The inquest investigating her death has heard that Nicola Bulley was not injured right before she entered the River Wyre but perished in “seconds” when she did.
In January, the mother-of-two is believed to have vanished near St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, and two witnesses have each reported hearing “screams” in the area.
After an extensive week-long search, the body of Nicola was discovered a mile downstream with her phone still linked to a work Teams call on a bench beside the lake.
Security at the inquest venue, Preston County Hall, was beefed up amid fears of infiltration by conspiracy theorists – while the coroner warned anyone who disrupts proceedings would face ‘prison or a fine’.
Diving experts and doctors have explained what would have happened to Nicola when she entered the cold river water, though the inquest has yet to hear evidence on how she ended up there.
Meanwhile, the last people to see her alive described Nicola acting like ‘her normal self’ – though the inquest also heard she may have been ‘struggling’ inside.
Nicola Bulley wasn’t hurt right before she entered the River Wyre, but she drowned in’seconds’, according to the findings of an inquest.
Currently, a coroner is hearing testimony regarding how the mother-of-two lost her life after going missing in January while walking her dog close to St. Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
After a thorough week-long search, the body of Nicola was discovered a mile downstream. Her phone, which was still linked to a work Teams call, was discovered on a bench overlooking the water.
Witnesses have this afternoon spoken about seeing Nicola in her final moments, and described seeing her and her dog Willow having a ‘lovely run and play’ before she plunged to her death.
Security at Preston County Hall, where the inquest is taking place, has been beefed up after the coroner expressed fears conspiracists could try to disrupt proceedings.
Diving experts and doctors have explained what would have happened to Nicola when she entered the cold river water, though the inquest has yet to hear evidence on how she ended up there.
The County Hall in Preston, where the Nicola Bulley death inquest has just begun and has been given additional security.
The mother-of-two’s spouse and sister are scheduled to testify at the building in the city centre where pathologist Dr. Alison Armour determined the cause of death to be drowning.
Security around the inquest has to be stepped up to “ensure the safety of everyone attending the inquest” since interest in how the 45-year-old died had been so intense.
Additional security plans were made by police and the county council, and more officers were seen patrolling the area.
Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, warned attendees not to disrupt the proceedings – set to last at least five days – after ‘unusual online commentary’ about Ms Bulley’s death.
‘If anybody has the slightest inclination or is contemplating disrupting this inquest they should be aware this may amount to contempt of court,’ he said.
The coroner added that the consequences could be ‘a significant fine or prison’.
A number of people who turned up to the inquest without registering in advance have already been refused entry.
It was more than three weeks later, on February 19, that her body was pulled out of the water despite extensive searches by divers.
The mystery surrounding her case sparked intense public interest as her mobile was found on a bench overlooking the water.
During the search, detectives and her family had to repeatedly ask the public to show respect after strangers tried to get too close to the investigation.
They included one ‘ghoul’ who filmed police retrieving Nicola’s body from the water and then shared it online.
In connection with video taken inside a police cordon on the day Nicola Bulley‘s body was discovered in the River Wyre in Lancashire, a man has been detained.
In conjunction with the search for Ms. Bulley, a 34-year-old male from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, was detained on suspicion of malicious communications offenses and perverting the course of justice.
The arrest relates to footage taken from inside a police cordon on February 19.
Police say the man was held on Wednesday morning with assistance from West Mercia Police, and has since been released on bail with conditions.
A spokesperson from Lancashire Constabulary said: ‘Our priority is, and has always been, to support Nicola’s family and the wider community in St Michael’s.
‘We hope this arrest provides reassurance that we take concerns seriously and will act on them.’
Ms Bulley, 45, was discovered on the banks of the River Wyre less than a mile from where she vanished.
Huge searches were carried out on the River Wyre in Lancashire.
‘We will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments and that will never leave us,’ they said.
‘We will never forget Nikki, how could we, she was the centre of our world, she was the one who made our lives so special and nothing will cast a shadow over that.
‘Our girls will get the support they need from the people who love them the most.’
The mum-of-two had vanished while walking her dog Willow.
They added: ‘Our hearts truly break for others who have missing loved ones. Keep that hope alive.
‘Finally, Nikki, you are no longer a missing person, you have been found, we can let you rest now.
‘We love you, always have and always will, we’ll take it from here.’
A huge search was later launched when Nicola went missing on the morning of January 27.
Following a three-week hunt, her body was found on the banks of the River Wyre on Sunday.
Mid-way through the search, Lancashire Police revealed a welfare check had been made after ‘some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by Nicola’s ongoing struggles with the menopause’ resurfaced.
