A friend has shared CCTV images of Nicola Bulley just hours before she vanished without trace while walking her dog in Lancashire.
The mother-of-two was last seen walking next to the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre on Friday, January 27.
The images from Ms Bulley’s own Ring Doorbell show her dressed in heavy outdoor clothing loading her car before driving her children to school.
The pictures were released by a friend in a bid to find her.
It came as forensic diver Peter Faulding, of Specialist Group International, said on Twitter his underwater search team had been called in by the Bulley family to assist Lancashire Police who haven’t found a trace of the missing mortgage advisor in ten days.
Police believe she may have fallen into the water as she walked her dog on the river bank.
However the force has admitted there is currently “no evidence of a slip or fall” in the area.
Another of Ms Bulley’s friends begged people to keep an open mind about her disappearance.
Writing on Facebook, Leanne Grace said: “Every day is getting harder for your friends and family and our hearts breaking a little more.
“Trying to carry on with everyday life just doesn’t feel right. We will not give up on you Nicola. Please keep searching everyone.
“Despite the police hypothesis that Nicola may have fallen into the water, please be aware that there is no evidence to back this up.”
Superintendent Sally Riley admitted that police were lacking evidence to back up their river theory.
She told the Sunday Times: “I think if it had been a sloping bank, a commonsense view would be that you would expect to find scuff marks.
“If it is sheer and you lose your footing, you might not have any marks left on the grass. All of that has been subjected to a detailed search.”
She said it is “highly unlikely” criminal activity took place in such a small time frame.
She added: “This is a low-crime area. It’s genuinely a safe, tight-knit area, people look out for each other. A third-party [being] involved that we haven’t yet had sightings of, we haven’t caught on CCTV or dash-cam or all the other things I’ve mentioned, is just not likely.”
Just hours after police said on Friday they believed Ms Bulley fell in the river, her sister, Louise Cunningham, cast doubt on the river theory in a post on Facebook.
“There is no evidence that she has gone into the river, it’s just a theory,” she said. “Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully.”
Ms Bulley’s friend, Emma White, who released the CCTV has already cast doubt on the police theory that she fell in the river, telling Sky News it was based on “limited information”.
“When we are talking about a life we can’t base it on a hypothesis – surely we need this factual evidence,” she said.
“That’s what the family and all of us are holding on to – that we are sadly no further on than last Friday.
“We still have no evidence, and that’s why we’re out together in force.
“You don’t base life on a hypothesis.”
On Saturday, officers said they wanted to trace a person seen pushing a pram in the area near where the dog walker went missing.
In an update on its Facebook page, Lancashire Police said the woman had come forward “very quickly”.
The force added: “We must stress that she was very much being treated as a witness and was one of many people in St Michael’s on Friday, January 27th.
“Our enquiries to find Nicola are extensive and will include speaking to as many members of the public as possible.
“The speculation and abuse on social media aimed at some people who are merely assisting our enquiry is totally unacceptable.
“We would urge people to remember that we are investigating the disappearance of Nicola, and the priority is Nicola and her family. We want to find her and provide answers to her family.”
Ms Bulley had logged in to a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am, which ended at 9.30am with her phone still connected to the call.
She was seen by another dog walker at 9.10am – the last known sighting – and police traced telephone records of her mobile phone as it remained on a bench overlooking the river at 9.20am.
The device was found by a dog walker at around 9.35am, with Willow nearby.
Search teams from Lancashire Constabulary have been trawling the river.
