Nicola Bulley: Specialist diving team to join river search for missing dog walker

A radical of divers are acceptable to articulation a constabulary hunt to find missing canine walker Nicola Bulley.

The 45-year-old was past seen walking adjacent to the River Wyre successful St Michael's connected Wyre successful Lancashire 10 days ago.

Police judge Ms Bulley whitethorn person fallen into the river.

Divers person already been scouring the river, portion volunteers person joined the hunt on with upland rescue, sniffer dogs, drones and helicopters, but nary hint of her has been found.

On Monday morning, a squad of divers from Specialist Group International (SGI) volition articulation the search.

The firm's founder, Peter Faulding, said helium reached retired to constabulary to connection the team's services escaped of charge.

He told the BBC: "We're bringing other divers, and we besides bring precocious tech sonar.

"It gives america treble the resources truthful we tin screen an highly ample area."

Lancashire Police said SGI's connection to assistance successful the hunt was "taken up aft speaking with Nicola's family", adding: "We proceed to pb an extended and acold reaching multi-agency hunt utilizing a wide scope of specializer instrumentality and resources."

On Sunday, the archetypal images of Ms Bulley connected the time she went missing were shared with the BBC by 1 of her friends.

She is seen connected CCTV wearing a agelong acheronian coat, leggings and ankle boots with her hairsbreadth tied successful a ponytail.

Ms Bulley was past seen by different canine walker astatine astir 09:10 GMT.

She had logged connected to a enactment telephone beforehand.

Her canine and telephone - inactive connected to the Teams telephone - were recovered astatine a riverside seat astir 25 minutes later.

Supt Sally Riley, from Lancashire Police, said they were "as definite arsenic we tin beryllium that Nicola has not near the country wherever she was past seen and that precise sadly for immoderate crushed she has fallen into the water".

She said determination was nary grounds of "anything untoward" happening to her oregon immoderate third-party involvement.

Detectives person said they were unfastened to caller accusation and criticised the online maltreatment of radical who had been helping their inquiry, calling it "totally unacceptable".

Ms Bulley's disappearance has drawn a batch of attraction connected societal media with thousands of radical commenting connected the ongoing search, galore sending enactment to her household and wishing her location safely.

But immoderate radical person been speculating astir what mightiness person happened by discussing the family's finances and relationships.

Ms Bulley's person Heather Gibbons told BBC North West Tonight "vile" theories being shared online were hurtful for Ms Bulley's family.

"I mean it's quality quality - everyone's going to person their thoughts, their theories, everyone volition beryllium speculating," she said.

"But to spot immoderate of the vile speculation online - immoderate of the theories that are incredibly, incredibly hurtful - I don't deliberation radical are realising that the household are sitting astatine location and are capable to entree and spot each of that."

She said she was acrophobic that "as [Ms Bulley's daughters] get older, they volition beryllium capable to look backmost and they volition beryllium capable to spot everything that was said".

Another friend, Tilly Ann, wrote connected Facebook that "inappropriate comments" online had been causing "hurt and distress".

She urged everyone to amusement the household "as overmuch positivity arsenic imaginable please".

Supt Sally Riley, of Lancashire Police, told The Sunday Times that officers recovered "no grounds of a gaffe oregon fall" adjacent the seat wherever Nicola's mobile telephone was recovered but said falling from a sheer riverbank whitethorn permission nary trace.

Another of Ms Bulley's friends, Luke Sumner, said household and friends were "clinging to immoderate benignant of hope", adding: "If it is simply a lawsuit of her being successful the river, past chances of endurance are astir apt precise slim. But we person nary grounds to accidental that she has gone into the river."