Paul] has shown over the past 14 days is nothing short of a miracle.
“When many would be sat at home waiting for news he is using the media exactly as it should be used, to share the facts, highlight the lack of evidence and spread the word far and wide, so that he can hopefully reach someone that knows something.”
She added: “Backing Paul Ansell all the way to bring Nicola Jane Bulley back to him and their beautiful girls. We are all behind you, from our little street.”
Lancashire Police, who has been spearheading the search effort, said they were “fully open” to new information about Ms Bulley’s disappearance, with detectives treating the case as a missing person inquiry.
READ MORE: Evidence by river to help trace missing mum ‘will have gone’
In an update on Friday, a force representative said: “Throughout this investigation, we have been keeping an open mind about what might have happened to Nicola, and we continue to look at all the potential scenarios to eliminate them. We are reviewing our decisions regularly.
“Based on all the work we have done up to now our belief remains that Nicola may have fallen into the river for some reason, but we are continuing to investigate all possible leads, and this involves viewing CCTV, Dashcam footage and speaking to people who are providing us with information.”
The search was expanded to Morecambe Bay earlier this week, and specialists were seen on a board searching under Shard Bridge, seven miles from where Nicola was last seen. But the mother of two has given no signs of life.
Police have maintained their “main working hypothesis” was that she fell in a river though her body has not yet been found.
In an interview with Channel 5, Mr Ansell said he was “100 percent convinced” that his partner did not fall in the river, as detectives say they are keeping an open mind about what happened.
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