Along the River Wyre there are a number of abandoned properties that friends of Nicola Bulley are urging police to search for the missing mum (Picture: PA)
A close friend of Nicola Bulley has urged police to further search an abandoned house close to where the mum-of-two went missing.
Police yesterday maintained they believed Ms Bulley most likely fell into the River Wyre whilst walking her dog – despite expert divers not finding any evidence after three days of searches.
The mum-of-two’s close friend, Tilly Ann, has now urged police to search the house and surrounding outbuildings a short distance from the river.
However, police did confirm yesterday they had searched a ‘derelict house’ nearby but it is unclear if it is the same one.
In an updated Facebook post, she wrote: ‘The abandoned house and outbuildings etc have not yet been searched as it is not currently a crime investigation!!!!!! (This should have been done straight away!).’
Yesterday police urged members of the public not to take the search into their own hands and warned anyone who did so action would be taken.
Officers last night said that Nicola ‘could’ have left the area with a third party when she vanished during a walk with her springer spaniel Willow at around 9.20am on January 27.
Police believe Nicola Bulley, 45, may have fallen into the river (Picture: PA)
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Peter Faulding, an underwater search expert called in by the family (Picture: PA)
Nicola Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, is ‘upset’ by the news, the expert said (Picture: PA)
Detectives have laser-focused the search recently on a patch of the river they believe she fell in (Picture: Chris Furlong)
Superintendent Sally Riley, of Lancashire Police, said it remained a ‘possibility’ that the 45-year-old left the area by one path not covered by CCTV cameras.
She also added that ‘every single’ suspicion or criminal suggestion had so far been discounted.
The path is crossed by the main road through the village, and officers are currently trying to trace dashcam footage from 700 drivers who passed along the route at the time she disappeared.
After reviewing other CCTV footage, police are confident that Nicola did not leave the field near the river via Rowanwater.
A police statement on Monday said: ‘Our enquiries so far have included searches of the river and riverbank which have extended all the way to the sea using specialist search teams, sonar, search dogs, drone and helicopter, house to house and CCTV.
Timeline of events in the case of missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley
– January 27
The 45-year-old dropped her daughters, aged six and nine, off at school in the morning before walking her dog, Willow, in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
Lancashire Police have said the mortgage adviser, from nearby Inskip, had been walking along a path beside the River Wyre just before 9am.
She was seen by a dog walker who knew her at around 8.50am, and their pets interacted briefly before they parted ways, according to the force.
At 8.53am, Ms Bulley sent an email to her boss, before logging on to a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am.
She was seen by a second witness at 9.10am, the last known sighting.
By 9.30am, Ms Bulley’s Teams call had ended, but her phone stayed connected to the call.
Approximately five minutes later, another dog walker found her phone on a bench beside the river, with Willow darting between the two.
At 10.50am, Ms Bulley’s family and the school attended by her children were told about her disappearance.
Lancashire Constabulary launched an investigation into Ms Bulley’s whereabouts on the same day and appealed for witnesses to contact them.
– January 28
Lancashire Constabulary deployed drones, helicopters and police search dogs as part of the major missing person operation.
They were assisted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team and the North West underwater search team.
– January 29
Local residents held a meeting at the village hall to organise a search for Ms Bulley at 10.30am on Sunday, according to reports from The Mirror, and around 100 people joined the search.
Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as ‘extremely dangerous’ and saying that activity in these areas presented ‘a genuine risk to the public’.
– January 30
Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Constabulary said police were ‘keeping a really open mind about what could have happened’, and that they were not treating Ms Bulley’s disappearance as suspicious.
– January 31
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a potential witness, a man who had been walking a small white fluffy dog near the River Wyre at the time of Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
Her family released a statement saying they had been ‘overwhelmed by the support’ in their community, and that her daughters were ‘desperate to have their mummy back home safe’.
– February 1
Ms Bulley’s parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley, spoke to The Mirror about the ‘horror’ they faced over the possibility of never seeing her again.
Her father told the newspaper: ‘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.’
– February 2
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a second witness who they had identified with the help of the public using CCTV but they told police they did not have any further information to aid their inquiry.
Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit searched the area close to where Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was found, while police divers scoured the River Wyre.
Meanwhile, Ms Bulley’s family appealed to the public for help tracing her.
Speaking with Sky News, her sister Louise Cunningham said: ‘There has got to be somebody who knows something and all we are asking is, no matter how small or big, if there is anything you remember that doesn’t seem right, then please reach out to the police.
‘Get in touch and get my sister back.’
Ms Bulley’s father said his family hoped their interview would ‘spark a light’ that would lead to her being found.
– February 3
Lancashire Police said they were working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre.
Ms Riley urged against speculation, but said it was ‘possible’ that an ‘issue’ with Ms Bulley’s dog may have led her to the water’s edge.
She urged the public to look out for items of clothing Ms Bulley was last seen wearing, and gave an extensive list.
Ms Bulley’s friends also shared heartfelt appeals via television interviews, including Emma White, who told the BBC that Ms Bulley’s daughters were continually asking where she was.
– February 4
Ms Bulley’s friend, Emma White, casts doubt on the police theory that she fell into a river, telling Sky News it was based on ‘limited information’.
She said: ‘When we are talking about a life we can’t base it on a hypothesis, surely we need this factual evidence.
‘That’s what the family and all of us are holding on to, that we are sadly no further on than last Friday.’
‘We have also spoken to numerous witnesses, analysed Nicola’s mobile phone and fitbit and searched the derelict house on the other side of the river as well as any empty caravans in the vicinity.’
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Police yesterday maintained they believed Ms Bulley most likely fell into the River Wyre whilst walking her dog – despite expert divers not finding any evidence after three days of searches.
