A dogwalker who discovered a corpse in a river close to where mother-of-two Nicola Bulley vanished was overheard informing authorities that it was a woman’s body.
A photograph captures the moment the corpse was pointed out to authorities after it was discovered less than a mile from the bench where Nicola Bulley vanished.
While the corpse pulled from the Wyre River has not yet undergone an official identification, the 45-year-old mortgage adviser’s family has been notified, according to Lancashire Police.
After dropping off her girls, ages six and nine, at school on January 27, Ms. Bulley was last seen walking her dog in St. Michael’s on Wyre. Her corpse was discovered about a mile away.
About 11.35 this morning, officers were summoned to reports of a corpse in the river near to Rawcliffe Road, when a walker was overheard informing them about the woman’s body.
It is a body, It is situated there. That was a woman’s body. A witness was overheard stating, “There is certainly a corpse down there.”
A second witness told The Telegraph that they could see police vehicles “flying” to the scene and that a guy was pointing towards the riverside.
The guy was still pointing towards the riverside, and I could still see him plainly. Later, while the blues and twos were moving, additional police vehicles sped down the road. The whole road was cleaned.
According to a police spokeswoman, at approximately 11.35 this morning, officers were alerted to reports of a corpse in the river near to Rawcliffe Road.
A corpse was tragically located when an underwater search team and expert cops responded to the area, according to a statement.
We cannot yet confirm if this is Nicola Bulley since no official identification has been made.
The steps to identify the corpse are still being taken.
‘At this time, we are considering the death as mysterious.
“Nicola’s family has been updated on the situation, and we are thinking about them at this really trying time.” Please respect their right to privacy.
According to the PA news agency, the corpse was found by a man and a woman walking their dog, who then phoned the police.
The corpse was discovered on an inconspicuous section of the river, a mile or so outside of the hamlet, just before a little curve, near to where a tree had fallen on its side, partly buried with branches and bushes.
The road was reopened around three hours after the corpse was found by cops. Earlier, police had set up a tent and blocked off the route while police divers were brought in.
Others from the public, including one lady who claimed to be clairvoyant and who said she had “picked up” a section of the river on Saturday night, expressed interest in the location to the press.
As a police drone and aircraft hovered overhead, the police dive team could be seen performing the search.
There has been a lot of conjecture about the Ms. Bulley disappearance case, as well as criticism of the police investigation.
After revealing Ms. Bulley’s difficulties with alcohol and perimenopause three weeks after her disappearance, the police faced criticism.
The mother-of-two was labeled a “high-risk” missing person as soon as her spouse Paul Ansell reported her missing, they said in a news conference on Wednesday, “based on a number of particular vulnerabilities.”
Ms. Bulley, of Inskip, Lancashire, had ceased taking her HRT medicine, they subsequently noted in a statement.
After a response from the public and interventions from the Government and the opposition home secretary Yvette Cooper, Lancashire Police said that an internal review of the probe had been scheduled.
A spokesman stated: “Our head of crime detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables will undertake a review of the case.”
The last person to search the region was search specialist Peter Faulding on February 6—nearly two weeks before.
Last night, he was also being questioned about what he had stated following his three-day inquiry, when he claimed: “If Nicola was in the river, I would have discovered her.” She is not present.
He said tonight that if it turned out that Ms. Bulley’s corpse was not where it was thought to be, it would be “absolutely unjust” to claim that he offered her family “false hope.”
A corpse may become buried beneath rubble in the reads, he said, and neither the police nor our sonar would pick it up.
A dog walker generally finds a corpse that has been stuck in the reeds; that is natural.
Two boats with specialized police teams combed the shoreline around Morecambe Bay last week, some 20 miles from where Nicola was last seen. According to authorities, the likelihood of finding her “in the open sea” has increased.
A third boat, a large orange lifeboat that was patrolling the area with a group of rescue personnel on board, was also seen.
