The search for Nicola Bulley, a 45-year-old mother of two who went missing on January 27th, has ended tragically with the discovery of a body.
Ms. Bulley disappeared after dropping her daughters off at school in the village of St. Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire, prompting a large-scale search involving detectives, fire crews, mountain rescuers, and a police helicopter.
Her mobile phone was found on a bench, still logged onto a conference call with her employer, for whom she worked as a mortgage adviser. Her spaniel, Willow, was found running free without its harness or lead and had not been in the water.
Ms.
Bulley’s partner of 12 years, Paul Ansell, said that it was as though she had “vanished into thin air.” Lancashire Police had doubled down on their theory that Ms. Bulley had slipped into the river, which they said was very deep in some parts.
However, the investigation into her disappearance has attracted widespread speculation from social media users and criticism of the police response.
The Lancashire Police came under fire after making Ms.
Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and peri-menopause public three weeks after she went missing. They revealed in a press conference on Wednesday that Ms. Bulley was classified as a “high-risk” missing person immediately after her partner reported her disappearance “based on a number of specific vulnerabilities.
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The public backlash and interventions from both the Government and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper followed, leading to the confirmation that an internal review into the investigation would be conducted by the head of crime detective, Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables.
The case of Nicola Bulley has been a tragic one, with her body being found after an extensive search operation involving multiple agencies. The investigation into her disappearance has come under scrutiny, with criticism of the police response and widespread speculation from social media users.
The revelation of Ms. Bulley’s personal struggles by the Lancashire Police has also caused controversy and led to an internal review of the investigation.