A body pulled from the River Wyre in Lancashire has been formally identified as missing mum Nicola Bulley. The tragic discovery was first made on Sunday by two people walking in the area, 23 days after the mum-of-two went missing.
Police made the announcement at a press conference on Monday evening.
After they spotted something in the river around a mile from where the 45-year-old was last seen on January 27, a huge police response was drafted in, including the force helicopter, divers and drones. A forensics tent was also erected at the site.
On Sunday afternoon, cops confirmed the discovery of a body and informed the mum's devastated family. The force have now officially confirmed that it is Nicola.
Extensive search enquiries had been carried out to locate the missing mum over the last three weeks, with diving specialists, search dogs and air units all drafted in to the rescue mission. Police had been pursuing a theory that the mortgage advisor fell into the river, with a 10-minute window between her last sighting and her phone being discovered on a nearby park bench.
Her phone was discovered still connected to a Microsoft Teams work call, while family dog, Willow, later found running off-lead. Within just an hour, the mum had disappeared without trace - prompting a widespread search along the banks of the Wyre that caught the nation's attention.
During the weeks of her disappearance, police spoke to hundreds of people and received over 1,500 pieces of information related to their enquiries.
Officers leading the case have consistently stressed that they were continuing to treat Nicola's disappearance as a missing person's case, and have stated on several occasions that they do not believe the case involved any "third-party involvement".
Lancashire Police previously came under fire for releasing personal details of Nicola's life. Detectives disclosed to the public that she had been struggling with alcohol and her use of hormone replacement therapy to cope with the peri-menopause.
Officers later disclosed that they had been called out her home on January 10, which resulted in no further action. The force have since compiled an internal investigation into the disclosures and referred themselves to police watchdogs over the January 10 visit.
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