Nicola Bulley’s daughters will ‘get the support they need from the people that love us the most’

Nicola Bulley’s heartbroken family has vowed that the mother-of-two’s daughters will ‘get the support they need from the people that love us the most’.

The 45-year-old was discovered on Sunday morning in the River Wyre in Lancashire, after three-week search by police.

In an emotional tribute to Nicola, the mortgage adviser’s family said they would always love her.

They said: ‘We will never forget Nikki, how could we, she was the centre of our world, she was the one who made our lives so special and nothing will cast a shadow over that.

‘Our girls will get the support they need from the people who love them the most.

‘Our family liaison officers have had to confirm our worst fears today.

‘We will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments and that will never leave us.’

The family added: ‘To those who genuinely helped and supported us, privately, we thank you.

‘The community support in St Michael’s, friends, neighbours and strangers has been nothing short of comforting and heart-warming. Friends you know who you are. Thank you.

‘Our hearts truly break for others who have missing loved ones. Keep that hope alive.

‘Finally, Nikki, you are no longer a missing person, you have been found, we can let you rest now.

‘We love you, always have and always will, we’ll take it from here.’

Nicola’s body was discovered by a self-confessed ‘psychic’ on Sunday morning in the River Wyre in Lancashire, more than three weeks after she disappeared.

There has been considerable public anger following police disclosures of Ms Bulley’s ‘vulnerabilities’ and Home Secretary Suella Braverman said on Monday that she was ‘not satisfied’ with Lancashire Constabulary.  

At a press conference on Monday, Lancashire police confirmed that the body found in the river on Sunday was that of Nicola Bulley. 

The force’s head of crime Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables read a heartbreaking statement from Ms Bulley’s family, where they said: ‘We love you, always have and always will.’

The statement read: ‘Our family liaison officers have had to confirm our worst fears today.

‘We will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments and that will never leave us.

‘We will never forget Nikki, how could we, she was the centre of our world, she was the one who made our lives so special and nothing will cast a shadow over that.

‘Our girls will get the support they need from the people who love them the most.’

Paying further tribute to Ms Bulley at the end of their statement, the family added: ‘To those who genuinely helped and supported us, privately, we thank you.

‘The community support in St Michael’s, friends, neighbours and strangers has been nothing short of comforting and heart-warming. Friends you know who you are. Thank you.

‘Our hearts truly break for others who have missing loved ones. Keep that hope alive.

‘Finally, Nikki, you are no longer a missing person, you have been found, we can let you rest now.

‘We love you, always have and always will, we’ll take it from here.’

Throughout the search friends and family tried to keep life as normal as possible for the missing 45-year-old’s two young daughters. 

The two girls performed at a gymnastics show in early February – with an empty seat saved for Ms Bulley, who had booked a ticket days before she went missing.

Emma White, a friend, told The Telegraph that the girls tended to do a lot of activities over the weekend, usually with their mother. 

‘They had a gymnastics show and there was an empty seat, which was obviously hard as mummy should be watching them.’ 

Friends added that Ms Bulley’s daughters also attended a school disco on Friday February 3 as part of efforts among parents to ‘keep things as normal as possible’ for the children.

Jill Peck told Sky News: ‘If something was in the diary, it’s been kept in the diary. They are aware that something is happening but we’re trying to keep it away from the school.

‘They just desperately want her home – and that’s all they are asking, all the time, is: “Where is she and is she coming home?”‘.

The heart-wrenching moment Nicola Bulley’s young daughter spotted search teams looking for the missing mother was also captured on video.

The six-second video shared by friends showed daughter Sophia, six, pointing towards a search team and asking: ‘Them helicopters, they’re looking for mummy.’

In a statement on February 6, ten days after Ms Bulley went missing, her partner Paul Ansell said the girls missed her ‘desperately’. 

‘It’s been ten 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.’

There has been widespread criticism of the police force – including from Nicola’s family – over their handling of the case.  

Lancashire police force did not address at Monday’s press conference the criticism it had received for releasing some aspects of Ms Bulley’s private life into the public domain.

Police also did not disclose why it had taken 23 days to find her body in the river.

Speaking at the force’s HQ, Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson did confirm the body had been identified as Ms Bulley – and described the investigation as ‘hugely complex and highly emotional’.

He did not take questions from the media present.

Ms Bulley’s body was found on a stretch of the river just past a slight bend, a mile or so outside the village, close to where a tree had fallen on its side half in and half outside the water, with branches and undergrowth partially submerged.

It is understood that a man and a woman discovered the body and called police – who said they were called to the River Wyre close to Rawcliffe Road at around 11.35am on Sunday.

Police had erected a tent and cordoned off the lane while police divers were called in, but the road was reopened around three hours later once the body was recovered.

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson said, confirming the formal identity of the body found on Sunday: ‘Sadly, we are now able to confirm that yesterday we recovered Nicola Bulley from the River Wyre.

‘Nicola’s family have been informed and are of course devastated. Our thoughts are with them at this time as well as with all her loved ones and the wider community.

‘We recognise the huge impact that Nicola’s disappearance has had on her family and friends, but also on the people of St Michael’s.

‘We would like to thank all of those who have helped during what has been a hugely complex and highly emotional investigation.

