Police are said to be examining the Fitbit of Nicola Bulley as the search for the missing dog walker continues.
The mother-of-two, 45, vanished on 27 January after dropping her children off at school in St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire. There has been no trace of her since then.
Police have since confirmed that the working hypothesis is that she may have “sadly fallen” into the River Wyre, weighed down by some of the “heavy clothing” she was wearing. Police believe she may have fallen into the water while trying to retrieve a tennis ball for her dog Willow.
Ms Bulley’s friend Emma White said the police were now working to get data from Ms Bulley’s Fitbit watch.
“The Fitbit had not been synced since Tuesday,” she said in an interview with The Sun. “The police are trying other ways to try to get information from it.”
Ms White rejected the police theory that she could have plunged into the river while retrieving the tennis ball for her dog.
In an interview with Sky News, she said: “Willow used to love a tennis ball very much but it used to disturb their walks so they haven’t had a tennis ball since way into last year.
“Obviously she loved the tennis ball so she’d always be by you, pestering you for the ball - but it wasn’t a nice walk when the dog’s pestering - so there was definitely no ball.”
Ms Bulley’s sister Louise Cunningham also echoed that there was “no evidence” to support the police’s hypothesis.
In a Facebook post, she said: “Off the back of the latest police media update, please can I add there is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it’s just a theory.
“Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully, the police confirmed the case is far from over.”
Police believe Ms Bulley went missing in just a “10-minute window” while she was walking her dog Willow after dropping her daughters – aged six and nine – at school. Ms Bulley was still logged into her Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am, which ended at 9.30am while she was still connected to the call.
She had been seen by another dog walker at 9.10am, which is the last known sighting of her, and police traced telephone records of her mobile phone as it remained on the bench overlooking the river at 9.20am.
The device was found by another dog walker at around 9.35am, with Ms Bulley’s dog Willow nearby. The police search has been aided by HM Coastguard, mountain rescue and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Services, with sniffer dogs, drones and police helicopters deployed.
Detectives are also working to analyse CCTV and dashcam videos, and members of the public have been urged to come forward.
