Nicola Bulley #9

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Please read the recap if you are not up to date
Please don't be offended if you ask a question that's answered here and you're directed back to the recap rather than given a full answer.

Timeline:
0826 Nicola left home with her children and dog
0840 Nicola dropped her children at school and spoke briefly to another parent
0843 Nicola was seen walking along the path by the river towards the bench into the lower field
0847 (approx) Nicola was seen in the lower field by another dog walker. The dogs interacted and this dog walker knows Nicola
0853 Nicola sent an email to her boss
0859 Nicola sent a message to a friend
0901 Nicola joined a zoom team meeting - her phone was muted and her camera was off meaning her colleagues did not see or hear anything
0910 Nicola was seen in the upper field by another dog walker
0920 Nicola's phone was back in the area of the bench - this is confirmed by the Police through phone data
0930 the Zoom call ended but Nicola remained logged in
0933 Nicola's phone, along with Willow, the harness and lead were found at the bench area. The phone was on the bench; the harness was on the ground further down the bank towards the river (confirmed by Paul during Channel 5 Interview)
1050 Willow and the phone were still at the bench area. Paul was alerted and called the Police

The phone was still connected to Nicola's zoom call which had ended at 0930.
Willow (Nicola's dog) was loose in this area.

This video shows the small distance between gate, bench and river:


Doorbell footage has been shared of Nicola leaving home the morning she went missing to show the clothing she wore.
54A6CE83-17EA-4638-99B3-75551981D47E.jpeg

There have been many discussions of whether this is actually Nicola, as some think it looks like her friend Emma. The fact remains that Nicola took her girls to school, and that cannot be disputed. Another parent spoke to her at school, and one of the sightings on the walk was someone who knew her personally.

There is some confusion over who loaded Willow into the car. During the Channel 5 interview Paul stated that if he was doing the school run and dog walk Nicola would load the girls and dog into the car, and vice versa, but that day Nicola was ready earlier than usual and she had them in the car already, even though she was the one taking them to school. He did not know why this was, just that Nicola was more organised that morning and ready earlier than usual.

Nicola parked at school, dropped her daughters off, and started the walk from there as usual.
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The fact that Willow's harness was off is normal - it was usually removed at the gate by the bench at the start of the walk, and put back on on the way back to the car.

Willow was dry when found, meaning that she had not at any point that morning been in the water. This has been discussed at great length over the threads so please search for it if you would like to understand more, or read this post for the quick version: https://tattle.life/threads/nicola-bulley-7.37276/post-13925742

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The lady who found them is believed to be the owner of Wyreside Farm Caravan Park which is very close to the bench and area that Nicola is thought to have entered to the river. This is not the same caravan site as the broken or non-functioning CCTV.
The lady secured Willow - apparently with string (we do not know why, when the harness and lead were there) - and left as she had an appointment. She recognised the dog but couldn't remember who the owner was, so called her daughter in law.
At 1050 the daughter in law attended the bench area and identified both Willow and the Lock Screen photo on the phone as Nicola's. She called Nicola's daughters' school, who in turn called Nicola's partner, Paul.
There is much speculation but no facts for the gap in time here.
Paul left home by car, calling the Police on the way to report Nicola as missing.
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Caravan Parks & Campsites
There has been confusion over the caravan parks:
Wyreside is a campsite near to the bench. The owner is alleged to have found Willow and the phone.
Rowanwater is a mobile home park next to the top field. This is where Nicola was last seen. This is where the broken / non-functioning CCTV is.

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Exits from the walking route are not all covered by CCTV - Rowanwater Mobile Home Park (camera not working) YELLOW and the Garstang Road exit PURPLE. CCTV does cover the riverside path (ORANGE) and the school (GREEN). Police are working to contact all drivers to obtain dashcam footage where possible on the A road but there were around 700 drivers to contact. Nicola's friends held an appeal for dash cam footage here on Friday 10/2.
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Search Efforts
A helicopter with thermal imaging was deployed, and divers were in the river, the day Nicola went missing.
Lancs Police have been using the caravan park as their base. All empty caravans have been searched, as have local empty properties along and near to the riverbank.
Nicola’s family are keeping all possibilities open in the hope of Nicola’s safe return, which is absolutely understandable.
SGI headed by Peter Faulding assisted the search efforts at the request of the family. Unfortunately, they found no trace of Nicola in the area they searched.

