Nicola Bulley missing: Private diving expert brought in for search warns ‘something’s not right’

The founder of a private search and rescue organisation whose team of divers has been brought in to help find missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley has vowed if she is in the river he will find her ‘in minutes’. 

Peter Faulding, a world-renowned forensics expert and founder of Specialist Group International, has today drafted in ‘high-spec’ sonar equipment worth around £55,000 that has a ‘very high hit rate’ and can ‘find people within the hour’.

Police say their primary theory is that Ms Bulley, who vanished while walking her dog near the River Wyre in Lancashire more than a week ago, slipped or fell into the river, despite not having found any evidence of this. 

Mr Faulding told the Mirror: ‘If Nicola is in there, we will find her. If she’s there, our sonar will pick her up straight away. I will see a body on the bottom. We are dealing with about 10 drownings every summer. We always locate within the hour. It’s that quick, it’s that good.’

He said the thinks Ms Bulley would not have gone far if she did fall into the river because of the shallows, but says if she did fall in, the shock of the cold water could have ‘taken her breath away’. 

But he believes she could have been able to drag herself out and that she would not be dragged down. 

‘Normally people would scream out and I don’t know if there was other people in the area but you’d scream out, you’d flap around and the dog would normally maybe stay with the owner. There’s something, in my opinion, not quite right here,’ he added. 

A friend of the missing mother said this morning she hopes specialist underwater teams will uncover nothing – because then it rules out the police’s theory she fell into the river.

Today friends of the missing mother say they hope the help of the specialist underwater rescue team will give her family answers.

Emma White said they were pleased Mr Faulding’s team are assisting police – but are keeping everything crossed they don’t find anything. 

She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘We hope they uncover nothing, like the police have done for the last ten days, and we hope Nicola is not in that river.’

It comes as reports say Ms Bulley was due to watch one of her children perform in a show this weekend which went ahead without her.

Ms White said she believes Mr Faulding’s equipment is more sophisticated the the kit police have. 

‘Peter’s here, working with Lancashire Police, and we just have to have everything crossed that the search continues and Nicola is not in that river. 

‘We don’t want to undermine all the work police have done but when you get that glimmer of hope and you look at what the company does, his records and what he has achieved then you think we need to get this expert here – and we can’t thank you enough for bringing the team down.’

Ms White said the police theory that Ms Bulley fell into the River Wyre ‘is based on a theory, with no actual evidence to support it’.

Emma, who has known Ms Bulley for ten years, told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The hypothesis is based on limited information – I’ve said before it’s a theory, and we sadly can’t base life on a theory.’

She thanked the public for their support and kindness shown towards Nicola’s family, and said at the core of their rescue campaign are ‘two little girls who want their mummy’.

Mr Faulding, speaking from his helicopter en route to the scene, said: ‘We are having a briefing at 8.30am, and then going to the location to set up. They are getting a briefing at a farmhouse and then they’ll move to the scene.

‘We are working closely with the police to provide extra support. We are going to be using a high-frequency side scan sonar. That’s going to be used to search down the river, past the weir.

‘That will give us a crystal clear image of anything on the river bed. It shows every rock and every stone.

‘On a straight river, we can do about ten miles of river a day. But this is a very windy, changeable river, up and down in depth. So we will do the best we can.’

He added: ‘I’m confident with my expertise over 20 odd years that if she is there, I will find her with that sonar. I will be operating that sonar.’

Mr Faulding, who will also survey the route of the river by helicopter, earlier told Sky News: ‘We’re assisting with our dive team. We carry out all the underwater operations in the south east for the police anyway, but we’re bringing a particularly high-spec piece of equipment, 1,800-kilohertz specialist side-scan sonar.

‘Each year we deal with a lot of drownings and we locate them extremely quickly. The difference with this sonar is that it’s very, very high frequency.

 ‘It’s about £55,000 and it scans the river and I can see every stick and stone lying on the river bed. We’ve got a very high hit rate with this.’

He added: ‘Our sonar is probably a bit more superior but I’ve got a lot of specialist search expertise and I’ve worked on hundreds of these cases and we always generally find people within the hour in lakes etc.’

