Lancashire Police has released an update as the search for missing Inskip woman Nicola Bulley enters its second week.
The police are now focusing on the river path which leads from the fields back to Garstang Road, appealing for drivers and cyclists who travelled that way on Friday 27 January to get in contact and assist with dashcam footage where possible.
A spokesperson for the police force said: “The detective leading the hunt for Nicola has stressed the force is doing all it can to find the missing mum-of-two.
“And as part of our continuing efforts, we are again appealing for anyone with dashcam or other footage to submit it to us.
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“Our working hypothesis remains that Nicola, 45, sadly fell into the river for some reason, but we remain open minded, and we are continuing to carry out a huge number of enquiries.
“Our priority throughout this investigation has been on finding Nicola and providing answers for her family. They are being supported by specially trained officers.”
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In a new statement released today Nicola’s partner Paul Ansell said: “It’s been ten 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.
“We are also really grateful to Peter and his team from SGI for coming up and helping support the work of Lancashire Police as they continue their investigation. If anyone has any information which could help find Nicola, I urge them to get in touch with the police and help us provide the answers we all so badly need.”
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Lancashire Police continued: “Our enquiries so far have included searches of the river and riverbank which have extended all the way to the sea using specialist search teams, sonar, search dogs, drone and helicopter, house to house and CCTV.
“We have also spoken to numerous witnesses, analysed Nicola’s mobile phone and Fitbit and searched the derelict house on the other side of the river as well as any empty caravans in the vicinity.
“We have received a huge amount of information into the enquiry, all of which is being looked at, and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has assisted our investigation so far.
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“We would like to remind people that much of the speculation and comments on social media are both unhelpful to the investigation and, more importantly, hurtful for the family, who are going through agony as they wait for answers.
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“Our CCTV enquiries have focused on Nicola’s movements and whether she could have left the fields near to the river, whether that be via Allotment Lane, the river path leading to Garstang Road, or by Rowanwater at the top of the upper field.
“Most of our sightings of Nicola have been by witnesses who knew her and that has enabled us to plot her movements from the school, along the river path and into the field.
“We can say with confidence that by reviewing CCTV, Nicola has not left the field during the key times via Rowanwater, either through the site itself or via the piece of land at the side.
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“Also, we can say that she did not return from the fields along Allotment Lane or via the path at the rear of the Grapes pub onto Garstang Road.
“Our enquiries now focus on the river path which leads from the fields back to Garstang Road – for that we need drivers and cyclists who travelled that way on the morning of January 27 to make contact. We have already done a lot of work around this, but every piece of footage helps us build up a picture of movements on that morning.
“We will be making contact with drivers, who we believe were travelling down Garstang Road that morning via letter.
“If you receive one of these letters and have dashcam footage, we would urge you to make contact using the dedicated email NicolaBulleyInvestigation@lancashire.police.uk so that a member of the enquiry team can make contact and review your footage to establish whether it assists.
“We would ask that only drivers that do have dashcam footage reply to this request.
“Today we have been joined by a search team from Specialist Group International (SGI) who are assisting us with the search of the river, and we are grateful to them for their help.
“We are also grateful to all the members of the public who have come out to search and we would remind people not to put themselves at risk and to stick to public land.”
Detective Supt Rebecca Smith said: “I would ask that anyone who was driving/cycling through St Michael’s last Friday morning and who has dashcam footage to get in touch with us if they haven’t already done so.
“I would also ask any fisherman who may have been in the area at the time to make contact if you feel you can assist.
“I would also appeal again to anyone who has any other footage – CCTV or Ring Doorbell for example, or any other information, no matter how insignificant you might think it is, to contact us as every small piece can help us build up a picture.”
Anyone with information or footage is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30. For any immediate sightings, call 999.
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