Nicola Bulley search LIVE: Friends and family question drowning theory

Good evening, this was today's coverage of the search for missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley.

Here you can read today's updates and news as police continue the search a week after she disappeared on a dog walk.

Thank you for reading.

Since Nicola went missing there has been no trace of her or any of their belongings. 

Police are now said to be working to get the data off the missing woman's fitness watch. 

Nicola's family friend Emma White told the Sun: 'The Fitbit had not been synced since Tuesday.

'The police are trying other ways to try to get information from it.'

The insider explained there were ways to track where a Fitbit is using its app and third-party tracking apps.

They explained it is possible to use any smartphone's Bluetooth to try link up with fitness watches up to 100ft away.

As the search enters its ninth day and only living a few miles away from the scene of the worrying disappearance of young mother Nicola Bulley, it only felt right to join locals, young and old this morning, during a well co-ordinated search. #NicolaBulley @LancsPolice pic.twitter.com/7MLqQALc55

Nicola was said to be wearing the following items:

*Ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket

*Black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat which was worn underneath the gilet

*Tight fitting black jeans

*Long green walking socks tucked into her jeans

*Ankle-length green Next wellies

*Necklace

*Pale blue Fitbit

The grounds surroudning River Wyre is busy with dog walkers today as it enters the ninth day of Nicola's dissapearance. 

Members of the public have responded to the family's plea for help with their search after they question the police's tennis ball hypothesis. 

The area surrouning the river bank is busy with dog walkers hopeful to offer some form of help and follow Nicola's walking route. 

Many have been seen walking round clutching to maps of the trail as they make their way around the grounds. 

World-renowned Forensic search specialist said he would 'look into' Nicola Bulley's phone being a decoy. 

Peter Faulding said he would also look inot evidence on the bench as well as search the river bed using specialist equipment to determine if she went into the river. 

He told Sky news: Normally when we scan a river, we can scan about 10 miles a day. This is not really a fast-moving tidal it's quite slow and quite narrow so quite straightforward to search.

'The police divers are doing a great job but they can only search a small section at a time.

'But I believe from the news reports that sonar has been brought in but sonar is only as good as the operator using it and the frequency.

'I would be looking at the evidence we've got. I've worked on cases where there was a shoe left on the river and it was left as a decoy.

'We don't know if this [the phone] has been left by a third party or Nicola as a decoy to drag all the resources down to the river edge.

'I'd be looking at how that got there in the first place.

'I would run our sonar along the river and I would see every part of that river and you could quickly confirm or deny any anomalies in that river.'

The police are still searching for more evidence and information. 

The are asking the public, especially those in the area today, to keep an eye out for any posessions. 

Supt Riley said: 'I'm not aware of a dog ball being retrieved but it's possible that a ball could have rolled down the steep bank close to the edge of the water and Ms Bulley was bending down to pick it up.

'What she was wearing could also be a factor.

'I don't wish to speculate but the facts are that she was wearing a quilted, ankle-length gilet, which is a big coat, and underneath that there was another coat and then under that coat more clothing.

'She was also wearing ankle-length wellingtons. One would assume they fill with water when someone enters a river so all of that clothing is heavy, particularly on someone who is of slight build and only five foot three.'

Outdoor swimming expert Camilla Golledge told MailOnline the shock of the cold water could also limit a person's ability to swim to safety. 

Criminal psychologist Dr David Holmes told MailOnline it is 'worrying' the police 'do not want to seem to consider' that foul play was involved in Ms Bulley's disappearance, and questioned whether the police were truly 'doing their job properly' if they were not actively considering third-party involvement.

He continued: 'If she was abducted it would almost have certainly been done by car which would mean that the 10 minute window could work if they had a weapon.

'Clearly it wasn't observed, there were no witnesses or they didn't notice it. It would seem that they've [the police] played this game  in complete darkness as far as the public are concerned, or they've not been playing any clever kind of game whatsoever.

'We would certainly be dealing with someone who is organised, mobile, who has come in with stealth and not been noticed. 

'So it's somebody really sophisticated and it looks like she would be well out of the area by now.'

Criminal psychologist Dr David Holmes told MailOnline he believes police may never find out what happened to Ms Bulley. 

He criticised the police's statement on Friday which saw Supt Riley tell the media officers believe the 45-year-old fell into the River Wyre.

Dr Holmes said: 'I don't see the police putting forward any evidence that she slipped down the bank, it doesn't really tie in with the phone left on the bench or the dog running from the between the bench and the gate.

'It doesn't add up unless the police are doing something else in the background.' 

He added he hoped the police are 'playing a quiet game' in order to 'try and flush out' potential suspects, but said he thought that was unlikely.

Areas surrounding the route Nicola took on day she dissappeared are very busy as members of the public join the police in their search.

The route Nicola took the day she dissapeared was familiar with the walk as her Strava account reveals she walked her dog along there regularly. 

On average, it'd take her about 30 minutes to complete the loop and return to her car, which her family say she parked in the same spot about '1000 times over' through the years.

