Friends of Nicola Bulley could be seen lining Garstang Road, the main road that runs through St Michael's on Wyre, two weeks on from the mum-of-two's disappearance.
On a drizzly Friday morning, exactly two weeks since she was last seen, volunteers stood in the cold rain holding signs appealing for dash cam footage as commuters drove through the village. One volunteer, who didn't want to be named, told the ECHO: "It's incredibly hard and tough.
"We're upset but we still hope for the best. We need people to come forward with information."
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Yesterday saw Lancashire Police shift their focus from the immediate area where Nicola was last seen on a towpath next to the River Wyre to roughly 10 miles west where the river becomes tidal and meets Morecambe Bay before heading out to sea.
The mortgage advisor, 45, from Inskip, vanished on January 27 after dropping her two daughters – aged six and nine – at school, then taking her springer spaniel Willow for a walk along the river.
Friend Emma White told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: “The local community are coming out again today to just raise that profile, trying to jog anybody’s memory, dashcam footage of Garstang Road, which is just outside of the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, just by the bridge that you go over.
“It is quite a key part of the village so people would remember going over it. Did they see anything?
“We’re out with banners, we’ve got placards of Nikki’s face, we’ve got a moving eight-foot LED board with her face on it with the message ‘Bring Nikki home’.
“We just need Nikki home for her two beautiful little girls who need their mummy.”
Police officers said they are working on the theory that the dog-walker, who has been described by friends as a strong swimmer, fell into the river, but that line of investigation has been questioned by friends and family. A specialist water search team has been working on the river for the last three days, with Mr Faulding saying a number of things "don't add up".
Yesterday Lancashire Police released a statement announcing a dispersal notice on the area as well as warning people against speculating online or elsewhere as to what has happened to Nicola. The force said: "We can confirm a dispersal order was issued around 8.40pm yesterday (Wednesday, February 8) in St Michael’s on Wyre. This followed reports of individuals – from outside the area of St Michael’s - filming on social media close to properties.
"The order will remain in place for 48 hours and gives officers the power to disperse anyone committing anti-social behaviour. Two dispersal notices were issued, and a number of other people were warned about their behaviour.
"We hope that will give people some reassurance that we will not tolerate criminality, including trespass and criminal damage. We are also aware of a number of grossly offensive comments being made on social media and elsewhere. We are looking into these and will not hesitate to take action where appropriate.
"Our investigation into the disappearance of Nicola Bulley is continuing and we continue to search areas of the River Wyre and surrounding area. People may have seen less police activity today than previously in the area of the river above the weir but that is not because we have stepped down our searches, it is because the focus of the search has moved further downstream into the area of the river which becomes tidal and then out towards the sea.
"Anyone with information which could assist our investigation should call us on 101 quoting log 0565 of January 30th. For immediate sightings please call 999."
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