Expert looking for Nicola Bulley says case is ‘most baffling’ in 25 years as police find no trace of her in river

The head diver of a specialist team who has been called to help in the search for Nicola Bulley has described the case as the 'most baffling' he has ever worked on.

Bulley went missing on 27 January in St Michael's by the River Wyre, Lancashire, after dropping her two daughters off at school.

The mum was walking her dog along the river when she disappeared.

Since then, many efforts have taken place in the hope of finding Bulley, including underwater searches using specialist sonar equipment in the river.

But unfortunately, on Monday (6 February), the search was unsuccessful and Bulley's potential whereabouts still remain a mystery.

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Peter Faulding, head of the private diving team Specialist Group International (SGI), was one working tirelessly in the efforts yesterday.

With Lancashire Police on Monday, he searched 'three or four miles' of the river until it got dark, and it was unsafe to continue.

Despite being unsuccessful on Monday, Faulding said that his team will look through another stretch of the river on Tuesday which is 'towards where Nicola went originally missing'.

Speaking on TalkTV, Faulding said that he has been left 'baffled' that Bulley has not been found after ten days of intense searches.

He said: "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.

"When people drown they generally go down where they are. We normally find them within five to ten days of where they went down.

"This is the most baffling case that I have ever worked on."

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Bulley's partner, Paul Ansell, also launched an appeal through Lancashire Police on Monday, saying that their two daughters are missing her.

He said: "It's been 10 days now since Nicola went missing and I have two little girls who miss their mummy desperately and who need her back.

"This has been such a tough time for the girls especially but also for me and all of Nicola's family and friends, as well as the wider community and I want to thank them for their love and support.

"We are also really grateful to Peter and his team from SGI for coming up and helping support the work of Lancashire Police as they continue their investigation.

"If anyone has any information which could help find Nicola, I urge them to get in touch with the police and help us provide the answers we all so badly need."