By 8.50am on Friday morning, she'd bumped into another dog walker on the path.

The pair were known to one another and had a brief interaction as their dogs played. The witness left the field a short time later via the river path.

The family are doing all they can to try and divert the attention of Nicola's two young children. 

They are trying to keep their lives as normal as possible  while they wait for further information about their mother. 

They are keeping their routine and letting them go to their weekend clubs and have sleepovers. 

Ms Bulley's friend Emma White told broadcasters that the missing mother's 'two beautiful little girls are asking where's their mummy'.

Police are still urging people to look out for distinctive items of clothing as they continue their helicopter search for the missing mother. 

Specialised teams are still searching the river using a speed boat and other officer are on foot searching the near-by banks. 

Nicola Bulley's sudden disappearance has sparked many questions for police, friends and family.

Read MailOnline's guide to some of the mysteries of the case as search efforts continue for an eighth day.

Police officers believe Nicola Bulley, 45, fell into the Wyre River on the morning she disappeared.

They have been combing a stretch of water some ten miles of river which ends at the Irish sea.

All key witnesses have been traced by police in the disappearance of 45-year-old Nicola Bulley, police say.

The police are appealing to the public to keep a look out for any of Nicola's possessions.

This includes an ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket, a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat, tight-fitting black jeans, long green walking socks, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit.

Engineer Paul Ansell said he is focusing on staying strong for their two daughters, who have been asking what has happened to their mother a week on after she disappeared on a dog walk. 

Speaking near the scene where Ms Bulley was last seen by the River Wyre in Lancashire, he told broadcasters: 'My whole focus is my two girls, just staying as strong as I can for them.

'I'm scared that if I put focus into anything else it's going to take my focus off that. Just hoping to goodness that anything comes out from the interview yesterday no matter how tiny.' 

After thanking the local community for its 'incredible' support, he added: 'I just can't believe we're a week on and it seems like we're no further on. It just seems absolutely impossible. Like a dream. I cannot get my head around it. Right now it's like she's vanished into thin air, it's insane.'

Mr Ansell said he 'cannot get his head around' her disappearance. He said: 'Every single scenario comes to a brick wall. Every single one of them.

'All we are doing is sitting there going round and round and round through each scenario.'

He added he was focusing on looking after their two daughters and 'didn't want to think' about how he was coping.

Emma White told the BBC: 'We still have a missing piece of that jigsaw. 

'The police were still asking yesterday. 

'Here on Garstang road they are calling for dash cam footage off this road so there is still an exit unexplored down there that Nikki could perhaps have come out. 

'The message is loud and clear we keep going. We can't go and tell those girls well the theory is x,y and z. 

'We need some evidence and whatever the news is then we deal with whatever news comes. 

'So again we are out in force today raising that awareness. iuf anyone does see anything, hear anything, jogs their memory of last firday please share but we are asking for factual information. 

'We want the facts.'

Police are urgently trying to find out what happened to missing mother Nicola Bulley in a crucial ten-minute window after she was last spotted, as her sister last night said there was 'no evidence whatsoever' she had fallen into a nearby river. 

Ms Bulley, 45, was last seen by a witness at 9.10am on January 27, but it remains unknown what she did until 9.20am, when police know her phone was placed on the bench where it was later discovered.

There are still five unanswered questions about how she could have slipped into the river 

while retrieving dog's ball and been drowned while weighed down by her water- logged clothes

- January 27 

The 45-year-old dropped her daughters - aged six and nine - off at school in the morning before walking her dog, Willow, in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire. 

At 10.50am, Ms Bulley's family and the school attended by her children were told about her disappearance. 

Lancashire Constabulary launched an investigation into Ms Bulley's whereabouts on the same day and appealed for witnesses to contact them.

 - January 28 

Lancashire Constabulary deployed drones, helicopters and police search dogs as part of the major missing person operation. 

They were assisted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, as well as Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue team and the North West Underwater Search Team. 

- January 29 

Local residents held a meeting at the village hall to organise a search for Ms Bulley at 10.30am on Sunday and around 100 people joined the search.

Police urged volunteers to exercise caution, describing the river and its banks as 'extremely dangerous' and saying that activity in these areas presented 'a genuine risk to the public'. 

- January 30 

Superintendent Sally Riley from Lancashire Constabulary said police were 'keeping a really open mind about what could have happened', and that they were not treating Ms Bulley's disappearance as suspicious. 

- January 31 

Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a potential witness - a man who had been walking a small white fluffy dog near the River Wyre at the time of Ms Bulley's disappearance. 

Her family released a statement saying they had been 'overwhelmed by the support' in their community, and that her daughters were 'desperate to have their mummy back home safe'. 

- February 1 

Ms Bulley's parents, Ernest and Dot Bulley, spoke about the 'horror' they faced over the possibility of never seeing her again. 

Her father said: 'We just dread to think we will never see her again, if the worst came to the worst and she was never found, how will we deal with that for the rest of our lives.' 

- February 2 

Lancashire Constabulary spoke with a second witness who they had identified with the help of the public using CCTV - but they told police they did not have any further information to aid their inquiry. 

