Nicola Bulley, police

Lancashire Police Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson defended his force's investigation into the case of Nicola Bulley at a press conference this morning.

But she said all the evidence suggested that Ms Bulley went down to the river and did not return. The search for the missing woman was extended to downstream from St Michael's on Wyre to where it empties into Morecambe Bay and the open sea on 3 February. Asked if she hoped to find Ms Bulley alive, Det Supt Smith said: "I hope with all my heart that we find Nicola Bulley alive more than anything". But online amateur sleuths and social media video-makers have "distracted significantly" from official efforts to find her, police said. "But those vulnerabilities based our decision-making in terms of grading Nicola as high-risk, and have continued to form part of my investigation throughout." Senior officers were at pains to stress they did not believe anyone had attacked or abducted Ms Bulley, that they believe she had gone into the water without anyone else being involved, and to quash the "persistent myths" around the case.

Lancashire Police said officers have been 'inundated with false information' from TikTokers 'playing private detective'

It is not Nicola’s, but we have got that in our possession.” “The red van… “In terms of the glove that has been recovered, you’ll no doubt be aware that TikTokers have been playing their own private detectives and have been in the area,” she said.

Force says it has been 'inundated' with false information about missing 45-year-old.

Police have carried out a search of the land surrounding the place Bulley was last seen, including 300 buildings, using search teams and trained counter-terrorist officers. The “working hypothesis” of police is that the 45-year-old fell into the River Wyre while walking her dog. Whatever has happened, in my eyes, has to be somebody who knows the local area. In an interview with Channel 5 on Friday, he said: “Extensive searching, as you’re probably aware, has gone on in that river. But I think it’s also really obvious that we are being inundated with false information, accusations and rumours, which is distracting us from our work.” This caused some real challenges for Paul and the family.

Ms Bulley disappeared while walking her springer spaniel, Willow, in the village of St Michael's on Wyre on January 27.

“A glove has been recovered that is not believed to be relevant to the investigation, it is not Nicola’s but we have got that in our possession.” Ms Smith said: “I myself don’t find it suspicious that fisherman would be in the area of a river that morning or carrying fishing rods.” Ms Smith added: “We are continuing to investigate that so that we can identify whoever was in the area at that time to make sure they can’t give us more information.”

Officers said they have been "inundated with false information, accusations and rumours" about Ms Bulley and that several "persistent myths" that have gone ...

COPS have revealed that they were called to Nicola Bulley's family home just weeks before she went missing.Detectives also revealed that Nicola strugg.

[springer spaniel Willow](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10202075/dog-expert-nicola-bulley-beloved-pet/). [final movements](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10158427/five-unanswered-questions-nicola-bulley-disappearance/) before she disappeared. [Nicola's last sighting](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10193695/nicola-bulley-timeline-full-list-events-clues/) and when she was reported missing at 11am. [our blog for the latest news](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10167267/nicola-bulley-missing-latest-updates/) [springer spaniel Willow](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10215643/nicola-bulley-witness-hooded-men/) was also found – but there was no trace still of the mum-of-two. [two other theories for her disappearance](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10230151/nicola-bulley-three-possible-scenarios/) - Nicola leaving the area voluntarily and third party involvement. [now taking over her social media accounts](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10230183/nicola-bulley-police-examine-social-media/)as part of the investigation [still no suggestion of a third party being involved](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10230020/nicola-bulley-disappearance-police-update/) ["unusual" but necessary step.](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10232596/nicola-bulley-latest-news-vulnerable/) [they are investigating three possible scenarios over her disappearance](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10230151/nicola-bulley-three-possible-scenarios/) [missing mum was deemed 'high risk' due to 'vulnerabilities'](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10230214/nicola-bulley-high-risk-missing-person/) [vulnerabilities](https://www.thesun.ie/news/10232500/nicola-bulley-police-vulnerabilities-high-risk/)", including "significant issues with alcohol" as a result of the menopause.

British police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley are looking at a number of ways to find out where she is.

They have "thoroughly" looked into the possibility of Ms Bulley's colleagues, who were on a Microsoft Teams call with her, knowing what happened, which is "not the case". Officers have spoken to a number of dog walkers known to Ms Bulley, who were in the area at the time, described by Det Supt Smith as "key witnesses". A "substantial" number of the 700 drivers who went through the village on the morning Ms Bulley disappeared have been contacted. The detective said: "The area at the top of the field, Rowanwater, has CCTV that covers the gate that enters the field and the front of the site. Due to the lack of CCTV footage on the river path, which has been the main focus of officers, the force has appealed for dashcam footage from motorists and cyclists. "Those hypotheses included the one that she possibly could have gone into the river, that there could have been third-party involvement, and lastly, that she could have left the area voluntarily."

