Nicola Bulley's family and friends have questioned the Lancashire police's theory that the mother-of-two could have fallen into a river and drowned while walking her dog.
The 45-year-old - a mortgage advisor, per her LinkedIn - had just dropped her two daughters off at school and was walking her springer spaniel near the River Wyre in St. Michael's, Lancashire, on January 27.
She'd sent a text to a friend at 08:57AM that morning to organize a playdate for their daughters, and soon after had logged onto a Microsoft Teams call for work at 09:01AM.
At 09:30AM the call ended - although Nicola did not log off from the call - and at 10:30AM her phone was found on a bench beside the river, as well as her dog, who appeared extremely distressed.
The UK has been rocked by news of her disappearance since it broke, as details surrounding what happened to the mom-of-two remain unclear.
In the wake of her disappearance, Lancashire police revealed that one of their working hypotheses is that Nicola had fallen into the River Wyre and that this was "not suspicious but a tragic case of a missing person".
It was also reported that specialist diving teams continued their attempts to trace Bulley by returning to the river bank by the bench with a 20-foot-long probe attached to an underwater camera this week.
Extensive search parties also involved drones, helicopters, and dogs. On Thursday (February 2), a specialist underwater unit carrying oxygen tanks and long yellow cables dressed in black scoured the 18-foot-deep water.
On Friday (February 3), Nicola's sister Louise Cunningham took to Facebook to address the Lancashire police's theory that her sister had drowned, writing: "Off the back of the latest Police media update, please can I add there is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it’s just a theory.
"Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully, the police confirmed the case is far from over," she added (via The Telegraph).
Nicola's friend, Emma White, also harbored doubts about the police hypothesis, saying that it had been based on "limited information."
She stated: "When we are talking about a life we can't base it on a hypothesis - surely we need this factual evidence. That's what the family and all of us are holding on to - that we are sadly no further on than last Friday. We still have no evidence, and that's why we're out together in force.
"You don't base life on a hypothesis," she also noted.
Another friend of the family posted a lengthy statement on Facebook blasting those making inappropriate comments surrounding Bulley's disappearance. She further added several points about Nicola, including that she walks the same route "regularly," and that she is an "incredibly strong swimmer."
Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and colleagues of Nicola Bulley at his difficult time.
