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Nicola Bulley latest as private divers join search for missing woman

She was last seen walking her dog on Friday 27 January.

Daisy Jackson - 6th February 2023

Private divers have now joined the police in the search for Nicola Bulley, who went missing while walking her dog 10 days ago.

The mum-of-two, 45, was last seen walking her dog Willow on a riverside footpath on Friday 27 January at around 9.20am.

A huge search effort has been taking place ever since in the area around Garstang Road near the village of St. Michael’s on Wyre.

Officers say they believe she may have fallen into the river and are as ‘confident as we can be that Nicola has not left the field where she was last seen’.

Both her dog and her phone – which was still connected to a work conference call – were found on a bench along the river the morning she went missing.

Nicola Bulley with her dog Willow. Credit: Lancashire Police

A team of divers have been scouring the water and are now joined by the private Specialist Group International (SGI), who are assisting police with the search for Nicola.

Nicola is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall, with light brown shoulder-length hair. She speaks with an Essex accent.

She was last seen wearing a long, ankle length black quilted gilet, with a black Vector coat underneath which had long sleeves and came to her waist, tight black jeans, long green walking socks tucked into her jeans, and ankle length green wellington boots from Next. Her hair was tied into a ponytail. She was wearing a necklace and pale blue Fitbit.

Nicola Bulley. Credit: Lancashire Police

Supt Sally Riley said in an update on Friday last week: “It’s now a week since Nicola went missing and her disappearance has understandably caused a huge amount of concern and upset in the local community, as well as being an absolutely awful time for her family.

“As a mum I can’t begin to imagine the suffering they are going through. We are supporting them as best we can and keeping them updated on our efforts to try and find Nicola.

“We have done a huge amount of work both in terms of searches of the area as well as extensive enquiries which have been going on behind the scenes and based on that work we are as sure as we can be that Nicola has not left the area where she was last seen and that very sadly for some reason she has fallen into the water.

“There is absolutely nothing to suggest from all the extensive enquiries we have made that anything untoward has happened to her or that there is any third-party involvement in her disappearance.

“This remains a missing person enquiry and we will continue to carry out searches and to do everything we can to find Nicola and provide her family and the community with the answers they desperately need.

“Officers will be in and around the village and anyone with information or concerns should feel free to approach us.”

Anybody who has seen Nicola, or has information about where she might be, is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30. For immediate sightings, call 999.

The timeline of Nicola Bulley’s disappearance

A map charting Nicola Bulley's last-known movements

8.43am – Nicola walked along the path by the River Wyre, having dropped her children off at school
8:50am (approximately) – A dog-walker – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her walking around the lower field with her dog. Their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field via the river path
8.53am – She sent an email to her boss
9.01am – She logged into a Teams call
9.10am (approximately) – A witness – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow. Work is ongoing today to establish exactly what time this was.
9.30am – The Teams call ended but Nicola stayed logged on
9.35am (approximately) – Nicola’s mobile phone and Willow were found at a bench by the river by another dog-walker.

Featured image: Lancashire Police