It comes as a former detective described Lancashire Police’s decision to publicly reveal its belief that Nicola fell into a river as ‘extremely unusual and concerning’.

Martyn Underhill, who was a senior officer in the police probe of the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne in West Sussex, told The Times that there are several possibilities as to what may have taken place in the vital ten-minute window identified by police.

He also warned that detectives are risking ‘boxing themselves into a theory’.

Mr Underhill added: ‘If the public is told that they think it’s a terrible accident, it risks people switching off. It can deter someone coming forward with crucial evidence.

‘Coming out with such a definitive narrative publicly will make it hard to row back if the circumstances change. And they’ve offended the family and friends at the same time. It is really bizarre.’ 

Poignant footage earlier emerged of Ms Bulley’s young daughter spotting search teams looking for her missing mother.

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

Meanwhile, friends say Ms Bulley’s two daughters attended a school disco on Friday evening as part of efforts among parents to ‘keep things as normal as possible’ for the children.

Jill Peck, who attended a vigil to light candles at St Michael’s Church on Sunday, 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 is all they are asking all the time, ‘where is she and is she coming home?”.’

The girls’ school is said to have told pupils of the situation and teachers have put on yoga sessions to help them stay calm and relaxed. 

Meanwhile, still pictures from cameras at her home, showing Ms Bulley on her driveway just hours before she vanished, have been released by a friend as part of the desperate search to find her.

The mother, 45, can be seen in a long jacket, leggings and walking boots with her hair tied in a pony tail prior to driving her two daughters to school in St Michael’s on Wyre on January 27.

Friends of the couple have urged members of the public to stop making ‘disgusting accusations’ at her partner Paul Ansell and say the images show why he has never been a suspect.

They also said he is suffering ‘hurt and pain’, but is ‘completely focusing’ on their two daughters.  

Mr Faulding also said yesterday that he believes it is unlikely that Ms Bulley fell into the river, as the police believe. 

The forensics expert told GBNews: ‘The amount of searching that’s gone on in this river, I would have thought she would have been found by now. Normally when a person drowns, if they are left a number of days they don’t move very far.

‘This is not a fast tidal river. So I would have expected her to be found by the police divers by now… It’s as clear as that. And you know, none of this rings right to me. My belief is she’s not in not in the river at all.’

Mr Faulding said that not enough factors added up in his opinion, suggesting that Ms Bulley’s phone could have been left on the bench as a ‘decoy’. 

He continued: ‘I personally think this phone could be a decoy.

‘We dealt with a drowning a couple of years ago where a gentleman went into a river and Ripley, his dog, was screaming by the riverbank when we got there.

‘When we arrived it was howling, and literally pointing exactly where he was. He stayed with his owner.

‘The phone on the bench, I mean, you have to ask, normally someone would have a phone in their hand especially if they were walking around.’

The expert said it ‘feels odd’ that no one spoke of the fact that Ms Bulley was not wearing clothes that would have absorbed water quickly, there were no marks at the scene and that not one person heard screams.

Additionally, he criticised the fact that the location has not remained cordoned off.

He said: ‘People have been walking past the bench. There’s no police tape up. This would normally be sealed off as a crime scene so potentially crime scene investigators can go in and see if there are any microfibres, evidence, slip marks down the bank etc and I don’t believe that has actually happened here.’

Meanwhile, a friend of Ms Bulley shared 11 key details about her disappearance in a Facebook post following the 45-year-old’s disappearance. 

In the list, Tilly Ann wrote that the only CCTV camera at a residential caravan park ‘that would have seen Nikki’ is not working.

She also said Ms Bulley is ‘an incredibly strong swimmer’, and that her dog Willow who she was walking at the time was completely dry when found. 

She wrote that the dog would never have a harness on during the familiar walk, after speculation about why Willow’s harness was removed. When the dog was found, it was very close to the bench with the harness on the floor. 

She added that her friend would often put her phone on loud-speaker when talking. Ms Bulley’s phone was discovered close to the river bank and she had been on a conference call before she vanished.

