Nicola Bulley's partner has shared the moment he become concerned on the day she went missing.
Paul Ansell was interviewed by Dan Walker for Channel 5 on tonight's Vanished: Where is Nicola Bulley. The show explored the mysterious circumstances around the mum-of-two's disappearance.
The 45-year-old vanished two weeks ago while walking her dog by the riverside in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire. Mr Ansell provided an insight into what was originally an "ordinary" morning as the parents got their two children ready for school.
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He told Channel 5: "Getting up on a school day with children is usually mayhem. The only difference was there wasn't a lot of rushing. There wasn't as much to be done."
Ms Bulley took the children to school that morning and Mr Ansell said she usually returns home around 9.45am. Mr Ansell works from home for a US firm and became concerned when she hadn't returned by 10.30am.
He said: "I'd gone to the office at 10 thinking she'd be back in a minute. It got to 10.15 and that's when I thought she's later than usual but I still wasn't particularly worried. It's not often but she has got back about 10.20 so I wasn't massively concerned. It got to 10.30 and I thought she's quite late now so I tried ringing and there was no answer.
"I tried ringing on WhatsApp and there was still no answer. I started getting a bit panicky and I thought that's when I'd have to go there and see if she's alright."
However, as Mr Ansell was preparing to go to the riverside to locate his partner, he received a call from his child's school to inform him Ms Bulley's phone had been found at the embankment alongside the family dog, Willow.
He said: "I knew straight away it wasn't normal. I know in a million years she would never leave Willow. She's like our third child so the fact Willow was on her own just off the lead was concerning."
Mr Ansell went to the embankment to retrieve Ms Bulley's phone and the dog. He phoned the police on the way and needed to quickly return home to speak to officers.
He said: "Although I was extremely worried and concerned, I still thought we'd find her but that never happened. The day just spiralled and the end of the day came. No answers and here we are two weeks later."
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