A friend of Nicola Bulley has criticised police's decision to share details of her struggles with alcohol.
Mum-of-two Nicola was last seen on January 27. She dropped her children off at school and logged into a Teams call while walking her springer spaniel in the Lancashire village of St Michael's on Wyre.
On Wednesday, Lancashire Police told the press the mum-of-two was categorised as "high risk" due to "a number of specific vulnerabilities". At the time, the force did not elaborate and sparked further speculation despite trying to use the press conference to squash any unhelpful theories.
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Hours later, the police said Nicola had "in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause". They added that these issues had "resurfaced in recent months".
A friend of the family, who has asked to remain anonymous, told the Mirror of her anger and said this doesn't help the investigation. They said: "I feel angry for Nikki. She’s a beautiful, kind, loving person. One of the best kind of friends you could wish for.
"This has painted her in an unfair light. I think the police have done this to shift the focus onto this rather than on them and their lack of progress."
The friend also criticised Lancashire Police's working hypothesis that Nicola fell into the river. They said: "I think they want people to buy into their theory that she went into the river. I do fear that the focus will be on this now rather than trying to find Nikki.
"We really need to focus on finding out what has happened and where she has gone. Focus needs to be given to the areas not covered by CCTV and following up on those dash cams."
The friend added: "I think the TikTokers are taking the police away from what they need to be doing and wasting valuable resources.
"However, I doubt it would have made much difference to the information that has been released. The police have released this info to shift the focus off them. This would still be the case without them."
The friend's comments came after Nicola's family released a statement appealing to her to come home. The statement said: "Nikki is such a wonderful daughter, sister , partner and mother and is missed dearly - we all need you back in our lives.
"Nikki, we hope you are reading this and know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle. We all need you home. You can reach out to us, or you can contact MissingPeople.org.uk. Don’t be scared, we all love you so very much."
The family also expanded on Nicola's health in order to stop any further speculation, saying: "Due to the perimenopause Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help but this was giving her intense headaches which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT thinking that may have helped her but only ended up causing this crisis.
"The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life. Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers."
It came after Wednesday's statement from the police was widely criticised, including by MPs. Labour's Stella Creasy said: "The decision to disclose this level of detail on a missing person's private life, with no evidence that this is assisting in finding her, is deeply troubling.
"The police need to be much clearer as to why any of this helps find Nicola Bulley or support this investigation."
Lancashire Police has been contacted for comment.
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