Lancashire Police could face an investigation from the policing watchdog over comments made about missing mother Nicola Bulley's private life.
Today marks three weeks since the 45-year-old mum of two vanished while walking her dog, Willow, by the River Wyre in Lancashire. Lancashire Police specialists have searched miles of riverbed and widened the search to Morecambe Bay, but no trace of Nicola, known as Nikki to her family, has emerged.
This week detectives revealed she had been considered a "high-risk" missing person due to "specific vulnerabilities", which the force last night clarified related to alcohol issues.
READ MORE: Nicola Bulley family slam 'appalling threats' to sell stories about her personal life
On Thursday, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said they have made contact with Lancashire Police over information made public in a press conference about Nicola. In a statement, a spokesman for the IOPC said: "Following information that was made public by Lancashire Constabulary yesterday, we have made contact with the force to determine if a referral to the IOPC may be required."
Police have also released a new statement from Nicola's family expanding more on the medical issues she faced before her disappearance. They said: "It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing. We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her private life.
"As a family, we were aware that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details. Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop."
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