Critics blasted them for releasing personal details, warning it may encourage victim blaming.
Family of Nicola Bulley release statement after her body is found
The mum’s body was found on Sunday The probe will look into contact that the force had with the mortgage advisor on January 10 (Picture: Chris Furlong)
In a heartbreaking statement after Nicola’s body was found, her family said their ‘worst fears had been confirmed’.
‘We will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments and that will never leave us,’ they said.
‘We will never forget Nikki, how could we, she was the centre of our world, she was the one who made our lives so special and nothing will cast a shadow over that.’
Making the announcement today, an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) spokesman said: ‘Following a referral by Lancashire Constabulary on Thursday, we have started an independent investigation regarding contact the force had with Nicola Bulley on January 10 2023.
‘We were notified by the force that an officer attended the family home on that date as part of a welfare check.
‘Our thoughts are with Ms Bulley’s family and friends, and all of those affected by her death. Our investigation is in its very early stages.’
It comes after media watchdog Ofcom wrote to Sky News and ITV ‘to ask them to explain their actions’ after Nicola’s family said they had intruded on their grief when they asked for privacy.
Officers earlier today closed off a road along the River Wyre after Nicola went missing three weeks ago.
According to Lancashire Police a body was found less than a mile away from where Nicola was last seen 23 days ago.
Lancashire Police said : ‘This morning, Sunday, 19 February, you may be aware of police activity around the river near to St Michaels.
‘We want to provide you with an update on that activity.
‘We were called today at 11:36am to reports of a body in the River Wyre, close to Rawcliffe Road.
‘An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body.
‘No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time.
Nicola vanished on the morning of January 27 (Picture: Lancashire Constabulary / SWNS)Police diving teams were seen searching parts of the River Wyre hours before it was announced a body had been found (Picture: PA)Aerial searches were also carried out by helicopters close to where Nicola went missing (Picture: PA)The body was said to have been found in the river less than a mile from where Nicola was last seen (Picture: REUTERS)
Timeline of events in Nicola Bulley case
January 27
At 8.26am Ms Bulley left her home with her two daughters, aged six and nine, dropping them off at school and engaging in a brief conversation with another parent around 15 minutes later, Lancashire Police has said.
She then took her spaniel, Willow, for a walk along the path by the River Wyre at 8.43am, heading towards a gate and bench in the lower field.
She was seen by a dog walker who knew her at around 8.50am, and their pets interacted briefly before they parted ways, according to the force.
At 8.53am, Ms Bulley sent an email to her boss, followed by a message to her friends six minutes later, before logging on to a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am.
She was seen by a second witness at 9.10am, the last known sighting.
Her phone was back in the area of the bench at 9.20am before the Teams call ended 10 minutes later, with her mobile remaining logged on after the call.
At 9.33am, another dog walker found her phone on a bench beside the river, with Willow darting between the two.
According to police, she was wearing a black Engelbert Strauss coat, black jeans and had long green walking socks tucked into her trousers under ankle length green wellington boots.
Her hair was tied into a ponytail and she was wearing a pale blue Fitbit fitness tracker.
At 10.50am, Ms Bulley’s family and the school attended by her children were told about her disappearance.
Lancashire Constabulary launched an investigation into Ms Bulley’s whereabouts on the same day and appealed for witnesses to contact them.
January 28
Lancashire Constabulary deployed drones, helicopters and police search dogs as part of the major missing person operation.
They were assisted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team and the North West underwater search team.
January 29
Local residents held a meeting at the village hall to organise a search for Ms Bulley at 10.30am on Sunday, according to reports from The Mirror, and around 100 people joined in.
Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as ‘extremely dangerous’ and saying that activity in these areas presented ‘a genuine risk to the public’.
January 30
Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Constabulary said police were ‘keeping a really open mind about what could have happened’, and that they were not treating Ms Bulley’s disappearance as suspicious.
January 31
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a potential witness, a man who had been walking a small white fluffy dog near the River Wyre at the time of Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
Her family released a statement saying they had been ‘overwhelmed by the support’ in their community, and that her daughters were ‘desperate to have their mummy back home safe’.
February 1
Ms Bulley’s parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley, spoke to The Mirror about the ‘horror’ they faced over the possibility of never seeing her again.
Her father told the newspaper: ‘We just dread to think we will never see her again, if the worst came to the worst and she was never found, how will we deal with that for the rest of our lives?’
February 2
Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a second witness who they had identified with the help of the public using CCTV but they told police they did not have any further information to aid their inquiry.
Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit searched the area close to where Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was found, while police divers scoured the River Wyre.
Meanwhile, Ms Bulley’s family appealed to the public for help tracing her.
Speaking with Sky News, her sister Louise Cunningham said: ‘There has got to be somebody who knows something and all we are asking is, no matter how small or big, if there is anything you remember that doesn’t seem right, then please reach out to the police.
‘Get in touch and get my sister back.’
Ms Bulley’s father said his family hoped their interview would ‘spark a light’ that would lead to her being found.
February 3
Lancashire Police said it was working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre.
Ms Riley urged against speculation, but said it was ‘possible’ that an ‘issue’ with Ms Bulley’s dog may have led her to the water’s edge.
She urged the public to look out for items of clothing Ms Bulley was last seen wearing, and gave an extensive list.
Ms Bulley’s friends also shared heartfelt appeals via television interviews, including Emma White, who told the BBC that Ms Bulley’s daughters were continually asking where she was.
February 4
Ms White cast doubt on the police theory that she fell into a river, telling Sky News it was based on ‘limited information’.
She said: ‘When we are talking about a life we can’t base it on a hypothesis, surely we need this factual evidence.
‘That’s what the family and all of us are holding on to, that we are sadly no further on than last Friday.’
In a Facebook post, Ms Cunningham urged people to ‘keep an open mind’ as there is ‘no evidence whatsoever’ that the dog walker fell in the river.
On the same day, Lancashire Police announced it wanted to trace a ‘key witness’ who was seen pushing a pram in the area near where Ms Bulley went missing on the morning of her disappearance.
February 5
The woman described as a ‘key witness’ by police came forward.
The force insisted she was ‘very much being treated as a witness’ as it warned against ‘totally unacceptable’ speculation and abuse on social media.
Peter Faulding, leader of underwater search experts Specialist Group International (SGI), began searching the river after being called in by Ms Bulley’s family.
February 6
Ms Bulley’s friends said they hoped the help of a specialist underwater rescue team would give the family answers.
Speaking to broadcasters, Ms White said the family had asked Mr Faulding and his company for help.
She told BBC Breakfast: ‘Following the hypothesis of the police that Nicola was in the river, we need some evidence to back that up either way and I feel Peter and his amazing bit of kit… is going to come and sweep the river bed and give us answers.’
Meanwhile, Ms Bulley’s partner Mr Ansell, in a statement released through Lancashire Police, said: ‘It’s been 10 days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back.
‘This has been such a tough time for the girls especially but also for me and all of Nicola’s family and friends, as well as the wider community and I want to thank them for their love and support.’
February 10
Police urged people to refrain from indulging in commentary and conspiracy theories about Ms Bulley’s disappearance as speculation increases online.
February 15
Police held a press conference over the case and say the mother-of-two was classed as a ‘high-risk’ missing person immediately after she was reported missing due to ‘vulnerabilities.’
They later disclosed Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause.
February 16
In a statement released through Lancashire Police, Ms Bulley’s family said the focus had become ‘distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her private life’ and called for it to end.
Lancashire Police referred itself to the police watchdog over contact the force had with Ms Bulley prior to her disappearance.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman demanded an ‘explanation’ for the disclosure of Ms Bulley’s private information by the force.
February 17
Lancashire Police announced it was conducting an internal review into the handling of Ms Bulley’s disappearance and the Information Commissioner said he would ask the force questions about the disclosure.
February 18
Ms Braverman met with police leaders to discuss the handling of the investigation after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also expressed ‘concerns’ about the revelation.
February 19
Appearing on the morning broadcast round, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt described the police disclosure as ‘shocking’ while shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, who also wrote to the force over its handling of the case, repeated her concerns about the ‘unusual’ level of private information made public about Ms Bulley.
Later on Sunday, Lancashire Police announced they had found a body.
Specialist divers were back on the River Wyre earlier today The mum-of-two has been missing since January 27
Sky News bump into dog walker who found Nicola Bulley’s phone
A police officer walks in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, as police continued their search earlier today Picture: PA)
‘Procedures to identify the body are on-going. We are currently treating the death as unexplained.
‘Nicola’s family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy is respected.’
Nicola was last seen at 9.10am on January 27, taking her usual route with her dog, Willow, alongside the river.
Earlier that morning, she had dropped off her two young daughters at school.
Her phone – still connected to a work call – was found about 20 minutes later on a bench overlooking the riverbank, with her spaniel running around, but Nicola was nowhere to be found.
