Vile speculation hurtful to Nicola Bulley's family, friend says

A person of a missing mum who vanished connected a canine locomotion has said "vile theories" being shared online are "incredibly hurtful" for her family, arsenic constabulary condemn societal media abuse.

Nicola Bulley, 45, was past seen walking adjacent to the River Wyre successful St Michael's connected Wyre successful Lancashire.

Police judge she whitethorn person fallen into the river.

Her person Heather Gibbons said radical whitethorn not realise Ms Bulley's household tin work their speculation.

As portion of the investigation, detectives person appealed for imaginable witnesses and released CCTV images from the area.

A pistillate they urged to travel guardant connected Saturday contacted them soon aft the entreaty went out.

Detectives said the online maltreatment of radical who had been helping their enquiry was "totally unacceptable".

The constabulary hunt has entered its ninth time since Ms Bulley was past seen by different canine walker astatine astir 09:10 GMT connected 27 January, aft she had dropped her 2 daughters disconnected astatine school.

Her canine Willow and her telephone - inactive connected to a enactment telephone - were recovered astatine a riverside seat 25 minutes later.

Specialist divers person been scouring the River Wyre, portion volunteers person joined the hunt on with upland rescue, sniffer dogs, drones and constabulary helicopters, but nary hint of her has been found.

Ms Gibbons told the BBC: "The speculation is massive. I mean it's quality quality - everyone's going to person their thoughts, their theories, everyone volition beryllium speculating.

"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".

Ms Bulley's spouse Paul Ansell antecedently described the family's acquisition aft her disappearance arsenic "perpetual hell", adding that helium would not springiness up anticipation of uncovering her.

A Lancashire Police connection said: "The speculation and maltreatment connected societal media aimed astatine immoderate radical who are simply assisting our enquiry connected societal media is wholly unacceptable.

"We would impulse radical to retrieve that we are investigating the disappearance of Nicola, and the precedence is Nicola and her family. We privation to find her and supply answers to her family."

Detectives said their "working proposal is that she has fallen into the stream for immoderate reason", adding determination was "no evidence" of thing suspicious oregon third-party involvement.

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 person Luke Sumner told the BBC 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."