Police investigating Nicola Bulley's disappearance will be quizzed by an information watchdog over the release of her personal details.
The mortgage adviser, 45, was last seen on January 27 walker her brown spaniel Willow near the River Wyre in the village of St Michaels on the Wyre, Lancashire.
This week Lancashire Police came under scrutiny for publicising that Nicola has struggled with alcohol and it was related to menopause.
This morning the Information Commissioner's Office, an independent body focused on upholding information rights, said they would be seeking an explanation from police on how they "reached the decision to disclose" Nicola's personal details.
John Edwards, Information Commissioner, said: “Data protection law exists to ensure people’s personal information is used properly and fairly.
"This includes ensuring personal details are not disclosed inappropriately.
"Police can disclose information to protect the public and investigate crime, but they would need to be able to demonstrate such disclosure was necessary.
“We recognise that at this stage of an intensive, live investigation, the force must focus all their energies on the enquiry. But given the high profile nature of this case, we will be asking Lancashire Police to set out how they reached the decision to disclose this information in due course.”
On Wednesday, police held a press conference where they said for the first time that the mum-of-two was categorised as "high risk" due to "a number of specific vulnerabilities".
At the time, they did not elaborate and sparked further speculation despite trying to use the press conference to squash any unhelpful theories.
Hours later, the force stated on Facebook that Nicola "in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with menopause".
In yesterday's statement, Nicola's family said they were aware that these details would be made public, despite knowing "Nikki would have not wanted this".
In the statement, Nicola's family also directly appealed to the mum, saying to "not be scared" as her girls "want a cuddle".
The family also expanded on Nicola's health to help put an end to further speculation. They described the "appalling" nature of people "threatening to sell stories" about Nicola.
Police launched a massive search for the mum, using drones, dogs, and specialist divers and expanding more than 13 miles to Morecambe Bay.
It comes as Peter Bleksley, a former undercover cop for the Metropolitan Police, said the police looking for Nicola have acted with "shocking naivety".
Speaking on TalkTV last night, he said: "With regard to the whole release of this information...I think if the family had endeavoured to keep these matters secret, there's a shocking naivety on behalf of the police."
He also said: "[Lancashire Police] have tried to suppress speculation, all they’ve done is fuel it.
"Today was utterly ludicrous when they said there were private and personal matters which were the vulnerabilities around Nicola. But of course, don’t speculate about them."
