Is this the end of a three-week long search?
A body has been found by police authorities searching for a 45-year old mortgage adviser who went missing three weeks ago.
The body, which has yet to be formally identified, was recovered from the River Wyre – near the place where Nicola Bulley (pictured) was last seen on January 27 walking her dog after dropping off her six- and nine-year old daughters at school.
Her dog was found wandering alone, while her phone was found on a bench next to the river, still logged into a group work call.
The Lancashire police is “currently treating the death as unexplained.” It has already informed Bulley’s family of the body’s discovery.
An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body.
— Lancashire Police (@LancsPolice) February 19, 2023
No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time.
“These are heart-breaking and distressing developments,” Suella Braverman, Home Secretary, said in a tweet. “My thoughts remain with Nicola's family at this extremely difficult time.”
The case attracted a media frenzy, with police getting slammed for disclosing Bulley’s struggle with alcohol and perimenopause. Authorities came under further public criticism as the search for the body went on for weeks with no results.
Amateur crime investigators and detectives joined in the unofficial search, with some breaking into abandoned buildings and conducting evening patrols.
Lancashire Police said it would conduct an internal review into its investigation.
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