Timeline of Nicola Bulley’s disappearance as inquest opens

Khushboo Malhotra

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The body of Nicola Bulley, a 45-year-old mother-of-two, has been retrieved three weeks after she went missing on January 27.

Ms Bulley disappeared over four weeks ago while walking her dog, Willow, in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, England on Friday morning. After the report of her disappearance, Lancashire Constabulary immediately graded her as “high risk” because of “specific vulnerabilities,” and mounted a major search operation.

Authorities positively identified Nicola Bulley’s body after it was pulled from the River Wyre on February 19, about 45 miles northwest of Manchester.

The case has garnered extensive national media attention and public interest. Authorities have also faced public backlash for allegedly mishandling the case, including disclosing personal details of her “issues with alcohol and perimenopause.”

The timeline below details how the Nicola Bulley disappearance investigation has progressed to date, as an inquest into her death opens.

27 January

8:43 am:  After dropping off her daughters at school, Nicola took her dog for a walk by the River Wyre.

8:50 am: A dog-walker – who knew 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.

8:53 am: Nicola sent an email to her boss.

8:57 am: She sent a text to a friend to arrange a playdate.

9:01 am: She logged into a Microsoft Teams conference work call.

9:10 am: A witness, who knew Bulley, saw her on the upper field walking Willow. This is confirmed by authorities.

9:20 am: Her mobile phone is linked to the area of a bench by the river.

9:30 am: The conference call ended but Bulley stayed logged on though remained on mute with her camera off.

9:33 am: A local dog walker found Willow running around off her lead.

9:35 am: Nicola’s mobile phone, facing upwards, and Willow were found on the bench by another dog walker. Willow’s harness and lead were halfway between the bench and the river.

10:50 am: Her family and the schools attended by her children were notified of her disappearance.

11 am: Nicola Bulley was reported missing to the Lancashire Police.

28-29 January

Lancashire Police launched an extensive missing persons operation, deploying fleets of drones, helicopters and search dogs. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service also joined the search, accompanied by the Bowland Pennine mountain rescue team and the North West underwater search team.

Local residents organised independent search groups. Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell said, “It is just perpetual hell. It is just utter disbelief. We are living through this but it doesn’t feel real.”

30 January

Chief Inspector Chris Barton of Lancashire Police stated in a press conference that “enquiries are very much ongoing and we have a team of detectives working tirelessly to establish the circumstances around her disappearance”, in addition to police officers, partner agency and volunteer groups.

31 January

Ms Bulley’s family released a statement thanking the community for its overwhelming support. “The girls are desperate to have their mummy back home safe with them and your ongoing efforts have provided comfort to them whilst we await news on Nicola. We will never stop looking for her.”

3 February

A week into the investigation, the police confirmed their primary theory that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the river after being led there by her dog, but did not provide any evidence to explain how they arrived at this theory. They stated there was no evidence to suggest foul play was involved.

5 February

The “key witness” stepped forward to give her account of events, as the force warned against “totally unacceptable” online speculations and abuse.

World-renowned forensics expert Peter Faulding joined the investigation with his team Specialist Group International, with the family’s permission.

6 February

Both Ms Bulley’s family and the police condemned the rampant online speculation, stating it is “both unhelpful to the investigation and, more importantly, hurtful for the family.” The police said they had spoken to many witnesses, analysed Bulley’s phone and Fitbit, and searched an abandoned home and empty vehicles nearby but found no leads.

SGI divers also joined efforts to scour the river but with no success. Faulding told the MailOnline: “We and police are all baffled.” He said he will be “confident” soon that she is not in the area “at all”, and that police fear the phone and harness found on the bench could be a “decoy”.

7 February

Superintendent Sally Riley revealed thousands of pieces of information are being submitted by the public, and despite questioning over 700 drivers in the area, the authorities still believed their main hypothesis “that Nicola has sadly fallen into the river. There is no third party or criminal involvement and this is not suspicious but the tragic case of a missing person.”

This followed Paul Ansell’s second statement, announcing his desperation for “the answers we all so badly need”. He said: “It’s been 10 days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back.”

8 February

The underwater search team looking for Ms Bulley pulled out of the operation, stating they believed “categorically” she is not in the river’s section where detectives believe she fell in. Police search shifted from the river near to where she vanished “further downstream” and out towards the sea.

9 February

Police urged the public not to “take the law into their own hands,” and issued a blanket 48-hour public dispersal order to break up the groups of “amateur social media sleuths” reportedly descending on St Michael’s, digging up woodland, filming content, and breaking into an abandoned house.

10 February

In an interview with Channel 5, Mr Ansell spoke about the “unprecedented hell” his family was experiencing but stated that they had not given up hope of finding Nicola Bulley. He said he was staying strong for his daughters and continued to reassure them with the little information he had.

He added: “I’m 100 per cent convinced it’s not the river. People don’t just vanish into thin air. It’s absolutely impossible.”

15 February

Based on the interviews with Bulley’s family conducted, the police disclosed that Bulley had “some significant issues with alcohol that were brought on by her struggles with perimenopause.” Police and health professionals visited her home address in Inskip, Lancashire after a report of “concern for welfare” but no arrests were made.

Wondered how long it would be before the police’s failure to find Nicola would be painted as her fault… https://t.co/ZcpzbzvIew

— Claire Cohen (@clairecohen) February 16, 2023

16 February

A backlash immediately greeted the police condemning their decision to divulge medical information about Bulley. MPs accused the authorities of victim blaming and women’s rights campaigners said they have reinforced dangerous stereotypes that women are “crazy” and “hormonal”.

Bulley’s family released a statement saying: “As a family, we were aware beforehand that the Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki. Although we know [that] Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.”

19 February

Lancashire Police confirmed they retrieved a body in the River Wyre close to where Nicola Bulley went missing.

Police said: “An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body. No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time.”

20 February

After the extensive search lasting for over three weeks, the police confirmed the “worst fears” of the family that the body retrieved from the River Wyre on February 19 belonged to Ms Bulley.

Partner Paul Ansell said the family is in “agony” after the discovery. Ms Bulley’s family paid tribute to “the one who made our lives so special” and issued a statement thanking the community for its support, while sharply criticising the media.