‘Was Nicola kidnapped?’ parents asked police officers
Missing dog walker would never have left her two children, desperate family say as hunt for her goes on
THE devastated parents of a missing dog walker asked the police if she could have been kidnapped – because they knew that she would never have left her children.
Nicola Bulley, a 45-year-old mortgage adviser and mother of two, was walking the family dog by a river in Lancashire when she vanished on Friday. She was last seen at around 9.15am.
A local business owner found her springer spaniel, Willow, running free beside the River Wyre, in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, more than an hour later.
She then discovered Ms Bulley’s phone on a bench in the village and recognised her from the family photo used as her background. The phone was still logged into a conference call and the dog’s lead and harness were also found on the bench in front of the river.
Intensive searches have been carried out since Friday, involving specialist police teams using helicopters, drones and dogs, with support from the Coastguard, Bowland Mountain Rescue and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.
Last night, Ms Bulley’s parents revealed they asked police whether their daughter could have “been taken” as there was no evidence of her falling into the water.
Her father, Ernest Bulley, 73, said: “There was no sign of a slip or falling in so our thought was ‘Has somebody got her?’
“I asked the sergeant from Fleetwood a few days ago,
‘Is there any chance of her being taken?’ and she said,
‘I don’t think that’s the case’.” Mr Bulley told The Mirror: “I said, ‘How can you know that?’ It’s such an isolated area, the only way that has happened is if it was someone who knew her.”
Mr Bulley added: “We will never stop looking.”
Yesterday, the owner of Wyreside Park Farm Caravan Site, which police underwater search teams are using as a base, confirmed she was the one who found Willow and the mobile phone.
She said: “I saw the dog and recognised the dog. Then I saw the phone and knew there was a problem.”
Heather Gibbons, 33, a friend of Ms Bulley’s who is helping to co-ordinate the hundreds of volunteers helping in the search, told The Daily Telegraph: “Willow is a dog that does go in the water, but she’d not gone in on Friday. She was bone dry when she was found.”
An “old abandoned” house opposite the spot where Ms Bulley’s belongings were found was searched last week as part of the investigation.
Mr Bulley said his daughter was in “good spirits” when he dropped his grandchildren off after taking care of them last Thursday, adding that she was “very upbeat” about bringing in a new client.
He added: “I gave her a kiss and told her I loved her and that was the last conversation I had with her.”
His wife Dorothy Bulley, 72, said her daughter “lived for her children” and had bought tickets to watch them perform at choir and gymnastics shows in recent weeks. She had also been planning a spa break with her sister Louise the night before she went missing.
Describing how Mr Ansell told their children about Ms Bulley, she said: “He just said, ‘Mummy’s lost’.” Mr Bulley, who owns a freight transport company with his wife, added: “We just dread to think we will
never see her again, if the worst came to the worst and she was never found, how will we deal with that for the rest of our lives?”
In a statement, the family thanked the community for its support, and added: “The girls are desperate to have their mummy back home safe with them, and your ongoing efforts have provided comfort to them whilst we await news.”
The last person to see Ms Bulley before she went missing said she had seemed “completely normal”. The man, who has spoken to the police, saw her as she began her walk at 9.15am. His wife, 57, said they would see Ms Bulley on the same stretch of the river most days. She told The Times: “He said there was nothing unusual about her and she seemed completely normal.”
Supt Sally Riley, of Lancashire Police, said: “We remain extremely concerned for Nicola.
“I must stress at this time that this remains a missing person inquiry and at this time there is nothing to suggest any third-party involvement in Nicola’s disappearance.”