Found Deceased UK - Nicola Bulley, 45, last seen walking her dog on footpath by the river, Inskip, Lancashire, 27 Jan 2023

[heartandsoul]

Having looked on SM at several photos of her walking the dog in question next to water, I no longer think the most likely explanation is her going in after the dog (though obviously cannot rule this out). The dog is not in the water in any photo and looks to be mostly dry in them all.

 

[ScalableHeights]

The only odd wrinkle to this that I can see is that apparently the dog was dry when found. But I’m not a dog owner so I don’t know a) how fast a dog like this would get dry after being in a river, and b) how long it took them to find the dog. If true though it probably means she lost her footing and fell in the water rather than anything more sinister. I hope she’s found safe and well.

 

[Telltale]

I lean towards foul play too unfortunately. I don't think she went in after her dog and it seems unlikely she just fell in.

We have also become aware that a large number of people from the local community have organised a search of the area and we would urge them to stay safe. The river and its banks are extremely dangerous and searching these areas presents a genuine risk to the public.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=pfbid02xueYcUCUdJJoXEo1wiFY94PYixoPe8jEexNJP7Q27i6TiiTFyXXmXj1wui1Qs1GPl&id=100064698606332

Seems the police are quite worried someone could fall in looking for her. The River Wyre floods so it's quite heavily managed with embankments and such, but where it's not its likely to have a soft riverbank or get undercut by the fast water leaving unsupported vegetation that's less solid than it appears.

 

[Sjöberg]

But I’m not a dog owner so I don’t know a) how fast a dog like this would get dry after being in a river, and b) how long it took them to find the dog.

a) Dogs get semi-dry (dry-looking) surprisingly fast, especially water dogs. Mine might be dry-looking after like 10-15 minutes. But still kinda wet to the touch. Meaning, I would not trust photos and even if the dog was actually fully dry, I think it could go either way.
<modsnip - referenced post removed>

 

[SpursGyal]

Having 2 spaniels myself, all of who love water, and are ridiculously good swimmers, its hard to believe that the dog would have got stuck or in difficulty and she would have gone in after the dog. I fear foul play of some description

I’d agree with that, ours loved a good swim, lakes, rivers, canals anything they could find lol.

 

[in2thegate]

a) Dogs get semi-dry (dry-looking) surprisingly fast, especially water dogs. Mine might be dry-looking after like 10-15 minutes. But still kinda wet to the touch. Meaning, I would not trust photos and even if the dog was actually fully dry, I think it could go either way.
<modsnip - referenced post removed>

Yes i agree. Also depends on whether the dog has recently been groomed or running somewhere like long grass so could dry off a little quicker

 

[JumpingFrog]

Having 2 spaniels myself, all of who love water, and are ridiculously good swimmers, its hard to believe that the dog would have got stuck or in difficulty and she would have gone in after the dog. I fear foul play of some description

I have a Springer - old now, from a puppy - who hates streams, pools, baths etc so they're not all the same (I was surprised when I discovered this!).

 

[JumpingFrog]

Has anyone reported how the dog behaved? Spaniels especially are so human-like, if his mum had an accident or was abducted I'd expect that dog to be running in circles, panting, crying. Likewise, they would follow you where you go. MOO MOE.

 

[PIShaz]

Hello - I am new to Websleuths. Great forum. I was reading about Nicola Bulley in the wee small hours. There is something really unusual about the way this case is being reported - “Several lines of enquiry“ being followed by police. Makes me wonder if there is something not being reported yet - maybe an infatuated, stalking ex or something. I doubt this lady has decided to walk away from her own life - she would not have taken her dog.I hope she is found safe and well, and soon. My thoughts with family and friends.

 

[in2thegate]

I have a Springer - old now, from a puppy - who hates streams, pools, baths etc so they're not all the same (I was surprised when I discovered this!).

Ok - yes i've learnt something new there! Having google mapped it this morning i would assume (possibly wrongly!) that she was there because the dogged liked to have a little dip in the water.

 

[Sarahlou]

<modsnip - no link>

If you search for her name on Facebook you should find a post by someone with the initials AT.

 

[Telltale]

While statistically it's most likely she went into the water, the only thing that gives me pause is that this happened Friday morning. There would have been plenty of walkers up and down the river for the whole weekend, even without the search parties.

Now drowning can be very fast/silent. At the same time the river is fairly narrow and for the most part embanked river. While it is fast flowing/deceptively deep, and she could have got snagged somewhere - there is a reasonable chance a body would be spotted imo.

On the other hand, there is a lot of hidden water/flood management going on since the River Wyre bursts its banks and floods homes fairly regularly, so it may not be as simple as simply looking down river, there might be all sorts of sluces and pipes and water diversion etc to check if the current pulls things towards them.
<modsnip - no source links for documents>

 

[Distant Observer]

She must have walked that route hundreds of times. It's always possible to slip but I would expect to find some sign on the riverbank where she may have fallen and slid into the river. It has been extremely cold recently so the water temperature may only be around 4 or 5 Celsius meaning she would have had to leave the water immediately to avoid cardiac arrest. I hope there is another explanation and she is found safe and well but the circumstances of her disappearance are very worrying.