Police previously said the mother-of-two had "specific vulnerabilities" that made her a "high-risk" missing person - but did not specify what those were.

"There has to be a way to find out what happened, there has to be. [doubts the wisdom of focusing on the river search](https://news.sky.com/story/nicola-bulleys-family-will-never-let-go-of-hope-despite-unprecedented-hell-of-search-12807358) and said: "Personally, I am 100% convinced it's not the river, that's my opinion." Last year, the Women and Equalities Committee warned in a report that the impact of menopause was causing the UK economy to "haemorrhage talent". [500 pieces of "active information"](https://news.sky.com/story/nicola-bulley-police-looking-at-500-active-pieces-of-information-in-search-but-say-nothing-of-note-yet-12805367). [Speaking at a news conference earlier on Wednesday](https://news.sky.com/story/nicola-bulley-was-high-risk-missing-person-due-to-a-number-of-specific-vulnerabilities-police-say-12810969), senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith and Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson said based on intelligence received so far "there is not a single piece of information or evidence to suggest there was any third party involvement". [was last seen on the morning of Friday 27 January](https://news.sky.com/story/major-search-for-missing-45-year-old-who-vanished-while-walking-her-dog-in-lancashire-12798948) while walking her dog Willow on a footpath by the river in St Michael's on Wyre after dropping off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school in the village. Police acknowledged it was an unusual move to divulge such personal information about a missing person, but said they wanted to explain what they meant by "vulnerabilities". The force said a response car staffed by police and health professionals "attended a report of concern for welfare" at Ms Bulley's home on 10 January. A subsequent statement by the Lancashire force said: "Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months." "This caused some real challenges for Paul and the family," it added in a reference to Ms Bulley's partner, Paul Ansell. [specific vulnerabilities](https://news.sky.com/story/nicola-bulley-was-high-risk-missing-person-due-to-a-number-of-specific-vulnerabilities-police-say-12810969)" that made her a "high-risk" missing person - but did not specify what those were. Police previously said the 45-year-old woman had "specific vulnerabilities" that made her a "high-risk" missing person - but did not specify what those were.

The mother's problems with drinking were brought on by her struggles with the menopause, police say.

He said the force had decided to share more details "than would normally be the case" to counter some of "the ill-informed speculation and conjecture". However, she said she could not be "100% certain of that at the minute" as it was a "live investigation" and there was "always information coming in". She said in her 29 years of police service she had not seen "anything like it" and described "persistent myths" about the case. "The derelict house which is across the other side of the river has been searched three times, with the permission of the owner, and Nicola is not in there," she said. Lancashire Police first told the public of their "main working hypothesis" on 3 February, that the mortgage adviser had gone into the river during a "10-minute window" between 09:10 GMT and 09:20 that day. The force said it had taken the "unusual step" to go into this level of detail as it was "important to clarify what we meant when we talked about vulnerabilities to avoid any further speculation or misinterpretation".

Nicola Bulley has faced “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by “ongoing struggles with the menopause”, police have revealed.

“As a result of those issues, a response car staffed by both police and health professionals attended a report of concern for welfare at Nicola’s home address on 10 January. Clarifying what this meant, police said in a later statement: “Sadly, it is clear from speaking to Paul and the family that Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months. Nicola Bulley has faced “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by “ongoing struggles with the menopause”, police have revealed.

Nearly 40 detectives have sifted through hundreds of hours of CCTV, dashcam footage and tip-offs from the public.

But she said all the evidence suggested that Ms Bulley went down to the river and did not return. The search for the missing woman was extended to downstream from St Michael’s on Wyre to where it empties into Morecambe Bay and the open sea on February 3. Asked if she hoped to find Ms Bulley alive, Det Supt Smith said: “I hope with all my heart that we find Nicola Bulley alive more than anything”. But online amateur sleuths and social media video-makers have “distracted significantly” from official efforts to find her, police said. “But those vulnerabilities based our decision-making in terms of grading Nicola as high-risk, and have continued to form part of my investigation throughout.” Senior officers were at pains to stress they did not believe anyone had attacked or abducted Ms Bulley, that they believe she had gone into the water without anyone else being involved, and to quash the “persistent myths” around the case.