‘Today’s development is not the outcome any of us would have wanted, but we hope that it can at least start to provide some answers for Nicola’s loved ones, who remain foremost in our thoughts.’

The force came under fire from the public and the government after making Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause public three weeks after she vanished.

In a press conference on Wednesday, they revealed she was classed as a ‘high-risk’ missing person immediately after Mr Ansell reported her disappearance, ‘based on a number of specific vulnerabilities’.

They later added in a statement that Ms Bulley, from Inskip in Lancashire, had stopped taking her HRT medication.

The family said in their statement that Ms Bulley ‘would not have wanted this’ – and there was anger that the information was released weeks after she vanished in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire on January 27. 

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she was ‘not satisfied’ with the reasoning behind the decision to release the private details about Ms Bulley. 

The Home Secretary said: ‘I want to put on record my deepest thoughts and sympathies for the family of Nicola Bulley, it must be a horrendous experience that they are going through right now.

‘I did have concerns earlier in the week about some of the elements relating to the release of personal information of Nicola into the public domain. 

‘I raised those concerns with the chief constable – I wasn’t wholly satisfied, I have to say, with some of the responses I got but it is a matter for the police themselves.

The minister added that investigations had been launched into how the information had been made public and that action would be taken on the basis of the inquiries.  

‘There are some investigations ongoing, looking into how the investigation has been handled and we must let that carry out its own process.

‘We must just let the investigation conclude, and then we will see what the investigations and inquiries come back with.’

Lancashire Constabulary has confirmed a date had been set for an internal review into the investigation following the public backlash.

There has been widespread criticism of the way Lancashire Police have handled the missing persons case over the weeks of the investigation.  

Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith had criticised social media for ‘distracting the investigation’ as the force came under fire after it took them 24 days to find remains in the reeds of the Wyre. 

The body was found less a mile away from where Ms Bulley went missing in late January.  

She did not appear at tonight’s press conference, during which officers confirmed the body was Ms Bulley.

It comes after Lancashire Police sparked fury today after it replied to a tweet showing the senior officer depicted as a Lego figure with a heart emoji during the search for Ms Bulley.

Force staff admired the toy lookalike of Det Supt Smith, saying ‘we will make sure she sees this’ alongside a yellow heart emoji.

Sharing a picture of the figurine on Twitter on February 16, as the hunt for the missing mother continued, its creator wrote: ‘I don’t know Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith of Lancashire Police but I do know she’s doing everything in her power to find Nicola Bulley. 

‘DSU Smith makes a pretty formidable Lego Minifigure too, if I do say so myself! Please give it a retweet so she sees it.’

However the brief exchange sparked outrage from people following the force.

In a reply sure to raise further questions over police judgement, staff responded with a blue heart emoji and said: ‘We’ll make sure she sees this.’

There was no response to MailOnline this afternoon on if and when Det Supt Smith was shown the Lego figure.

One asked: ‘Why don’t you focus on conducting yourselves with dignity and integrity instead of engaging with tweets and liking pro Lancashire police tweets? 

‘You’re turning this case into a farce, now you’re engaging with irrelevant tit for tat online, publicly, it’s disgusting.’

Another said: ‘Utterly inappropriate response. Just mind numbingly irrelevant.’

The figure was was made by popular Twitter account Brick Cop, who is an anonymous real-life officer who makes the toys in their spare time.

The criticism comes after a self-confessed ‘medium’ said he was the walker who found the body of Nicola Bulley in the River Wyre on Sunday. 

Jason Rothwell, 33, was seen in pictures pointing to the waters where Lancashire Police massed yesterday afternoon.

He and his friend, who MailOnline have cross-referenced to their social media presence, spoke to police who later retrieved the body.

Mr Rothwell, from Oldham, said before the press conference on Monday afternoon: ‘It is with great regret that I have to address this issue at this time. 

‘But due to wide number of private enquires and threads now circulating on YouTube and TikTok, I feel I should but put a brief statement.

‘As has obviously become apparent, yes it is myself in the images in the media currently circulating relating to the case of Nicola Bulley and yes yesterday morning it was myself and a friend who reported and assisted the police in the recovery of a body from the river Wyre.

‘Such as it is it would be inappropriate of me to discuss in any further detail anything we may know about that body at this time, considering a formal identification of that body has yet to be confirmed.

‘I would also like to just say a huge thank you to Lancashire police for their help, support and the open mindedness with which they dealt with us, following our call, spiritualists or mediums are obviously not something the police come across every day and I appreciate the respect given to us both.

‘It is also important to mention, I was not asked by the police or Nicola’s family to become involved in this case, but having seen the wild speculation and hurtful commentary that has been ongoing, and having previously assisted in the recovery of Michael Brooks, I decided to use what ever “gift” it is we mediums possess to try and locate Nicola Bulley. 

‘I would however stress again, I can not confirm that body we traced yesterday is that off the lady in question.

‘My thoughts and prayers are with her family, friend and loved ones at this time and I do hope, that if it is indeed Nicola, they can find some peace with this. 

‘If it is not, I would send my prayers to the family off whomsoever it may be.

‘I would add as a final note, I will not be giving any further information or commentary at this time regarding the work involved in finding this person nor is it my place to engage in any discussion on how that body came to originally be in the water.’