Nicola Bulley: ‘We know her family’s pain’ say Preston family who lost a son in the same stretch of river - on the same day 45 years ago

A Preston family knows only too well the pain Nicola Bulley's relatives and friends have been suffering since she vanished.
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It was 45 years ago - to the very day - that 16-year-old Roger Jones vanished in the River Wyre after being catapulted into the water in a motorcycle crash.

The student from Fulwood was swept away in a fast-flowing brook which fed into the Wyre just yards upstream from where Nicola's mobile phone was found. His body was not discovered until two months later, washed up on a sandbank at low tide near to Shard Bridge, seven miles from St Michael's.

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And as the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the 45-year-old mother-of-two has been hitting the nation's headlines, it has brought back harrowing memories for the Jones family who lost the youngest of their three sons on that January night back in 1978.

Roger Jones was 16 when he vanished in the same stretch of the River Wyre in 1978.Roger Jones was 16 when he vanished in the same stretch of the River Wyre in 1978.
Roger Jones was 16 when he vanished in the same stretch of the River Wyre in 1978.

"We feel so much for Nicola's family and friends - we know just what they must be going through," said Roger's brother Don Jones, who now lives in Caton, near Lancaster.

"By some bizarre coincidence it was January 27 when Roger went missing - the same day as Nicola. And he would have been washed past the spot where her phone was found.

"There was no social media back then, so we didn't have to put up with some of the nonsense that Nicola's family are having to deal with. At the moment the world and his wife are having their say on it - trotting out all sorts of conspiracy theories - and that must be a nightmare for them to deal with.

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"That sort of thing is really unhelpful. We didn't get any of that, although we had clairvoyants and spiritualists getting in touch, which proved very upsetting, especially for our mum."

Nicola Bulley went missing on January 27 - exactly 45 years after Roger Jones.Nicola Bulley went missing on January 27 - exactly 45 years after Roger Jones.
Nicola Bulley went missing on January 27 - exactly 45 years after Roger Jones.
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Roger was a pupil at what was Fulwood High School and had been hoping to go to Myerscough College to study agriculture to follow his dream of becoming a farmer.

He had been returning home one night as the pillion passenger on a friend's motorbike when they crashed into a car on a narrow bridge in Woodplumpton, near Preston. The bike rider was badly injured and unconscious when emergency services arrived and was unable to tell them he had a passenger.

It was 3am before police were alerted that someone was missing and returned to the bridge which was over a fast-flowing stream in flood. They found one of Roger's gloves on the banking, but there was no trace of the teenager.

Don Jones believes Nicola, like his brother, could have been swept away after falling in the river.Don Jones believes Nicola, like his brother, could have been swept away after falling in the river.
Don Jones believes Nicola, like his brother, could have been swept away after falling in the river.
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A huge search of the countryside downstream was launched involving dog handlers and mounted police. Police divers were brought in. Don, his brother Dave, and other members of the Jones family went out day after day looking for Roger, but eventually the search had to be scaled back.

"It was awful," said Don, a former LEP and Granada TV journalist. "And what has happened at St Michael's has brought it all back for our family. There are so many similarities like the location, the date, the support from the public. Yet there are so many differences too.

"By the time he was found we had already come to the conclusion that Roger was in the river and it was just a case of waiting for what seemed inevitable. As a family we kept looking and hoping, although the general searches were eventually called off. Everyone was exhausted.

"It was Easter time when we heard a body had been found and my brother and me were asked to go to Garstang police station to identify Roger's belongings.

Search teams have been out every day on the River Wyre since Nicola vanished.Search teams have been out every day on the River Wyre since Nicola vanished.
Search teams have been out every day on the River Wyre since Nicola vanished.
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"I've seen the TV pictures of the river near where Nicola went missing and it doesn't look that deep or fast-flowing. But I've also looked on a website which charts river levels and there had been a spike on January 26, the day before she vanished.

"I think the river conditions were pretty similar when Roger went missing and he was obviously swept over the weir and into the tidal part of the river. He has found near Shard Bridge which is a fair distance away from St Michael's.

"It is so desperately sad for Nicola's family. It must be a total nightmare for them, not knowing what has happened. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this awful time."

Lancashire Police have renewed their appeal for dashcam footage of St Michael's on the morning of Friday January 27 when Nicola went missing. She was last seen at around 9:20am walking her brown spaniel Willow near to the river.

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As the inquiry entered its 13th day today around 60 officers were employed in either the search operation or combing through an “enormous” amount of information gathered so far.

Yesterday the county force once again rejected suggestions that Nicola could have been a victim of crime, with detectives believing she has “most likely” fallen into the river.

The National Crime Agency has also examined the investigation by Lancashire Police and has also failed to identify any other suspicious line of enquiry.

However, a senior officer said it was still a ‘possibility’ she left the area by one path not covered by cameras which is crossed by the main road through the village. Officers are now trying to trace dashcam footage from 700 drivers who passed along the road at the time she disappeared.

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Police have now extended their search for Nicola out to sea towards Morecambe Bay, 21 miles away. Supt Sally Riley said: “Our search of the river and the river banks extends out to sea, particularly the area from Knott End out towards Morecambe.”

It is understood search teams will be sweeping the sea around Morecambe Bay today.