The search expert who was brought in to trawl the river near where Nicola Bulley went missing more than two weeks ago says he is now looking for places where she could be buried. Peter Faulding led a private underwater search team that covered miles of the river over three days last week, saying there is no sign of the missing mum in the water.
Police continue to work on the theory that Nicola fell into the river while walking her dog, and have moved their own water search down stream to the coast. But Mr Faulding says there is no chance Nicola is in the water as his search found nothing, and the area where police say Nicola fell in has a rocky bottom under just two-feet of water, meaning she could have easily stood up and climbed out.
Mr Faulding says he has spoken to Nicola's family and is now looking for 'deposition sites' - places where Nicola could have been buried. Mr Faulding told the Express: "I’m talking to the family and obviously have vast experience finding buried bodies. We’ve got to consider all options here, there has been that report of suspicious people hanging around.
"I was frank with Paul and Heather the other day because we need to consider possible deposition sites, we don’t know. I’m not saying the police aren’t doing that and what I don’t want to do is interfere with the police operation.
"Mine (investigation) will be low key, I will just be looking around for possible deposition sites."
Mr Faulding told the Daily Mail: "I think the worst mistake the police have made was to declare early on that she’s in the river rather than saying 'let’s keep lines of enquiry open'. This is a lady who knew this area intimately, she was slim and fit, and if she had fallen she could have grabbed on to the bank."
Ms Bulley vanished on January 27 while walking her springer spaniel Willow in St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire, shortly after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school. Ms Bulley's partner, Paul Ansell, said he wants to keep "all options open" about her disappearance, but his "gut instinct" tells him she is not in the river.
He described Ms Bulley as "fun", "loving", "the most loyal friend you could ever have" and an "exceptional mum" who "absolutely adores our girls".
