A neighbour of missing mum-of-two Nicola Bulley has praised her partner Paul Ansell for his strength and courage, as the search moves into its 17th day.
Charlotte Drake said that the resilience shown by Paul is "nothing short of a miracle" as he continues to care for his two daughters and hold out hope that partner Nicola will be located.
Speaking in reference to his media interview, she said: "He does not want to break down on camera in view of millions of people watching and where his kids may see it. He has to remain strong as he has to hold on to hope we will find Nikki."
Charlotte has lived next door to Nicola for five years and has a close friendship with her - both their children are often outside playing together along with others from the neighbourhood.
Charlotte described what the family are going through as "living hell" and said the last time she saw Nicola was on the morning of her disappearance.
Speaking to the Metro, she recalled: "Nicola was heading off to drop her kids at school and I saw the car going,. Nothing looked strange at all.
"Our kids are at different schools and hers start a little bit earlier than mine so whenever I see Nikki go out the drive, I tell mine to hurry up."
Charlotte praised Paul for using the media "exactly as it should be used, to share the facts, highlight the lack of evidence and spread the word far and wide, so that he can hopefully reach someone that knows something".
She said that she agrees with Paul's view that Nicola is not in the River Wyre, despite police basing their investigation heavily on this assumption.
She added: "As neighbours and friends, we’ve all said from 11am on Day 1 when the police showed up… 'She’s not in that river.'
"My gut feeling remains the same. I honestly believe Nikki is not in the water."
The neighbour further clarified - with Paul's permission - that Nicola's keys were not left in the ignition of her car as some have speculated, but were on her person.
They are a Mercedes key "with a couple of Mercedes keyrings on it, one black and one blue, a round wooden key ring with paw prints on it, and a couple of normal keys," according to Paul.
Charlotte added that Nicola was "the most beautiful person, inside and out who would do anything for anyone".
Police have reportedly extended their search to areas beyond the river and local area.
Another development in the investigation is that a new witness has come forward to say they spotted two suspicious-looking men on Nicola's walking route - the pair were allegedly "trying to hide their faces".
The anonymous witness said the men were carrying fishing rods and appeared to be wearing hats or hoods, which hid their faces.
“I first saw them at around 7.45am on my way to work on the Thursday, the day before Nicola Bulley vanished," they told The Sun. "I drive that way every day, so know the road well."
“I saw two men wearing dark clothing and hoods or hats and carrying fishing rods," they added.
“They could have been just two normal fishermen and if I had seen their faces I wouldn't have thought anything of it. But I remembered that they seemed to want to hide their faces, which struck me as odd."
The witness told the paper that they saw one of the men the following day, Friday, January 27 - the day that Nicola disappeared.
