A diving specialist who had been in charge of the hunt for missing mother Nicola Bulley claimed yesterday night that she is not in the River Wyre and may never be located.
Upon seeing Ms. Bulley’s boyfriend Paul Ansell at the riverbank area in Lancashire where she was last seen on January 27, Peter Faulding shared his concerns with him.
On the day Mr. Faulding, founder of diving team Specialist Group International (SGI), suddenly halted the search of the river after painstakingly searching the water, Mr. Ansell, 44, spent around two hours at the river.
She could never be located, Mr. Faulding said. We are unsure. Nobody is aware. The fact that you typically have some proof makes it rare.
“We have nothing here. With the exception of a phone and a harness, we have no information.
Mr. Faulding was called in to help Lancashire Police divers who have been looking for Ms. Bulley since she vanished over two weeks ago.
He said that he had been “determined” to locate Nicola but that he and Mr. Ansell were both “relieved” that he hadn’t. However, he has now stated that SGI will not be assisting police in searching the “lower estuary” of the River Wyre.
A close family friend of Tilly Ann, a mother of two who is missing, has called on authorities to check an abandoned home and its accompanying outbuildings that are near to the river.
She said: “The abandoned home and barns etc have not yet been investigated since it is not presently a criminal investigation!” in an updated Facebook post. (This ought to have been completed immediately!).
It comes as police acknowledged last night that Nicola could have left the area with a stranger when she went missing on January 27 at approximately 9.20 am while out on a walk with her springer spaniel Willow.
Although Lancashire Police superintendent Sally Riley said it remained a “possibility” that the 45-year-old left the area by a path not captured on CCTV cameras, she added that “every single” suspicion or criminal suggestion had thus far been ruled out. Despite this, police still maintain that she most likely fell into the river.
The walkway in question is crossed by the main road that runs through the hamlet, and police are frantically trying to get dashcam evidence from the 700 motorists who were traveling in the area when she vanished.
Police are satisfied that Nicola did not exit the area near the river through Rowanwater after studying more CCTV video.
Police stated in a statement on Monday that they had checked a neighboring “derelict dwelling,” however.
According to the statement, “Our investigations to far have included searches of the river and riverbank extending all the way to the sea utilizing expert search teams, sonar, search dogs, drone and helicopter, house to house and CCTV.”
We also interviewed a large number of witnesses, examined Nicola’s Fitbit and cellphone, and checked the abandoned home across the river and any nearby vacant trailers.
The possibility of a “third party” being involved in the disappearance was raised when Mr. Faulding said that if his team could not discover Nicola in the water using his sonar technology, then he believed she had not been in the river.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Faulding announced that the search had been suspended. He added: “We are happy that the area where Nicola’s phone and harness were found, we’ve thoroughly searched it from all the way down to the weir and up to the bridge, about a mile upstream, and we’ve confirmed to Paul [her partner] that there’s nothing in that area.”
Police dive teams have dived it three times as well; on the day Nicola vanished, it was dived in the afternoon, but there was no evidence of Nicola.
I’ve worked on some strange instances, but this is a puzzling case, he said. I would have anticipated Nicola to be discovered that afternoon by the police dive team since she usually is in the water, but there was no trace of her. For someone whose cell phone was discovered there.
I was determined to locate Nicola, but one nice thing is that I didn’t want to discover a dead, so I’m delighted we haven’t found Nicola’s body, which may lead to other regions, so we don’t know whether Nicola is alive. He said he just ‘didn’t know’ where Nicola was. This instance is just puzzling.
“After today is through, we’ll have accomplished what we came here to do, cleaned the area for the police and the family, and we can declare that she is not in the upper stretch of the river and some of the lower section heading towards the sea.”
Since his crew was not conducting a search there, he said that he was unable to comment on what was “further down the estuary.”
He said, “We just want to provide some kind of closure. I’ll say it again: I’m glad we didn’t find a corpse, and Paul is grateful we didn’t find anything up there.
Later, Mr. Faulding tweeted: “I can report that Nicola has not been located. The SGI underwater search team and I have finished an exhaustive and comprehensive search of areas of the River Wyre.” Although every concrete lead points to the river, it is still uncertain where she is.
A senior investigator and Nicola’s friend joined Mr. Ansell and Mr. Faulding this morning. They listened intently as Mr. Faulding described how the water where police suspect she drowned was extremely shallow.
In a video acquired by MailOnline, Mr. Faulding can be seen using a sonar instrument to examine both sides of the riverbank close to St. Michael’s on Wyre, where it’s thought that Nicola may have fallen in.
