Police have said they need more time to identify the body that was pulled from the River Wyre and they cannot say yet whether it is Nicola Bulley as they prepare a press conference this evening.
Officers were called at 11.36am on Sunday to reports of a body in the river close to Rawcliffe Road in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire. It was found just a mile from where the mortgage advisor, 45, went missing on January 27.
As reported by the Mirror, an underwater search team and specialist officers entered the water and recovered a body. Police cannot confirm whether the body is Nicola's as no formal identification has yet been carried out.
Lancashire Police said procedures to identify the body are still ongoing and the death is currently being treated as unexplained but cops will hold a press conference at 5.30pm today. The mum-of-two went missing while walking the family dog along the river after dropping off her two daughters at school more than three weeks ago.
Police confirmed that Nicola logged on to a work call as she walked that morning and sent a text to organise a playdate for her kids. Before around 9.20am, she even bumped into another dog walker before Lancashire Police said she moved her phone to the bench where it was eventually found.
Another dog walker found the phone, which was still on the work call, and her dog running free with no sign of the mum. By 11.01am she was reported as a missing person and immediately grade as high risk.
This came after partner Paul Ansell informed the police that she had suffered alcohol issues related to her menopause. Officers, over the next few hours, were combing the river bank, as they spoke to friends and families and force drones were in the sky, with partner agencies deployed by 2.30pm.
Police handling of her case in recent weeks came under fire for releasing intimate details about her alcoholic struggles - with campaigners slamming the force and saying it was “victim-blaming”. The story has also come under intense interest on social media that has led to ghoulish behaviour from some spreading vile theories online.
Yesterday, this culminated in a TikToker filming police as they retrieved the body from the water.
In a statement released today, Lancashire Police said: "Yesterday morning, Sunday, 19 February, you may be aware of police activity around the river near to St Michaels. We want to provide you with an update on that activity.
"We were called today at 11:36am to reports of a body in the River Wyre, close to Rawcliffe Road.
"An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body.
"No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time.
"Procedures to identify the body are ongoing. We are currently treating the death as unexplained.
"Nicola's family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy is respected."
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