The family friend thanked those who had shared their support and contributed to the search for Nicola – saying it had ‘created such a comfort to Nikki’s family’.

Detailing the impact on Paul, she wrote that he is struggling to hold back his pain, but is focusing on his children and does not want to worry them ‘more than they already are’.

After detectives confirmed Ms Bulley’s dog was found dry, a canine expert said the dog could have panicked and gone into ‘fight or flight’ mode. 

Another expert explained that dogs, who cannot find their owner, will often circle the area they were last present. 

Writing in The Times, Colin Tennant, director of the Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour and Training, said: ‘A dog can help you find the last location of its owner through its sense of smell. If people lose their dog, the advice I always give to them is to stay in the exact position you were when you last saw the dog, because it will always backtrack to you. 

‘So if somebody fell in a river, the dog would always tend to circulate in that area, because that’s where all the owner’s scents are, on the ground and vegetation.’ 

He added: ‘It will often migrate back to the last spot where it was with the owner because they’re its pack leader.’ 

The expert added that usually if the dog can’t find its owner, and the home is nearby, it will often run back home. 

Addressing speculation that the fact Ms Bulley’s dog was found dry meant that the mother did not fall into the river, dog behaviour expert Ross McCarthy says that is not necessarily the case. 

He told the Express: ‘It all depends on the dog’s association with water, and their relationship with the owner and so on, as to whether they would jump in.

‘Some would through play or investigation and others would just mooch about on the side and some would panic at the strange situation.’

He said that, just like humans, dogs go into fight or flight mode.  

‘Presumably this dog has been walked along the canal and water often and been discouraged from going in or naturally just avoided going in,’ he added. 

On Saturday, police released an image of a potential witness, wearing a yellow rain jacket and pushing a pram, who was in the area at the time of Ms Bulley’s disappearance.

That evening they said they were ‘pleased to say that the woman came forward very quickly’ and were treating her as a ‘key witness’ in the investigation. 

Officers believe she was in the same area as Ms Bulley on Friday January 27. 

Within minutes of the appeal being made public, a relative confirmed the woman was ‘on the phone’ to police.

The Facebook post by Lancashire Police added: ‘Our enquiries to find Nicola are extensive and will include speaking to as many members of the public as possible.’

Photos of police scouring the River Wyre have been released as they continue to search. 

A new line of inquiry relates to a Fitbit Ms Bulley was wearing on the morning she vanished. Police hope to use technology to help track her whereabouts via the smart watch.

Fitbits are also capable of monitoring a heart rate and could provide vital clues relating to Ms Bulley’s last known movements before she disappeared. 

Specialist crews will return to the river today to continue scouring the area for clues. 

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Lancashire Police Superintendent Sally Riley said there is ‘no evidence of a slip or fall’ in the area at the centre of the investigation.

‘I think if it had been a sloping bank, a commonsense view would be that you would expect to find scuff marks.

‘If it is sheer and you lose your footing, you might not have any marks left on the grass. All of that has been subjected to a detailed search.’ 

Supt Riley said on the balance of probabilities, it is ‘highly unlikely’ criminal activity took place in such a tiny window of time which is currently unaccounted for.

Police are still trying to piece together about ten minutes from the morning Ms Bulley disappeared. 

She said: ‘This is a low-crime area. It’s genuinely a safe, tight-knit area, people look out for each other. A third-party [being] involved that we haven’t yet had sightings of, we haven’t caught on CCTV or dash-cam or all the other things I’ve mentioned, is just not likely.’

This does not mean they’ve entirely ruled out other scenarios. 

Officers are still desperately appealing for witnesses to come forward, particularly near a CCTV black spot near Garstang Lane.

And Ms Bulley’s distraught partner has not given up hope of finding her alive, stating he ‘will not entertain any other outcome’ as the search continues.

MrAnsell, 44, said Ms Bulley’s disappearance feels ‘no more real now’ than it did when he first learned she was missing.

 He wrote online: ‘The agony continues… the hope is stronger than ever of finding you. We need her home… we need a happy ending to this nightmare.’ 

Mr Ansell also doubled down on comments from Ms Bulley’s friends and other relatives warning police have very little basis for their theory that she fell in the river.