Officers from the North West Police Underwater and Marine support unit searched the area close to where Ms Bulley's mobile phone was found, while police divers scoured the River Wyre. 

Meanwhile, Ms Bulley's family appealed to the public for help tracing her. 

- February 3 

Lancashire Police said they were working on the hypothesis that Ms Bulley may have fallen into the River Wyre. 

Superintendent Sally Riley urged against speculation, but said it was 'possible' that an 'issue' with Ms Bulley's dog may have led her to the water's edge. 

She urged the public to look out for items of clothing Ms Bulley was last seen wearing.

Nicola's friends and family are out in the area holding up banners and posters of the missing mother. 

The posters are asking passing motorists for any dashcam footage they may have from the day of the incident. 

The are hopeful someone will come forward with information of her whereabouts between 9 and 10 am. 

If anyone does have any dash cam footage of the area around these times they can call the police on 101.

A police helicopter was spotted over St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, as police continue their search for missing woman Nicola Bulley, 45.

She was last seen on the morning of Friday January 27, when she was spotted walking her dog on a footpath by the nearby River Wyre.

As well as the police's tennis ball hypothesis  they have confirmed there are other lines of inquiry, including a 'very small area' leading out of the park which has no CCTV nearby and could be crucial to the development of the investigation. 

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.

Lancashire Police Superintendent Sally 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.' 

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 on the day she vanished.

Nicola's friend, Emma White said: 'Willow used to love a tennis ball very much but it used to disturb the walk so they haven't had a tennis ball since way into last year.

Obviously she loved the tennis ball so she would always be by you pesteriung for the ball so that wasn't a nice walk so there was definitely no ball.'

Lancashire Constabulary still have search teams trawling through the waterway near St Michael's-on-Wyre.

Nicola Bulley's friend, Emma White, told Sky News: 'When we are talking about a life we can't base it on a hypothesis - surely we need this factual evidence.

'That's what the family and all of us are holding on to - that we are sadly no further on than last Friday.

'We still have no evidence, and that's why we're out together in force.

'You don't base life on a hypothesis.'

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brock said: 'They made it very clear that it was their main working hypothesis which suggests that that there are still other theories that they havent ruled out. 

'I think the superintednent did go that far to say that the its as though they have ruled out everything else and yes we talk about that through Emma the furstation I think it was probably stronger than that. 

'I think Emma did tell us that they were rather surpised that having heard that privately from the police the police then went pubic with and that they will stop looking for Nicola and the family clearly believe particularly because there is that window of ten minutes were they can't account for her movement. 

'They still believe that Nicola might be alive and there might be another explanation for her dissaparance in the absence of any hard facts or evidence that she has come to any harm.

'They will continue to cling to the hope that she will be found. 

 'The police are very focused on the theopry that Nicola went into the water but the family in the absense of the evidence want them to keep looking for her.'

Emma White told Sky News: All I know is that there was a significant influx of calls so they had to bring in another team to answer the calls. 

'So when you hear that news from the police you think OMG there has to be a glimmer there has to be something coming from that today to give a line of enquiry to go on. 

'So when the news bullet in came I thought of they mught have found something we dont know and we thank every one that did come forward.

'What I would say is we need to keep it to factual information as they could have recieved a hundred calls on that aren't relevant to the case.'

Nicola Bulley's family have warned there is 'no evidence whatsoever' that suggests the missing mother fell in the river, despite police confirming it's their lead theory.

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 on the day she vanished.

But her sister Louise Cunningham urged the public to keep an open mind in a social media post last night.

'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.'

Nicola was seen by another dog walker at 9.10am - the last known sighting - and police traced telephony records of her mobile phone as it remained on a bench overlooking the river at 9.20am.

The device was found by a dog walker at around 9.35am, with Willow nearby.

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

Her partner Paul Ansell, 44, said he would 'never lose hope' of finding her.

Police vowed to continue the search for Ms Bulley, to 'bring her home'.

They have urged the public to look out along the river for the items of clothing that Ms Bulley was last seen wearing.

This includes an ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket, a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat, tight-fitting black jeans, long green walking socks, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit.

Multi-agency searches for missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley have entered a ninth day, as her heartbroken friends and family - including two young daughters - hold on to hope for her return.

Search teams from Lancashire Constabulary are continuing to trawl the River Wyre near St Michael's, working on the hypothesis that the 45-year-old mortgage adviser, from nearby Inskip, could have fallen in.

Their search has been aided by specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue, and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service - with sniffer dogs, drones, and police helicopters deployed.

Detectives are also working behind the scenes to analyse CCTV and dashcam videos, and members of the public with footage which could be useful have been urged to come forward.

Police believe Ms Bulley went missing in just 'a 10-minute window' while she was walking her dog, Willow, close to the River Wyre, after dropping off her daughters - aged six and nine - at school.

Ms Bulley had logged in to a Microsoft Teams call at 9.01am, which ended at 9.30am with her phone still connected to the call.