Trolls have reportedly hacked into a social media account belonging to missing mother Nicola Bulley's partner and posted explicit pictures of women. A number of photographs of women, including topless models and an actress in a bikini, were shared on Paul Ansell's Pinterest account yesterday, according to Express.co.uk.
Nicola vanished after dropping off their daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27 in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire. She was last seen at 9.10am taking her usual route with her springer spaniel Willow, alongside the River Wyre.
Her phone, still connected to a work call for her job as a mortgage adviser, was found just over 20 minutes later on a bench overlooking the riverbank, with her dog running loose. There has been no sign of her since, leaving partner Paul and their friends and family devastated.
Nicola's disappearance has captured the attention of amateur internet sleuths who have been coming up with wild theories about where she is. One social media influencer was even arrested by Lancashire Police officers after he claimed he had joined the search for Nicola.
In previous clips posted to his TikTok and YouTube channels, Dan Duffy said he joined the search because he “wants some answers” and there are “a lot of conspiracy theories flying around on the internet”. Nicola's family have previously slammed "speculation and rumours" surrounding the missing mum-of-two's personal life and said people had even been threatening to sell stories about her.
TikTok sleuths also sparked outrage after uploading video of themselves digging up ground in woodland near to where Nicola vanished, despite repeated calls from police for such activity to stop.
The updates on Paul's Pinterest page yesterday sparked concern from users of the site and some speculated it had been hacked. After being alerted to the posts by the Sunday Express, Lancashire Police confirmed his account was hacked and an investigation was underway.
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A force spokeswoman said: “Paul Ansell’s Pinterest account has been accessed by a third party and is being closed down. We are investigating the matter.”
The account was later disabled.
Heartbroken Paul, 44, has already been forced to hit back at online abuse he has received. As part of the Channel 5 programme Vanished: Where is Nicola Bulley? he was asked how he felt about accusations levelled against him from trolls. He said “it would be upsetting” but only “if I let myself read it all”.
He continued: “I have seen some stuff. Most people have been amazing, you’re always going to get that two per cent of people that for whatever reason say and do not very nice things but I don’t want to give any energy to that.” Emma White, a friend of Nicola’s, said some people on social media have made “hurtful comments”.
The police search for Nicola entered its fourth week yesterday.
