Police searching for a woman who disappeared in north-west England three weeks ago have found a body in a river near where she was last seen
From
DANICA KIRKA Associated Press
Feb 19, 2023 1:35pm ET
• 2 minutes reading time
LONDON – Police searching for a woman who went missing in north-west England three weeks ago have found a body in a river near where she was last seen, Lancashire Constabulary said on Sunday. The body has not yet been formally identified.
The search for Nicola Bulley, 45, has occupied Britain since she went missing on January 27 while walking her dog by the River Wyre. It also set off a circus of sorts in the tiny community of St Michael’s on Wyre, as speculation on social media fueled unofficial searches and attracted amateur detectives.
Would-be rescuers broke into derelict buildings, despite police assurances that full searches were taking place. Some started night patrols, challenging locals who faced strangers rattling on their gates and roaming their front yards.
Confidence in police fell amid criticism that police botched a search for Bulley, a mortgage adviser who was last seen shortly after taking her daughters, aged 6 and 9, to school on a Friday morning.
Lancashire Police, which employed 40 detectives to investigate, came under increasing criticism the longer the case went unsolved.
In an apparent attempt to respond, the force said Bulley had been classified as a “high risk” missing person “due to a number of specific vulnerabilities”. It was later revealed that she struggled with alcohol and perimenopause before disappearing.
The disclosure sparked another backlash, with senior government officials, opposition leaders and victims’ rights advocates condemning the release of such personal information.
Police said Friday they would conduct an internal review of the investigation. The department has also referred themselves to the UK Independent Police Station over a contact officers had with Bulley before her disappearance.