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Nicola's partner Paul
Paul has never been named as a suspect. This has always been called a missing person investigation by the Police so there are no suspects.
Paul is the father of Nicola's daughters. The fact her refers to 'the girls' or 'her girls' is irrelevant.
Paul has a mark on his face near his left eye which some think is a bruise; some think is from recent botox. It is visible on old photos seen by more than one person who have looked at Nicola's Facebook posts, so it is not a bruise or botox. It's likely to be pigmentation or a birthmark.

Nicola’s partner's businesses are a frequent question: has a business which is shown on Companies House as ‘compulsory strike off’ just after Nicola’s disappearance. This does not in any way suggest financial difficulties. It purely means the company was already in the process of being closed.
He is director of another company which is still trading, and he works in a skilled industry.
It is explained here https://tattle.life/threads/nicola-bulley-missing-4.37193/post-13873756

There is another previous company which has an address similar to Rowanwater Mobile Home Park. It is not linked to the mobile home park in any way. It is Paul and Nicola's previous house.

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Other / Misc
The area that Nicola walked in has frequently been referred to as a park, and many posters think there will be much local CCTV and Ring doorbell coverage. It is not a park. Nicola's walk was over fields, in the countryside by a village. The only CCTV is on businesses that happen to be there. There is no doorbell footage because there are no houses.

Lancs Police gave an update via press conference on Tuesday 7/2 confirming that they are still focussing huge resource on the search effort and asking the general public to avoid doing anything to make this any more difficult. Transcript here: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/nicola-bulley-missing-press-conference-26181487

The police have continuously stated that the most likely situation is that Nicola has sadly somehow entered the water, but they remain open to all possibilities and fully investigate all information they receive. There have been 40 detectives working on the case.

Although the water was only around 2.5-3.5ft deep where Nicola is thought to have fallen in, the bank is high and steep. The police diver had to be helped out.
36103972-8159-4CA4-9B88-450A779DE801.jpeg


Cold water shock can mean that you are incapacitated quickly and silently. Info here: https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/safety/look-after-yourself/cold-water-shock

It's also possible that Nicola was unconscious before she entered the water, for example following a medical episode, or that she slipped and hit her head on rocks under the water.

This post gives more information about why a body may not be found in a river: https://tattle.life/threads/nicola-bulley-8.37288/post-13940903

A GoFundMe page was set up on Monday 6/2 by family friend Emma with a target of £100,000. This was quickly changed after social media unrest to £50,000, then £5,000. Shortly after, the page was closed before it raised even £500, and the friend posted on Facebook to state that the family didn’t initially know she was doing it, and she was just trying to help.

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There have been mixed messages about a possible mental health element on previous threads.
Any speculation here about Nicola's mental health should come from a place of concern, not judgement.

Anyone who has struggled, or is struggling, with mental illness knows that at times it is more powerful than anything else and takes over all rational thought. If that has played a part in Nicola going missing (which - to be clear - her family or Police have not suggested) it does not mean that she doesn't love her family, especially her children, more than anything in the world.


Please be mindful of Nicola’s family with any comments made ❤
 
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Thank you @InTheDollsHouse . This is an excellent recap of all the important information.

Reading through this I thought "maybe the dog was tied with string because the harness was out of immediate sight?"
 
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Has the confusion regarding her clothing been cleared up now?

Did the parent who spoke to her at the school give an account?
 
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The more I look at those pictures the more I can see that perhaps she has been, for some reason, 'running' on the slope, gone over on her ankle and then tumbled in.

Apologies for the awful question, but if someone inhaled water and sadly became unconscious in the water, how long would it take for them to sink under the surface?
 
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I think we all now know exactly where to direct all questions starting “was the dog” or “did the police”! That is an absolutely magnificent recap @InTheDollsHouse. You and your work are very much appreciated.
 
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I know many people are ruling him out based on ‘albi’ but the partner is highly suspicious to me, the fact he keeps appearing in interviews (police encouraging him or he’s enjoying it) he chosen to cover a bruise up he had in one of the earlier interviews, he uses language such as ‘fine out what happened’ almost a challenge to police, there’s also no emotion in his eyes.

