Nicola Bulley: Missing dog walker had ‘significant issues with alcohol’ and menopause struggles – police
Missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley had suffered “significant issues with alcohol” in the past which resurfaced in recent months, police said.
Detectives previously said Ms Bulley, 45, had “specific vulnerabilities” that made her a “high-risk” missing person – but did not specify what those were.
A subsequent statement by the Lancashire force said: “Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months.”
“This caused some real challenges for Paul and the family,” it added in a reference to Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell.
As it happened – police update on Nicola Bulley’s disappearance
The force said a response car staffed by police and health professionals “attended a report of concern for welfare” at Ms Bulley’s home on 10 January.
“No one has been arrested in relation to this incident, but it is being investigated,” according to Lancashire Police.
Ms Bulley, from Inskip, was last seen on the morning of Friday 27 January while walking her dog Willow on a footpath by the river in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school in the village.
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‘Unusual step’
Police acknowledged it was an unusual move to divulge such personal information about a missing person, but said they wanted to explain what they meant by “vulnerabilities”.
The statement said: “It is an unusual step for us to take to go into this level of detail about someone’s private life, but we felt it was important to clarify what we meant when we talked about vulnerabilities to avoid any further speculation or misinterpretation.
“We have explained to Nicola’s family why we have released this further information and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.”
‘False information, accusation and rumours’
Lancashire Police has been criticised for quickly ruling out foul play when Ms Bulley vanished nearly three weeks ago.
She was last seen at 9.10am taking her usual route alongside the River Wyre with her springer spaniel.
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‘No evidence’ of crime in Nicola disappearance
Her phone, which was still connected to a work call for her job as a mortgage adviser, was found just over 20 minutes later on a bench overlooking the riverbank, with her pet running loose.
Since her disappearance, huge public and media interest has resulted in what police described as “false information, accusations and rumours” along with an “unprecedented” search of both the river downstream to Morecambe Bay and miles of neighbouring farmland.
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Retracing Nicola Bulley’s journey
Detectives keeping an open mind
Speaking at a news conference earlier, senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith and Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson said based on intelligence received so far “there is not a single piece of information or evidence to suggest there was any third party involvement”.
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson and Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith of Lancashire Police
Ms Smith said it was still her “main working hypothesis” that Ms Bulley fell into the river, adding that detectives are keeping an open mind about the mother-of-two’s disappearance.
Their two other hypotheses are that there could have been third-party involvement and that she could have voluntarily left the area.
‘Unprecedented hell’
Police have spoken to a number of witnesses who saw Ms Bulley before she disappeared.
Around a week and a half after she was last seen, police said they were looking at 500 pieces of “active information”.
They focused their investigation on a crucial 10-minute window when her movements are unaccounted for – from 9.10am to 9.20am.
However, her partner, Mr Ansell, doubts the wisdom of focusing on the river search and said: “Personally, I am 100% convinced it’s not the river, that’s my opinion.”
He said he believes “something happened” on the day of his partner’s disappearance.
“There has to be a way to find out what happened, there has to be. You cannot… you cannot walk your dog down a river and just vanish into thin air,” he said.
Mr Ansell said her family is going through “unprecedented hell” but would “never give up” hope of finding her.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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