A major search is underway for a dog walker who went missing three days ago in a sleepy Lancashire village.
Nicola Bulley was last seen at around 9.15am on Friday, January 27, on a footpath by the River Wyre in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre.
The 45-year-old was walking her brown-coloured Spaniel immediately before going missing, which has since been found close to where she was last seen.
Lancashire Constabulary has launched a “significant, resource-intensive search”, including drones, search dogs, dive teams, helicopters and mountain rescue volunteers.
With crowds of local people also organising their own searches, the force warned: “The river and its banks are extremely dangerous and searching these areas presents a genuine risk to the public.”
Detectives have launched an investigation and are “keeping an open mind” of Ms Bulley’s whereabouts.
Chief Inspector Chris Barton, of Lancashire Constabularysaid: “Nicola has now been missing for two days and we are extremely concerned about her.
“Enquiries are very much ongoing and we have a team of detectives working tirelessly to establish the circumstances around her disappearance, in addition to a large team of police officers, partner agency and volunteer groups on the ground searching the area around where she was last seen.
“We are following a number of lines of enquiry and are keeping an open mind at this stage about what has occurred.”
He appealed for people to come forward to help with the investigation if they might have seen Ms Bulley, whose family is being supported by specialist officers.
Ms Bulley is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall, with light brown shoulder-length hair and she speaks with an Essex accent, police said.
She was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive green ankle wellies, with her hair tied into a ponytail.
As well as Inskip and St Michael’s, Ms Bulley also has links to Thornton Cleveleys, another Lancashire village. She was last seen off Garstang Road by the River Wyre.
Searches by the police, fire service, the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue team intensified on Sunday and will continue on Monday, with it now almost 72 hours since Ms Bulley went missing.
St Michael’s on Wyre is a historic small village with a population of around 600 people, centred around the church of St Michael’s which was founded before AD 640.
