A former Met detective who helped solve the Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry murders has criticised police looking for Nicola Bulley.
Simon Harding was an award-winning detective chief inspector in the Metropolitan Police until he retired in 2021, working on a number of high profile murders including the Sarah Everard case.
Mr Harding said Lancashire police should not have gone public with their theory that Ms Bulley fell into the River Wyre and drowned unless they were 100 per sure, as it may have deterred witnesses coming forward.
He also said they should not have ruled out third party involvement unless every inch of the place where she went missing was covered by CCTV footage.
“If every possible route in and out of that area is not covered by CCTV — as is likely in the countryside — you simply cannot be sure that someone else is not involved,” he told the Sunday Times.
“If you are 100 per cent sure no one entered or left the scene within the crucial time frame, of course you would suggest — as one hypothesis — that Nicola might have fallen into the river.
“If you are not sure, however, it can be an incredibly damaging message. You are inadvertently saying to the public: ‘Don’t call us as we don’t want to know about suspicious people, vehicles or events.’
Mr Harding said Lancashire police had clearly lost the trust of Ms Bulley’s family and friends who have categorically said they do not believe the river theory.
Ms Bulley had been walking her springer spaniel Willow on January 27 when she vanished without a trace.
Extensive searches of the river have been ongoing but police still have no evidence to back up their theory.
Mr Harding also urged the police to share any information they have with the public to stop speculation.
“If the police really want to reassure us, tell us why it is an accident, or else they should admit they are not 100 per cent sure and escalate this inquiry to its correct level,” he said
“This could include more officers, possibly twice the number, or asking for help from another force or even the National Crime Agency.”
Mr Harding added that high profile investigations require clear strategies such as scrutinising CCTV, questioning witnesses, learning everything about the victim and securing a crime scene.
He said Lancashire police failed to secure the bench where Ms Bulley’s phone was found and now crucial evidence may have been lost.
“You would expect the area where Nicola was last seen to be cordoned off too, to stop people descending on it as a tasteless tourist spot and trampling the area — losing any potential evidence.
“But there does not appear to be any cordon because Nicola’s disappearance is said to be non-suspicious.”
Ms Bulley, 45, had dropped off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school and was on her usual walk when she disappeared, her phone – still connected to a call for her job as a mortgage advisor – was found on a bench overlooking the river.
Lancashire police released a statement on Friday saying they are keeping an “open mind” about Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
Focus of the police search on Thursday switched from St Michael’s to around 10 miles downstream where the river empties into the sea at Morecambe Bay, with police patrol boats and rescue boats spotted on the river and in the bay.
Ms Bulley’s family called in help from Peter Faulding, a rescue and forensic search specialist, but after a three-day search earlier this week, no trace was found.
