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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Namita Singh,Lucy Skoulding and Emily Atkinson

Nicola Bulley – latest: Missing mother’s partner tells of ‘agony’ after body found in river

Jason Roberts/PA Wire

Ex-detective says police have ‘destroyed’ Nicola Bulley’s reputation

A forensic expert who assisted police in the search for Nicola Bulley has defended his team’s operations after a body was found near to where the mother-of-two went missing.

Peter Faulding led a private team of divers to assist police in the search for Ms Bulley, using sonar technology to see if anything was in the river that could help with the hunt, but came up empty-handed.

In a statement, he asserted that the body was “ not found in the river but in the reeds at the side of the river which was not part of our remit.”

The body was found around a mile from where Ms Bulley was last seen walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping her daughters at school.

A man and woman walking their dog on Sunday morning found the body and called police.

No formal identification has yet taken place but Ms Bulley’s family have been told about the discovery, police said.

Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell has since told Sky News of his “agony”, adding: “We’re all together, we have to be strong.”

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