Police revealed they were treating Nicola as a "high-risk" missing person due to some "vulnerabilities"

This caused some real challenges for Paul and the family. This caused some real challenges for Paul and the family." "Sadly, it is clear from speaking to Paul and the family that Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months. During a press conference with Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson, she said that out of respect to Nicola's family and the "unimaginable pain and distress" they are going through, she would not go into anymore detail about the vulnerabilities. A statement released by Lancashire Police tonight read: "Sadly, it is clear from speaking to Paul and the family that Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months. In an updated statement, they revealed: "We have described how Nicola had some vulnerabilities at the time she went missing and we just wanted to expand on that a little.

A shocking decision when the police's treatment of women is rightly in the spotlight, said Silkie Carlo, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother ...

A later statement on the force website said: “Sadly, it is clear from speaking to Paul and the family that Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months. “The police need to be much clearer as to why any of this helps find Nicola Bulley or support this investigation.” “The ramifications of this invasion of medical privacy could be really serious, including for Nicola’s safety.”

Lancashire Police released a statement saying Ms Bulley had suffered "significant issues" with alcohol brought on by her "struggles with the menopause" ...

"The police need to be much clearer as to why any of this helps find Nicola Bulley or support this investigation." He said: "Particularly since they say it was a police car with police and health professionals, the subtext of that is that this was a mental health car. [press conference](https://news.sky.com/story/nicola-bulley-update-live-police-share-more-detail-than-normal-to-counter-speculation-as-they-explain-their-three-theories-12811497), Lancashire Police subsequently [released a statement](https://news.sky.com/story/nicola-bulley-missing-mother-of-two-had-significant-issues-with-alcohol-and-menopause-struggles-police-12811885) saying: "Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months." "It's a big move to take but if you aren't going to take it at the start of the investigation, why do it now?" [Martyn Underhill](https://news.sky.com/story/armchair-detectives-in-cases-like-nicola-bulleys-could-be-crucial-but-must-be-managed-ex-detective-warns-12810006) told Sky News that he had never "seen such a level of detail" released in a missing persons case and added that one had to ask why officers were [releasing it now.](https://news.sky.com/story/nicola-bulley-missing-mother-of-two-had-significant-issues-with-alcohol-and-menopause-struggles-police-12811885) Lancashire Police released a statement saying Ms Bulley had suffered "significant issues" with alcohol brought on by her "struggles with the menopause" after initially refusing to confirm why she was classed as high risk and vulnerable.

Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley have been criticised for revealing personal details about the missing mum.

[Conservative MP Alicia Kearns said on Twitter](https://twitter.com/aliciakearns/status/1625934789856436225) that she was "deeply uncomfortable with the police releasing Nicola Bulley's so-called 'vulnerabilities' on menopause and alcohol" and was struggling to "ascertain how this will assist police in their search and investigations". [Labour's Stella Creasy tweeted](https://twitter.com/stellacreasy/status/1625919564797050885) that the level of detail was "deeply troubling" and the force needed to be "much clearer as to why any of this helps find Nicola Bulley". It said it had been "clear from speaking to Paul and the family that Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months". [told the press conference on Wednesday](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-64646582) that Ms Bulley had been categorised as high-risk as soon as she was reported missing "following the information that was provided to the police by her partner and based on a number of specific vulnerabilities that we were made aware of". [Silkie Carlo, a director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said](https://twitter.com/silkiecarlo/status/1625954345161302016) the "ramifications of this invasion of medical privacy could be really serious", while [former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal said](https://twitter.com/nazirafzal/status/1625986277320413184) the statement should not have been issued, as it did nothing to help find Ms Bulley, and added that the release would "give fuel to the victim blamers, armchair sleuths and conspiracy theorists". [a press conference on Wednesday](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-64646582), in which the officer leading the investigation into Ms Bulley's disappearance revealed she had "a number of specific vulnerabilities", the force said she had "suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause [which had] resurfaced over recent months". The force later issued an update, stating that it "just wanted to expand on that a little". She said Lancashire's chief constable or police and crime commissioner should "give the public some reassurance that the force is managing this whole issue in the right way". "People are asking rightly how does the reproductive status of a woman who has gone missing relate to the bid to find her and would that same information be put in the public domain if she were a man." [told Sky News](https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1626133064156954626) the release of such details was "very unusual", adding: "I do have a lot of questions and concerns about that. ["ongoing struggles with the menopause"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-64656669). On Wednesday, Lancashire Police said the 45-year-old had suffered with "some significant issues with alcohol" and