Nicola Bulley family has urged the public to end the "appalling" speculation about her private life, saying the public focus has become "distracted" from finding the missing mother-of-two.
Lancashire Police faced a huge backlash after revealing that the missing dog walker suffered “some significant issues with alcohol” in the past, which had resurfaced in the months before she went missing.
The revelations came hours after senior officers said that Ms Bulley was “vulnerable” and classed by police as a “high-risk” missing person immediately after her partner Paul Ansell reported her disappearance.
In a statement on Thursday, Ms Bulley’s family said that, while “Nikki would not have wanted” the details made public, there have been people “threatening to sell stories about her”.
They also made a direct appeal to the missing mother-of-two, saying: “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.”
Read the family’s statement in full below:
“It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing. We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and 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.
“Due to the peri menopause 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.
“The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life.
“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.”
