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Nicola Bulley’s family urge public to stop making ‘wild theories about her personal life’ in new statement

The concerned family have released a new statement exactly three weeks after her disappearance.

Emily Sergeant - 17th February 2023

Nicola Bulley‘s concerned family have issued a fresh statement to mark the three-week date since she went missing.

The 45-year-old Lancashire mum-of-two was last seen walking her dog Willow on a riverside footpath on Friday 27 January at around 9:20am, and 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.

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

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

Lancashire Police says it “remains committed to doing everything we can to find [Nicola]”.

“Our sole focus throughout the investigation has been to find Nicola, to bring her home, and to support her family through the trauma they are experiencing,” Lancashire Police insisted yesterday.

“The most important person in all of this is Nicola.”

The police’s insistence of its commitment to doing everything in their power to find Nicola comes after it was confirmed yesterday that the Constabulary had referred itself to watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, over contact officers had with Nicola prior to her disappearance.

It also comes after it was revealed earlier this week that Nicola was considered to be ‘high-risk’ at the time of her disappearance.

Police chose to state that the ‘high-risk’ classification was due to the missing woman having “significant issues with alcohol”, and the fact she was struggling with side effects of the perimenopause and menopausal symptoms.

Nicola’s family say they were “aware” ahead of time that the police were going to release such information, but after growing controversy, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has this morning demanded an “explanation” over the force’s decision to reveal details of her private life.

Nicola Bulley’s family have issued a fresh statement three weeks after she went missing / Credit: Lancashire Police

Now, exactly three weeks to the day of her disappearance, Nicola’s family have issued a statement to urge the public that their “focus has to be on finding her”.

Their statement reads: :It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing.

“We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and Paul’s private life. As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki.

“Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her.

“This is appalling and needs to stop.

“The police know the truth about Nikki and now the public need to focus on finding her. Due to the perimenopause, Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help, but this was giving her intense headaches, which caused her to stop taking the HRT, thinking that may have helped her – but only ended up causing this crisis.”

45-year-old Nicola Bulley went missing on Friday 27 January 2023 / Credit: Nicola Bulley

“The public’s focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life,” the family’s statement continued.

“Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers.”

Nicola’s family closed out their statement speaking directly to their “wonderful daughter, sister, partner, and mother” directly.

“Nikki, we hope you are reading this and know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle. We all need you home. You can reach out to us, or you can contact MissingPeople.org.uk. Don’t be scared, we all love you so very much.

“We all need you back in our lives.”

Featured Image – Lancashire Police