Nicola Bulley: Second potential witness identified as police share more information about missing mother’s morning prior to her disappearance

Nicola Bulley, from Inskip, was last seen on a towpath by the River Wyre off Garstang Road at around 9.15am on Friday (January 27).

The mother-of-two's phone was later discovered on a bench still connected to a work call, with her springer spaniel also found running loose.

Almost a week later on Thursday (February 2), police cordoned off the bench as specialist divers returned to search the river again.

The force also released a CCTV image of a woman they believed was in the area at the time she was last seen.

Detectives later confirmed she had been identified following a public appeal.

“We have now identified the woman and would like to thank everybody who shared our appeal and phoned in with information,” a spokesman for Lancashire Police said.

Officers previously said the woman, who was captured on CCTV at about 08:50 on Allotment Lane, close to where Ms Bulley was last seen, might have information to help the investigation.

Despite a huge search involving the police helicopter, drones, sniffer dogs, and an army of volunteers, no trace of Ms Bulley has been found.

In its first update since Tuesday, the force on Thursday (February 2) reasserted that officers have found no evidence of foul play, despite “keeping a really open mind about what could have happened”.

Detectives also released a timeline of Ms Bulley’s last known movements.

What was Nicola doing prior to her disappearance?

8.43am: Nicola walked along the path by the River Wyre, having dropped her children off at school

8:50am (approximately): A dog walker – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her walking around the lower field with her dog. Their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field via the river path

8.53am: She sent an email to her boss

9.01am: She logged into a Teams call

9.10am (approximately): A witness – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow. Work is ongoing today to establish exactly what time this was.

9.30am: The Teams call ended but Nicola stayed logged on

9.35am (approximately): Nicola’s mobile phone and Willow were found at a bench by the river by another dog walker.

What have Lancashire Police said?

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “We continue to have specialist resources from both the police and other emergency services in the area searching a significant area of land around the river off Garstang Road.

“We also have divers in the area and are using underwater drones to search the full length of the River Wyre downstream. Our police dogs have also been out searching.

"We are really grateful to everyone who has come forward with information so far and would continue to ask people to get in touch if they have information or concerns.

"However, parts of the riverbank are treacherous, especially after the recent rain, and we would ask that nobody puts themselves in danger and that the police and partner agencies’ efforts to find Nicola are not compromised.

“We appreciate that there are unanswered questions about what has happened to Nicola, but would urge people not to speculate or spread false rumours.

Anybody who has seen Nicola, or has information about where she might be, is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30.

For immediate sightings call 999.