Found Deceased UK - Nicola Bulley Last Seen Walking Dog Near River - St Michaels on Wyre (Lancashire), Jan 2023 #18

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

IMO he carried out the exact search of areas in 4 days, as directed by LE...to scan the water, the river bed and to mark any deep areas which required further investigation. It was not his remit to search the vegetation, reeds or bank side and he had specifically stated from the outset his equipment could not see into the reeds. He was desperate to find her, LE didn't want to be upstaged. He was under constant media pressure in a high profile search to provide updates and he categorically did not find any trace of her in the water, on the river bed or in any deep holes. It cannot go unsaid that LE failed also to find her and they were working on it for 3 weeks and it was their remit to search the river banks and reeds. She must have been somewhere. JMO

I agree with this and feel sure that if PF had been tasked with searching the area where she may have thrown herself in -or- been thrown in as opposed to what he was informed, that it looked like an accidental stumble into the water, then he would have absolutely located her.

Also people can say what they like about a 'psychic medium' finding NB but at least he *found her* unlike the police searchers who by that point had moved onto near the sea.

God forbid that something nefarious happened to NB but if it did, there's little to no chance of detection now IMO.

 

[pineapple23]

Also people can say what they like about a 'psychic medium' finding NB but at least he *found her* unlike the police searchers who by that point had moved onto near the sea.

Yes it's ironic that it was a couple of 'tourist searchers' who found her. I don't think we should get too hung up about the medium claim. Thanks to them, the family will have an element of closure.

 

[Cluella DeVille]

I suspect it is down to the fact that PF kept giving a running commentary to the media along with adding fuel to the conspiracy theories.

The guy is good at what he does. Should have done it quietly imo.

Were they conspiracy theories or was he highlighting that there were other directions the investigation might be elevated to? Whilst we're not privvy to what LE did or didn't know, we do know that by their own admission they had no evidence to support what had actually happened to Nicola. Their persistence to focus on the water when high tech equipment and umpteen searches had proved fruitless was stirring the frustration. Everyone was under so much pressure and the media inexperience in something so high profile was evident IMO
Because their handling of this case has been heavily criticised by many on a number of levels, and it is what fuelled so much speculation JMO

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Does anyone know what the proposed route NB is alleged to have taken to put herself in the river from the bridge as I'm confused as to why the dog wouldn't have followed her and why no one saw her if this should have happened?

 

[ayrshireguy]

Unfortunately, the police don't always find people -- alive or dead -- as promptly as we (and I'm sure they) would like.

Searching water is hard, even when you had evidence and a correct belief that someone is in that water.

Yep, very hard. As has been mentioned before, searching a river for a body is one of the most difficult search operations the police will undertake. Most cases end when the body surfaces as what is likely in this case. NB's body very likely floated until it got snagged in the tree. It's possible NB went into the river down from the weir.

 

[Cluella DeVille]

I agree with this and feel sure that if PF had been tasked with searching the area where she may have thrown herself in -or- been thrown in as opposed to what he was informed, that it looked like an accidental stumble into the water, then he would have absolutely located her.

Also people can say what they like about a 'psychic medium' finding NB but at least he *found her* unlike the police searchers who by that point had moved onto near the sea.

God forbid that something nefarious happened to NB but if it did, there's little to no chance of detection now IMO.

PF wasn't at liberty to search outside of what he was permitted to do, and LE admitted in their press conference they had withheld information from him that would have assisted him to observe elements other than the just the body he was tasked to find IMO
Although LE were clear they were considering all options, if it does elevate to something more sinister it will be interesting to hear just how much focus they committed to other options comparable to the river and what evidence they collated

 

[Cluella DeVille]

DBM double post

 

[ayrshireguy]

PF wasn't at liberty to search outside of what he was permitted to do, and LE admitted in their press conference they had withheld information from him that would have assisted him to observe elements other than the just the body he was tasked to find IMO
Although LE were clear they were considering all options, if it does elevate to something more sinister it will be interesting to hear just how much focus they committed to other options comparable to the river and what evidence they collated

What other elements would he have been looking for? I don't think I heard him mention other than that in the past he looked for whisky bottles etc when he was told by police they suspected suicide.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

What other elements would he have been looking for? I don't think I heard him mention other than that in the past he looked for whisky bottles etc when he was told by police they suspected suicide.

JMO and sorry for the blunt wording but I imagine he would have considered a variety of jumping off points and factors to do with having taken a flying leap. Very diff than when one loses footing and falls or tumbles. Altho I don't have a link to quote and am paraphrasing, PF did say that had he known he would have searched differently and that NB could have been all the way to sea by the time he was informed.

 

[ayrshireguy]

JMO and sorry for the blunt wording but I imagine he would have considered a variety of jumping off points and factors to do with having taken a flying leap. Very diff than when one loses footing and falls or tumbles. Altho I don't have a link to quote and am paraphrasing, PF did say that had he known he would have searched differently and that NB could have been all the way to sea by the time he was informed.

Yep, he did say he would have searched differently but I am unsure how. He searched with his sonar and found nothing. So he's possibly missed NB, NB's body had sunk beneath the mud and silt, or the body was located somewhere else?

 

[shinimeggie]

I do believe we've reached a state in this world where nothing can just be a tragic accident.

Unfortunately, it most often isn't the bogeyman in the bushes who can be caught and punished who causes us to stumble and get hurt, or killed, or lost.

It is accidents outside of our control, in our normal day-to-day lives, and sometimes that's scary so we like to look for anything else, anything at all, that means it couldn't have been us who succumbed to such a fate. And that sometimes makes people make dramatic leaps, now on the soapbox of social media instead of just with local gossip.

