Police who investigated the disappearance of nicola bulley missing issued a statement earlier this month to stamp out “speculation” after officers returned to the river where her body was found.
Police returned to the River Wyre in Lancashire in early April, six weeks after Ms Bulley’s body was found in the water, ahead of an inquest into her death which will be heard on Monday, 26 June, at County Hall in Preston.
Lancashire Constabulary issued a statement revealing why the officer had returned to the scene.
Ms Bulley, a mortgage adviser, went missing on 27 January after having last been seen walking her dog near the River Wyre.
After an intensive search, which took detectives out to Morecambe Bay, Bulley’s body was found on 19 February around a mile downstream of a bench where her phone had been left.
A diving team was seen in the river in early April, as Lancashire Police said officers were working “on the direction of HM coroner”.
However, a Lancashire Constabulary spokesperson said there had been “misinformed speculation” about police activity in the River Wyre.
The force confirmed that the Senior Coroner asked police divers to assess the riverbanks near where Ms Bulley went missing and was not conducting further searches within the river or along the banks.
Below we look at everything we know, her disappearance and what has happened since.
Nicola Bulley was a 45-year-old mortgage adviser and mother-of-two living in St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire.
Paul Ansell, Ms Bulley’s partner, said she was “fun”, “loving”, “the most loyal friend you could ever have”, and an “exceptional mum”.
Nadia Fell, 39, a late mother’s friend, said Bulley was “the most amazing mum ever” and added: “Anything that needed doing for the school – PTA stuff – she was always there for it.”
Ms Bulley was last seen near the river at around 9.20 am on Friday, 27 January, after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at the school in the village.
She was understood to have been walking her dog Willow, a springer spaniel, along the River Wyre.
Around this time, she sent an email and logged into a work call which ended 30 minutes later, though she remained logged onto the ring.
Another dog-walker later found her mobile phone and dog on a bench.
A major search for Ms Bulley saw specialist diving teams scan the river, with police heading out to Morecambe Bay to investigate the possibility her body had been swept out to sea.
Her body was found 23 days after she disappeared, on 19 February, in a patch of undergrowth and branches by a river bend around one mile from the bench where her phone and dog were found.
More than six weeks later, police divers were spotted in the River Wyre on 4 April, and a brief clip was uploaded to YouTube.
Lancashire Police said: “We oilcan confirm we are carrying out some work on the direction of HM coroner.”
“Today’s development is not the outcome any of us would have wanted, but we hope that it can at least start to provide some answers for Nicola’s loved ones, who remain foremost in our thoughts,” Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson told a news conference.
“We recognise the huge impact that Nicola’s disappearance has had on her family and friends, but also the people of St Michael’s,” he added.
“We would like to thank all those who have helped during a hugely complex and highly emotional investigation.”
The family said in a statement read by police that the formal identification confirmed “our worst fears”.
“We will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments, and that will never leave us,” the family said.
“We will never forget Nikki; how could we? She was the centre of our world; she was the one who made our lives so unique, and nothing will cast a shadow over that.
“Our girls will get the support they need from the people who love them the most.”
The family questioned the role of the press and members of the public who “accused their dad of wrongdoing, misquoted and vilified friends and family”.
They also criticised Sky News and ITV for “contacting us directly when we expressly asked for privacy”.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the news that Ms Bulley’s body had been found was “devastating”.
“My heart goes out to Nicola’s partner, children, family and friends,” he said.
It is understood that a man and a woman walking their dog near the river called the police on Sunday after seeing a person in the water, with officers then launching a search.
The home secretary said she would see what Lancashire Police’s inquiries “come back with” when asked if there would be an external review into the force’s handling of Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
Suella Braverman said she was not “wholly satisfied” with responses given by the chief constable when she asked for an explanation as to why some of Ms Bulley’s details were released to the public.
