Witness hunt in missing mum mystery
POLICE searching for missing mum Nicola Bulley have released a picture of a woman they want to speak to who could be a key witness.
Detectives say she was seen pushing a pram close to where Nicola disappeared on the morning of Friday, January 27.
The woman was seen walking on Garstang Road/ Blackpool Lane in St Michael’s from the direction of Allotment Lane towards the Grapes pub at around 8.22am. She is seen again walking on Allotment Lane towards Garstang Road at 8.41am.
Officers say she may have walked along the river path during these times and urged her to get in touch.
Police appealed to anyone with dash cam footage who was driving in the area that morning between 9am and 10am to get in contact.
A spokesman said: “While you may not think that you hold any relevant information, it is important that we gather as much footage as possible from the area so we can
review every piece meticulously to establish whether Nicola, 45, can be seen.
“We know from the footage we are reviewing, that this is a busy road, particularly at that time in the morning.
“There will be many people who were in that area at the time who may not think they can help. We would urge you not to make that decision yourself
and to come forward.” Meanwhile, Nicola’s family and friends said they are not convinced by a police theory that she fell into the river.
Search teams from the Lancashire force continued to trawl the river near the village of St Michael’s yesterday.
They are working on the hypothesis that the missing mother-of-two, from nearby Inskip, accidentally fell into the Wyre on Friday, January 27.
Officers believe there was no third-party involvement.
Experts are also aiming to remotely examine Nicola’s Fitbit data, despite not knowing where the device is. Her friend Emma White said: “The Fitbit had not been synced since Tuesday. The police are trying other ways to get information from it.”
On Friday, Nicola’s sister Louise Cunningham urged people to keep an open mind about the theory as there is “no evidence whatsoever” that Nicola – who had been walking her spaniel Willow near the Wyre – fell in.
She said: “Not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully. The police confirmed the case is far from over.”
Nicola’s friend Emma also cast doubt on the police theory, saying that it is based on “limited information”. She added: “When we are talking about a life, we can’t base it on a hypothesis. Surely we need factual evidence?”
Police believe that the 5ft 3in mortgage adviser went missing during “a 10-minute window”, after dropping off her girls – aged six and nine – at school.
On Friday, her partner Paul Ansell – father of their two girls – said: “We’re never going to lose hope but right now it’s as though she vanished into thin air, it’s just insane.”
Later on Friday, Supt Sally Riley said: “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.”