Timeline of events in the case of missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley
Lancashire Police released a timeline of events for Nicola Bulley‘s last known movements.
Friday, January 27th
8.43am – Nicola walked along the path by the River Wyre, having dropped her children off at school
8:50am (approximately) – A dog-walker – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her walking around the lower field with her dog. Their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field via the river path
8.53am – She sent an email to her boss
9.01am – She logged into a Teams call
9.10am (approximately) – A witness – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow. Work is ongoing today to establish exactly what time this was.
9.30am – The Teams call ended but Nicola stayed logged on
9.35am (approximately) – Nicola’s mobile phone and Willow were found at a bench by the river by another dog-walker.
10.15am – She was reported missing after a walker found her dog loose along the local river.
Nicola Bulley’s final movements – and the CCTV blackspots in the areaNicola’s partner Paul Ansell has helped in the search for Nicola Diving expert Peter Faulding (left) with Paul Ansell as Peter’s team said previously ‘if her body was in there we would find her’ after his underwater search ended last week Nicola with her partner Paul who has told of her devastation after she went missing
Police: There is no evidence of third party involvement in Nicola Bulley case
Police said the main working hypothesis was that she had fallen into the river after dropping her dog’s ball by mistake, and had drowned.
Detectives continue to maintain the stance that no third party is involved in the case.
The find follows weeks of frenzied speculation including true crime fans and social media influencers who moved in to try and crack the case while spreading conspiracy theories.
There was fury yesterday as footage emerged on TikTok of a man digging in woodland nearby. Others broke into derelict properties along the Wyre river claiming police had not searched them thoroughly. At least one person has been fined under public order laws after posting clips.
On Thursday, Nicola’s family appealed to people to stop spreading ‘wild theories’ and to focus on finding her.
Ex-Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley criticised ‘idiots’ taking the law into their own hands. ‘This is going to be a phenomenon the police have to come to terms with,’ he said. ‘There’s going to have to be a lot of learning from this.’
A day earlier Det Supt Smith led a press conference where she revealed Ms Bulley had been classed as a ‘high-risk’ missing person immediately after Mr Ansell reported her disappearance, ‘based on a number of specific vulnerabilities’. The force later added in a statement that Ms Bulley the mum-of-two had ‘issues with alcohol’ and also was ‘struggling with menopause’.
Her family said later: ‘Although we know Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.’
But the revelations caused a storm, with interventions from home secretary Suella Braverman and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper. Lancashire Police launched an internal review.
After dropping off her two girls at school on January 27, the 45-year-old went missing more than three weeks ago while walking her dog in the community of St Michael’s on Wyre.
A corpse was discovered on Sunday morning a mile from the location where she was last seen 23 days ago, according to Lancashire Police.
Peter Faulding, who joined the police search for three days as a volunteer, had previously insisted: ‘If Nicola was in that river, I would have found her. She is not there.’
But he has now said it is ‘totally unfair’ to suggest he had given her family ‘false hope’, the Sun reported.
‘If I gave them false hope, then what about the police search teams there every day? I was there for three days as a volunteer,’ he said.
Forensic expert explains why he didn’t find body in river in search for Nicola Bulley
A map shows where a body in search of Nicola was discovered
‘I think that would be totally unfair to be honest with you, and I would sling the hook and give up searching.’
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Faulding said: ‘I would like to make it very clear that Lancashire Police had searched that area thoroughly with divers, their sonar and their bank search officers.
‘If this is Nicola’s body, then she was not found in the river. She was actually found in the reedbed to the side of the river.
‘Our task was to clear the river, and at the time I can categorically say – and I have the data to prove it – there was no body in the river at the time when we were searching.
‘Our search was not in the reedbed. My focus was around the bench area, and we searched for four hours in that stretch.
His team using sonar equipment to search for the missing mum-of-two Nicola was last seen on the morning of Friday, January 27Police officers walk along a footpath in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire
‘Hand on heart, I can say we did out best. But the body was not on the river bed, we would have seen it clearly.’
Police were called to reports of a body in the River Wyre, close to Rawcliffe Road, with officers sealing off the area.
A helicopter was seen circling above an outcrop of undergrowth in St Michael’s on Wyre.
The body was found on a stretch of the river, just past a slight bend, a mile or so outside the village, close to where a tree had fallen on its side half in and half outside the water, with branches and undergrowth partially submerged.
A statement from the force said: ‘An underwater search team and specialist officers subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body.
‘No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say if this is Nicola Bulley at this time.
‘Procedures to identify the body are on-going. We are currently treating the death as unexplained.’
