One experienced dive team will join the hunt for Nicola Bulley today, using helicopters and specialized sonar equipment, but an ex-detective says that police are “boxing themselves into a scenario” that she fell into the river.
Founder of the private search and rescue organization Specialist Group International and well-known forensics specialist Peter Faulding has verified that his team of divers will be on site at 8 a.m.
He said yesterday night that he would be bringing “high-spec” sonar equipment, costing around £55,000, that can “locate persons within the hour” during search operations and had a “very high hit rate.”
We’re helping with our diving team, said Mr. Faulding, who will also use a helicopter to assess the river’s course. We already do all of the police’s underwater operations in the South East, but we’re introducing a specialized side-scan sonar with a 1,800 kHz bandwidth.
We deal with a lot of drownings every year, and we find them quite rapidly. This sonar differs from others because of its very high frequency. “I can see every stick and stone that is laying on the riverbed. It costs around $55,000 and scans the river.” With this, we have a very high success rate.
Our sonar is perhaps a little bit better, but I have a lot of specialized search experience and have worked on hundreds of similar instances, and we often locate individuals within an hour in lakes, etc., the man said.
It happens at the same time that a former detective referred to Lancashire Police’s choice to disclose its hypothesis that Ms. Bulley fell into the river as “very uncommon and disturbing.”
Several scenarios might have occurred within the crucial ten-minute timeframe that police have pinpointed for their investigation into the kidnapping and murder of Sarah Payne in West Sussex, according to Martyn Underhill, a senior officer in that investigation. He made this statement to The Times.
He also cautioned against “boxing oneself into a hypothesis” by investigators.
“If the public is informed that they believe it to be a horrific accident, it runs the danger of people shutting off,” Mr. Underhill said. It may discourage someone from providing important evidence.
It will be hard to retract after publicly releasing such a conclusive narrative if the situation changes. Additionally, they have simultaneously insulted friends and relatives. It is quite strange.
A moving video of Ms. Bulley’s little daughter noticing search crews hunting for her missing mother surfaced yesterday.
Sophia, age 6, was seen pointing to a search team and stating, “Those helicopters, they’re searching for mommy,” in the six-second footage that friends posted.
Friends report that Ms. Bulley’s two daughters attended a school dance on Friday night as a result of parents’ attempts to “keep things as regular as possible” for the kids.
If anything was in the diary, it has been preserved in the diary, according to Jill Peck, who was present during a candlelight vigil on Sunday at St. Michael’s Church. Although we’re making an effort to keep it away from the school, they are aware that something is going on.
They only ever question “where is she” and “is she coming home?” because they are so anxious to see her.
According to reports, instructors at the girls’ school informed students of the crisis and led yoga classes to assist them maintain their composure.
Police apparently first refused specialized aid despite the family’s pleadings, but yesterday they reportedly sent in divers to help with the search.
According to Mr. Faulding, Lancashire Police first rejected his offer of specialized divers and search-aid equipment.
But he later acknowledged in a statement that his team of experts had departed Surrey on Sunday evening to assist police in their hunt for the mother who had gone missing as of today morning.
I recently had a lengthy conversation with the Lancashire Police search advisor to discuss the hunt for Nicola, the man claimed. In order to locate Nicola, the police search teams will collaborate closely with us.
The crew is about to depart from our headquarters in Dorking and go to Lancashire in preparation for tomorrow morning’s start.
Nicola Bulley’s family contacted him directly after he made a previous statement in which he claimed Lancashire Police had rejected his offer of assistance. He said: “Following my public message to Lancashire Police offering the services of the SGI underwater search team and our vast range of specialist equipment free of charge to assist in the search for Nicola Bulley, I was subsequently contacted by the grieving family pleading for a way to make this happen.”
“Unfortunately, Lancashire police have answered through the family denying my offer stating they will continue with their own river searches using their present resources [and] will] let us know if we are necessary,” the family said in the response.
A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police confirmed their participation and added, “We can confirm we have been contacted by SGI who have volunteered to help with the search for Nicola Bulley and that offer has been taken up after speaking with Nicola’s family.”
“We continue to direct a broad, multi-agency search utilizing a variety of specialized tools and resources.”
“Nicola’s family needs answers now more than ever, and that is our main focus,” said the search team. We appreciate the ongoing work and help from the neighborhood and our partner organizations.
