Nicola Bulley: How the search for the missing mum has unfolded
More than three weeks have passed since Nicola Bulley went missing and police have recovered a body near to where the mother-of-two was last seen.
Officers searching for the missing mother said they responded to reports of a body in the River Wyre but “no formal identification has yet been carried out”.
Police have previously said their “main working hypothesis” is that the 45-year-old mortgage adviser fell into the river during a “10-minute window” between 9.10am and 9.20am on 27 January.
Lancashire Constabulary have been at the sharp end of increasing scrutiny and criticism for their handling of the situation, particularly their decision to release information about Ms Bulley’s issues with alcohol due to “ongoing struggles with the menopause”.
Sky News breaks down how the search for the missing mum-of-two has unfolded, day by day.
Nicola Bulley disappeared on 27 January
27 January – The day she disappeared.
8.26am – Ms Bulley left her home with her two daughters, aged six and nine.
8.40am – The mother-of-two dropped off her children at school and chatted to a few people in the school yard.
8.43am – Ms Bulley walked along a path by the River Wyre, off Garstang Road, in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre – following the school drop-off.
8.47am – A dog walker – somebody who knows Ms Bulley – saw her walking around the lower field with her dog. Their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field via the river path.
8.53am – Ms Bulley sent an email to her boss, followed by a message to a friend, six minutes later, making arrangements for a playdate for her children.
9.01am – Ms Bulley logged into a work conference call on Microsoft Teams.
9.10am – A witness – someone who knows Ms Bulley – saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow. The dog was not in its harness and off its lead. This is the last confirmed sighting of Ms Bulley.
9.20am – Police believe Nicola’s phone was left on a bench by the river.
9.30am – The conference call ended but Ms Bulley stayed logged on.
9.33am – Ms Bulley’s mobile phone was found on the bench by another dog walker. Her dog was found running between the bench and a gate to the field. The dog’s harness was found on the grass between the bench and the river’s edge.
This witness then made inquiries as to who owned the phone and spoke with people who recognised the dog as Ms Bulley’s.
10.50am – Ms Bulley’s family and the school her children attend were alerted about the situation.
28 January
Lancashire Constabulary deploy helicopters, drones and dogs as the missing person operation gets into full swing.
The North West underwater search team, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, and the Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team join the search.
29 January
Residents hold a meeting at the village hall to organise a search for the missing mum with around 100 people joining in.
Police warn volunteers to be careful as the river and its banks are “extremely dangerous”.
30 January
Lancashire Police say they are keeping an “open mind about what could have happened” adding that they are not treating the disappearance as suspicious.
31 January
Police speak with a potential witness who had been walking a small white dog near the river when the mother-of-two vanished.
Her family release a statement saying they had been “overwhelmed by the support” they had received and Ms Bulley’s daughters were “desperate to have their mummy back home safe”.
2 February
Divers from the North West Police Underwater and marine support unit search the area near where Ms Bulley’s phone was found.
Her sister Louise Cunningham tells Sky News: “There has got to be somebody who knows something and all we are asking is, no matter how small or big, if there is anything you remember that doesn’t seem right, then please reach out to the police. Get in touch and get my sister back.”
3 February
Police reveal their main hypothesis is that Ms Bulley fell into the river adding that it was “possible” an “issue” with her dog may have led her to tumble into the water.
They urged the public to look out for items of clothing Ms Bulley was last seen wearing and released a detailed list.
The bench where Nicola Bulley’s phone was found, on the banks of the River Wyre
5 February
Police speak to a woman described as a “key witness” seen pushing a pram near where Ms Bulley went missing that morning.
6 February
Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell releases a statement via Lancashire Police saying: “It’s been 10 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.”
A private specialist diving team led by Peter Faulding search the river using specialist sonar equipment.
7 February
Lancashire Police dismiss claims of a criminal aspect to Ms Bulley’s disappearance as Mr Faulding tells the press he doesn’t believe she is in the water.
8 February
Police shift the focus of the search from the area Ms Bulley vanished to “further downstream” and out towards the sea with search teams spotted where the River Wyre empties into Morecambe Bay.
Boats have been involved in the search
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Police search for Nicola Bulley off coast
9 February
Police issue a dispersal order to break up groups of what they described as “amateur sleuths” allegedly filming in the area surrounding where Ms Bulley disappeared.
12 February
Yellow ribbons with messages of hope are tied onto a bridge near where Ms Bulley was last seen by friends and family.
13 February
Wyre Council removes the contact details of councillors from its website citing “inappropriate emails and phone calls” regarding the disappearance.
14 February
Two people are arrested on suspicion of sending malicious communications relating to Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
Police say they received reports of messages being sent to local councillors.
15 February
Police hold a press conference on how the investigation has progressed as it enters the 20th day.
They reveal that Ms Bulley had been considered “high risk” due to “a number of specific vulnerabilities” but refused to elaborate further on what they were.
Later in the day, they unexpectedly clarified that Ms Bulley had suffered “significant issues with alcohol” due to “ongoing struggles with the menopause”.
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Why Nicola Bulley was listed as ‘high risk’
16 February
Lancashire Police’s decision to reveal Ms Bulley’s difficulties spark a widespread backlash.