Go rewatch Chris Watt’s TV appeal and see the lack of emotion and smirks. Paul had a smirk in his latest interview.

see smirk at 1:09


 
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Amazing recap, thank you so much @InTheDollsHouse. A+!!

Carried this over from previous thread and sorry to harp on for posters that feel it’s not worthy of further discussion, but I do feel it’s potentially relevant as actually none of us know WTF has happened this poor woman.

Yes he was ruled out by the police very early on
Just to be pedantic (and again I don’t think he is involved), he was actually never formally ruled in as a suspect by the police (as far as any of us know), as there is no formal criminal investigation. This is a missing person investigation. (see the amazing recap above!).

He apparently has ring doorbell footage confirming he didn’t leave the house that day (through the front door) and allegedly has indoor CCTV too confirming he was home, online activity confirming he was checking emails and his phone in the house. Again, this information has all only ever been confirmed through friends (again, AFAIK).

The police have never said he has been ‘cleared’, they did say they’re not looking for suspects or something to that effect. I’m sure he would have been interviewed and his computer activity investigated, but this can potentially all be manipulated. So, while it’s probably highly unlikely he is involved and maybe not nice to speculate, without actually knowing what the police know, I feel he really can’t be fully ruled out at this stage. We just don’t know.

The tidbits of information being released by ‘friends’, but all ‘with Paul’s approval’ (Tilly Ann, the Sister, Emma and now Neighbour Charlotte) really raises my hackles. I appreciate he is trying to get information out there and doesn’t want to directly say it himself as people are already speculating, but there should really be one nominated friend to be the media spokesperson. I am wondering why this information (keys on her person) is not being released by the police. It’s just all really bizarre and doesn’t seem appropriate. To me anyway.

Anyway. As I have said over and over I have no bloody clue. Just thought I’d share some of my thoughts.
 
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She logged on to the Teams call at 9am so would have been listening and walking before arriving back at the bench at 9.20am.

I don’t see anything weird about their morning routine, people don’t follow a manual and things change depending on the day’s circumstances. Maybe she liked doing the school run, chatting to the mums and then getting some fresh air helped her concentrate. Maybe she’s the morning person and he’s a night owl. Who knows? None of it adds up to anything. I’d hate someone to put my morning routine under the spotlight and draw conclusions about the state of my relationship from it.
But they did have a routine for it, he explained what usually happens in the mornings (ie they take it in turns where one loads car and other takes kids/dog) so if something changed that morning it could be significant. Isn't that the whole point of a routine? It's something you do everyday. If it changed for some reason, why? There could be a million reasons, but surely Paul would know and give the reason. If they take it in turns why? Does it go by days or what? Did someone lying in wait for her know she always takes the dog on a Friday? I just think it needs clearing up. I still don't know how often she took the dog but I'm scared to ask because it seems like it must've been asked a million times like the wet dog question!
 
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The more I look at those pictures the more I can see that perhaps she has been, for some reason, 'running' on the slope, gone over on her ankle and then tumbled in.

Apologies for the awful question, but if someone inhaled water and sadly became unconscious in the water, how long would it take for them to sink under the surface?
I’d say it would probably happen immediately, especially if you were wearing thick clothes which would weigh you down once they became waterlogged
 
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I know many people are ruling him out based on ‘albi’ but the partner is highly suspicious to me, the fact he keeps appearing in interviews (police encouraging him or he’s enjoying it) he chosen to cover a bruise up he had in one of the earlier interviews, he uses language such as ‘fine out what happened’ almost a challenge to police, there’s also no emotion in his eyes.

Go rewatch Chris Watt’s TV appeal and see the lack of emotion and smirks. Paul had a smirk in his latest interview.
The "bruise" is on his face in pictures prior to Nicola's disappearance, it's just a birthmark or bit of pigmentation.

If you ask me this bloke can't do a thing right. Appears in interviews and he's enjoying it/clout chasing etc. Doesn't appear in press conference with her parents and that's suspicious too.

The only similarity between this and the Chris Watt case is that a woman is missing. With Chris Watts he didn't even report his wife and children missing, a friend did. And the police suspected him immediately. He had no alibi. Paul has an alibi. He isn't a suspect.

