Police probing the disappearance of mum-of-two Nicola Bulley were today seen heading to a caravan site close to where she went missing over two weeks ago. Nicola went missing on January 27 while walking her springer spaniel Willow in St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire, shortly after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school.
As the search for the missing mum entered its 18th day, Lancashire Police were spotted visiting a caravan site close to where her phone was found on a bench, still connected to a work conference call, the Mirror reports. The caravan site is thought to be one of a number of CCTV 'blind spots' near where Nicola went missing.
A friend of the missing mortgage advisor, 45, called Tilly-Ann, previously wrote on Facebook that while there was CCTV at the back of the caravan park, the "only" camera that would have "seen everything" was not working on the day Nicola vanished.
As part of their ongoing investigation, detectives are believed to have now requested CCTV footage from a local garage that covers one of the exit points from the field where Nicola was last seen. Lancashire Police are also continuing to trawl the River Wyre towards the sea at Morecambe Bay, working on one hypothesis that she could have fallen in.
The search has been aided by specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, with sniffer dogs, drones and police helicopters. But Nicola's partner, Paul Ansell, said that while he wants to keep “all options open” about her disappearance, his “gut instinct” tells him she is not in the river.
He described Nicola as “fun”, “loving”, “the most loyal friend you could ever have” and an “exceptional mum” who “absolutely adores our girls”. “She’s just a pillar of strength to our family and without her, the hole is bigger than you can possibly imagine,” he told 5 News.
Mr Ansell said that although the family is going through “unprecedented hell”, hope that his partner will be found is “stronger than ever”.
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Police have discounted foul play and are treating the incident as a missing person inquiry. Meanwhile, a witness has reportedly told police that he spotted two men acting suspiciously close to Nicola's dog-walk route the day before she went missing.
The allegedly suspicious pair were seen outside a local church on January 26, according to reports. It is unclear if the police reportedly collecting CCTV on the same day is connected to these claims.
A worker at St Michael's Garage told The Sun on Sunday: "Two smartly dressed officers came in following up, a man and a woman. They wanted the CCTV from the day before Nicola vanished and to take statements of any activity we had seen from that day.
"These officers were different to the ones in uniform, they seemed very assertive."
At the weekend, yellow ribbons with handwritten messages were left on a bridge close to where Nicola disappeared. Ribbons with messages including “We need you home Nicola”, “praying for your safe return” and “I love you” have been tied to a footbridge over the River Wyre.
