'Where is she?': Nicola Bulley's children 'desperately want her home' as local community remains 'in shock'
5 February 2023, 13:43 | Updated: 5 February 2023, 23:10
The children of missing dog walker Nicola Bulley "desperately want her home", friends have said as the community is left "in shock" over her disappearance.
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Nicola Bulley vanished over a week ago while walking her dog alongside the river in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire. She was dialled in to a work conference call at the time.
People gathered at St Michael's Church in Lancashire on Sunday to light candles for the mum-of-two amid the ongoing search.
One of Ms Bulley's friends, Jill Peck, spoke of the struggle the children were going through as they awaited answers.
"It's hard for them, they've got all the same emotions as everybody else and they want to see their mum, and they don't know where she is," she said.
Speaking to Sky, she added: "They just desperately want her home and that is all they are asking all the time is 'where is she and is she coming home?'
"And everybody just wants to be able to give an answer, which we can't do obviously which is probably the most difficult thing."
Meanwhile, Reverend Andrew Wilkinson said the local community is "in shock" but "hope is what is keeping everyone going".
The family "thoroughly enjoy the level of support" they have been receiving, he said.
"And it is remarkable actually what is being achieved here and the profile that it has.
"They still are looking for and hoping for that good news."
Police admitted on Sunday that there is "no evidence" behind their theory that Ms Bulley fell into the river after a "key witness" came forward.
The witness was seen pushing a pram in the area near where the dog walker went missing.
In an update on its Facebook page, Lancashire Police said the woman had come forward "very quickly".
"We must stress that she was very much being treated as a witness and was one of many people in St Michael's on Friday, January 27th," the force added.
"Our enquiries to find Nicola are extensive and will include speaking to as many members of the public as possible.
"The speculation and abuse on social media aimed at some people who are merely assisting our enquiry is totally unacceptable.
"We would urge people to remember that we are investigating the disappearance of Nicola, and the priority is Nicola and her family. We want to find her and provide answers to her family."
The female witness pictured was seen walking along Garstang Road / Blackpool Lane in the village of St Michael's, from the direction of Allotment Lane towards the Grapes pub, at around 8.22am.
She was then seen walking on Allotment Lane towards Garstang Road just under 20 minutes later at 8.41am.
Police have been working on the theory that Ms Bulley fell in the river but superintendent Sally Riley told the Sunday Times there is "no evidence of a slip or fall" in the area.
"I think if it had been a sloping bank, a common sense view would be that you would expect to find scuff marks.
"If it is sheer and you lose your footing, you might not have any marks left on the grass. All of that has been subjected to a detailed search."
The force believes the 45-year-old mortgage adviser went missing in just "a 10-minute window" while she was walking her dog, Willow, close to the River Wyre, after dropping off her daughters - aged six and nine - at school.
Ms Bulley had logged in to a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am, which ended at 9.30am with her phone still connected to the call.
She was seen by another dog walker at 9.10am - the last known sighting - and police traced telephony records of her mobile phone as it remained on a bench overlooking the river at 9.20am.
The device was found by a dog walker at around 9.35am, with Willow nearby.
Ms Bulley's friends and family have been questioning the force's theory, reminding people that there is "no evidence" pointing to it being correct,
Her friend, Emma White, said that the "police hypothesis is on limited information".
"When we are talking about a life we can't base it on a hypothesis - surely we need this factual evidence," she said.
"That's what the family and all of us are holding on to - that we are sadly no further on than last Friday.
"We still have no evidence, and that's why we're out together in force."
Ms White added to Sky: "You don't base life on a hypothesis."
It came after Louise Cunningham, Nicola's sister, posted on Facebook asking the public not to give up sharing information and called on everyone to "keep an open mind".
"Please keep sharing my Nikki …Off the back of the latest Police media update, please can I add there is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it’s just a theory," she said.
"Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully, the police confirmed the case is far from over."
A spokesperson for the force said that it was crucial to gather as much footage as possible from the area on the morning of Ms Bulley's disappearance to "review every piece meticulously" and establish whether she can be seen.
"We know from the footage we are currently reviewing, that this is a busy road, particularly at that time in the morning," they added.
"There will be many people who were in that area at the time who may not think they can help, however we would urge you not to make that decision yourself and to come forward so we can have as much material as possible to assist the investigation."
