The police are holding a press conference to update the public on the ongoing search for missing mom Nicola Bulley.
The briefing is currently taking place and will shed light on speculation about what might have happened to the missing mother-of-two who vanished 19 days ago while walking her dog in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire.
In case you missed it, the 45-year-old had just dropped her children - aged six and nine - off at school and had logged on to a Microsoft Teams call at around 09:00 AM.
Despite the call ending at around 09:30AM, the mortgage adviser's phone was reportedly still logged on and around 10:30 AM, a passerby noticed the Bulley's abandoned device was lying on a bench next to the river, with her dog running around in a distressed manner.
Since then, Lancashire Police have been working extensively to search the lake near where she seemingly vanished, as their main working theory was that the woman had fallen into the river and drowned - but this is a theory that has been rejected by Bulley's friends and family.
Forensic diving expert Peter Faulding - founder and CEO of Dorking-based specialist diving group Specialist Group International (SGI) - also didn't agree with the police's working hypothesis.
As cited by Daily Mail, Faulding spoke with Talk TV and said that he was "truly baffled" by the entire case and doesn't believe she fell into the water. He and his team were assisting in the search but eventually called it off after recovering nothing.
His own hypothesis is that a third party was involved and that the phone left on the bench was a decoy.
Now, at the press conference shared by the BBC, Rebecca Smith, the detective superintendent, said that there is "not a single piece of information or evidence to suggest that there is any third-party involvement" in Bulley's disappearance.
They reiterated that there has been speculation over the missing mother's work call and stressed that she never turns her microphone or video on.
Smith then verified that there were a number of dog walkers in the area when Bulley disappeared and that police have also viewed a "substantial amount of [surveillance footage]".
"While we can't cover the whole area with [surveillance], we've been really fortunate in that we've had a lot," the detective noted, adding that the footage has allowed the police to "pin down" Bulley's movements.
The investigators then addressed the speculation over Bulley's dog wandering alone and said: "It was really normal for Willow to not have her harness on," adding, "It would been taken off when they entered the field and only put back on when they were ready to leave the field."
Smith shared with reporters that there is limited surveillance footage on the main road so law enforcement has had to plead with the public for footage from dashcams, however, the reviewed videos show no sign of the missing woman. But, they are still examining it.
Furthermore, the police divulged that Bulley's Fitbit - which helped track her movements on the field - didn't disclose any information and that they are still checking her additional social media accounts.
Again, while the case is an ongoing inquiry, the detective reiterated that her main hypothesis is that Bulley went into the river, but they are still looking into other options.