To ensure that we continue to do everything possible and use every available strategy to locate Nicola, “We are also in contact with specialists throughout national police.”
The woman, 45, was seen on January 27 taking her two girls to school in St Michael’s on Wyre while wearing a heavy jacket, tights, and walking boots.
Paul Ansell’s boyfriend has been the target of ‘disgusting allegations,’ according to friends of the pair, who have pleaded with the public to stop. They claim the photographs demonstrate why he has never been linked to the crime.
Additionally, they said that while he is in “anger and agony,” he is “totally concentrating” on his two girls.
Additionally, Mr. Faulding said yesterday that, contrary to what the police think, it is improbable that Ms. Bulley fell into the river.
Given how much searching has been done in this river, the forensics expert told GBNews, “I would have expected she would have been located by now.” If someone drowns and is left for a few days, they often don’t travel very far.
This is not a swift river at high tide. Thus, I would have anticipated that the police divers would have discovered her by now. As obvious as that. Furthermore, nothing about this seems appropriate to me. She’s not in the river at all, in my opinion.
Ms. Bulley’s phone may have been placed on the bench as a “decoy,” according to Mr. Faulding, who claimed that not enough things tallied together in his judgment.
I personally believe that this phone may be a ruse, he said.
A few of years ago, a man drowned in a river, and when rescuers arrived, Ripley, the guy’s dog, was howling at the riverside.
When we got there, it was actually roaring and pointing in his direction. He remained with his owner.
You have to enquire about the phone on the bench since ordinarily a person would be carrying their phone with them while moving about.
The expert said that it “feels unusual” that no one brought up Ms. Bulley’s lack of wearing clothing that would have rapidly absorbed water, the absence of any markings at the scene, or the fact that no one heard screaming.
He also objected to the fact that the area was not kept fenced off.
People have been passing the bench, he added. No police tape is shown. I don’t think that has really occurred here. Normally, a crime scene would be blocked off so that prospective crime scene investigators could go in and look for microfibres, evidence, slide marks down the bank, etc.
Following the 45-year-abduction, old’s a friend of Ms. Bulley posted 11 important information concerning her disappearance on Facebook.
The lone CCTV camera at a residential campground “that would have spotted Nikki,” according to Tilly Ann, is broken.
She added that Ms. Bulley is “an really powerful swimmer” and that Willow, the dog she was walking when the incident occurred, was entirely dry when it was discovered.
After speculating as to why Willow’s harness was taken off, she said that the dog would never wear one on the routine walk. The dog was discovered fairly near to the bench, its leash lying on the ground.
She continued by saying that her acquaintance often spoke on her phone’s loudspeaker. Ms. Bulley was on a conference call when she disappeared, and her phone was found near to the riverbank.
The family friend expressed gratitude to everyone who had offered their help in the hunt for Nicola and voiced their support, adding it had “provided such a comfort to Nikki’s family.”
She described the effect on Paul, saying that he is trying to suppress his suffering but is concentrating on his kids and doesn’t want to concern them “more than they already are.”
Police shared a photo of a possible witness on Saturday who was nearby when Ms. Bulley vanished.
That evening, they said that the lady had come forward “extremely rapidly” and that they were considering her as a “important witness” in the inquiry.
“Our inquiries to locate Nicola are comprehensive and will involve speaking to as many members of the public as possible,” Lancashire Police wrote in a Facebook post.
Police have published images of them searching the River Wyre in their ongoing search. Despite not having discovered any proof, the police continue to maintain that Ms. Bulley slid or fell into the river as the main cause of the incident.
A Fitbit that Ms. Bulley was sporting on the morning she disappeared is the subject of a fresh line of investigation. The whereabouts of the woman will be tracked by police using technology through her smart watch.
Fitbits may also track heart rate, which may provide crucial information about Ms. Bulley’s last known movements before she disappeared.
Today, specialized teams will go back to the river to continue searching the area for leads.
According to Lancashire Police Superintendent Sally Riley, there is “no sign of a slip or fall” in the location where the inquiry is taking place.
‘I suppose a sensible perspective would be that you would expect to discover scuff marks if there had been a sloping bank.
