Missing Nicola Bulley’s “crisis” was caused by her stopping her HRT, her family say.
Ms Bulley, who has been missing from her Lancashire home since Friday 27 January, had been suffering intense headaches because of the medication, they said in a statement released by police.
The 45-year-old had been taking hormone-replacement therapy because of symptoms of perimenopause, her family explained.
Detectives revealed 24 hours earlier that Ms Bulley had faced “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by “ongoing struggles with the menopause”. The force has faced criticism for sharing personal information about this Ms Bulley, with concerns that it would not contribute to the search effort.
But in the family statement on Thursday, her loved ones elaborated on the issues she had faced before she disappeared.
“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,” they added.
“The public focus has to be on finding her, not making up wild theories about her personal life.”
The perimenopause, the period before a woman’s menopause begins, may cause hot flushes and sleep problems.
Early in the investigation, police said they believed the mother-of-two fell into the river at St Michael’s on Wyre, but divers and specialist underwater search teams failed to find any trace of her.
Police were widely criticised after revealing her alcohol struggle, some saying it was an unnecessary disclosure. They were also accused of victim-blaming.
Her family said they had endorsed the disclosure, after unidentified individuals “threatened to sell stories about her”.
“It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing,” the statement said. “We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and [her partner] Paul’s private life.
“As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police last night released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki.
“Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.
“The police know the truth about Nikki and now the public need to focus on finding her.”
Speculation about the case and police handling of it has been rife on social media.
However, the family said: “Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers.
“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.”
Anyone with information or footage is asked to submit information through the Major Incident Public Portal (MiPP) at Public Portal (mipp.police.uk)
