The father of a woman who went missing while walking her dog has revealed that her young daughters keep asking heartbreaking questions.
Nicola Bulley, 45, went missing on January 27 while taking her dog for a walk by the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
Authorities were alerted to the situation at around 10:30 AM the same day after another dog walker noticed Bulley's brown springer spaniel in an "agitated" state by itself, with no sign of the owner, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The mother-of-two is believed to have been in good spirits on the day of her disappearance, as her father Ernest told the Mirror: "She had done her work and she was very upbeat about getting her mortgage sorted."
Bulley's partner Paul Ansell, 44, had the heartbreaking task of revealing to nine-year-old Harriet, and six-year-old Sophia that their mother had gone missing.
"He just said, 'Mommy’s lost," Bulley's mother Dorothy told the Sun, while Ansell's dad David added: "They cried their eyes out."
Bulley's father Ernest has described the heartbreak he feels when he is in the same room as his granddaughters, as they keep asking devastating questions about their mother's whereabouts.
Speaking to the Mirror, Ernest said: "When I look at the kids, I have to go out of the room because I can't hold it together. They are asking where Mommy is and when is Mommy coming home? It's so hard."
Bulley had dropped her children off at school on the morning she went missing before she took their dog Willow on a walk using a familiar route.
The family is doing their best to support the young children, but Ernest added: "We don't know how long we can keep going before they realize, they think mommy is coming home soon, but if this keeps going on and on I don't know where we are going to go or what to say to them."
The search for Bulley has been ongoing for five days at the time of writing, with volunteer groups also helping Lancashire police try to locate the missing 45-year-old.
The police have urged all those helping in the search to remain cautious around the banks of the river, as they can be "treacherous".
Lancashire police are urging anyone with information to get in contact as soon as possible.
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