MPs, among them Home Secretary Suella Braverman, criticise the force for “victim blaming” while women’s rights groups blast the force saying the statement has reinforced stereotypes that women are “hormonal” and “crazy”.
The family later release a statement saying: “As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki.
“Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.”
17 February
Lancashire Constabulary come under further criticism for releasing details of Ms Bulley’s personal issues with the information commissioner saying he will be investigating the decision to reveal them.
The dog walker who found Ms Bulley’s phone on the day she went missing tells Sky News that he thought “this wasn’t right” when he discovered the device.
Ernie Bulley, Nicola’s father, reveals that “every day has been a struggle” since his daughter went missing.
The prime minister says he is “concerned” by Lancashire Police’s decision to reveal Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol as the force announces it will conduct an internal review of the investigation.
19 February
A body is found near to where Ms Bulley went missing.
Lancashire Police release a statement saying: “We were called today at 11.36am to reports of a body in the River Wyre, close to Rawcliffe Road.
“An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body.
“No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time.
“Procedures to identify the body are ongoing. We are currently treating the death as unexplained.
“Nicola’s family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy is respected.”
A man has been charged with four counts of attempted murder after a car collided with a group of people in London’s West End on Christmas Day.
Anthony Gilheaney, 30, will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday and has also been charged with causing serious injury by driving whilst disqualified, driving a motor vehicle dangerously and possession of a bladed article in a public place, the Metropolitan Police said.
Forensic investigators collect evidence at the scene on Christmas Day. Pic: PA
Items of clothing and blood are seen on the pavement. Pic: PA
Four people were taken to hospital after the incident, with one in a life-threatening condition.
Metropolitan Police officers were called to reports of a crash and a car driving on the wrong side of the road at 12.45am.
The incident occurred outside the Sondheim Theatre, which is the London home of the musical Les Miserables.
Shaftesbury Avenue is at the heart of London‘s West End and the city’s theatre district.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said the suspect was arrested within minutes of the incident “in the early hours of Christmas Day”.
“Since then, investigators have worked tirelessly to build the case and have today charged Anthony Gilheaney with four counts of attempted murder.
“Our thoughts now are with the victims, one of which remains in critical condition in hospital.”
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UK
Special educational needs children ‘segregated and left to struggle in wrong schools to save money’
Children with special educational needs are being “segregated” and left to struggle in the wrong schools because councils are trying to “save on costs”, parents have told Sky News.
Maire Leigh Wilson, whose four-year-old son has Down’s syndrome, says she “shudders to think” where he would be now had she not been in a “constant battle” with her council.
“I think he would probably just be at the back of a classroom, running around with no support and no ability to sign or communicate,” she said.
Mrs Leigh Wilson wanted her son Aidan to go to a mainstream school with additional specialist support, but her council, who decide what is known as a child’s Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), wanted him to attend a special school.
The number of EHCPs being appealed by parents has risen “massively”, according to education barrister Alice De Coverley.
She said councils are struggling to meet the volume of demand with “stretched budgets”, and parents are also more aware of their ability to appeal.
Mrs De Coverley said more than 90% of tribunals are won by parents, in part because councils do not have the resources to fight their cases.
She said, in her experience, parents of children with special educational needs will put “anything on the line, their homes, their jobs”.
On whether she thinks the system is rigged against parents, Mrs De Coverley said: “I’m not sure it’s meant to be. But I think that parents are certainly finding it very tough.”
She added the number of “unlawful decisions” being made by local authorities means parents who can afford it are being “utterly burnt out” by legal challenges.
Read more:
Three in four parents of SEND children forced to give up work or cut hours
Maire Leigh Wilson with her son, Aiden, four
Mrs Leigh Wilson’s case was resolved before making it to court.
Her council, Hounslow in southwest London, said they complete more than four in five new EHCPs within the statutory 20-week timescale, twice the national average.
Hounslow Council said they “put families at the heart of decision-making” and young people in the area with special educational needs and disabilities achieve, on average, above their peers nationally.
They admitted there are areas of their offer “that need to be further improved” and they are “working closely with families as a partnership”.
“We have a clear and credible plan to achieve this, and we can see over the last 18 months where we have focused our improvement work, the real benefits of an improved experience for children, young people, and their families,” a Hounslow Council spokesman said.
He added the council had seen the number of EHCPs double in the last decade and they “share parents’ frustrations amid rising levels of national demand, and what’s widely acknowledged as a broken SEND system”.
Emma Dunville wanted her son, Albie, to go to a special school but the council took too long to assess him
Emma Dunville, a friend of Mrs Leigh Wilson whose son also has Down’s syndrome, describes her experience trying to get the right education provision for her child as “exhausting mentally and physically”.
She said: “For the rest of his life we’ll be battling, battling, battling, everything is stacked up against you.”
Unlike Mrs Leigh Wilson, Mrs Dunville wanted her son Albie to go to a special school, but she had to wait more than a year for an assessment with an education psychologist to contribute to the council’s decision, which meant she missed the deadline for an EHCP.
“The people making these decisions just don’t see that all children with Down’s syndrome are totally different and can’t be seen as the same.”
The guidelines are that if there are not enough local authority-employed education psychologists they should seek a private assessment, but her local authority did not do that.
Mrs Dunville said her son has been “segregated” in a mainstream school, where they are “trying their best” but “it’s just not the right setting”.
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