 

[Telltale]

She must have walked that route hundreds of times. It's always possible to slip but I would expect to find some sign on the riverbank where she may have fallen and slid into the river. It has been extremely cold recently so the water temperature may only be around 4 or 5 Celsius meaning she would have had to leave the water immediately to avoid cardiac arrest. I hope there is another explanation and she is found safe and well but the circumstances of her disappearance are very worrying.

I have a rather insane relative who lives up in Yorkshire and is fond of a good invigorating river swim even at this time of year. While I'm sure she has acclimatized to it. I can't imagine it's cold enough to be quite that deadly if she takes regular dips in January/February times. The old witch is near 80 so it must be doing her some good, though I'll happily shave a few years of the top to avoid that bit of healthful exercise.

NB was wearing slip on wellies, so at the least she should have been able to slip out of them if she was in the water or somehow stuck in the mud. But likely was wearing a thick coat/hat scarf etc which would weighing her down.

I suppose that is a question not answered - can she swim? And if she can, does she swim recreationally/is she a strong swimmer?

Though maybe knowing isn't that much help.

If she can't swim- she isn't likely to get into a fast moving river (unless her dog looks about to drown.) She might try wading out a bit if she had knee high wellies though and slip - no marks on the river bank that way and she'd be less likely to strip other clothes off before going in.

If she can swim, she might have thought she could get to the dog but underestimated the river, as many casual pool swimmers do.

If she straight fell in, (trying to get the dog out of just by accident,) fully clothed she might have a lot of trouble getting out again swimmer or not.

 

[shadwell]

The ‘open mind’ and ’several lines of enquiry’ lines in the Lancs police statement certainly give the impression that they are looking beyond the obvious on this one. From her FB it would also appear that NB was in the habit of carrying her phone on walks (for taking photos if nothing else) so there will potentially be some info to be had there. Beyond apparently being dry, there doesn’t seem to be any further info re the dog when it was found: tied up or loose, agitated/barking etc.

There does look to be a weir close to the last sighting area, so that’s a potential factor - obviously if she did go in the water it was on the down river side of it. A lot of bends on the Wyre in that area, but also (though I don’t know how recent the Google satellite photos are) look to be a couple of trees down across the river west of St Michael’s and shallows further along, all of which would also be obvious search areas.

 

[tedtink]

The ‘open mind’ and ’several lines of enquiry’ lines in the Lancs police statement certainly give the impression that they are looking beyond the obvious on this one. From her FB it would also appear that NB was in the habit of carrying her phone on walks (for taking photos if nothing else) so there will potentially be some info to be had there. Beyond apparently being dry, there doesn’t seem to be any further info re the dog when it was found: tied up or loose, agitated/barking etc.

There does look to be a weir close to the last sighting area, so that’s a potential factor - obviously if she did go in the water it was on the down river side of it. A lot of bends on the Wyre in that area, but also (though I don’t know how recent the Google satellite photos are) look to be a couple of trees down across the river west of St Michael’s and shallows further along, all of which would also be obvious search areas.

Only that the dog has 'since' been found. (So not on the day of her disappearance IMO)

"The 45-year-old was walking her brown-coloured Spaniel immediately before going missing, which has since been found close to where she was last seen."

Missing dog walker’s phone was still connected to work conference call

Nicola Bulley, a mother of two, had been walking her dog by a river in Lancashire when she vanished on Friday morning

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Ms Bulley’s dog was found near to where she was last seen, on a footpath by the river off Garstang Road in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, around 10 miles north-west of Preston.

Huge search for woman, 45, who went missing while walking dog

She disappeared while walking her spaniel on a riverside footpath

www.standard.co.uk

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Ms Bulley’s dog was found near to where she was last seen, on a footpath by the river off Garstang Road in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, around 10 miles north-west of Preston.

Huge search for woman, 45, who went missing while walking dog

She disappeared while walking her spaniel on a riverside footpath

www.standard.co.uk

<modsnip - unnecessary> Willow was seemingly found within an hour of NB's last sighting.

 

[tedtink]

Police searching for missing woman, 45, who vanished three days ago reveal her phone was found on bench.....​

Police said this afternoon her phone was in use at the time she went missing, and that her dog was found nearby about an hour after she was reported missing

Woman, 45, who went missing while walking dog ‘was on work conference call when she disappeared’

Police searching for a woman who vanished three days ago while walking her dog have revealed she was on a work call when she disappeared.

www.lbc.co.uk

 

[PIShaz]

I wonder what her route to the river was on Friday. I just had a look at Street View on Google for the river off Garstang Road, where NB was last seen. There are a few pubs and businesses around there. I guess she may have been picked up on CCTV. I imagine this will be checked. Three days with no known sightings is a long time. <modsnip - referenced posts removed> Thank you - very helpful.