Flowers for Nicola Bulley: loved ones leave yellow ribbons as neighbour hails partner Paul's 'miracle' strength
12 February 2023, 20:26 | Updated: 12 February 2023, 20:57
Family and friends have laid yellow ribbons on a bridge close to where missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley was last seen.
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The 45-year-old mortgage adviser vanished while walking her dog in quiet village St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire at 9.15am on January 27.
Dozens of yellow ribbons with handwritten messages were placed on a nearby bridge, with messages including “We need you home Nicola”, “praying for your safe return” and “I love you”.
A large poster with a photograph of Ms Bulley has also been attached to the railings.
Neighbour Charlotte Drake wrote this weekend that Paul's strength and resilience are "nothing short of a miracle".
She posted on social media: "The strength this man has shown over the past 14 days is nothing short of a miracle.
"When many would be sat at home waiting for news he is using the media exactly as it should be used, to share the facts, highlight the lack of evidence and spread the word far and wide, so that he can hopefully reach someone that knows something."
"Backing Pauly Ansell all the way to bring Nicola Jane Bulley back to him and their beautiful girls.
"We are all behind you, from our little street."
Police say they are now seeking a pair of 'suspicious' men seen on the path where Nicola was last seen 24 hours before her disappearance.
An eyewitness saw what they described as an odd-looking pair close to the local church the day before Nicola was last seen.
Her mobile phone and dog were found the same day.
Police divers and private specialists have scoured the river near where she was last seen, but there has been no trace of her.
On Friday her partner Paul Ansell said he is "100 per cent" sure that Nicola did not fall into the river, the original theory believed by police.
He also told Channel 5 that he still intends to marry Nicola.
Paul said: "We talked about it again seriously at the beginning of 2020. And that was when we really started to actually look at getting something sort of in the calendar.
"And then obviously the whole covid thing hit which just, I mean, everybody's life was just thrown up into the air."
Ansell said, despite feeling "anger", "utter frustration" and "confusion", the family will never give up hope of finding Ms Bulley, adding he was "never, ever going to let go".
"Nikki would never give up on us ever. She wouldn't give up on anybody. And we're not gonna ever give up on her like, we're going to find her," he said.
Caller met with 'abuse' and 'threats' in helping to find Nicola Bulley