If the ground is sheer and you lose your balance, there may not be any traces of your fall on the grass. A thorough search has been conducted on all of that.
According to Supt. Riley, it is “extremely implausible” that criminal behavior occurred in such a little period of time that is presently unaccounted for.
The 10 minutes from the morning Ms. Bulley vanished are still a mystery to police.
“This is a low-crime region,” she said. It’s a really safe, close-knit community where people watch out for one another. It’s simply not probable that a third person could be involved that we haven’t yet seen, captured on CCTV, dashcam, or any of the other things I’ve described.
This does not imply that alternative possibilities have been completely ruled out.
Police continue to make a fervent plea for witnesses, especially in the vicinity of a CCTV “black spot” near Garstang Lane.
And while the hunt goes on, Ms. Bulley’s anguished boyfriend says he “would not contemplate any other scenario” and hasn’t given up hope of finding her alive.
Mr. Ansell, 44, said that the disappearance of Ms. Bulley doesn’t seem any more genuine today than it did when he first heard of it.
The pain is still there, but there is more hope than ever that you will be found. We need her back home, and we need this nightmare to end happily,’ he added.
Mr. Ansell reiterated remarks made by Ms. Bulley’s friends and other family members warning that the police’s claim that she fell into the river had very little support.
According to him, “all alternatives must be left wide open” since there is “no evidence yet to recommend any scenario above another.”
Police may have overlooked “important” evidence since they neglected to cordon off the area where Ms. Bulley disappeared, according to underwater forensics specialist Peter Faulding, who spoke to The Mail.
Officers were too eager to rule out any suspicious circumstances, according to Mr. Faulding, who has worked on several high-profile criminal cases. He also called their investigation “a shambles.”
It ought to have been quickly secured as a possible crime scene. That region is essential. There could have been some crucial forensic evidence there,’ he added.
We now have a large crowd of individuals trampled over any traces.
“I don’t see how the police can claim there is no proof of outside participation in this disappearance if they haven’t truly looked,” the victim said. Really, I believe this is a disaster.
Additionally, Mr. Faulding volunteered his knowledge to the inquiry and said that he would be available to help the authorities starting on Monday if needed.
The sonar that the cops utilize is rather archaic. It’s quite doubtful that they could use it to discover a corpse, he added. Although the police are utilizing extremely skilled and experienced divers, the procedure of searching this manner is exceedingly laborious.
They must swim in a straight line while searching the weeds for a corpse and slowly making their way downstream. On a good day, they can possibly only cross approximately 100 meters of the river. Even then, chance plays a role since divers in cloudy water can overlook something.
I can search around 10 miles of river in a day with our gear, I said. I’ll fly it up there by helicopter on Monday and start working if the cops say so.
In a prior call for witnesses, police posted a blurry photo of a lady wheeling a stroller while wearing a yellow rain jacket.
The lady in the picture has been referred to by police as a “important witness,” and they think she was in the same location as Ms. Bulley on Friday, January 27, the morning she disappeared while walking her dog near the River Wyre.
A relative immediately after the original request went public claimed the lady was “on the phone” with authorities.
She said that the lady in yellow had not seen anything that would have helped the police with their inquiry.
She was one of several persons at St. Michael’s on Friday, January 27, and was very much being regarded as a witness, the Lancashire Police said in a statement.
“Our search for Nicola is wide, and we will talk to as many members of the public as we can,” the statement reads.
Mr. Ansell reiterated police requests for prospective witnesses who could have dashcam evidence to come forward amid rumors of a growing rift between Ms. Bulley’s family and authorities.
On the morning of Ms. Bulley’s disappearance, between 9 and 10 am, the police are especially interested in speaking with anybody who may have been traveling around Blackpool Lane and Garstang Lane.
Police advised: “While you may not believe that you have any pertinent information, it is vitally crucial that we collect as much video as we can from the area that morning so that we can carefully evaluate every piece to see if Nicola can be seen.”
“We know this is a busy route, especially at that time in the morning, from the film we are now evaluating.”
Many individuals who were there at the time may not feel they can contribute, but we encourage you to come forward so we can gather as much information as possible to aid the inquiry.
The request for video from Garstang Lane comes after police said that they are still investigating all options, even though their primary hypothesis is that the missing mother fell into the river.