The outboard engine on the inflatable dinghy’s back is the only sound heard in the brief film as the search squad slowly meanders through the winding river. Any significant obstruction in the route would be seen on the video since the side scan sonar can “see” to the bottom of the river.
Mr. Faulding was certain that if he discovered a corpse, it would have been in the vicinity of the spot where Nicola is said to have fallen into the river by the police.
The expert showed MailOnline around the location and noted that the water was only around 3 feet deep and covered with sharp pebbles.
If this is the area where Nicola fell in, as you can see, the water is not that deep. There are many rocks, and if she were in the water, she could grasp onto them.
There were no cries for aid heard, and I fail to understand how she could drown at this location.
“I don’t understand how it could happen,” you could say, “but the only option is that she fell head first and was knocked out on the rocks.”
The theory being investigated by Lancashire Police is that Nicola fell into the water and drowned.
However, police said last night that it was still “possible” that she left the area via a path that wasn’t captured on camera and was crossed by the village’s main road. Officers were working to find dashcam footage from 700 drivers who were traveling along the road at the time she vanished, around 9.20am.
Near the notion that her corpse had been washed away from the place of entrance in the hamlet of St Michael’s on the Wyre, they expanded their search 10 miles further, towards Fleetwood and the Irish Sea.
The police notion that the corpse may have ended up so far afield and in the Irish Sea is disputed by Mr. Faulding.
He argued that based on his 20 years of expertise locating drowning victims, her corpse would have lingered at the river’s bottom for many days before being discovered by authorities.
He and the police inquiry are at odds because of his assertion that a “third party” may have been involved and kidnapped the mother of two.
On Wednesday, after failing to discover any signs of her corpse in the water, the SGI crew packed up their tools and departed the area.
Near 200 meters from the primary search area, they had used their sonar to scan the area around a weir.
We want to sonar the first part of the river, and if nothing is there, I’m pleased there isn’t, he added earlier on Wednesday.
In my judgment, Nicola would have sunk to the bottom and drifted a few meters if she had entered via the bench. She wasn’t there despite a thorough search by the police divers, who are quite skilled. In my experience, there is scarcely any current, and bodies do not go very far.
‘It is not conceivable that she could have drifted 15 miles in this kind of tidal river, not in my experience. Things are both washed in and out. It is quite thin. There are no other options.
The side scan sonar that the SGI team has been utilizing, according to Mr. Faulding, gives very crisp pictures.
You can assure that she is not present from the bench to the weir since you can see every stick and stone.
SGI’s side scan sonar, which is often employed in marine archaeology, environmental research, and by the military, produces a picture of the riverbed.
It operates by projecting large fan-shaped high frequency sound pulses from a dinghy floating on the surface.
To create a picture of the riverbed and to distinguish the various materials and textures, the reflected pulses are captured and processed.
Unlike in many movies when drowning victims are shown floating on the water’s surface, according to a member of his team, this does not really occur in real life.
“When someone drowns and is subsequently discovered, they are virtually invariably on the water’s bottom. They are in the form of an octopus with their arms and legs hanging down.
The corpse will stay at the bottom of the river for four to five days before it may begin to float based on the current.
Contrary to what people would expect from movies, the corpse doesn’t just float to the surface.
Since expressing his sentiments, some opponents have suggested that Mr. Faulding has a “ulterior motivation.” The forensic expert slammed the “keyboard warriors” and said that he has dedicated his life to the search for missing individuals.
Police Superintendent Sally Riley yesterday night emphasized that Mr. Faulding was not privy to all of the specifics of their larger investigation, signaling difficulties between the police and him.
“Our search has not turned up Nicola in the river,” she added, adding that SGI’s partial re-search had the same results. That doesn’t mean Nicola hasn’t gone in the water, either.
“Given that other questions have been ruled out of the study so far, it is evident that our basic assumption is that Nicola did fall into the river.”
“Obviously, Mr. Faulding isn’t involved in all the inquiry information, any more than the members of the public who I’m informing via these kinds of news briefings,” the spokesperson said.
Later, Mr. Faulding insisted that he be given access, saying, “If there are any additional facts that we are unaware of, generally we work with the police, and if you don’t have the facts, it is extremely difficult to do a good search.” I usually have access to such information, so knowing it would be helpful.
Police have now expanded their search for Nicola toward the ocean since they have not yet discovered any conclusive proof that she fell into the river, and Heather Gibbons, a family friend, has joined the increasing chorus of those who are doubting their idea.
Other dive teams continue to search farther upriver towards Fleetwood and the Irish Sea while SGI divers focussed on the area where Nicola’s phone was discovered on a bench and found nothing of interest.