As a neurodiverse person, so many of these comments are so incredibly frustrating because I know full well in the same situation I would be deemed to be suspicious too. I don't make eye contact, I fidget, I smile and laugh inappropriately (which by the way is a common shock/trauma response). You know what convicted Chris Watts? Evidence. Cold, hard evidence. Not armchair analysis of his facial expressions.
 
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I know many people are ruling him out based on ‘albi’ but the partner is highly suspicious to me, the fact he keeps appearing in interviews (police encouraging him or he’s enjoying it) he chosen to cover a bruise up he had in one of the earlier interviews, he uses language such as ‘fine out what happened’ almost a challenge to police, there’s also no emotion in his eyes.

Go rewatch Chris Watt’s TV appeal and see the lack of emotion and smirks. Paul had a smirk in his latest interview.
I also find Emma White strange with the smirking & smiling etc. On the ch5 prog at the end of the interview she said bring Paul & the girls.. (quickly changed it to) their rock home. She looked really annoyed with herself & I wouldn’t have thought much of it as she might be nervous on tv which is understandable, however she made this exact same slip up on the interview by the side of the road .. she didn’t notice she had said it wrong & said bring Paul & the girls home.. it’s a strange way to say it anyway rather than just saying we need to find Nicki.
I’ve not read every single comment on every thread as I’ve only joined up tonight but she has also had pics with Dan Walker on her Facebook profile last year .. who actually decided to do this programme… I’m not suggesting Emma .. I just mean with the police not wanting to be involved at all.
 
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Amazing recap, thank you so much @InTheDollsHouse. A+!!

Carried this over from previous thread and sorry to harp on for posters that feel it’s not worthy of further discussion, but I do feel it’s potentially relevant as actually none of us know WTF has happened this poor woman.


Just to be pedantic (and again I don’t think he is involved), he was actually never formally ruled in as a suspect by the police (as far as any of us know), as there is no formal criminal investigation. This is a missing person investigation. (see the amazing recap above!).

He apparently has ring doorbell footage confirming he didn’t leave the house that day (through the front door) and allegedly has indoor CCTV too confirming he was home, online activity confirming he was checking emails and his phone in the house. Again, this information has all only ever been confirmed through friends (again, AFAIK).

The police have never said he has been ‘cleared’, they did say they’re not looking for suspects or something to that effect. I’m sure he would have been interviewed and his computer activity investigated, but this can potentially all be manipulated. So, while it’s probably highly unlikely he is involved and maybe not nice to speculate, without actually knowing what the police know, I feel he really can’t be fully ruled out at this stage. We just don’t know.

The tidbits of information being released by ‘friends’, but all ‘with Paul’s approval’ (Tilly Ann, the Sister, Emma and now Neighbour Charlotte) really raises my hackles. I appreciate he is trying to get information out there and doesn’t want to directly say it himself as people are already speculating, but there should really be one nominated friend to be the media spokesperson. I am wondering why this information (keys on her person) is not being released by the police. It’s just all really bizarre and doesn’t seem appropriate. To me anyway.

Anyway. As I have said over and over I have no bloody clue. Just thought I’d share some of my thoughts.
You’ll notice I was careful with my wording…
Paul has never been named as a suspect.
 
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The "bruise" is on his face in pictures prior to Nicola's disappearance, it's just a birthmark or bit of pigmentation.

If you ask me this bloke can't do a thing right. Appears in interviews and he's enjoying it/clout chasing etc. Doesn't appear in press conference with her parents and that's suspicious too.

The only similarity between this and the Chris Watt case is that a woman is missing. With Chris Watts he didn't even report his wife and children missing, a friend did. And the police suspected him immediately. He had no alibi. Paul has an alibi. He isn't a suspect.

As a neurodiverse person, so many of these comments are so incredibly frustrating because I know full well in the same situation I would be deemed to be suspicious too. I don't make eye contact, I fidget, I smile and laugh inappropriately (which by the way is a common shock/trauma response). You know what convicted Chris Watts? Evidence. Cold, hard evidence. Not armchair analysis of his facial expressions.
Except you cannot assume he’s innocent at all, as above the police have not stated they have ruled him out or ‘cleared’ him. There’s a lot of little things going on in Paul’s interview. Yes I appreciate mannerisms but does being neurodiverse mean you show no emotion whatsoever?
He’s done an awful lot of interviews, why do you think that is?
 
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