Britain is rocked by a disappearance case that gets stranger and stranger by the day.
On Friday 27 January, mother of two Nicola Bulley (45) went for a morning walk with the dog as usual.
Nothing indicated that this day would be the start of a great mystery, and a decisive time for her loved ones.
LATEST IMAGE: Surveillance images of Nicola Bulley were released on Monday. They show Nicola Bulley putting something into the boot of the car before driving the children to school on the day she disappeared. Photo: Shutterstock
Because the mother of two never came home again.
– I can’t leave my girls without giving them an answer, says Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, despairingly Sky News.
He says the daughters miss their mother desperately.
Was connected to Teams
A surveillance camera at the residence showed Bulley leaving with her two children and driving them to school. Then, at 9:01 a.m., she logged into a Teams meeting with work and walked out with the dog.
A witness observed her on the footpath along the River Wyre in St Michaels in Lancashire with the dog at 9.10am. All tracks end here.
TIMELINE: This is the police’s timeline before the disappearance. Photo: Lancashire Police
25 minutes later, her dog and phone were found by a bench along the river bank. The phone was still connected to the Teams meeting.
– It is as if we are stuck in a nightmare, Bulle’s sister, Louise Cunningham, told Sky News on Thursday.
Despite extensive searches both in and along the river, no discoveries have been made. On Monday, a private international diving team with high-tech sonar contributed to the search.
– Disappeared into thin air
– It’s as if she has disappeared into thin air, says the sister to Sky News.
LETER: It was along this riverbank that Nicola Bulley’s dog and phone were found on Friday ten days ago. Photo: PAUL ELLIS
The family says they feel like they are going around in circles. They try to find out what might have happened, and piece together pieces that can provide answers.
– We just want her home. We need her at home. The children need her. This is absolutely heartbreaking, says the sister.
Paul Ansell and Nicola Bulley have been cohabitants for 12 years. He says he plays through every conceivable scenario in his head without getting any wiser.
– I don’t know how I can cope. I focus on how I can support the girls, he told Sky News on Friday.
Tennis ball theory
The sister says the police and the local community have made a fantastic effort, while Bulle’s friend, Emma White, says the police are sparing with information.
– There is nothing to indicate that Bulley is exposed to anything criminal, the police state in one press release.
On Monday, searches will be conducted both above and below water in the River Wyre. Photo: Danny Lawson
The police have a theory that Bulley may have fallen into the river, and have a hypothesis that the dog may have run after a tennis ball found nearby, and pulled the woman into the river.
– Our lives are completely empty now. We ask the police to investigate widely, and that anyone who may have information report it, says the sister.
They hope that Bulley may be alive, and beg her to come home.
– There are two small children waiting for their mother, says Cunningham.