Significant CCTV coverage in the area has all but ruled out the possibility that she left the park by most of the neighboring gates, but the route leading to Garstang Lane and the A5/A6 has so far shown out to be a camera blind zone.
According to Lancashire Police Superintendent Sally Riley, some entrances in the riverbank area have CCTV cameras or are shut, so Nicola couldn’t have gotten through them.
“We are asking today for dashcam video or for individuals who may have been strolling on Garstang Lane or driving in the vicinity to come forward if they can,” the statement reads. “There is only a very tiny section along Garstang Lane toward the A5/A6 which is not covered by CCTV.”
Police have previously taken the owners’ CCTV footage from a campground along the riverside where Ms. Bulley is thought to have fallen into the water.
Family and friends had reason to be hopeful after the most recent plea for the lady in yellow.
They are aware that all it takes to unravel a case like this is a single nugget of information.
The morning of Friday, January 27, according to the police, “a lady was observed strolling on Garstang Road/Blackpool Road, St Michael’s carrying a pram.”
At about 8.22 am, police said the lady in question was heading from the area of Allotment Lane toward the Grapes bar. At 8:41 a.m., she was once again observed crossing Allotment Lane and heading toward Garstang Road.
Police withdrew the first appeal after confirming they had talked with the lady many hours earlier.
Before again asking with the public to refrain from conjecture, a force spokeswoman said that they are hoping to talk to as many witnesses as possible as the hunt continues.
A spokeswoman added, “The conjecture and hatred on social media directed at certain individuals who are only supporting our investigation is completely unethical.”
The police have issued many public pleas since Ms. Bulley disappeared, with this being the most recent. A similar callout earlier led to the identification of a lady wearing a bright red coat. She admitted to police that she had nothing noteworthy to tell about the particular morning.
Police are worried that the missing mother-of-two may have slipped while attempting to collect her dog Willow’s tennis ball from the River Wyre. At this time, specialized search teams have not found the ball or anything noteworthy.
The bulky gear Ms. Bulley was wearing the day she disappeared may have made it easier for her to fall into the river if she did.
But in a social media message yesterday night, her sister Louise Cunningham begged people to maintain an open mind.
She added, “Off the back of the most recent police media update, please may I say that there is absolutely no proof that she has into the river, it’s just a speculation.”
Everyone should maintain an open mind since not all CCTV and leads have been thoroughly explored, according to the police, who acknowledged that the investigation is far from done.
Calling 101 with the reference of log 565 from January 30 is requested if you have any information or video. Call 999 if there are any sightings right away.
According to her acquaintance today, police are reportedly investigating ways to obtain Ms. Bulley’s Fitbit data in order to follow her activities.
Emma White, a friend, reported on Saturday that since Tuesday, the Fitbit had not been connected to a smartphone.
Speaking in the vicinity of the last known location of Ms. Bulley, Ms. White stated: “The police are attempting to utilize the data from her Fitbit to locate her.” Although the watch can receive data, it is unable to access the internet.
But we’re hoping they can find it using Bluetooth signals coming from people’s phones. We’re holding onto hope. It’s simply a theory that Nicola may have fallen into the river.
She said that since the Tuesday before Ms. Bulley vanished, the Fitbit had not’synchronized’ with its servers.
Using the Fitbit app on the owner’s phone or third-party tracking applications, which may enable any smartphone to sync with the device if it is within a 100-foot radius, are two methods to access a Fitbit’s data.
However, this is only effective while the Fitbit’s battery is still intact.
In addition to specialized crews from around the nation, search teams from the Lancashire Constabulary are still scouring the River Wyre.
On Friday, family friends said that Ms. Bulley’s kids had been enquiring as to where their mother was. How are you, mom?
For the sake of the kids, their father is doing his best to put on a brave front, and Ms. Bulley’s upset parents and sister are helping him.
Minutes before she went, the 45-year-old missing mortgage advisor texted a pal to set up a playdate for their kids, it was revealed yesterday.
‘She planned a playdate, 8.57am, she texted a friend whose mortgage she had just just signed off on to organise for the girls to go for tea this week,’ a resident of St. Michael’s on Wyre claimed.
The local, who wished to remain unnamed, said that this was more proof that she had no desire to go missing willingly and stated, “You wouldn’t have done that if you were going to get up and go missing.”
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