Mr. Faulding, a diving specialist, said he would launch a fresh search on land after river searches yielded no results in an effort to determine where she “might have been buried.”
Peter Faulding said that the search for the missing mother needs to be widened to the area of forest along the River Wyre because he was certain that he would locate anybody hiding there.
As there was a report of “strange persons lurking around” the location where she vanished, Mr. Faulding said it was time to “examine all alternatives” and this week committed to check into “potential deposition sites.”
Police shifted search teams to the shore with cops on horseback seen combing coastal routes on horseback in Knott End-on-Sea, Lancashire, as Ms. Bulley’s family became increasingly anxious following fruitless efforts to trace her.
In an effort to identify the critical piece of information that may solve the riddle of the missing mother, police also questioned locals and businesses while making requests for doorbell and CCTV video.
But, Lancashire Police came under fire for ‘wasting’ the first 24 hours of the inquiry by concluding Nicola fell into the river without doing door-to-door enquiries.
Paul Ansell, Ms. Bulley’s boyfriend, told Channel 5 earlier this month that he believes she never entered the river and that authorities should instead concentrate on investigating the neighboring area, including door-to-door searches.
In the Wyreside Farm Park campground on Monday of this week, only a few yards from the location where the mother of two vanished on January 27, police could be seen knocking on doors.
‘We were contacted today at 11.36am to reports of a corpse in the River Wyre, near to Rawcliffe Road,’ a police spokesperson said after discovering a body.
A corpse was regrettably found when an underwater search team and specialized cops arrived on the site, entered the water, and searched the area.
We cannot yet confirm if this is Nicola Bulley since no official identification has been made.
The steps to identify the corpse are still being taken. The cause of the death is now being investigated.
“Nicola’s family has been updated on the situation, and we are thinking about them at this really trying time.” Please respect their right to privacy.
There is still a large cordon in place and a tent has been set up.
Once the two hikers discovered the corpse, police immediately launched a thorough search. Detective Superintendent Smith arrived just as the devastating find was verified by the police.
Upon speaking with authorities, the male walker was spotted with a pale face and pointing to a protrusion of trees and vegetation along the river, stating, “There’s certainly a corpse there.”
By 1 p.m. on Sunday, police divers were on the banks of the river Wyre while drones and a helicopter from the force circled above the outcrop of trees and vegetation.
Shortly later, Lancashire Police said that they had discovered a corpse in the river.
When a corpse was discovered in the River Wyre, Home Secretary Suella Braverman called the developments in the case of Nicola Bulley “heart-breaking and upsetting.”
These are heartbreaking and disturbing events, she tweeted. At this very trying time, my thoughts are with Nicola’s family.
One eyewitness said, “I drove along Rawcliffe Road for about a mile,” before the finding was officially verified. On the embankment, I saw a guy, a woman, and two police officers.
‘About 11.50 a.m., I pulled over and overheard the guy in the brush talking to cops about something.
The blues and twos were moving as police vehicles were zooming down the road. A few minutes later, a policeman arrived and brought out his drone.
The police chopper showed there five minutes later. As the officers ordered me to exit, I went 200 yards down the road.
The guy was still pointing towards the riverside, and I could still see him plainly. Later, while the blues and twos were moving, additional police vehicles sped down the road. The whole road was cleaned.
The couple was subsequently seen sitting on a wall nearby, looking dejected and vaping.
The 45-year-old mother-of-two, who has kids ages six and nine, was last seen on January 27 walking her dog along the river in St. Michael’s-on-Wyre after dropping them off at school.
Three weeks ago, the community had a major police presence that included dozens of policemen, divers, search specialists, and high-tech tools like drones.
Peter Faulding and other specialized searchers spent days in the region, scouring the river with sonar equipment.
Given that the river was so shallow, Ms. Bulley could have easily “stood up” if she fell in, Mr. Faulding made the rare action of publicly claiming that he did not think she was in the water.
