Rumours, a river and a private diver: How the three-week search for Nicola Bulley unfolded

The desperate search for missing mother Nicola Bulley may have come to an end after a body was found in the river near where she vanished.

A tip-off by walkers led specialist divers to find a body on Sunday, and although it has not yet been formally identified, Ms Bulley’s family has been informed of the discovery.

It comes after three weeks of desperate searches of the river and surrounding area, while social-media sleuths spread conspiracy theories and others descended on St Michael’s on Wyre – with some even filming through villagers’ windows.

Peter Bleksley, a former Scotland Yard detective, described it as “troubling” that the case had led to “rampant speculation” on social media, after two “TikTok detectives” were seen digging up woodland near where Ms Bulley had vanished.

Meanwhile, the last 23 days have seen Ms Bulley’s family make heartbreaking appeals for her return home. They have also condemned the “appalling” speculation over her private life – revealing that some people even threatened to sell stories about her.

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Lancashire Police have also faced scrutiny over their handling of the investigation, with interventions being made by politicians and campaigners over the decision to reveal personal details about Ms Bulley, including the mother-of-two’s struggle with alcohol.

The 45-year-old mortgage adviser went missing on 27 January after dropping off her two daughters, aged six and nine, at school.

If the body is identified to be that of Ms Bulley, a post-mortem may provide answers to many of the questions about what happened to the missing dog walker.

Here, we take a look at how the three-week search that has transfixed the nation unfolded.

The last known sighting of Ms Bulley was at 9.10am, when she was seen by a witness after leaving her home at 8.26am, dropping off her children at school, and walking along the path by the River Wyre.

Ms Bulley’s phone was found on a bench beside the river at 9.33am by another dog-walker, and her dog’s harness was found under the bench. Ms Bulley’s dog, Willow, was found close by. Ms Bulley’s phone was still connected to a work conference call when it was found.

At 11.01am, Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, called the police to report her missing, and Ms Bulley was classed as a “high risk” missing person.

The area where Ms Bulley’s phone was found was not cordoned off for the preservation of evidence, because police did not consider her disappearance to be suspicious.

Lancashire Constabulary launched an investigation into Ms Bulley’s whereabouts on the same day, and appealed for witnesses to contact them.

Lancashire Constabulary deployed drones, helicopters and police search dogs as part of a major missing-person operation.

They were assisted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team and the North West Police Underwater Search and Marine Unit.

Local residents held a meeting at the village hall to organise a search for Ms Bulley at 10.30am on Sunday. Around 100 people joined in.

Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as “extremely dangerous” and saying that activity in these areas presented “a genuine risk to the public”.

Superintendent Sally Riley of Lancashire Constabulary said police were “keeping a really open mind about what could have happened” and that they were not treating Ms Bulley’s disappearance as suspicious.

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Ms Bulley’s family released a statement saying they had been “overwhelmed by the support” from their community, and that her daughters were “desperate to have their mummy back home safe”.

Ms Bulley’s parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley, spoke to the Daily Mirror about the “horror” they felt at the possibility of never seeing their daughter again.

Her father told the newspaper: “We just dread to think we will never see her again. If the worst came to the worst and she was never found, how will we deal with that for the rest of our lives?”

Police issued a satellite image showing a map of Ms Bulley’s last known movements. This was then used by web sleuths to conduct their own inquiries.

Ms Bulley’s family also appealed to the public for help in tracing her.

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At a press conference, Lancashire Police said they were working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre. Ms Riley urged against speculation, but said it was “possible” that an “issue” with Ms Bulley’s dog may have led her to the water’s edge.

Lancashire Police did not favour the hypothesis that a third party was involved in the disappearance, because CCTV and eyewitness evidence had boxed off all but a tiny window of opportunity for an attacker to have struck, Ms Riley said.

Lancashire Police announced they wanted to trace a “key witness” who was seen pushing a pram in the area near to where Ms Bulley went missing on the morning of her disappearance.

The woman described as a “key witness” by police came forward. The force insisted she was “very much being treated as a witness” as it warned against “totally unacceptable” speculation and abuse on social media.

Peter Faulding, leader of underwater search experts Specialist Group International, began searching the river after being called in by Ms Bulley’s family.

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Mr Faulding and his team arrived at the scene to search for Ms Bulley using sonar equipment.

Ms Bulley’s partner Mr Ansell, in a statement released through Lancashire Police, said: “It’s been 10 days now since Nicola went missing, and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back.

“This has been such a tough time, for the girls especially, but also for me and all of Nicola’s family and friends as well as the wider community, and I want to thank them for their love and support.”

Police issued a 48-hour dispersal order in the village because outsiders had flocked there to film before uploading content to social media.

Mr Faulding said he did not think Ms Bulley had fallen into the river.

An amateur sleuth, Dan Duffy, was banned from TikTok for filming himself searching for Ms Bulley and confronting a local resident, falsely accusing the man of being a “suspect”.

Police urged people to refrain from indulging in commentary and conspiracy theories about Ms Bulley’s disappearance, as speculation increased online.

An interview with Mr Ansell was broadcast on Channel 5. He told the presenter, Dan Walker, that he was 100 per cent convinced Ms Bulley was not in the river.

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Police held a press conference on the case, during which they said that because of her “specific vulnerabilities”, the mother-of-two had been classed as a “high risk” missing person immediately after she was reported missing.

Police later disclosed Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause. The force faced a huge backlash from politicians and campaigners over the personal revelations.

Police said officers and health professionals had visited the couple’s home on 10 January on the basis of “concern for welfare”. The press release said that no one had been arrested but that the incident was “being investigated”.

Lancashire Police announced they were conducting an internal review into the handling of Ms Bulley’s disappearance, and the Information Commissioner’s Office said that the force would face questions about the disclosure of her personal details.

Home secretary Suella Braverman met with police leaders to discuss the handling of the investigation after prime minister Rishi Sunak also expressed “concerns” about the revelations of Ms Bulley’s personal problems.

Appearing on the morning broadcast round, Commons leader Penny Mordaunt described the police disclosure as “shocking”, while shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, who had written to the force in relation to its handling of the case, repeated her concerns about the “unusual” level of private information made public about Ms Bulley.

Later the same day, Lancashire Police announced that they had found a body. Specialist divers made the discovery in the River Wyre, reportedly after a tip-off from two walkers.