A STRETCH of river where Nicola Bulley vanished is "notoriously dangerous" as fears grow the mum fell in the water.
The dog walker, 45, vanished after dropping her children off at school in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, last Friday.
Lancashire Police today said their "main working hypothesis" is that Nicola had "sadly fallen in the river".
Searches have been ongoing at the River Wyre, which has been the scene of other tragedies.
The body of two-year-old Reece Maybury drowned in the water less than six miles from where Nicola was last seen.
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The St Michael’s Angling Association described the stretch of water as "very dangerous".
At its deepest - close to where Nicola vanished - the river reaches a depth of 15ft.
A representative for the organisation told The Times: "The combination of the depth and how cold it is at this time of year makes it very dangerous.
"I certainly would not want to fall in there and I’m a very strong swimmer.”
One local also described the banks of the river as "very slippery".
Lancashire Police believe there may have been an "issue" with dog Willow that led Nicola to the edge of the water.
Willow was off the lead at the time and police believe the mum could have placed her phone on the bench to deal with the dog when she potentially fell in.
Supt Sally Riley said the dog "was dry" - suggesting Willow did not enter the water - and confirmed Nicola could swim.
She added: "Based on all the work we have done so far, we are now as confident as we can be that Nicola has not left the field where she was last seen and our working hypothesis is that she has fallen into the river for some reason.
"There is no evidence whatsoever that there is anything suspicious about her disappearance or any third-party involvement in her going missing.
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"Our investigation remains open and we will of course act on any new information which comes to light."
Police are now searching a "number of locations" along the riverbank.
This includes the area from where Nicola went missing up the sea across a 15km radius.
Nicola has been described as white, 5ft 3ins tall with light-brown shoulder-length hair
She was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive green ankle wellies with her hair in a ponytail.
Nicola has an Essex accent and links to the Thornton-Cleveleys area near Blackpool.
Anybody with information about where she might be is asked to call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27, or ring 999 for immediate sightings.
