A missing dog walker's phone was dialled into a work conference call when she disappeared, it can be revealed.
Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen on Friday at around 9.15am while walking along a footpath to a river.
Lancashire Police said that her phone was found on a bench with a work teams call still on the screen.
Nicola's partner, Paul Ansell, made an emotional appeal for help, saying: "We need to find her. She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home."
The family's brown cocker spaniel, Willow was found loose from its lead and harness an hour after she was last seen by a member of the public. They recognised Willow raised the alarm with police at 10.30am.
Superintendent Sally Riley told the Mirror police had found Nicola’s phone still ‘active’ on the bench and began searching for her immediately.
Supt Riley said: “It was on a meeting call, and that was still live it was connected to the conference call and that hadn’t been terminated.”
The Mirror asked if forensic teams had been searching the area alongside drones, sniffer dogs and police helicopters but Supt Riley said there was no evidence of any criminal activity or that Nicola has been attacked.
She added: “There are no reports of anything like that but clearly all scenarios are tested and checked for but in the absence of anything to suggest there was anything criminal was there anything to suggest she was attacked, absolutely not.”
Ben Pociecha, the director of Exclusively Mortgages , told The Telegraph that she had logged onto a team meeting at 9.01am on Friday.
“It seems as if she was muted and didn’t have her camera on. She was listening in whilst walking her dog,” he said.
“There were numerous parties involved in this. A lot of people attended the call. The police are investigating the call.”
Twenty-five volunteers from Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue had been involved in the search operation on Friday.
Kev Camplin, the team leader, said a “long stretch” of the River Wyre had been searched on both sides, along with “wooded areas, land, ditches, other water margins and the grounds of an old abandoned house”.
Speaking at the family home in Inskip, Lancs, Mr Ansell, the father of Ms Bulley's children, said he had spent all day yesterday searching for her.
Mr Ansell said: “It is just perpetual hell. It is just utter disbelief. We are living through this but it doesn’t feel real.
“All we can say is we need to find her. She’s got two little girls that need their mummy home.
“We have got to get some good news now.”
Mr Ansell said he or Ms Bulley, also known as Nikki, would regularly drop the children off, aged six and nine, at the local primary school, before taking their Springer spaniel for a walk along the river nearby.
But after dropping the children off at school on Friday morning he then got a call alerting him something was amiss.
Mr Ansell said: “I rang police, I got a call from the school regarding somebody who had found Willow and Nikki’s phone and the dog lead and harness on the bench.
“We take the kids to school and take the dog down there, either myself or Nikki, nearly every day.”
A massive search has been launched as specialist search officers were seen today on a small boat trawling on the river.
Nicola was last seen near Garstang Road in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire as police say the search will continue for her.
She is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall, with light brown shoulder-length hair. She speaks with an Essex accent.
Nicola was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive green ankle wellies. Her hair was tied into a ponytail.
Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Police told reporters: “The police are keeping a really open mind about what could have happened but we do believe that the likelihood is that Nicola has gone missing and this is not a crime inquiry, but we are keeping an open mind.”
Urging the public to help if they can, she said: “We appeal for anyone who may have been driving through the village of St Michael’s last Friday morning at about 9.15am or who may have dashcam footage that could be of use to us, or people who may have been dog-walking in the area or on the tow path to come forward.
“They can ring 101 or, if they have a sighting of Nicola, 999.”
Yesterday, Ch Insp Chris Barton, of Lancashire Police, said: “Nicola has now been missing for two days and we are extremely concerned about her.
“Firstly, if anybody saw her on Friday morning and has not yet been spoken to by police, or if anybody has any other information about where she might be, please get in touch with us straight away.
“Enquiries are very much ongoing and we have a team of detectives working tirelessly to establish the circumstances around her disappearance, in addition to a large team of police officers, partner agency and volunteer groups on the ground searching the area around where she was last seen.
“We are following a number of lines of enquiry and are keeping an open mind at this stage about what has occurred.
“We appreciate there is a great deal of concern in the local area and that people want to help, however we would ask that nobody puts themselves in any danger.
“If anybody has any questions or concerns they are welcome to speak to officers in the area.”
Anybody who has seen Nicola, or has information about where she might be, is asked to call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27th. For immediate sightings please call 999.
