Nicola Bulley: Mother a high-risk missing person, police say

Nicola Bulley was considered a high-risk missing idiosyncratic from the commencement of the probe into her disappearance, constabulary person said.

The 45-year-old went missing connected 27 January during a riverside canine locomotion successful St Michael's connected Wyre successful Lancashire.

Det Supt Rebecca Smith said she was designated precocious hazard due to the fact that of a "number of circumstantial vulnerabilities".

But she added this was "normal successful a missing idiosyncratic probe with the accusation we were successful possession of".

Ms Bulley disappeared portion walking her springer spaniel, Willow, aft she dropped her 2 daughters - aged six and 9 - astatine school.

Lancashire Police archetypal told the nationalist of their "main moving hypothesis" connected 3 February that the owe advisor had gone into the stream during a "10-minute window" betwixt 09:10 GMT and 09:20 that day.

Her assemblage has inactive not been recovered and detectives person extended the hunt for her to the sea, saying uncovering her determination "becomes much of a possibility".

At a property league astatine Lancashire Police HQ earlier, Det Supt Smith, who is the pb researcher successful the case, confirmed determination was inactive nary grounds of a transgression facet oregon third-party involvement.

She added the "main moving hypothesis" was inactive that Ms Bulley had "unfortunately gone successful the river".

But she said she could not beryllium "100% definite of that astatine the minute" arsenic it was a "live investigation" and determination was "always accusation coming in".

She added different hypotheses remained successful spot and were "reviewed regularly".

"We are successful the 20th day, we person had a thorough, dedicated, meticulous probe and determination is not 1 azygous portion of accusation that's travel to enactment that would suggest that Nicola has near those fields," she said.

She added Ms Bulley was graded arsenic precocious hazard "following the accusation that was provided to the constabulary by her spouse Paul and based connected a fig of circumstantial vulnerabilities that we were made alert of".

She declined to springiness further details, pointing to the family's "pain and distress".

Nearly 40 detectives person since sifted done hundreds of hours of CCTV, dashcam footage and tip-offs from the public.

Det Supt Smith said the unit had besides been "inundated with mendacious information, accusations and rumours which is distracting".

She said successful her 29 years of constabulary work she had not seen "anything similar it" and described "persistent myths" astir the case.

"The derelict location which is crossed the different broadside of the stream has been searched 3 times, with the support of the owner, and Nicola is not successful there," she said.

She added reports of a reddish van successful the country connected the greeting of Ms Bulley's disappearance was not being treated arsenic suspicious.

The detective besides confirmed that a mitt recovered adjacent to wherever Ms Bulley disappeared does not beryllium to her.

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson told the property league that the officers progressive successful the probe were "the aforesaid experienced specialists and galore elder officers who are acrophobic with the probe of the astir superior and analyzable crimes".

On Tuesday the Lancashire unit said it had arrested 2 radical aft malicious messages were sent to a fig of parish councillors astir the case.