In the sleepy village where Nicola Bulley vanished without a trace, her smiling face is everywhere.
Missing person posters adorn every railing and lamppost while her name is on everyone's lips. Yet despite a huge manhunt involving police and specialist search teams, she remains missing.
It is almost two weeks since the mum-of-two disappeared while out walking her dog in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27.
It's a mystery that has baffled experts and captured the attention of the nation.
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On the morning she disappeared, Nicola drove from her home in the village of Inskip to take her two daughters – aged six and nine – to school.
After dropping them off, she walked her springer spaniel Willow along a path next to the River Wyre. She was seen by a dog walker who knew her and sent an email to her boss.
It is understood she then texted her friend about meeting up later in the week before logging into a work conference call. Minutes later, she was seen by a second witness, the last known sighting.
What happened next remains unclear.
Despite her last known sighting being in a field, Nicola’s phone was found on a bench near the river.
It was still connected to the work call, with the dog lead and harness close by. Her dog was found wandering alone nearby.
Police have rejected suggestions that Nicola could have been a victim of crime and say they believe she fell into the river. However, an extensive search of the surrounding area is yet to reveal any trace of the mortgage adviser.
Home to just a few hundred people, the idyllic village of St Michael's on Wyre is a place that rarely makes national news headlines.
Yet in the 12 days since Nicola went missing, it has become a hive of activity. Each day, hordes of journalists and photographers line the river bank as search teams head out on the water.
Tony Kirby, 84, has lived in the village his entire life and says it has ‘never had anything like this’.
“It’s upsetting," he explained. "I feel sorry for the girl and her family.”
Owen Williams, who lives in a cottage just yards from the entrance to the towpath off Garstang Road, said many in the village felt 'sad and helpless' over Nicola's disappearance.
"What can you do?" he added. "If I could help, I would. I just hope something can get resolved."
One woman living in the village said she often saw Nicola walking her dog in the area. She said locals were 'shocked' by the events of the past fortnight.
"It's a quiet village," she explained. "There's been so much activity but it's good that they are searching.
"I'm just hoping for for an outcome. It's been so long."
The nature of Nicola's disappearance has prompted wild speculation on social media, which it is claimed has caused 'distress' to loved ones.
In recent days, there has also been an influx of amateur detectives travelling to the area where she was last seen. Many claim they want to ‘help’ in the ongoing search effort.
Karen Booth drove to Lancashire from Sheffield on Wednesday and said she had been ‘looking every day’ for updates.
“You feel for the kids and family," she said. "I want to help but you don’t know what to do.”
But not everyone is happy with those who have descended on the area.
Family friend Heather Gibbons has hit out at members of the public who she said either bring their children or take selfies and have made the area feel like a 'tourist spot'.
Meanwhile, Giles Phillips, the chairman of St Michael’s Parish Council, has called for respect after reports that people had travelled for miles to 'take selfies' on the bench where missing Nicola's phone was found, warning 'it is not a spectator sport'.
One local, who asked not to be named, told the Manchester Evening News that they felt ‘under siege’ from people travelling to the area.
“It’s utterly sick,” she said. “It’s great to see the police doing everything they can but the local community wish the police had sealed the whole area off.”
On Wednesday morning, Nicola’s 'distraught' partner Paul Ansell visited the river, where he spoke to underwater search expert Peter Faulding near to the stretch where police believe she fell into the water.
Mr Faulding, who was called in by the family to help in the hunt, later announced his team would be calling off their operation from today. He added that he was '100 per cent' sure that Nicola is not in the area of river they have been searching with their specialist equipment.
The police investigation and searches will continue. Search teams from Lancashire Police and the Coastguard, including divers, are now focusing on the 10 miles or so of river downstream of the bench, where the River Wyre empties into the sea at Morecambe Bay.
Superintendent Sally Riley, of Lancashire Police, described the search as 'unprecedented', with 40 detectives following 500 lines of inquiry, with thousands of pieces of information coming in from the public.
And officers were trying to trace dashcam footage from 700 drivers who went through the village on the morning Ms Bulley disappeared.
But Supt Riley ruled out criminal or third-party involvement and on Tuesday reiterated the police’s belief that Ms Bulley had fallen into the river, with her body still unrecovered and police treating the incident as a missing person inquiry.
For more of today's top stories click here.
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