He said there was ‘no evidence yet to suggest any scenario over another and all options must be kept wide open’.  

Amid reports of a widening difference of opinion between Ms Bulley’s family and detectives, Mr Ansell echoed police’s pleas for potential witnesses who might have dashcam footage to come forward. 

Police are particularly interested in speaking with people who may have been travelling near Blackpool Lane and Garstang Lane between 9am and 10am on Friday 27 January, the day Ms Bulley vanished. 

‘Whilst you may not think that you hold any relevant information, it is really important that we gather as much footage as possible from the area that morning so we can review every piece meticulously to establish whether Nicola can be seen,’ police said.

‘We know from the footage we are currently reviewing, that this is a busy road, particularly at that time in the morning.

‘There will be many people who were in that area at the time who may not think they can help, however we would urge you not to make that decision yourself and to come forward so we can have as much material as possible to assist the investigation.’

The appeal for footage from Garstang Lane comes after police said that while their lead theory is that the missing mother fell into the river, they’re still exploring other possibilities.

Substantial CCTV in the region has all but ruled out she exited the park from most of the surrounding gates, but the path leading to Garstang Lane toward the A5/A6 has thus far proven to be a camera black spot.

Supt Riley told the Lancashire Post: ‘Several exits of the riverside area have CCTV covering them or exits are locked and therefore couldn’t have been passed through by Nicola. 

‘There’s only a very small area onto Garstang Lane toward the A5/A6 which is not covered by CCTV and that’s why we’re appealing today for dashcam footage or for people who may have been walking on Garstang Lane or driving in the area to come forward if they can.’ 

The owners of a caravan park close to the riverbank where Ms Bulley is believed to have fallen into the water have already had their CCTV tapes seized by police.  

Police expressed concerns the missing mother-of-two may have fallen in the icy cold water on River Wyre while trying to retrieve her dog Willow’s tennis ball.  Specialist search crews have not recovered the ball – or anything of note – at this stage.

If Ms Bulley did fall into the water, she may have been weighed down by the heavy clothing she was wearing .

But her sister Louise Cunningham has urged the public to keep an open mind. 

‘Off the back of the latest police media update, please can I add there is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it’s just a theory,’ she said.

‘Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all CCTV and leads have been investigated fully, the police confirmed the case is far from over.’

Anyone with information or footage is asked to call 101, quoting log 565 of January 30. For immediate sightings, please call 999.  

Police are said to be looking into how to access data from Ms Bulley’s Fitbit in a bid to track her movements. Friend Emma White said on Saturday that the Fitbit had not been synced to a device since Tuesday. 

Speaking close to the spot where Ms Bulley was last seen, Ms White said: ‘The police are trying to use the data from her Fitbit to find her. The watch can receive data, but cannot connect to the internet.

‘However, we hope they can somehow locate it using Bluetooth signals from people’s phones. We are clinging to hope. Nicola falling into the river is just a hypothesis.’

She added the Fitbit has not ‘synced’ with its servers since the Tuesday before Ms Bulley’s disappearance. 

There are ways to access a Fitbit’s data using the app on the owner’s phone or third-party tracking apps, which can allow any smartphone to sync with the device if it is within a 100ft radius.

But this only lasts for as long as the Fitbit still has battery left. 

Search teams from Lancashire Constabulary are continuing to trawl the River Wyre, along with specialist crews from around the country.

Friends of the family said on Friday that Ms Bulley’s daughters had been asking: ‘Where’s Mummy? How is Mummy?’  

Their father is trying to put on a brave face for the sake of the children, and is being supported by Ms Bulley’s distraught parents and sister.

The missing mortgage adviser, 45, sent a text to a friend organising a playdate for their children minutes before she vanished, it emerged at the weekend. 

A resident of St Michael’s on Wyre said: ‘She booked a playdate, 8.57am, she sent a text message to a friend whose mortgage she had just recently signed off on to arrange for the girls to go for tea this week.’

The local, who did not want to be named, said this was more evidence that she had no intention of voluntarily disappearing, adding: ‘You wouldn’t have done that if you were going to get up and go missing.’