Body found in search for missing UK mom Nicola Bulley

Police searching for a UK mom who disappeared more than three weeks ago have discovered a body near where she was last seen.

Nicola Bulley, 45, a mortgage adviser, went missing on Jan. 27 after she dropped off her two daughters, ages 6 and 9, at school and took her dog for a walk near the River Wyre in St. Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire.

The pooch — a springer spaniel named Willow — was found along with Bulley’s phone, which still connected to a work conference call, on a bench by a steep riverbank, the BBC reported.

On Sunday, a body was found about a mile from where Bulley was last seen with Willow.

“We were called today at 11:36 a.m. to reports of a body in the River Wyre, close to Rawcliffe Road,” the Lancashire Constabulary said in a statement.

“An underwater search team and specialist officers have subsequently attended the scene, entered the water and have sadly recovered a body,” it said.

“No formal identification has yet been carried out, so we are unable to say whether this is Nicola Bulley at this time. Procedures to identify the body are ongoing. We are currently treating the death as unexplained,” police said.

“Nicola’s family have been informed of developments and our thoughts are with them at this most difficult of times. We ask that their privacy is respected,” the statement added.

Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, told Sky News: “No words right now, just agony. We’re all together, we have to be strong.”

Police said they believed the woman had fallen into the river after a couple walking their dog reported seeing a person in the water.

A search was launched amid widespread speculation and unfounded theories spread by online sleuths, along with large numbers of people showing up at the site of her disappearance with cameras.

Police have come under fire for taking more than three weeks to locate a body, as well as for releasing personal information about Bulley — including that she had suffered “significant issues with alcohol” due to “ongoing struggles with the menopause.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “concerned” about the personal disclosures by law enforcement.

Police said they released the information “to avoid any further speculation,” Sky News reported.

On Jan. 10, police and health professionals went to the family home due to a “report of concern for welfare,” the Guardian reported.

During the search, police released a statement denouncing “the huge amount of commentary from so-called experts, ill-informed speculation and conspiracy theories which is damaging to the investigation, the community of St. Michael’s and, worst of all, to Nicola’s family.”

Bulley’s family said they were “aware beforehand that Lancashire Police released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki,” Sky News reported.

“Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop,” they said in a statement.

“The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life,” the family added.

Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith last week told reporters that the social media frenzy had “significantly distracted” the probe.

“In 29 years’ police service, I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said, CNN reported.

“Some of it’s been quite shocking and really hurtful to the family. Obviously, we can’t disregard anything, and we’ve reviewed everything that’s come in but of course it has distracted us significantly,” Smith added.

Former Lancashire police chief superintendent Bob Eastwood defended the department’s work amid “an absolute onslaught” of criticism.

Asked why the body wasn’t found sooner during the extensive river search, Eastwood told the news outlet that tides could have moved it.

“The way the tide comes and goes … it is possible that the body could have flowed in and flowed out and has eventually been given up by the water,” he said.

“To jump in … and automatically assume that the body was there the whole time is a step too far,” Eastwood added.

Earlier in the search, Ansell said he was “100%” sure Bulley was not in the river — and her family also felt investigators were too quick to conclude that she had most likely fallen into the water.

Stephanie Benyon, a friend of Bulley’s whose children attend the same school, earlier told CNN that the mom is a “kind, loyal and thoughtful person who adores her two girls and family and friends.”