But that is just life, sometimes. It ends in a tragically mundane way by an accident that no-one caused nor could have foreseen. And when that happens, we just have to try and learn any lessons we can, big or small, professional or personal, and hug those we love a little tighter.

 

[Cluella DeVille]

Does anyone know what the proposed route NB is alleged to have taken to put herself in the river from the bridge as I'm confused as to why the dog wouldn't have followed her and why no one saw her if this should have happened?

What bridge do you mean?
It still hasn't been ascertained what actually happened to Nicola or how she ended up where she did. So it remains speculation as to what any person or Willow was witness to

 

[MrsWatson]

I do believe we've reached a state in this world where nothing can just be a tragic accident.

Unfortunately, it most often isn't the bogeyman in the bushes who can be caught and punished who causes us to stumble and get hurt, or killed, or lost.

It is accidents outside of our control, in our normal day-to-day lives, and sometimes that's scary so we like to look for anything else, anything at all, that means it couldn't have been us who succumbed to such a fate. And that sometimes makes people make dramatic leaps, now on the soapbox of social media instead of just with local gossip.

But that is just life, sometimes. It ends in a tragically mundane way by an accident that no-one caused nor could have foreseen. And when that happens, we just have to try and learn any lessons we can, big or small, professional or personal, and hug those we love a little tighter.

And that's not even mentioning the bogeymen in our heads who can play their own insidious games.

Very well said, @shinimeggie.

 

[Batearedfreak]

Specialist who failed to find Nicola Bulley removed from expert list

Peter Faulding's Specialist Group International (SGI) has assisted in several high profile investigations and joined the search for the missing mother for three days.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Suddenly he has no comment.

 

[squish]

Specialist divers who failed to find Nicola Bulley have been removed from the National Crime Agency expert list

Specialist who failed to find Nicola Bulley removed from expert list

Peter Faulding's Specialist Group International (SGI) has assisted in several high profile investigations and joined the search for the missing mother for three days.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The specialist diver who claimed he'd find Nicola Bulley if she was in the River Wyre has reportedly been removed from the National Crime Agency's experts list.

Peter Faulding's Specialist Group International (SGI) has assisted in several high profile investigations and joined the search for the missing mother for three days before he sensationally guaranteed she was 'not in that section of the river'.

According to The Times, SGI was this week dropped from an official list of experts recommended to assist in investigations on the Expert Advisers Database.

An internal review is expected to be carried out and could result in the group being reinstated.

A spokesman for the National Crime Agency told the publication: 'The NCA does not employ, endorse or accredit experts on our adviser database.

I don't think this is fair. He didn't have all the information, and he wasn't able to search wherever he wanted.

I do think it was wrong of him to keep running his mouth and stating his opinions as facts, because he ought to know how you're not guaranteed to find a body, even if it's there.

He should learn a lesson to keep quiet in the future and not draw so much attention to himself.

However his behaviour doesn't mean he lacks expertise.

 

[Cluella DeVille]

What other elements would he have been looking for? I don't think I heard him mention other than that in the past he looked for whisky bottles etc when he was told by police they suspected suicide.

Well it is heavily claimed that anywhere above the weir (ie. in the non-tidal section of the river) the stretch has some deep spots in the middle but is predominantly shallow with little movement. The river levels were relatively low, there had been virtually no rain or water surges to force the current. He didn't join the search until the 10th day as I recall, by which time it was quite likely a sunken body would have risen to the surface, making the chances of it progressing beyond the weir in those conditions almost impossible. So if she wasn't found in that section it was more than possible she had entered the water elsewhere which hadn't yet been searched. And the point at which she might have entered may produce evidence. She may have removed some clothes and left them on a bank, a bottle, her keys might be left behind? And if she had entered the water in the tidal area she would have moved much more swiftly and been a bit or a lot further down than where he was searching. The insistence that she had entered at the bench area might lean more to a potential accident, but a shallow, still body of water didn't support a successful suicide attempt. In fact the clothing she was wearing would have actually given her some buoyancy for a little longer unless she was able to raise her arms, which would have caused her to sink faster

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

DBM double posted

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

DBM

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

What bridge do you mean?
It still hasn't been ascertained what actually happened to Nicola or how she ended up where she did. So it remains speculation as to what any person or Willow was witness to

There's been stuff widely stated but not on any platform I can link or quote here on WS as it's not been formally stated by LE or published on a mainstream news platform.

I think the comments here dating back to 6 Feb may lean towards what is being said and also as to why PF states he was 'baffled' as it made no sense. Bearing in mind he had not been given full information I should imagine he feels extremely betrayed. He might have been a little outspoken and over-confident but he was working really hard and was obviously hoping to help. IMO JMO

Police issue update as Nicola Bulley search teams spotted at Shard Bridge

Video showed police, the coastguard and ambulance workers all in attendance while drones with night vision were deployed

www.lancs.live

 

[Woodburnbay]

But is it not also possible that the body was washed backwards and forwards eventually getting caught in the reeds?
Or that it was there all the time but missed in searches.

I agree, to date based upon published information from police and family.
There is no more evidence to suggest that NB just fell or jumped into he river.
There is also no evidence that the body was placed where it was found post mortem.

It of course be a complete coincidence that the body floated almost a mile down stream and came to a resting place exactly where the river meets the road.

The police do say that they searched the river and surrounding area.
The specialists brought in sonar searched the river and river bed.

By now, the pathologist will have ascertained if the water in lungs is pre or post mortem.
The police appear to be very silent at the moment.

The media don't appear to be doing their job of investigative journalism as they are not pressing police for information. Instead, now that the storm has subsided, they have moved on to whatever else sells newspapers.

I have to say that I am very disappointed with the lack of on site forensics that have taken place both at the disappearance site and that of the site the body was found. We all know that even less than 12 hours after both missing and finds, anyone could gain access to areas tat should have been cordoned off.