15 February 2023 , 11:43
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Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley are “struggling with the scale” of the search, according to an expert.
Mortgage adviser and mum Nicola, 45, disappeared on January 27 while walking her brown spaniel Willow along the River Wyre in the tight-knit village of St Michaels on Wyre in Lancashire.
Police believe the mortgage adviser fell into the River Wyre in a "10-minute window" between 9.10am and 9.20am that day.
On that basis they launched a massive search and have been seen combing the river bank, utilising diving teams, search dogs, drones and boats, to no avail.
Now ex-detective Mark Williams-Thomas has revealed he believes the officers investigating the case are ‘struggling’ with the sheer scale.
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Follow the latest on the Nicola Bulley search on our live blog here
Friends of missing mum Nicola Bulley hold placards to aid the search (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)He said ahead of a press briefing due later this morning: “Good to see the media strategy is changing.
“I know the force has really struggled with the scale of this investigation and this has caused some real frustration from within.
“I am expecting an update in terms of what has been done so far.”
At 11.30am today police will hold a press conference on the ongoing search for the missing mum-of-two, who vanished while walking her dog 19 days ago.
Paul Ansell, the partner of Nicola Bulley, views the spot on the River Wyre (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)The briefing will take place as the force seeks to combat disinformation about her amid growing speculation about what might have happened to her and criticism of the force's handling of the inquiry.
Last night major new claims emerged that two walkers found a blue glove in the field where Nicola went missing on February 7.
They handed it to police who bagged it and took it away.
Specialist teams continue to search for the mum (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)As the search for Nicola continues, her friends and neighbours have not given up hope she will be found.
Yesterday, well-wishers continued to leave hand-written "messages of hope" that the 45-year-old mortgage adviser will be found unharmed.
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The messages, which first appeared on flower-shaped ribbons on Sunday, have been written on yellow ribbons on a bridge over the River Wyre in the village.
Newly-left messages say "hope is the last thing ever lost" and "Nikki, I love you, come home".
The search continues along the river (PA)Yesterday ex-cop Martin Underhill says officers have made a massive error by failing to send the bench her phone was found on to a lab.
Martin, who was Detective Chief Inspector at and crime commissioner for Dorset told : “That bench on that river in my view should have gone to a forensic laboratory.
"If Nicola had been attacked there could be blood spatterings on it.
"Sadly it’s still in situ. It is questionable to put it bluntly."
Mirror.co.uk has contacted Lancashire Police for comment.