Nicola Bulley's family have said they are "heartbroken" after a body was discovered during the search for the missing mum. A body was discovered around a mile from where the 45-year-old was last seen with her dog at River Wyre on January 27.
While formal identification is yet to take place, the family of the mum-of-two have been informed. This evening, Sky News correspondent Inzamam Rashid said he had been in contact with Ms Bulley's relatives via text messages.
He said: "They are incredibly heartbroken by this significant development from Lancashire Police."
A police spokesman said officers were called to reports of a body in the river at around 11.35am on Sunday. "An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body," a statement said.
"No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time. Procedures to identify the body are ongoing. We are currently treating the death as unexplained.
"Nicola's family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy is respected."
The discovery came after a tip-off from two walkers. A police diving team could be seen conducting the search, while a police drone and helicopter flew above. The investigation into Ms Bulley's disappearance has attracted widespread speculation as well as criticism of the police response.
The force came under fire after making Ms Bulley's struggles with alcohol and peri-menopause public three weeks after she vanished. In a press conference on Wednesday, they revealed the mother-of-two was classed as a "high-risk" missing person immediately after her partner Paul Ansell reported her disappearance, "based on a number of specific vulnerabilities".
They later added in a statement that Ms Bulley, from Inskip in Lancashire, had stopped taking her HRT medication. A public backlash and interventions from the Government and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper followed, with Lancashire Constabulary confirming a date had been set for an internal review into the investigation.
A spokeswoman said: "A review of the investigation is diarised and will be conducted by our head of crime detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables."
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