Supt. Riley said that the National Crime Agency (NCA) had examined the police investigation conducted by her officers but had not discovered any fresh lines of inquiry that needed to be followed.
The police chief issued a warning to “amateur detectives” that if they were discovered to be breaching the law while conducting their own searches, they would be jailed.
People in the public doing their own research have broken into abandoned and abandoned structures along the river.
While it may be well-intentioned for individuals to believe it may be a line of inquiry, she said, “There are some properties along the riverbank that are unoccupied or dilapidated and I would advise them to abstain from doing that.”
If they are breaking in, causing damage, or performing a burglary, it could sometimes be illegal.
We entered abandoned buildings with the owners’ consent and knowledge, including those along the river and others that were vacant and under restoration.
We’re not beginning to break into residences because that’s not where the investigation is going us, she said, “since there hasn’t been a criminal element found yet, and we don’t anticipate there to be in this investigation.”
Mr. Faulding had earlier said, seemingly at odds with the police, that it was improbable that Nicola was in the swiftly moving River Wyre and that it was “impossible” for the 45-year-old to have made it to the sea.
He reportedly informed the newspaper that, given the river’s meandering nature, it was feasible for her remains to have already reached the sea, according to The Times.
The distance between the bay and the area where the River Wyre empties into the ocean is around 15 kilometers.
In addition, Mr. Faulding criticized “Internet warriors” who claimed he joined the hunt yesterday night with a “ulterior goal” in mind.
This is what you get for attempting to assist others, he said. My whole life has been devoted to assisting families who are searching for lost loved ones.
Doing our work involves looking for drowning victims in deep, muddy seas. I don’t deserve this garbage, nor does my team.
Police allegedly became upset with Mr. Faulding for making assumptions about the disappearance when he suggested that a third party may be involved.
Lancashire Police maintained their Tuesday denial of any “suspicious or criminal” elements.
Since it would take 11 days to go so far, it would literally be impossible for Nicola to reach the open sea. It’s a very long way down,’ observed Mr. Faulding.
More than 700 cars who passed through the hamlet around the time of Nicola’s disappearance are being tracked down, according to police, who said a team of 40 investigators is presently working on almost 500 distinct lines of investigation.
Supt. Sally Riley stated during a news briefing on Tuesday that police had received a “extraordinary” volume of leads and information.
“We’re working on around 500 active pieces of information and lines of investigation right now to try to get answers for Nicola’s family,” she said.
This is typical in a missing person investigation and does not suggest that the case is suspect in any way.
The investigation team is “totally open-minded” to any information that could point to Nicola’s whereabouts or the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
The police head emphasized that no proof of wrongdoing has yet been found, however.
She said that “any criminal or suspicious aspect has been deleted.”
It is crucial to emphasize that any information received that suggests differently be constantly investigated.
Although “We are not in any way closed to any specific line of investigation,” none of these broad probes had turned up anything noteworthy.
According to Supt. Riley, who described the scope of the police investigation, her team received hundreds of pieces of information “from the public, broader community, the Bulley family and friends.”
In the community of St. Michael’s on the Wyre, police have questioned residents house to house and analyzed hours of CCTV video.
The drivers of the 700 automobiles that traveled through the hamlet around the time Nicola vanished have been called by the police, who are asking them to review any dash cam video they may have.
Police will crack down on anybody who made derogatory remarks on social media and conjectured about Nicola’s location, according to Supt. Riley.
The family is going through a terrible period right now, especially her two little daughters, she said.
“I would beg everyone to stay helpful and productive with the investigation and not do anything that would frustrate us or prevent us from attempting to locate Nicola,” he said.
In response, Mr. Faulding said all information should be made accessible to his team in an appearance on GB News last night.
You cannot perform an adequate search if you don’t have the facts. Without such knowledge, it’s really challenging.
Normally, I have access to the data on many of these queries.
If there is further information, I am not aware of it, and it would be helpful to know.
It occurs at a time when Nicola’s family and friends are doubting the police premise that she most likely fell into the river.
And Mr. Faulding said that she is not in the river if his team was unable to find her there, adding that he would not rule out “third-party participation” in her disappearance.
In a prior statement, Mr. Faulding said that he had a “gut sensation” that Nicola is not in the sea.
Mr. Faulding said on Tuesday: “I personally believe if I rule this section of river out today where we’re working I don’t think she’s here, I think there’s definitely a third party involved.”
The forensic specialist said that in order to keep Nicola’s ‘distraught’ boyfriend Paul Ansell informed of the hunt, he had talked with him.
“I talked to Paul last night and asked him whether she had any enemies, any stalkers, or any other typical questions,” he said. Nothing, he said. When she left that day, she was quite normal—nothing out of the usual.
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