Mr. Faulding tweeted after the finding on Sunday: “Our thoughts are with Nicola’s family and friends at this terrible time.”
Officers have said that their primary working theory is still that Ms. Bulley is in the river, but her boyfriend Paul Ansell, 44, has continued to hold out hope that she is still alive.
Ms. Bulley, of St. Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, disappeared on January 27 after leaving off her kids, ages six and nine, at school.
She was last seen leaving her daughters, ages nine and six, for school at 9:10 a.m. near the River Wyre on her customary route with her springer spaniel Willow.
Just over 20 minutes later, her dog was free and her phone, which was still on a business call, was discovered on a seat by the riverside.
Former Scotland Yard Detective Peter Bleksley commented on the latest hunt while speaking with Sky News, saying: “If ever there is an indication of intelligence that is received by the police… then seeing lots of resources deployed in a pretty short length of time is not unusual.”
On February 3, Lancashire Police released its primary theory, according to which Ms. Bulley had entered the River Wyre in a “10-minute window” on the morning of her disappearance between 9.10am and 9.20am.
Nevertheless, a number of specialists including Ms. Bulley’s own family claimed they did not think this was the case.
Last Monday, they conducted a second news conference where they discussed personal “vulnerabilities” that led to her being labeled as a “high-risk” missing person case right away.
Hours later, however, they released a startling statement outlining Ms. Bulley’s issues with alcohol, which were exacerbated by severe perimenopausal symptoms and the fact that she had stopped taking her HRT medicine.
The choice to cease taking her hormone replacement treatment (HRT) medications, Ms. Bulley’s family claimed in a statement on Friday, may have contributed to her absence.
According to the statement, “Nikki experienced significant side effects from the perimenopause, including brain fog and restless sleep, and was taking HRT to help. However, this was giving her intense headaches, which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT thinking that it may have helped her but only led to this crisis.”
“We all need you back in our lives,” they said, “Nikki is such a great daughter, sister, spouse, and mother and is missed deeply.
The ladies want to snuggle with you, Nikki, and we hope you are reading this and know how much we adore you. We all need your return.
When it was disclosed tonight that one of the best investigators in the Nation was directly helping Lancashire Police on the investigation, today’s news broke.
The NCA, often known as Britain’s FBI, revealed to MailOnline that the anonymous officer has worked on some of the most high-profile crimes in the Country, including the murder of PCSO Julia James and serial murderer and mortuary monster David Fuller.
Ms. Bulley, 45, went without a trace while walking her springer spaniel, Willow, more than three weeks ago. The police have yet to locate her.
A canine behaviorist and forensic psychologist have both provided assistance to Lancashire Police.
That comes after vehement condemnation of police from many quarters, including Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, for disclosing Ms. Bulley’s private medical information this week.
After the 45-year-old went missing on January 27, criticism of the force has been worse.
By declining offers from other forces, including the Metropolitan Police, to undertake the review in its place, Lancashire Police have raised concerns about their inquiry, which looks to have stopped.
Police made public revelations about Nicola Bulley’s struggles with drinking this week, which many criticized as being “sexist.”
Retired police officers have also questioned why simple tasks like forensically sealing up the area where Ms. Bulley’s phone and dog were found were not finished.
The date for the internal review, which will be carried out by the police’s Head of Crime, Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables, has been confirmed by the force, although it has not been made public.
Sir Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, volunteered on Friday to undertake a review on the force’s behalf, but Lancashire Police were criticized for opting to do it themselves.
Also, the police has sent a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigating interactions officers had with Ms. Bulley on January 10 prior to her disappearance.
In the meanwhile, PM Rishi Sunak expressed his satisfaction that police are investigating how the disclosure of personal information occurred during the probe after Lancashire Police confirmed it would undertake an internal assessment.
»Dog walker tells police searching for Nicola Bulley that river corpse “is a woman.”«