Nicola Bulley Dive Search Called Off
THE DIVE EXPERT scouring the river for Nicola Bulley says his team will call it quits later today.
Peter Faulding stated that they have done everything possible to locate the missing mother of two who went missing on January 27.
“Wherever she is, I hope closure comes soon,” he told reporters this afternoon.
“Everyone in the family is upset.”
When asked about the search progress, the dive leader stated that there is simply “no sign” of Nicola near where she went missing near St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire.
He elaborated: “We’ve cleared the area around the bench and about a mile up from the bench, where the phone was discovered.
“We’ve run the side scan sonar from here to the next bridge, which is about three or four miles away, and there’s no sign of Nicola there.
“We’ve conducted extensive searches down to the weir. To be honest, I’m completely perplexed by this one.”
The veteran diver, on the scene since Monday, also praised police divers who have scoured the stretch “three times extremely thoroughly”.
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But he came to the following conclusion: “That is a completely negative area. There is no trace of Nicola in that area.”
And he admitted he was “glad” his team hadn’t found her, delegating responsibility for further searches to police divers.
It is unclear whether police diver searches at the mouth of the Wyre River and out to sea will continue as they have in recent days.
Mr. Faulding is the founder of the Surrey-based private forensic search firm Specialist Group International (SGI).
On Monday, the team was called in to assist police divers in searching the river bed with Sonar, but they found no trace of the 45-year-old.
They had been scouring the river with equipment worth £55,000.
Lancashire Constabulary responded last night after he told multiple news outlets that he believes the mother-of-two is not in the river, before later changing his mind and saying she is.
Mr. Faulding, who is donating his time, has previously claimed “third party” involvement in Nicola’s disappearance.
“Mr. Faulding isn’t included in all the investigation detail any more than the members of the public that I’m briefing through these sorts of press conferences,” said Superintendent Sally Riley.
“It’s very difficult without that information,” said the diving expert.
ALSO READ: Police Launch Intensive Search for Nicola Bulley with 500 Leads, 700 Cars Tracked
“Normally, I have access to that information… It would be beneficial to know.”
It comes as Paul Ansell, a distraught partner, visited the scene this morning.
He walked the riverbank for ten minutes near the bench where Ms. Bulley’s phone was discovered, still connected to a work Teams call.
Nicola, a mortgage adviser from nearby Inskip, was last seen walking her dog around 9.15 a.m. on the day she went missing.
She had dropped off her two daughters, ages six and nine, at school before heading to the Wyre towpath.
The search for Nicola on Monday concentrated on the river’s tidal area, but the search on Tuesday focused further upstream.
It included an extended beyond the location of Nicola’s belongings, which were discovered on a bench near Garstang Road.
It is a riverbed that is not tidal.
On Tuesday, other dive teams began to look further upriver towards Fleetwood and the Irish Sea.
According to police, the mother “sadly fell” into the river.
ALSO READ: Third Party Involvement Suspected in Disappearance
Cops are now focusing their search efforts on the trail that leads from the fields where she was last seen to Garstang Road in St Michaels on Wyre, which may contain vital information.
Around the field, there is a CCTV black spot, and they are appealing to drivers and cyclists who may have dashcam footage.
After reviewing CCTV, police are confident that Nicola, from nearby Inskip, did not leave the field near the river via Rowanwater.
This is true whether you leave through the site or the piece of land to the side.
She also did not return to Garstang Road from the fields along Allotment Lane or the path behind the Grapes pub.
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