Friends of Nicola Bulley have urged police to do a search of an abandoned mansion near the spot she disappeared after no sign has been found of the missing woman in almost two weeks.
Bulley, 45, disappeared on January 27 after dropping her two young daughters off at school and taking the family's dog Willow for a walk near the River Wyre in Lancashire.
Her phone was found on a bench near the river still connected to a work conference call and a bystander raised the alarm after seeing Willow appearing agitated as she ran around off the lead.
Police and specialist teams have been combing the area ever since, but no trace of Bulley has been found in the water thus far.
A close friend of the mother of two has now urged police to do a thorough search of an abandoned house nearby as well as its outbuildings.
Tilly Ann, a friend of Bulley, wrote on Facebook (via Daily Mail): "The abandoned house and outbuildings etc have not yet been searched as it is not currently a crime investigation!!!!!! (This should have been done straight away!)."
It comes after police confirmed they had searched a "derelict house" nearby this week, however, it's unclear if it is the same one in question.
A police statement on Monday confirmed: "Our inquiries so far have included searches of the river and riverbank which have extended all the way to the sea using specialist search teams, sonar, search dogs, drone and helicopter, house to house and CCTV.
"We have also spoken to numerous witnesses, analyzed Nicola’s mobile phone and Fitbit, and searched the derelict house on the other side of the river as well as any empty caravans in the vicinity."
Police had initially believed that Bulley had most likely fallen into the river, however, underwater searches have not found any trace of her.
Dive expert Peter Faulding disputed those claims and recently called off his search for Bulley in the river, claiming "she's not there" if she hasn't been located already.
Speaking to Talk TV (via The Daily Mail), Faulding explained: "After 25 years of doing this kind of work, after hundreds of cases, I am well and truly baffled. Normally you would expect the divers to find them easily."
He added that when somebody drowns in a body of water, "usually" they are found within 5-10 meters of where they fell in rather than being carried a large distance away by the current.
Police have also speculated that Bulley "could" have left the area with a third party as one crucial CCTV camera was not working during the time of her disappearance.
The path is crossed by a main road through the village and police are attempting to trace dashcam footage from 700 drivers who were in the area around the time she was last seen.
Superintendent Sally Riley of Lancashire Police confirmed that it was still a "possibility" that Bulley may have left the area as they explored every avenue around her disappearance.
Officers also urged the public not to take the search into their own hands after amateur sleuths have also been combing the area in hopes of finding clues.
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