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The body found in the river Wyre is mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, police have confirmed.
Her body was found on Sunday morning in the River Wyre in Lancashire, around a mile from where the 45-year-old mortgage adviser was last seen.
Speaking at a press briefing at police headquarters on Monday, Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson confirmed the body had been identified as Ms Bulley.
In a statement, Ms Bulley’s family said she was ‘the centre of our world’ adding they would ‘never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments and that will never leave us’.
The family 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.
The body found in the river Wyre is mother-of-two Nicola Bulley  (pictured with her partner Paul Ansell)
Speaking at a press briefing (pictured) at police headquarters on Monday, Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson confirmed the body had been identified as Ms Bulley
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson of Lancashire Police after speaking at a press conference outside Lancashire Police Headquarters in Hutton near Preston
Detective chief superintendent Pauline Stables (left) and Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson (right) hold a police news conference in Preston on February 20
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson said: ‘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’
In a message to Sky News on Sunday, before the body was identified, Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell said: ‘No words right now, just agony’Â
The moment a dog walker points out to a spot in the River Wyre, Lancashire, as police arrive on the scene
Yellow ribbons and daffodils adorn the bench where the phone of missing Nicola Bulley was found, on the banks of the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre
A body was found less than a mile from where Nikki was last seen more than three weeks ago
‘Our girls will get the support they need from the people who love them the most.’
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson said: ‘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.
Nicola Bulley, 45, and her partner Paul Ansell. The mother-of-two’s body was found on Sunday
Nicola Bulley close to where she was last seen with her springer spaniel dog Willow
The 45-year-old mortgage adviser Nicola Bulley (pictured) vanished during a dog walk in St Michael’s on Wyre
The sun sets yesterday evening over the bench near St.Michael on Wyre, Lancashire, where Nicola Bulley’s phone was found after her disappearance
‘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.’
Ms Bulley’s family were informed following the discovery of the body and while Lancashire Police began identification procedures.Â
In a message to Sky News on Sunday, before the body was identified, Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell said: ‘No words right now, just agony.
‘We’re all together, we have to be strong.’
The location on the River Wyre where a body was discovered during a search for Nicola Bulley
At least three police cars and a van rushed to the scene after the mother-of-two’s body was found, with other cars soon following
The stretch of the River Wyre where the body of Nicola Bulley was found yesterday
Police officers walk across the Bridge at St.Michael on Wyre, Lancs, after a body was yesterday recovered from the river
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson (left) and Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith of Lancashire Police update the media on February 15 as police continued their search for Nicola Bulley, 45
It is understood that a man and a woman discovered the body and called police.
Lancashire Constabulary said officers were called to the River Wyre close to Rawcliffe Road at around 11.35am.
‘An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body,’ a statement said.
The 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.
Police had earlier 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.
On Monday morning, police officers and community support officers were in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre.
The investigation into Ms Bulley’s disappearance has attracted widespread speculation as well as criticism of the police response.
The force came under fire after making Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause public three weeks after she vanished.
In a press conference on Wednesday, they revealed the mother-of-two 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.
A public backlash and interventions from the Government and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper followed, with Lancashire Constabulary confirming a date had been set for an internal review into the investigation.
Absent from the press conference this afternoon was the detective leading the search for Nicola Bulley.
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 less than a mile from where mortgage advisor Ms Bulley was last seen.
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 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.’Â
Lancashire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson listens next to Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables at a press conference after Nicola Bulley’s body was found in the River Wyre
During a press conference on February 15, Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith mentioned for the first time Ms Bulley had ‘specific vulnerabilities’
The exchange on Twitter prompted criticism from force followers during the missing probe
Lancashire Police have been criticised over the handling of Ms Bulley’s missing person case
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.’Â
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.
Lancashire Police has come under criticism for the way it has handled the disappearance of Ms Bulley on January 27.
Earlier today Suella Braverman piled more pressure on Lancashire Police by revealing that she was not ‘wholly satisfied’ with their explanation for revealing Nicola Bulley battled alcohol problems and the menopause.
The Home Secretary, who was in the northwest today, said that Lancashire’s Chief Constable Chris Rowley had failed to properly answer her questions.
Ms Braverman has said she will see what the force’s own inquiries ‘come back with’ when asked if there would be an external review into the force’s handling of the Nikki’s case.Â
Detectives have faced a chorus of criticism for releasing highly personal information about the missing mother-of-two from St Michael’s on Wyre was struggling with the menopause and battling an alcohol problem.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman (right with Cheshire Chief Constable Mark Robert) during a visit to Warrington Police Station today where she criticised Lancashire Police
Ms Bulley, left, see here with partner Paul Ansell, had struggled with the menopause and drinking
Asked if there would be an external review into the police’s handling of the case, Suella Braverman 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.
‘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.’
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.Â
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