News of UK mom Nicola Bulley's disappearance has rocked the country after she mysteriously disappeared last week.
The 45-year-old mother of two had just dropped off her daughters - aged six and nine - at school and was walking her dog Willow around St. Michael's in Wyre, Lancashire last Friday (January 27).
She had logged on to a Microsoft Teams work call that ended at 09:30AM. When her phone was later recovered the mortgage adviser was still reportedly logged on to the call.
Less than an hour prior to the start of her work call, Nicola had sent her last text.
Per The Independent, locals at a village meeting were told that she had sent a message to a friend at 08:57AM to organize a playdate for their young children.
At 10:30AM, a passerby noticed Nicola's springer spaniel running around alone and distressed around the River Wyre, as previously reported. The onlooker also discovered the dog's lead, harness, and Nicola's phone - which was still connected to her work conference call - on a bench and recognized her from the family photo on her background.
The hunt for the mother has continued since then, with specialist diving teams continuing their attempts to trace her by returning to the river bank by the bench with a 20-foot-long probe attached to an underwater camera.
Extensive search parties also involved drones, helicopters, and dogs, and around 10:40AM on Thursday (February 2), a specialist underwater unit carrying oxygen tanks and long yellow cables dressed in black scoured the 18 feet-deep water.
The last known sighting of Nicola had been at 09:10AM on the day of her disappearance, with police believing her phone had been on a bench from 09:20AM. According to BBC News, detectives believe that she went missing during this 10-minute window.
The outlet also details how, following the extensive search for the missing woman, Lancashire police have revealed that its "main working hypothesis" has been that she fell into the River Wyre while on her walk, and that her disappearance is "not suspicious but a tragic case of a missing person."
Superintendent Riley told BBC News that detectives have searched through CCTV and doorbell cameras to determine that she did not leave the riverside. "We believe that Nicola was in the riverside area and remained at the riverside area [...] We remain open to any inquiries that might lead us to question that, but at this time we understand that she was by the river," the Superintendent stated.
Nicola's friend Emma White described her as "the most beautiful person," adding that she had created a loving family with her partner, Paul. "You add her and Paul together, add a little bit of magic, and they've created these two beautiful humans who just want to know where their mummy is," she said. "They are the most close-knit family. Those poor girls asking questions, 'where's mummy, how is mummy?'"
Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and colleagues of Nicola Bulley at this difficult time.
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